More Happy Tears

I am going to start thinking of Monday mornings as "Bawl Your Head Off Monday."  I just watched episode 2 of Secret Millionaire on ABC featuring millionaire Marc Paskin.  Marc is a successful real estate investor from San Diego who was dropped down in Detriot's inner city.  ABC did a better job of rounding up Marc's chosen groups than I could:

61-year-old Paskin, a multi-millionaire spent six days living on just $50. That's the equivalent of one week on Detroit's welfare assistance for a single man over 55.
He moves into a typical, run down, one-bedroom house on the east side of Detroit. The east side is known for being overrun with drugs, crime and gangs.  Paskin finds three worthy charities to donate his time and money to.

The first is The MAN Network. MAN stands for Maintaining a Neighborhood. The organization strives to bring safety to neighborhoods and provide community building activities.

The next is Young Detroit Builders. The organization provides young adults ages 18-24 the opportunity to learn how to build and remodel homes. They are dedicated to helping Detroit's disadvantaged youth learn job and life skills. They have rebuilt 800 homes in the past 17 years.

Paskin spent a day volunteering with Really Living, a corporation that offers uninsured patients free transportation to their medical appointments.


For more on the charities visit:

The MAN Network: http://themannetwork.net/

Young Detroit Builders: http://www.youngdetroitbuilders.com/

Really Living: http://www.reallylivingcorp.org/index.html

For ways to get involved in your community: http://abc.go.com/shows/secret-millionaire/get-involved

They didn't mention the young lady that Marc helped out.  This woman who is living on dialysis, also has a daughter who was born at 27 weeks and immediately had to have a 6 hour colostomy surgery.  It was during her daughter's initial health scare that the young lady's transplanted kidney failed and she began a lifetime of dialysis.  Marc gave her $20,000 and the young woman is using it to go back to school to build a better life for her daughter.  The interesting thing is that they say that Marc's goal now is to give it all away before he dies. 

The next show I am watching this morning is on Lifetime and is called "Coming Home".  Coming Home features real military men and women and their families.  It brings home military members to their families in a surprise reunion.  One example is that of a young girl who was having violin concert at school and their brought her Dad home and surprised her at her concert.  Another family has a 5 month old baby girl and the father had never met her because he was deployed when his wife was 4 months pregnant.   What I like about this program is that it serves as a reminder that there is not just our military men and women who are sacrificing when they are deployed- their families make a supreme sacrifice as well. 

Needless to say- my eyes haven't been dry all morning but in a good way. 

Of course, last week I mentioned that this really inpires me.  Each espisode of EMHE and Secret Millionaire has made me want to do SOMETHING for those organizations.  I realized that what I need to do is look closer to home and find something in my own area that means a lot to me to help out with.  Marc Paskin said something as he was ready to leave Detroit that really ties in with last week's post and so I want to leave you with it: 

"Not everybody has money to give away but everyone can give their time and their love.  It’s time to give back."

                                                         -Marc Paskin