Your brakes fail and your car plunges from a pier into a February-frigid harbor. You are thrown to safety but your four-month old daughter, trapped in her car seat, drowns. Four years after that horror, you return from a trip to the shore and lift your four-month-old son from his carrier only to realize he's dead, too, a victim of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Twenty-two years later, your 25-year old son drowns while swimming in a Malawi, Africa lake. How do you survive that first death, never mind the second, or the third? Ask Mags Riordan of County Kerry, Ireland. Only the blessing of her son Billy, the boy who later drowned, carried Mags through those first two deaths. Her reaction to Billy's loss caused Mags to do something beyond simple survival, though - it caused her to do something transformative, and remarkable. Returning to Malawi on the one-year anniversary of Billy's death, she saved the life of a local boy who would otherwise have died from a simple infection, and realized the desperate need for a medical clinic. With virtually no relevant experience, medical or otherwise, Mags founded a clinic that to date has saved and transformed the lives of tens of thousands of Malawians. If any of us wonders "What can one person do?" we need only look to Mags Riordan as a living, breathing example of someone who put aside her despair, and her comfort zone, in an effort to help and heal, proving the world truly can be changed, even by just two hands, and one single broken heart.

Select students and teachers worked the room at a fundraising event for a New York City public high school Amy Brown calls College Preparatory Academy. It was their job to convince wealthy attendants that College Prep, with its largely minority and disadvantaged student body and its unusually high rate of graduation and college acceptance, was a worthy investment. To this end, students and teachers tried to seem needy and deserving, hoping to make supporters feel generous, important, and not threatened. How much, Brown asks, does competition for financing in urban public schools depend on marketing and perpetuating poverty in order to thrive? And are the actors in this drama deliberately playing up stereotypes of race and class? A Good Investment? offers a firsthand look behind the scenes of the philanthropic approach to funding public education-a process in which social change in education policy and practice is aligned with social entrepreneurship. The appearance of success, equity, or justice in education, Brown argues, might actually serve to maintain stark inequalities and inhibit democracy. Her book shows that models of corporate or philanthropic charity in education can in fact reinforce the race and class hierarchies that they purport to alleviate. As their voices reveal, the teachers and students on the receiving end of such a system can be critically conscious and ambivalent participants in a school's racialized marketing and image management. Timely and provocative, this nuanced work exposes the unintended consequences of an education marketplace where charity masquerades as justice.

"A Daily Difference" demonstrates how easy it can be for "ordinary" people to make charitable giving part of their daily routine. This book contains dozens of real-life stories from people who have made small daily changes that have resulted in huge sums of money being raised for charities. The short stories in this book will appeal to people of all ages and walks of life. Zachmeier's writing style makes it easy to connect with the people in each story and empathize with their challenges. The innovative fundraising ideas and heart-warming outcomes summon a range of emotions to inspire readers to become more involved in helping others. The stories carry a common thread; those who take the time to make a difference are themselves blessed with abundance. The charitable efforts of two Make-A-Wish "wish kids" should inspire children everywhere to follow suit. "A Daily Difference" promotes a life-style you can adopt, enjoy, and pass on as a legacy to your children You don't have to be wealthy to make a difference - just willing.

Rebuilding Community after Katrina chronicles the innovative and ambitious partnership between Cornell University's City and Regional Planning department and ACORN Housing, an affiliate of what was the nation's largest low-income community organization. These unlikely allies came together to begin to rebuild devastated neighborhoods in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The editors and contributors to this volume allow participants' voices to show how this partnership integrated careful, technical analysis with aggressive community outreach and organizing. With essays by activists, organizers, community members, and academics on the ground, Rebuilding Community after Katrina presents insights on the challenges involved in changing the way politicians and analysts imagined the future of New Orleans' Ninth Ward. What emerges from this complex drama are lessons about community planning, organizational relationships, and team building across multi-cultural lines. The accounts presented in Rebuilding Community after Katrina raise important and sensitive questions about the appropriate roles of outsiders in community-based planning processes.

In this richly revealing biography of a major, but little-known, American businessman and philanthropist, Peter M. Ascoli brings to life a portrait of Julius Rosenwald, the man and his work. The son of first-generation German Jewish immigrants, Julius Rosenwald, known to his friends as "JR," apprenticed for his uncles, who were major clothing manufacturers in New York City. It would be as a men's clothing salesperson that JR would make his fateful encounter with Sears, Roebuck and Company, which he eventually fashioned into the greatest mail order firm in the world. He also founded Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. And in the American South Rosenwald helped support the building of the more than 5,300 schools that bore his name. Yet the charitable fund he created during World War I went out of existence in 1948 at his expressed wish. Ascoli provides a fascinating account of Rosenwald's meteoric rise in American business, but he also portrays a man devoted to family and with a desire to help his community that led to a lifelong devotion to philanthropy. He tells about Rosenwald's important philanthropic activities, especially those connected with the Rosenwald schools and Booker T. Washington, and later through the Rosenwald Fund. Ascoli's account of Rosenwald is an inspiring story of hard work and success, and of giving back to the nation in which he prospered.

