Hope and Healing from Sunshine

Written by Sharon Cecil

There is no doubt about it.  We are like bears, hibernating in the winter waiting for springs lavish colors from nature’s pallet breaking out into full bloom, as the days are longer while enjoying the warmth and glow of sunshine.

I remember hearing the voices and laughter as the children in the neighborhood would play outside.  With all of the electronic devices and both parents working or being part of a single parent household, the sound of the children outside is a rarity.

Advocating for youth, We Survive has been able to bring sunshine to the life to an under-served population through intergenerational connections.

I have created programming for all ages for over 40 years.  These programs encourage people to believe in themselves and dare to DREAM.

Creating youth driven programming for We Survive has offered an extreme amount of joy in my life. Youth were instrumental in the creation of LIGHTFEST, originating in 1997 as a Festival held at Churchill Downs from 1997 to 2001.  As Bill Wolfe wrote in the Courier-Journal on March 24, 1997, “Festival radiates light, hope, dreams and Olympic spirit.”

I was first introduced to “Sunshine” Joseph Mallard’s artwork in 2005. In November 2006, “Sunshine” Joe was part of We Survive’s month long activities for Hunger and Homelessness Awareness. It all started on November 3, with a tapestry/needle art exhibit.

In collaboration with Wayside Christian Mission, “Sunshine “Joe” Mallard’s tapestries were featured at Expressions Gallery (Wayside Christian Mission’s Art Gallery).  There were handcrafted items made by Jeffersontown Christian Church—Grateful Threads. Also, items created by clients served by Wayside Christian Mission were also displayed.

While on my personal and professional journey, I combined my art and nursing degrees to provide Creative Expression  programming which has been an important part of my life’s journey.

In 2016, “Sunshine” Joe’s name crossed my path once again. Who could forget his creative ability with his tapestries and his embroidery!

Without light, darkness prevails—SUNSHINE is a natural healer and offers HOPE. With a name like Sunshine Joe, this was a perfect re-connect.

I wondered how Joe Mallard got the name Sunshine Joe.  He told me,  “Many years ago while working with a group of fifth graders in Louisville KY, a student asked if she could give me a nickname. I said yes.  She said ‘Sunshine Joe.’  I asked why. ‘She said, ‘the sunshine brings light and you do too.’”

Since retiring in 2013 from Corporate America, Sunshine Joe said, “I turned my energies exclusively to my community work and my own art.”  Sunshine Joe’s exquisite artwork has gained national recognition. He says, “The tapestry-quilts, sometimes taking years to complete, pulsate with color, energy, and joy.”

With a shared interest in our youth, Sunshine Joe will be working with LIGHTFEST Re-Ignited  “to heighten awareness of those who live in poverty, susceptible to poverty, hunger and homelessness and help to Improve Impoverished Lives.”

We Survive would like to invite everyone to be part of LIGHTFEST Re-Ignited “to show your support for the future of America with a Light of HOPE.” By joining this worldwide movement, you will be showing the passion that you have for your community and the world.

On November 5, you can send a message of HOPE for LIGHTFEST Re-Ignited 2016, by having a Light-Up Celebration at 6pm Eastern Time, with your family and friends while putting compassion into action. Display some form of LIGHT representing HOPE. It can be a porch light, candle, flashlight or cell phone.

For more information about Sunshine Joe Mallard’s work, you can contact him at: Email [email protected]

Telephone: 502-491-2517 or 502-533-2261

Encouraging Words

Written by Sharon Cecil

Words have power.  Everyone needs to hear words of encouragement.  Unfortunately, sometimes words are used to inflict pain.

We Survive was part of a health and wellness pilot program developed by Girl Scout USA called Growing Up Female.  In 1996, I met with Girl Scout Troop 1472.  Emphasizing the importance of a positive ATTITUDE, I presented a message on health while introducing ways for the girls to feel comfortable knowing their own bodies.

 

The young ladies in the troop were 11 years old, so I wasn’t sure that they were really hearing the message.  When one of the leaders called me and said that the “girls” wanted to take the information they learned and had already started planning a way to create a Silver Award project, I realized that there was power in that presentation.

