At 9AM, Monday through Friday, for six weeks this summer, something magical happens at Beyond Housing’s Pagedale Family Support Center. This is the time that the children in our summer camp program do Harambee. Harambee means ‘coming together’ and for thirty minutes they, as the Children’s Defense Fund describes it, “celebrate and affirm the value of each participant and prepare for the work and learning ahead”. This celebration is performed with songs and chants and is as uplifting and energizing an event as you can imagine.

 

The magic of Harambee is fifty children and six college ‘Servant Leaders’ celebrating who they are and the endless possibilities of their lives. They sing about being strong, being positive, setting goals, having dreams, working hard and taking care of each other. The Servant Leaders spend a week learning how important they are in setting an example for the children in their care. They are truly real-life role models and understand that they must bring energy and enthusiasm to the program each and every day. 

 

The children...

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It’s about 11:00PM on Wednesday, March 31st and as I think back upon my hectic day today and it occurred to me that I am so fortunate to have so many relationships that truly matter. This is true in my personal as well as professional life. Let me see if I can chronicle my day for you and convey the great relationships that I am lucky to have.

 

5:15 AM

The alarm sounds and it is time to start my day. My very first relationships of just about everyday, due to their proximity to me after the alarm sounds, are with my dog Rocky and Oliver, one of my two cats. They both jump up on the bed and ask to be pet in some form or fashion. Both will stay with me as long as I want to pet them. For other pet owners, you know how strong relationships can be with your animals – mostly unconditional as long as they get fed or, in the case of Rocky just throw him his tennis ball. Before I get out of bed, I gently kiss the cheek of my wife, my soulmate and my most important relationship – Christine.



5:20 AM

I eat my breakfast bar, drink my coffee and workout in my family room watching TV. I stretch and lift weights and, as the weather gets better, I will ride...

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Incomprehensible devastation.  Incomprehensible sorrow.   Unimaginable suffering.  Unimaginable loss.  Haiti, Tuesday, January 12, 2010.

Today, television crews pack up and head home. Today, the next “big” story is now the news. Today, families and children in Haiti still suffer mightily.

Today, don't move on with your normal life. Today, stop and count your blessings. Today, give something to help; give a piece of your heart. Today, act as if failure to help our Haitian brothers and sisters is not an option.

Tomorrow, do it all again!

Wednesday night, January 20th, I took my dog for our usual nightly walk around 9PM.  The fog that enveloped St. Louis for about three days lay heavy on the roof tops of all the homes I can usually see so clearly.  It was an eerie feeling.  As we walked, the street lights glowed through the fog as I imagine lighthouses do on the shoreline for ships seeking safe harbor.  This visual of a bright light reminded me of a recent article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review that talked about positive things that occur in seemingly difficult situations and how these bright lights need to be examined, understood and then replicated. ...

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As I thought about this past year and how I would describe it to you this evening, two different things came to mind...my English lit class from high school and Confucius. I will say that again, as I thought about this past year and how I would describe it to you this evening two different things came to mind...my English lit class from high school and Confucius. In my English lit class, we read the classic Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities. Now I will be honest and say I have vague recollections about the story. I know it is set in the time of the French Revolution. While I am being honest, it is very likely that I may have purchased the Cliff Notes for the novel as well. What I do clearly remember is how the book begins. The very first sentence is as follows; "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair." At the time, I liked the languag; but, I remember thinking to myself how can it be both the best and worst of times simultaneously.

 

Well, 2009 for us at Beyond Housing certainly can be described as living through the best and worst of times....

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I recently read Mitch Albom’s latest book, “Have a Little Faith” and a particular passage has stayed in mind. The book chronicles Albom’s personal journey about his faith through parallel relationships with his long time rabbi and a convict turned preacher in a troubled Detroit neighborhood. The passage that I can’t seem to get way from was an excerpt from a sermon of the rabbi that went as follows;

“A military chaplain told me the following story: A soldier’s little girl, whose father was being move to a distant post, was sitting at the airport amount her family’s belongings. The girl was sleepy. She leaned against the packs and duffel bags. A lady came by, stopped, and patted her on the head. Poor child, she said. You haven’t got a home. The child looked up in surprise. But we do have a home she said. We just don’t have a house to put it in.”

