“5 October is a day to celebrate teachers and the central role they play in guiding children, youths & adults through the life-long learning process. This year, World Teachers’ Day will focus on the role of teachers within the context of the global financial and economic crisis and the need to invest in teachers now as a means to secure post-crisis regeneration.

It is critical, during these difficult times, to seek mechanisms that protect the teaching profession. It is also crucial, despite the crisis, to ensure that investment in teachers is sufficient and proportionate to the demands made upon them. It is the teaching force with its knowledge, experience and foresight which can bring new insights to global solutions. Join us in celebrating this!”  

From World Teachers’ Day 2009  http://www.5oct.org/

In honor of World Teachers’ Day:

A GivStory by Matthew Mandelbaum | Teacher and Founder of Jumping Joey’s Number Line

It began as a quest to help a small kindergarten girl, who they said could not learn math because she has too many severe learning disabilities. The quest was to prove them all wrong and give her a chance to have a strong mathematical foundation where she could love learning. 

On the streets on New York City’s Washington Square Park, I began teaching her in the method which would become JumpingJoey’s NumberLine and her passion and interest grew as would her success with numbers. This led its growth to helping summer school students and others until now the learning system can be found on www.jumpingjoeysnumberline.com.

In honor of those who have helped me, the children, I give back 5% of all home product sales to schools along with student certificates honoring their love of and commitment to learning so that each child has a chance to feel good about their process and path as a learner.

 A GivStory By Derri Smith | Not For Sale Tennessee

 Beyond my worst nightmares …

At 55, I am no stranger to suffering. I was regularly abused by my pastor father. I’ve walked intimately with loved ones through the trauma of rape, abuse, illness and divorce. But nothing in my past prepared me for what I encountered when I picked up a copy of  Not For Sale by David Batstone. I entered a world beyond my worst nightmares, where six year olds tout their sex trade skills to potential “customers”; thirteen year olds are sold in pairs to be raped at will and ten year old boys are made to club neighbors to death as initiation into forced “military” duty.

Only this wasn’t a nightmare, soon to be followed by a good morning. These stories are real and not just a few isolated cases of unspeakable horror; they are the plight of millions of children throughout the world. Commerce in human beings is, I learned, the second largest and fastest growing crime on the planet, affecting 27 million lives.

 In my own backyard?!

Desperation borne of such knowledge launched a quest to educate myself.  I was shocked to (continue reading…)

A GivStory by Ryan Lampa | Nashville Tennessee

Ron used to come to my house almost every other day. We’d talk about everyting from old war stories to Nashville’s weather. Ron was homeless and has been for 20 some years. Ron had a son and wife years back that were taken in separate tragic car accidents. After losing his family, everything started gradually falling away. He started running towards alcohol. The alcoholism led to his homelessness.I would get Ron extra food around the house, and sometimes would give him a few dollars here and there. Day, night, drunk or sober, Ron broke my heart. He was struggling to just find his next distraction from his current state of depression and homelessness.

I offered him a program that as long as he would bring a receipt back showing he purchased food, I would give him $5 every time he returned. He instantly and harshly declined. He did not want to change from his alcoholism. He trusted nothing else. The streets and the bottle were his constants. I found that I was being generous with out having a purpose. What was I really trying to do? Was I trying to heal him from a 20 year alcoholism and pull him from the streets by just merely keeping him accountable?

I was wanting to “make a difference” and “change a life”. But was I really on a road to doing that?

I wanted to get to know the homeless community of downtown Nashville. So I got (continue reading…)