 

Girl Scout Troop 1472 produced an educational video along with materials for handouts, which was formally presented at a Women’s Luncheon, which opened the door for a discussion on health and wellness with a focus on breast cancer.  This program became We Survive’s Women Offering Wisdom (WOW).

 

Brittany Zinsious-Kinder and Nikki Sherrard (Arielle Sherrard Corbett) continued with the WOW program, after the Girl Scout Troop members received their Silver Award, until they graduated from high school.

 

WOW made it possible for valuable information to reach young women while offering opportunities for young women to serve their community with the support of adult advisors.

 

In leadership roles, Brittany and Nikki planned, promoted and presented programming while being the creators and educators of health and wellness events. Brittany and Nikki assembled a team of presenters for programs and events.

 

Asking if they could learn more about event planning, Brittany, Nikki and several other young ladies on the team met with Linda Surbeck founder of Master of Ceremonies.

 

Linda was more that willing to act as an advisor to this group of young ladies.  Linda inspired them with her creativity and diversity.  They could see the passion Linda had for her work.

 

“Positive Powerful Promotional Words,” a book Linda authored, was given to the group.  With book in hand and carrying the inspirational words in their heart, these young ladies left the meeting realizing their hopes and dreams were attainable.  Linda Surbeck gave meaning to the power of words and presented them with the “Power of the Dream.”

 

“There never shall be one lost good. All we have willed or hoped or dreamed of good shall exist.” —Robert Browning

 

With Compassion, Courage and Collaboration, the WOW Girlz gave voice to young people through a radio talk show, magazine, book and creative health and wellness programs, events and a resource center located at Jefferson Community and Technical College where they could meet and mentor their peers.  “Having a special peer mentor had a significant effect on these young women’s lives.”

 

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank

 

Linda, THANK YOU for your continued support!!

Chili’s Fundraiser

Enjoy a meal at Chili’s with family and friends while supporting We Survive’s effort to provide Day of Hope  experiences so that children and families living in poverty, those susceptible to poverty, hunger and homelessness know that someone cares.

Print and bring this voucher with you and 15% of your purchase (before taxes) will go to support a Day of Hope. During a Day of Hope experience, participants are empowered to BELIEVE in the power of having a dream.

 

The 1996 Summer Olympics Torch Relay

IGNITE a Light at Night

UNITE the World with LIGHT

“The 1996 Summer Olympics torch relay  was run from April 27, 1996 until July 19, 1996, prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta… The relay involved over 12,000 torchbearers, including Muhammad Ali, whose lighting of the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony is remembered as one of the most inspiring and emotional moments in Olympic history” – Wikipedia

Being chosen as a torchbearer for the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay was both humbling and an honor.

During a 1996 Olympic event in Louisville, Kentucky, my husband and I met Muhammad Ali. Remembering the stillness that filled the room as Muhammad Ali was accompanied into the ballroom was electrifying. You could feel the energy shift.

Seated behind us, my husband leaned towards me and said he would like to meet Mr. Ali. Someone must have heard him. There was a tap on my husband’s shoulder. As he stood up, Muhammad Ali extended his hand as if they were old friends.

It was a WONDERFUL Memory Moment which made the Olympic Torch Relay and the Summer Olympics that much more personal to us.

In a New York Times Magazine article published SUNDAY, July 7, 1996: The Olympics;Atlanta Needs Flame! Notes From a Long Torch Trip

 

“In 60 years of Olympic torch relays, never have so many carried fire so far.” During its journey, the flame was to cross the bridge from Indiana to Kentucky. The excitement was mounting on that June 5 evening in Louisville, Kentucky as everyone waited for the arrival of the flame at the Riverfront Plaza-Belvedere.

The New York Times further states, “ Just minutes away from a downtown gala, University of Kentucky’s basketball coach, Rick Pitino, is delayed by the F.B.I. while agents investigate a bomb threat against the event.”

Once the all clear was given, the flame arrived and the festive celebratory environment once again erupted.

The flame continued its journey through Louisville the next morning making its way to Atlanta, Georgia.

