Use Your Powers for Good

Lisa Yee offered the loveliest tribute to that wonderful man, Sid Fleischman, when she shared about approaching him at some event. Before she could even ask her question, he said, "Whatever you're asking, the answer is yes."

Can you imagine the abundant spirit that allows for such a response?

Lisa's sharing of Sid's comment after his passing was a reminder to me that we writers have great powers and the opportunity to use them for great good.

I want to remind you of some places you could use your great powers, in terms of time or check signing ability.

Page Ahead: One of my favorite organizations. They are committed to putting a book into the hands of every at-risk child in the state of Washington. And not just any book, but a book of the child's own choosing. How great is that? I recently invited 9 book loving friends to join me at the Page Ahead luncheon, where we dabbed at our eyes frequently to hear stories of how books made a difference for kids.
Local authors ready to sign checks, rather than books!

Ethiopia Reads: My darling friend, Jane Kurtz, with the help of many others, is working hard to build libraries in a country where libraries were simply not part of the community. This amazing organization is limping along, like many other nonprofits in these tough economic times, and could really use a boost. I know we're all pinched but even $10 can make a difference. And look, there's an even easier way to help: For a short time, copies of the Lanie books (American Girl books that go with the doll of the year this year) are available at Ethiopia Reads and every single single penny will go toward the effort to get books to kids in Ethiopia. The connection is all spelled out on Jane's blog.
The first time many of these children have held a book.

Orphans Africa: Another darling friend, Michele Torrey, turned a trek to climb Kilamanjaro into a quest to help children in Africa. What else would you expect from a woman who brought a stray cat home from Alaska?

Orphans Africa is currently building three schools, and providing microlending to a small group of widows for business development and I know they could use your help and money.

In addition to these good causes, I also want to shine a light on Best Friends Animal Society (Mary Nethery and I donate 10% of our author royalties from Two Bobbies to these great folks).

There are so many good causes out there and I know our pennies don't go as far as they used to. But what would happen if we all adopted Sid's attitude and said, "Whatever you're asking, the answer is yes"?

I'm thinking miracles.

How about you?