My father once told me that the shorter distance between two places is a straight line. Geometry taught me the same thing.
They are on to something.
Time to change the world for the better.
I'm so proud of our first month's participants. They have really shined. I'm so happy that they are part of the first alumni for Get Up, Give Back. They truly are examples of what you need to do to not only help youself, but help others.
To Bethany and Dave: You are amazing. I wish you the best on your future wellness/fitness regimines and hope that you continue using what you learned about yourself in Get Up, Give Back so you can teach others about it. I'm honored to have you complete the first month. You are a part of history now.
Total Fitness: 90 miles walked/ran Amount Raised: $60 Charity that the money will go to: American Heart Association
I will match Bethany's total to give to my foundation of the month, the It Gets Better Project.
CONGRATS BETHANY AND DAVE!!!!!!!
I will make the donations on their behalf in the next few days and will tweet a screenshot for completion.
Before we welcome September's participants, here's the Reader's Digest version of the Get Up, Give Back challenge.
Get Up, Give Back is a program that will be in my first non-profit organization, Big Hearts. The idea is simple: Each month, two participants are tasked with working out. Each day, they report what they did. For each reported day, they receive $2.50 for the organization of their choice. At the end of the month, I will donate that amount to the charity. It’s a win-win situation. They win for working out. The charity wins by getting a donation.
About the Charity: To promote, encourage and facilitate progress in the understanding and management of chronic idiopathic and secondary intracranial hypertension (IH). For patients, provide a support system, educational programs and communication tools. For physicians and scientists, sponsor research in basic and clinical sciences, education, training and patient care programs in the U.S. and worldwide.
Charity: Alzheimer's Assoication (Donation will be to a 5K she is going to end this month's challenge with. Click here if you'd like to also sponsor her.)
About the Charity: The mission of the Alzheimer's Association is to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. The vision of the Association is a world without Alzheimer's disease.
About the Charity:The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is a United States-based association working to fight the consequences of diabetes, and to help those affected by diabetes. The Association funds research to manage, cure and prevent diabetes (including type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, and pre-diabetes); delivers services to hundreds of communities; and provides information for both patients and health care professionals.
To Bethany and Dave, thank you for making this world a better place for you and others. To Christa and Theresa, time to shine. Let's make a difference to ourselves and the community.
And to all reading, why don't you join us and Get Up, Give Back.
We can all make a difference! We are all changing ourselves and the future.
It's a great thing when you get a chance to give back to the community that you are a part of. Whether its publicity for the organization through re-tweets or messages, some volunteer time or just a quick financial donation, you are doing so much to help the world that you love. It helps define who you are and what you are passionate about. And it shows true growth. You can now not only love yourself, but love countless others. I enjoy being part of many communities and give to many different causes. My dream is to save the world. And I think giving to the community is a great start.
Get Up, Give Back is a program that will be in my first non-profit organization, Big Hearts. The idea is simple: Each month, two participants are tasked with working out. Each day, they report what they did. For each reported day, they receive $2.50 for the organization of their choice. At the end of the month, I will donate that amount to the charity. It’s a win-win situation. They win for working out. The charity wins by getting a donation.
I wanted to give you an update of this month’s progress, as we get started for the September challenge.
1. Dave LeBlanc - Primary Get Up, Give Back Reporting - Walking Distance 2. Bethany Vale - Primary Get Up, Give Back Reporting - Calories Burned
As of 8/22/11, Dave has walked approximately 50 miles so far! He has already raised $35 for the American Heart Association!
As of 8/22/11, Bethany has burned 57,000 calories! She has already raised $45 for the ASPCA!
Additional activities that they have also done include: stair-climbing, yard work, house-cleaning, exercising and even dancing!
I'm so proud of them. We are in the home stretch this week. Between the two of them, they have done so much for themselves and also are preparing for making a nice donation to their causes.
It's a honor for them to represent Big Hearts! They are taking their health into their own hands and also getting a chance to help out some wonderful organizations. I'm so glad that they are not waiting until tomorrow to make a difference to themselves and the world today!
I'll do a final report at the end of the month, when also introducting September's participants!
I'll leave you tonight with a parting thought: You are a product of your beliefs, wisdom and experience. Turn that product into a wise investment for others to enjoy. That's the way to live and love in life.
Welcome to the August Get Up, Give Back Challenge!
I'm so excited that this is finally here and we get a chance to change the world. Here's the background of the challenge I created, for those that are new to the blog:
About a year ago, I auditioned for NBC's Biggest Loser. While I did not get cast, I began to think, "I might as well save the world before I get cast. And when that time comes, I'll just be even more ready to save the world." So, out of that experience, I started a dream. I have a dream of starting a non-profit organization called Big Hearts.
This organization will assist through advocacy and wellness to help those that are needy of financial assistance, supplies and clothes. While I complete the paperwork process, I wanted to find a way to not only improve my health, but also have others do the same, while all finding a way to give back to the community. From that dream, Get Up, Give Back was born.
I'm not a rich man. I have many things going on in my life, including an ailing family, job transferring and the ever-lasting battle for human equal rights. But, I always feel that you should pay it forward. You should always do something good for you and also for someone else.
Get Up, Give Back is simple. I pick 2 Twitter friends (I don't like the word "follwers") that want to participate. During the month they are assigned, we have a task: Work out. That's it. Just work out each day. Go running, jogging, hit up a gym, do weights, walk the dog, complete a nature walk, do yardwork. Just something that makes us more fit. They tweet me daily to let me know where they are at. I track the days. At the end of the month, I tally up the workout tweets and for each day, they are given $2.50. The total is then donated to the charity of their choice.