Seeing the lighting of the cauldron in Atlanta on July 19, 1996, and hearing the song “The Power of the Dream,” the theme song from the 1996 Olympics, the following verse stuck a nerve. “Feel the flame forever burn teaching lessons we must learn, to bring us closer to the power of the dream… The world unites in hope and peace, we pray that it will always be. It is the power of the dream that brings us here.”

Continuing to “feel the flame forever burn,” LIGHTFEST was born from the Olympic Torch Relay. It was originally held at Churchill Downs from 1997 to 2001. Archive Courier-Journal March 24, story of the original LIGHTFEST event by Bill Wolfe stated the “Festival radiates light, hope, dreams and Olympic spirit.”

The re-igniting of LIGHTFEST was kicked off with a reception at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 8 2014, in the area that houses Muhammad Ali’s torch.

LIGHTFEST Re-Ignited  continues to Inspire Hopes and Dreams.

For most, Muhammad Ali is seen as a “Symbol of Hope” throughout the world. He proved that one person can “Be Great and Do Great Things.”

Muhammad Ali, 1942-2016

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”

Many THANKS to Bob Mueller! In reading (his writings) his stories, they are a reflection of his work and his strong belief that there is HOPE.

I especially found the title of this story “The Basic Ingredient of Hope” to be in line with the mission of  We Survive and LIGHTFEST. Bob sums it up so well in this sentence, “Hope is a positive and potent basic ingredient with the power to pull us through difficult times.”

~Sharon Cecil

 

The Basic Ingredient of Hope 

Written by: Bob Mueller, Vice President of Development at Hosparus, Louisville, KY

www.bobmueller.org

 

Turning on a light is my cue to practice hope. When I plant a seed or a bulb, I am reminded to plant hope in my heart. Whenever I meet people who are thrashing about in gloom and doom, I vow to hold up the banner of hope.

Hope is a positive and potent basic ingredient with the power to pull us through difficult times. Hope is the virtue I write and talk about the most and the element most needed in our world. It is usually described with light metaphors – a ray, a beam, a glimmer of hope; the break in the clouds; the light at the end of the dark tunnel. It is often discovered in unexpected places.

Hope can be learned with practice. Certain attitudes support it. One is patience, an ability to tolerate delays, a willingness to let events unfold in their own time. Another is courage, an attitude of confidence even when facing the unknown. A third is persistence, the determination to keep going no matter what happens. We have hope when we can say “All will be well,” and we mean it.

Hope is the basic ingredient of optimism, a tendency to dwell on the best possibilities. It is a frequent companion of another practice – enthusiasm. It, too, is energizing. The greeting “Be of good cheer” puts it well.

But a more common, and very telling expression, is “Hope for the best, but expect the worst.” The more likely outcome, it implies, is the worst. When we are without hope, we easily fall victim to such negativism. When the light of hope is absent, we are overcome by gloom and doom, despair and defeatism.

In terms of personal style, without hope we are easily frustrated and quickly discouraged. We may lack the stamina and nerve to continue struggling against adversity. We are fainthearted. We really do expect the worst.

Places in the Heart is an emotional affecting film about living with hope. It is set in a small Texas town during the 1930. When Edna’s husband, the sheriff, is killed, this vulnerable and passive woman is suddenly faced with the challenge of taking full responsibility for her life and her children’s future. She hires Moze, a black itinerant worker, to plant and harvest a cotton crop on her 40-acre farm. She takes on Mr. Will, a blind man, as a boarder. This extended family is bonded together during a tornado in the biggest challenge of all – harvesting the cotton in time to win the bonus prize for the first crop, money desperately needed to pay the farm’s mortgage.

This is a story about struggling through adversity and being sustained by hope. The closing scene of Places in the Heart takes place in a church during a communion service. It demonstrates in a palpable way how the hope for a better life, one of inclusiveness and reconciliation, extends even beyond the grave.