The greatest clarity and grace seems to come from children so often. This passage continues to make me think of the all the homeless children here in St. Louis and all across the country that are simply looking, hoping to find a house to put their home in. What a simple request – I just want a place to call to home. How is it that we have collectively let this simple request go unanswered over and over again? How is it that we allow executives of failed financial institutions walk away with hundreds of millions of dollars but we cannot find the resources to tell that child here is house to put your home in? How is it that we can spend billions of dollars on wars but cannot find the resources to tell that child here is house to put your home in. How is it that we all will give thanks this holiday for what we all have, pray for those who suffer but come next Monday fall back into our normal routines and forget about that child who is looking for a house to put his home into?

...

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On September 20th, 1993, I started this job as Executive Director and I am now President/CEO of Beyond Housing.  Back then, we were called Ecumenical Housing Production Corporation and, as the name implies, we had strong roots in the faith community. The original notion was to have people of all faiths come together to produce much-needed, affordable housing.  I was 31 years old, with a great deal of enthusiasm; but, not much experience. My biggest worry at leading this well-respected organization was to not “drop the ball” that was handed me by the Board of Directors and the retiring founding Executive Director, Lynn Broeder. Lynn was a dynamic and charismatic leader who grew the organization out of, yes, a church basement to its well-respected place. She had cultivated the strong ties to the faith community that we still enjoy today.

One thing that gave me pause back in those early days of my career was the tagline on the bottom of our letterhead.  It was a biblical quote from Micah. It read, “Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God”. At this stage of my life and career, I just didn’t see the value of the quote professionally or personally.  Although I was raised in...

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So many problems in our world today seem so daunting, so big, so overwhelming that individually we cannot determine what to do. Sometimes, we ask ourselves, “What can I do that will really make a difference?” Sometimes, we become so accustomed to the problem that we simply don’t realize it still exists and that the solution may be right in front of us. I want to share two stories about just trying to make a difference.

The first story about trying to do the little things is about a tenant who lives in one of our single family rental homes. Her name is Gwen. Throughout the year, I go out with staff and see our mission first hand. We visited Gwen at her home. The staff person with me was our case worker who works with our families. She introduced me to Gwen and we began a conversation about a variety of things in Gwen’s life from work, children, the home itself and anything else that was important. Gwen mentioned she was studying, again, to get her GED. She said she had failed it three times before; but, only by a few points in math the last time. She works at a nursing home; but, needs her GED to continue her training to get a certificate to be a licensed practical nurse. 

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Leadership and courage are traits that are hard to come by in individuals and even harder in groups.  Further, leadership and courage are even more difficult to find when times are hard and these two traits are more in need than ever.  The organization I have the privilege of leading from a staff perspective, Beyond Housing, just held our annual strategic planning session on Saturday, September 12th.   Our mission is to strengthen neighborhoods, one family at a time and this already difficult task has gotten that much harder due to the recent economic downturn.  More and more families come to us each and everyday asking for our help in finding a place to live, help to prevent them from losing their home due to foreclosure, help to repair their existing home, help to provide support in the daily struggle to live with the weight of poverty on their shoulders.  The sad irony of this increased need for our mission delivery comes at time, due to the economic downturn, when we are anticipating a 30% decrease in charitable giving in 2009 from 2008.  This 30% equates to around $300,000.

 

In the context of this challenging time, we held our strategic planning session.  In the context...

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In small and large ways, being there for children can truly make a difference.

I normally use this space to solely talk about the work of Beyond Housing and all the issues the families and communities we serve face each and every day. This time I will do something a little different. 

As I write this, I am the only person on a small beach at 5:45 a.m. in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. The beach is in Door County and on a peninsula with Lake Michigan to the east and Green Bay (the bay, not the city) to the west of where I sit. The sun is slowly rising over the water...bright and streaking across the gentle waves toward me. The water rhythmically comes ashore giving me the soundtrack to my morning.

There are several sailboats anchored not too far in the distance. The air is crisp and I am wearing a light weight jacket to keep warm. I am in Peninsula State Park staying at a campground with my family. The beach is in a little cove rimmed with a beautiful green tree line. The park itself, like some in Missouri, is full of forests and trails to enjoy.

Accompanying the water in my soundtrack are the numerous birds starting their day. I forget how beautiful their calls can be if you really listen. The peacefulness of this place, at this time, is simply wonderful....

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