So, we get healthy, save ourselves and save others at the same time. It costs them nothing but time to work out. I don't have tons of cash, but I do have a heart of gold. This is how you pay it foward. This is doing something finally bigger than me. I'm so glad you've decided to join me for this journey! Let's do this! TIME TO GET UP, GIVE BACK!
About the Charity:The American Heart Association (AHA) is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The American Heart Association is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is: "Building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke." The American Heart Association publishes a standard for providing basic and advanced life support, including standards for proper performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The AHA offers the most widely accepted certification for basic life support (BLS). The AHA is now also a provider of training for first aid, in addition to CPR.
About the Charity: The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing cruelty towards animals. Based in New York City since its inception in 1866, the organization's mission is "to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States." Additionally, the ASPCA provides relief services for the domestic animal victims of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, where the National Outreach department collected donations to provide supplies; coordinated volunteer efforts; deployed rescue teams to recover abandoned pets; provided temporary shelter to displaced animals; and reunited pets with their owners.
About the Charity: It Gets Better is an Internet-based project founded by Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller on September 21, 2010, in response to the suicide of Billy Lucas and a number of other teenagers who were bullied because they were gay or because their peers suspected that they were gay, such as Raymond Chase, Tyler Clementi, Ryan Halligan, Asher Brown, and Seth Walsh. Its goal is to prevent suicide among LGBT youth by having gay adults convey the message that these teens' lives will improve.The project has grown rapidly: over 200 videos were uploaded in the first week, and the project's YouTube channel reached the 650 video limit in the next week. The project is now organized on its own website, the It Gets Better Project, and includes more than 22,000 entries from people of all sexual orientations, including many celebrities. A book of essays from the project was released in March 2011. It Gets Better is a beneficiary of The Trevor Project and GLSEN.
Well, those are our participants for this month. Wish them luck as they do something very awesome. They are changing the world. And themselves. Today is the end of day one, and each of us have done a work-out. That's $2.50 for everyone! Look for more updates and testimonies as the month continues!
Here's to Dave and Bethany! They have the eye of the tiger! Good luck and thank you for deciding to Get Up, Give Back!
At what point in your day do you do something that is bigger than yourself?
At what moment do you think that you're doing something better than what not only people expect, but you expect?
At what moment do you think that you've not only made a difference to yourself, but also to the world?
I try to have those moments all the time. In my job, I get to inspire others and help others with job skills and information to assist them daily. That's my job, though. There is a part of me that is infused with charity, though. A part of me that always wants to do just a little more for someone. A part of me that wants to give back to the community and to those that need help.
I regularly assist in drives, fund-raising activities and support with several organizations. A few to name are March of Dimes, AIDS Foundation Houston, It Gets Better, Lupus Foundation and the Trevor Project. While it's not bragged everything I do, I commonly donate time and money to these groups because they do something that's bigger than themselves: they help us. I don't have leisurely time to donate, but I do my best. Why? They help me realize that life is more than JUST me. It's more than when I'm upset while I'm stuck in traffic. It's more than when I'm mad that they are sold out of my favorite type of lemonade at the store. They teach me that we have a greater purpose. We need to help each other and those that can't help themselves so much. It's helped me realize who I am, what I need to do, and why this journey I'm on is so important.
I've always helped out others. Ever since my parents started getting ill, I've always tried to give every once of energy to their needs and happiness. If anyone ever needs a dollar, I'm the first one to sacrifice my money to do so. If anyone needs help with anything, I'm always the first to volunteer and see it to the end. That's who I am. And that's the reason why my journey is important. I am learning to put myself in that same importance to helping others. I'm looking for the right way to not only save the world, but save myself.
And I want you to experience that as well. Tonight, I introduce a monthly challenge to help guide my fitness, your fitness AND charity at the same time.
Introducting GET UP, GIVE BACK.
Challenge Information: Cycle: 1 challenge per month Number of participants: 2 Announcements: Twitter
Details: Each month, I will ask on Twitter for those that are interested in participating. I will keep track of these names. At the beginning of the month, I will pick 2 people out using an online random name selection process. They will be tasked toGET UP, GIVE BACK.
Now, I love sponsoring events. It's something I really enjoy. It gives me a chance to contribute to a foundation or charity that I might not be familiar with and also to expand my mind. I deal with so many in my life, that I sometimes love hearing what makes you passionate. What causes do you fight for?
Here's where you come in.
During the month that you're in the challenge, your task is to work out. That's it. Just work out each day. Go running, jogging, hit up a gym, do weights, walk the dog, complete a nature walk, do yardwork. Just something that makes you more fit.
Every day that you workout and let me know via Twitter (day of), I will associate $2.50 to your name. At the end of the month, that amount of money will be sponsored by me, in YOUR honor, to the charity of YOUR choice.
Yup. YOUR CHOICE.
Of course, there are a FEW rules that I want to have. The charity has to be established and has to be able to accept electronic donations. And this is honor system reporting. I don't need screenshots or anything, but be honest. :). Don't think you're taking my money. It's going to a cause. And you're getting healthy in the process. I wouldn't have it any other way.
I will be participating monthly as well. This way, I'm helping myself by working out, you're helping yourself by working out and we're helping the community by you picking a charity that needs help and I will sponsor a donation on your behalf to that group based on YOUR workouts.
It's a win-win-win situation, if you ask me.
If you're interested in being a participant in the challenge, let me know you via Twitter. Just let me know once. I'll keep a running tab, Also, let me know what charity you are looking to help. I am looking to start this in August 2011. Either reply to a tweet or DM me. And on the 1st of the month, I'll announce the participant and feature him/her and their charity in my blog and tweets as updates become available.
Are you ready to Get Up, Give Back? I know I am. Let's do this. Let's make a difference. Change your life and the lives of others around you.
You get one shot at life. Why not spend some of it making it better for others?
