Internet Geek Girl

A few weeks ago I was introduced to the Bob Woodruff Foundation and their fund raising effort TweetToRemind, a campaign focused on raising $1.65 MM by Memorial Day.  This money will be used to help service members get the help they need as they integrate back to society.

As you know, I believe in the power of social media and in particular Twitter and Facebook to help energize others for good. People like Chris Brogan, Missy Ward, Shira Lazar (and let’s not forget Ashton Kutcher)  have mobilized online to support a variety of charities.

Today, Bob Woodruff challenged us to answer a simple question – Who Are Your Heroes? For me, heroes are volunteers. People that spend their time and efforts on behalf of helping others and who do it for free. It can be committing to regular, small, random acts of kindness toward strangers; helping out at your local church, school or charitable organization; or even online efforts like this one and those listed above to help raise money and awareness for a good cause!

My best friend since 5th grade, Amy Callahan, is one of those volunteers and my greatest hero. Amy lost her fiance on 9/11 and took that sadness and pain and did two things: a) built a camp for children who lost parents and relatives during 9/11 and b) built a beautiful life for herself and rose up from the ashes and found love. Both are equally important to me. Until we learn to care for ourselves, we cannot care for others.

Regardless of how you feel about the war in Iraq (or war in general) there is no denying the sacrifice and effort military personnel provide on behalf of American citizens and our ideals. I know it is so depressing and hard to hear all the sad stories and read statistics on death and killing.   I often feel like I don’t know what I can do to help. As we gear up for the kick off to summer and zero in on our Memorial Weekend plans, I’d like to suggest a small way you can get involved – donate dollars and tweets!

I am using TipJoy to give $5.25 per day leading up until Memorial Day (which is on 5/25). Won’t you join me in giving either through PayPal or TipJoy?

P.S. Big Thanks to Rick Calvert at Blog World Expo

I don’t always know the exact contacts to make something happen. But rest assured, I know the person that knows the right people.  So when it came to supporting TweetToRemind, I reached out to my good friend Rick Calvert of Blog World Expo.  Rick has been a long time supporter of the online community supporting military personnel, their families and friends – the “Mil bloggers.” Thanks to all of his contacts that energized their networks.  I look forward to meeting you all in Vegas in October!

I like to write on planes.  Cranking the iTunes on my MacBook.  I am on a plane today.  7 years ago, all the airports were shut down. In fact, my whole city was pretty much shut down, except for the bars and restaurants. I remember very little except drowning our deep, unfathomable sorrow together in East Village.

Since that day, there have been other “9/11s” when I have sat around my house and cried, gone to memorials. A day of mourning.

Today I’m on a plane, going to a conference sitting next to a woman who speaks very little English. I speak no Spanish unfortunately. But she is wonderful to talk to and has a very nice smile. We’ve managed to learn a little bit about each other. She was born in Puerto Rico and currently lives in Manchester, NH and is visiting her daughter in Orlando.

My friend Steve Rosenbaum is a story teller. He has helped us to define what it means to be part of the 9/11 Generation. As Steve points out:

Each of us has a personal story, memories and feelings that we’ve pushed into a corner. The drumbeat to ‘move on’ is natural, perhaps essential. But I’d gently suggest that you make sure that your story isn’t lost or forgotten, as both historians and your grandchildren will hunger for it one day.

I actually do have stories.  But I don’t feel like telling them here. What I do want to point out is that we owe it to ourselves and the world to develop more successful domestic and foreign policies that safeguard our nation and our people from the horrors of terrorism. That’s what I want our leaders to focus on!  PHILIP BOBBITT and JOHN C. DANFORTH did a great job in the NYT Op Ed piece on 9/11 providing a list of questions on this issues that both Obama and McCain should answer. I wish they would.

I realize I’m just an InternetGeekGirl trying to make her way in the world. Today was not a 9/11 full of mourning for me. It has been pretty much business as usual. But September 11th is different and always will be.  I will always stop on this day, and find gratitude and peace.  As I always do, I focus on hope for the future, and send love to the many people who suffered from that great tragedy.

Photo credit: (CC) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com and bub.blicio.us (who took this picture while he was walking around NYC on 9/11/08 finding his own moment of silence and gratitude).

Steve Rosenbaum of Magnify.net posted a beautiful remembrance of 9/11.

I will never forget that day. It is hard to put into words how I feel about 9/11, having lived a few miles away from Ground Zero and having personally lost friends. It’s also hard for me to think about all the anger and bitterness in the world and how violence begets violence. I understand anger, but I feel better when I see examples of people that took that anger and channeled it into something good. Someone like Amy Callahan and her family.

Amy Callahan, my best friend for 25 years, lost her fiance Scott Hazelcorn on that day. Amy is being featured on The Oprah Show today, highlighted for her hard work creating Camp Better Days, a camp for children that lost parents and loved ones on 9/11. On Oprah’s site, Amy stated:

“A few weeks before [the attacks], [Scott] and my brother and I had a conversation about starting a camp for kids in need,” she says. “I had no idea at the time that it would have been these kids.” To help ease her grief, Amy says she threw all her energy into the camp. “It gave me a purpose,” she says.

For Amy and the hard-working staff and supporters of Camp Better Days – It’s about the kids!!!

Since 9/11 I have come to believe strongly in the power of compassion, love and gratitude. I pray that each of us take small steps to incorporate more compassion, love and gratitude into our lives. I am inspired by the children who, despite the horrific loss of their parents, are able to forgive. If they can do it, can’t we?