The Peace Corps/Honduras program has six primary projects: business development, child survival and HIV/AIDS prevention, water and sanitation, protected areas management, youth development, and municipal development. We collaborate with the government of Honduras, Honduran and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and communities throughout the country. Our program works in concert with the poverty-reduction strategy developed by Honduras and the international donor community. This type of integrated community development program makes Peace Corps/Honduras a traditional post in many ways. Community development and integrated rural development have been around conceptually for at least 40 years and were especially popular from the mid-1960s until about the late 1970s. We all have learned a lot since then about human capital, social capital, dependency and empowerment, and sustainability. We know that development takes a long time, with consistent work in an auspicious setting, which we do our best to provide through excellent site selection. Despite the traditional appearance, Peace Corps/Honduras' approach to, and work in, HIV/AIDS prevention, municipal development, business and information technology, protected areas management, and youth development put us very much in the vanguard of Peace Corps programming worldwide. Our objective as community development facilitators is not to teach the people of Honduras -American values but to help them help themselves within their own cultural framework.

Finally, a comprehensive resource for Friends of the Library groups to use to design programming intended to invite ALL segments of the community into the library. Inside, you'll find information about advertising, overcoming obstacles, setting up a Teen Council, as well as 201+ "recipes" for programs, series, library exposure and fundraising. The ideas and plans presented can be scaled up, scaled down, or modified to suit individual needs. They can also be utilized by civic organizations, schools, churches, community centers, or anyone else seeking to get people together for fun, entertainment and education.

The Peace Corps was invited to El Salvador and sent its first Volunteers in 1962. During the next 15 years, more than 1,500 Volunteers worked in 15- 20 sectors, serving primarily as project partners to government agencies and offices. In 1980, increasing violence prior to the civil war led the Peace Corps to close its offices. The destruction of economic and social infrastructure during the war sent El Salvador back to 1950s levels in most economic and social indicators. A 1986 earthquake destroyed much of what the war did not, especially in San Salvador. Moreover, widespread migration led to the breakdown of many social and family institutions and particularly affected youth and the environment. The government of El Salvador invited the Peace Corps to return to El Salvador in 1993. The first Volunteers arrived later that year. They were asked to increase the capacity of local people in several priority areas identified by the government and later affirmed by civil society in the Plan de Nacion, or National Plan, presented in 2000. The National Plan is a blueprint for national development, and Peace Corps programming is consistent with its priorities. The role of Peace Corps Volunteers remains to build capacity for local people and institutions.

The Peace Corps entered Cameroon in 1962 with 20 Volunteers who served as math and science teachers. Peace Corps/Cameroon's program grew and diversified to include inland fisheries, credit union and cooperatives education, English, community forestry, health and sanitation, and community development. Since then, more than 3,200 Volunteers have served in Cameroon. Currently, there are five robust projects in Cameroon: education, community health, environment, community economic development and youth development. The common themes that run through all Peace Corps/Cameroon projects are impact, focus, counterpart involvement, Volunteer competence, and organizational professionalism. Through collaboration and good teamwork, the Peace Corps has made a difference in many aspects of life in Cameroon, one community at a time. History and Future of Peace Corps Programming in Cameroon: Peace Corps programs directly respond to development priorities of the Cameroonian government. For example, the Community Health Project was recently redesigned to focus on maternal and child health and HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation areas in order to assist Cameroon in its achievement of Millennium Development Goals. Although Volunteers are placed throughout all 10 regions of Cameroon, not every project is represented in every region. Each project concentrates on a few of the regions to maximize Volunteer impact and effectiveness.

