Blog Action Day, October 15, 2008: Poverty

After I got home from my Girl Scouts meeting last night and tucked my own little Brownie into bed (very late), I sat down for a minute with a mug of tea and the mail (because even my mini-breaks are multi-tasking moments).

Knute came upstairs from the basement, sweating from spinning his wheels on the elliptical. He flipped on the TV to The Biggest Loser just as I opened this letter:



And I was floored by the juxtaposition.

Up on screen, good folks who've spent a lifetime overeating for one reason or another, who now are desperate to lose those pounds and win their way to better health and a big fat check.

In my hand, simple words and drawings from a little boy I've never met who tells me he loves me, who now has food to eat every day and the chance to go to school because I decided we could most certainly scrape together $32 a month to help just one kid somewhere have a shot at a better life.

I'm Catholic, so like many other Catholics and Christians, giving to others is something I know I should do. And we try, Knute and I, to give of our time and talent; we both suffer from overvolunteeritis.

But reaching out on a personal level, saying, "That kid, I'll help him. I'll commit to this for as long as I can, for as long as he needs me," well, that's a big leap from just dropping the envelopes in the basket at Sunday Mass.

I stumbled upon Compassion International through my BBFF Monica (go read her Blog Action Day post here; she's got an excellent Compassion video up today), and through Shannon's trip to Africa last February with Compassion. If you want to read her Africa Story, I warn you now: have tissues handy. You will be moved to tears.

If you click away from Shannon's Africa Story feeling compelled to do something, anything, you can visit Compassion's site and sponsor a child. If the financial commitment of a monthly sponsorship seems to great for you right now, you can still make a one-time gift.

For more great, great posts today, go over to Blog Action Day and skim the thousands of posts from bloggers around the world who are coming together as one voice to shed light on poverty worldwide.

And you can also visit these other great Blog Action Day posts from my Twitterbug friends:

Bunnie Blog

Kelby Carr

If you have a Blog Action Day post you'd like to mention, please comment with a link to your post. I'd love to read it and share it with the rest of my readers.

Thanks y'all. Love you guys!