Giving Tuesday Bonanza – One Life

One Life.  Your inheritance is this one life.  How are you spending it?  Let me tell you about someone who inspires me with her one life.  The Founder of this organization, Stepping Forward LA, is near and dear to my heart.  She came to me years ago with a big destiny in hand, won my respect and stole my heart for her efforts in applying her gifts.  Just look what she does with her talent!

Because with each child her organization trains, she touches all the people in their lives moving forward.  Her one life changes the world I live in and makes it a better place, every day, with her work.  She once told me that when these kids age out of the foster system, the county pulls the ripcord and often they have no experience of being in a world where people aren’t paid to care what happens to them.  So she provides community, training, jobs and love to prepare them to be part of a bigger world.

Whether it’s a rocket scientist who teaches cooking, or her own efforts to show a young adult how to ride public transportation, she gathers the smallest of gestures that build into waves of kindness.  Most of all she provides them with a caring adult that let’s them know they matter.  This is what makes a difference in them and is also what matters to me…

So if you participate in Giving Tuesday, I want to invite you to get to know this organization.  Whether it’s time, money or resources… what you give ripples out in a much bigger way than you see immediately.  Thank you Beth Ryan for the gifts you share with the world.  I’m happy to add my efforts here in hopes that even more kids are lifted up out of isolation and shown a kinder, better world where who they are makes a difference, too.   The kids and others see how much one life matters every time they look at Beth.

Wishing you all a day where you find the way that you were meant to add value to the world this Giving Tuesday.  Wherever your heart leads, that is your gift.  Thank you for sharing it.

Lisa Greenfield

TruthinHand.com

P.S.  Beth has no idea I did this.  I just highjacked her email and rebroadcast it…  Don’t you love good surprises?

Help us provide Cooking Lessons! Each month, our volunteer extraordinaire, LeMar Fooks, teaches a group of foster youth to cook. Foster youth aging out of the system many times live in group homes where they are not always taught how to cook – an essential skill. Every month, LeMar teaches a group of foster youth to prepare the meal for our 1st Saturday events feeding 40 – 50 people. They have made fresh pasta, a traditional Thanksgiving meal including deep fried turkeys, individual pizzas, vegetarian and gluten-free options and so much more. We are looking to raise $3,000 to cover the cost for the entire year. Your donation of $250 will cover the cost of the food for one month of cooking lessons and to feed our community of current and former foster youth. In the last year, LeMar (who is a rocket scientist by day) has taught 96 young adults how to cook. He teaches them everything from kitchen safety to knife skills, how to wash dishes, and how to time everything so it’s all ready at the same time. Ricker and LeMar making fresh pasta “I never learned how to cook in the system. LeMar has taught me so much and now I can cook my own meals.” The link below will take you straight to the donation page or you could browse the website and learn more about our programs and impact. http://steppingforwardla.org/donate.html Thank you for considering contributing to our cooking lessons and providing foster youth with an essential skill! Click Here to Give the Gift of Cooking Lessons!

Stepping Forward LA info@steppingforwardla.org www.steppingforwardla.org (310) 270-3466 ‌ ‌ ‌