Times have changed since the First Lady Dona Alejandrina Bermudez de Villeda Morales accompanied the first training class of Peace Corps Volunteers to Honduras in 1962. Over the past 40+ years, more than 5,000 Volunteers have served in Honduras in a wide range of project areas, including health, fisheries, beekeeping, animal husbandry, special education, vocational education, small business, and agriculture. Project areas and the number of Volunteers have changed in response to the changing needs of the country. Projects such as fisheries, beekeeping, and education were phased out as Honduran people and institutions developed the capacity to continue the work on their own. Other projects, such as municipal development, HIV/AIDS prevention, and business development, have been initiated or have evolved with technological advances, increased globalization of world markets, and other developments. In response to the crisis caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, the number of Volunteers in Honduras increased dramatically, and in the early 2000s there were approximately 225 Volunteers. Today an average of 180 to 200 Volunteers work throughout Honduras, except in the Bay Islands and La Mosquitia.

History of the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso The Peace Corps entered Burkina Faso, then called Upper Volta, in 1966. Programs included small enterprise development, education, agriculture, and environment. In 1987, Peace Corps ceased operations in Burkina Faso due to the government's development policies no longer aligning with Peace Corps goals. After a change in government administration and policies, the Peace Corps was invited back to Burkina Faso in 1995 to begin a health program. Programs in education and small enterprise development were established in 1996 and 2003, respectively. Currently, nearly 150 Volunteers work throughout the country. Approximately 2,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in Burkina Faso to date. History and Future of Peace Corps Programming in Burkina Faso Peace Corps/Burkina Faso works within three program areas: health, education, and community economic development. These projects were recently revised, taking into account the country's needs and the comparative advantage of using Volunteers. Health Volunteers' primary responsibilities are to work in close collaboration with local health clinic staff to raise awareness on topics such as maternal and child health, malaria, hygiene, nutrition, family planning, and HIV/AIDS for people living in their communities. Education Volunteers use participatory student-centered approaches to teach math, science, information, and communication technologies, and life skills....

This is the inspirational story of how an older Australian couple, Trish Clark and Iain Finlay...both authors in their seventies... built a proper road to a remote and impoverished village in Northern Laos. While working on an internet project of their own in Luang Prabang, the World Heritage-Listed former Royal Capital of Laos, they befriended a young waiter, Chanthy, who was studying at night school. They began helping him, first with his English, then with his college fees and accommodation. His parents, relatively poor subsistence rice famers, pleased at this unexpected boost for their son, asked Trish and Iain to visit their village, NaLin, about three hours south of Luang Prabang, down the Mekong River, or four hours by dirt road. After a brief weekend stay in the village, during which they were treated to a traditional baci ceremony in their honor, they came away wondering what they could do to help the villagers, whose average daily earnings were little more than three dollars. At the time there was no electricity, no running water...except for that from a mountain stream to three or four outlets in the village, no health facilities, no proper sewerage system and a fairly under-resourced primary school. But worst of all, a shocking five kilometer quagmire of a track was all that provided the only connection to the outside world in the rainy season, either to the Mekong River, or to another dirt road in slightly better condition, leading to the District Center of Muang Nan. So Trish and Iain decided to try to tackle something in which they had absolutely no knowledge or expertise. They decided to build a proper road to the village of NaLin. This book traces more than two years of the trials and tribulations experienced in their efforts to raise funds in Australia and elsewhere in order to build the road...of the setbacks and disappointments as expected sources of funding did not eventuate or dropped away...of elation when generous donors came up with substantial, no-strings-attached contributions...of optimism as they engaged a Lao senior Roads Engineer to carry out a preliminary GPS-based assessment and a survey of the road...but also of caution as they made first contact with Lao government bureaucracy in the form of the Department of Public Works and Transportation, as well as with a road building contractor who undertook to build the road into, through and beyond NaLin village. Throughout all of this, as Trish and Iain shuttled back and forth between Australia and Laos, the young Chanthy, now working as a salesmen in a Luang Prabang handicraft shop...his English improving all the while...became the linch-pin of the whole project, working with his father, as well as the village headmen...not only of NaLin village but of two other even poorer villages, Houayhe and Phujong, further up the track, which were keen to benefit from the planned improvements to the road. Then, in early May 2013, they finally had enough money in their fund to do the job, and a contractor who could do it. So on May 9th, after a flight to Laos and an all-day session signing contracts in the Department of Public Works in Muang Nan, the big equipment; an excavator, a grader, two 10-ton trucks and a water truck rolled out on to the road to NaLin and began work. But there was drama developing, as a replacement for a broken part on another piece of equipment, the heavy roller, did not arrive and all the work done on the road was threatened by the fast approaching wet season rains. But when a replacement roller is found and leased from another company, the work resumes and the road is finished on time, just before the rains set in. With a traditional baci ceremony to thank the spirits of the netherworld, there are celebrations all round, as smiling villagers take in their new road and the changes it will bring for them. A small project... a world of difference.