Rock music is basically a hopeful medium, despite all the lyrics about personal woes and the messes and miseries of the world. When we need a boost, nothing is quite as effective as putting on a pounding rock song and joining in the defiant and hopeful chorus. To see what I mean, listen to these  anthems of hope: “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash, “You Can Make It If You Try” by Sly and the Family Stone and “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor.

Write affirmations to express your hopes for yourself and a better world. Make positive, optimistic statements as often as possible. Be cheerful. This is not being Pollyanna. It is leaving a door open to hope.

 

WE meets Y changing Me to WE

Written by Sharon Cecil

You may not be familiar with organizations that encourage youth to get involved in changing the world. Let me introduce you to YMCA Y-Corps and WE Day.

In 2009, Y-Corps planned a summer mission trip throughout the state of Kentucky. We Survive was the last stop on their week long journey. Drew Caldwell, a YMCA staff member, began preparation for the students at We Survive a week before the students would be doing extensive projects at We Survive headquarters in Bloomfield, KY.

Drew had such passion for his work with the youth and their success. His parents came to help Drew with his efforts in order to have everything that was need ready.

During the June 20, 2009, Y-Corps Mission Trip, my husband Moody and I watched with amazement as this group of youth transformed We Survive’s headquarters into what is now called Haven of Hope.

In the fall of 2009, the First Day of Hope  was made possible due to the work accomplished by Y-Corps efforts.

In 2015, I was introduced to Wendy Sirchio, WE DAY Ambassador and Co-Founder of WE Day Kentucky. I was able to witness INCREDIBLE youth and their willingness to give of themselves, due to the volunteer efforts of a group of youth, Act Out 4 Kids. These young people put in numerous volunteers hours from September 2015 until April 21, to help We Survive promote LIGHTFEST Re-Ignited.

WE Day Kentucky was held on April 21, at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts. We Survive is proud of their presence during We Day Kentucky 2016.

We Survive— Y-Corp—WE Day Connection

The beginning of April, 2016, I received an email from a young woman involved with WE Day, who stated, “I was a student on the first Y-Corps trip to visit Haven of Hope, as well as a part of the group that came back for a visit after the trip. Such a wonderful place to see and a beautiful place to serve! …Haven of Hope is certainly among the most memorable places from my time as a Y-Corps kid.”

A report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Volunteering in the United States News Release says that the number of volunteers are dropping. Since the age range begins at 16 years old and other factors, I have to wonder about the accuracy of this report.

WE Day says we need to change “Me to We.”

Excerpt from Giving

“When we give, we share what we have with others,

It makes life worth living and gives others a smile.

It matters not the size or quantity of the gift imparted,

It’s the loved perceived that makes it all worthwhile.”

It is unfortunate that some organizations would rather not work with younger volunteers. Working with youth is refreshing. They are full of enthusiasm. They want to make a difference in this world.

“Americans who volunteer are also likely to be healthier…There are abundant opportunities to get healthy by volunteering…” ~~ National Get Outdoors Day 

National Get Outdoors Day

If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity, join us at ScenicFest a LIGHTFEST Re-Ignited activity on June 11 for Get Outdoors Day.

For more information email us: [email protected]

In November–Cast a Vote 4Hope

Written by Sharon Cecil

With 2016 being an election year, all forms of media are surrounding us as if they were a wagon train.  This has led to media frenzy. There is commentary everywhere on raised voices, lack of tolerance, bullying, protests, etc. Multiple issues such as joblessness, healthcare, taxes, and so much more are a great concern to Americans.

What can we do to come together and show our support for the future of America?

How can one person make a difference?

It takes one person with an idea connecting with a community.  You can read Florence Nightingale’s story to see how she made a tremendous difference.

How can I cast a vote for Hope?

November 5, LIGHTFEST Re-Ignited
Shine a Light of HOPE

November 8,  Election Day
Be sure to VOTE

November 5, 2016 LIGHT UP!

We ask that on November 5, at 6pm Eastern Time, wherever you are around the world, display a Light of Hope.  It can be a porch light, candle, cell phone or flashlight…spread the word to friends and family.  This can be done as a group or individually.  You can do your activity on November 5 or anytime throughout the year.  Contact us at [email protected] for more information.