Thousands of people from DC, MD and VA take part in a 5K walk and resource fair to raise awareness and funds to fight modern slavery. Credit: Forte for Freedom

I work with a wonderful group of actors, many of whom volunteer in their communities on a regular basis. One such actor is Lisa Burdette-Carrasco. She shared how she became involved with the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force and I was so moved, I wanted to write an article about it. The walk is an annual event that takes place this year on October 22. Please check out the following article and share so hundreds of thousands of men, women and children will someday no longer have to live with forced labor and sexual exploitation: DC Stop Human Slavery Walk 2010. This is happening right here in the United States and even involves child pornography. Types of modern slavery include:

• Forced Labor
• Sexual Exploitation
• Child Pornography

For more information on human trafficking, contact the Polaris Project or call the Trafficking  Hotline at 1-888-3737-888 with tips or concerns.

The organization’s website states, “Sparks provide a 5-week opportunity for people to experiment with self-challenge by taking initiative and healthy risk in their business, university or faith community.”   We were told by the organizers that we could choose Sparks that helped to improve ourselves or the lives of others.

For my first Spark, I chose something fairly personal to improve my life and the lives of drivers around me: Road Rage.  I consider myself a peaceful person, but sometimes rush-hour traffic gets the best of me and I actually honk at drivers who are impatient and driving erratically.  I decided that I wanted to live up to the affirmation, “I am at peace with myself & the world around me.”  So, for one week, I controlled my self-perceived road rage by not honking at anyone, taking my time & giving everyone the right of way.  It actually worked! I felt calmer as I drove around the DC/MD/VA area that week.  I wish I could say the feeling has lasted, but it has not.  At least not entirely.  I think I have found a happy medium, though.  I am definitely more calm in the car and I still try to give people the right of way.  That, in itself, is a form of success.

My second Spark focused on my immediate neighborhood.  I thought about posting flyers or delivering them to my neighbors announcing a neighborhood clean-up, but decided to do it on my own.  I realized there was a need, while walking my dad’s dog each day.  We would pass trash on every block, so much so, that I wanted to carry a garbage bag with me.  So, on this particular Saturday morning, with plastic garbage bags in hand, I proceeded to pick up trash wherever I could find it.  I found fast-food wrappers (sometimes with half-eaten food still inside), plastic & glass bottles, bottle caps, paper, straws, cigarettes, anything you could imagine.  Yes, I wore gloves and thank goodness I didn’t find any needles (another volunteer had warned me about watching out for needles).  The task took me less than an hour and I only filled one bag.  Luckily, I have a neighbor who picks up garbage on a regular basis, so he probably made my job easy.

Unfortunately, my work schedule changed that week, so I wasn’t able to attend the remaining meetings, but that didn’t stop me from trying to find ways to help others.  At the first meeting, one of the organizers handed out envelopes filled with cash.  We didn’t know how much was inside until we opened each envelope.  I waited until I got home to open mine.  It contained $20.  We were supposed to try to make the money multiply while helping others at the same time.  I couldn’t immediately decide, so my seven day quest turned into an entire month.  I gathered ideas from friends and finally decided to donate the money to a project called Trail.  It’s a 27-day 670km walk of the length of Sri Lanka to celebrate peace, the end of war there in 2009 and to raise $2-million to build a pediatric cancer ward at Jaffna General Hospital.  A former classmate of mine organized the walk, after promising himself he would walk the length of his country when the war was over.  I felt even though $20 wasn’t a lot of money, it would help a larger effort that would affect thousands of children someday.

Although, I only performed three Sparks, I feel this was an excellent learning experience for me.  The project helped me to not only think about others, but actually follow through with helping them.  I think this was a great way to continue my random acts of kindness.  I wasn’t looking for recognition, only a way to make a difference.  As Spark Good asks, “What’s one risk I can take this week to make my world a better place or myself a better person?”  I now realize that I need to ask this question every week for the rest of my life… maybe even every day.

For more information, visit http://www.SparkGood.com and http://www.TrailSL.com

Credit: HelpOthers.org

HelpOthers.org grabbed my attention the first time I visited the website.  I read incredible stories of ordinary people paying it forward to help total strangers.  After performing a few random acts of kindness myself, I went back to the website to read all about Smile Cards and their origin.  They’re little cards that you can order from the website or print out on your own.  It seems these little cards are in high demand.  For two days in a row, I tried to order the pre-printed cards and learned that the daily limit had been exceeded.  You see, people volunteer to pay for those cards, continuing the extraordinary act of kindness.  It’s a cycle, really.  Do something nice for someone, anonymously, without the expectation of anything, not even a Thank You and perhaps the person on the receiving end will learn something in process, by paying it forward.

So, I decided to download the images of the Smile Cards and print them at home.  Just the act of printing them and cutting them into individual cards brought a smile to my face.  I can’t wait to use them.

A neighbor helped me in my yard this past week and refused any type of payment. I had to sneak a bill into his pocket, but it still wasn’t the full payment.  I’ve decided to take the remaining amount that he refused and pay it forward to someone in need or perhaps a random person who finds my Smile Card.  I just have to find a place to leave it.  In a mailbox?  On a car?  In a phone booth (if they still exist)? Maybe I’ll take a suggestion from http://www.HelpOthers.org and pay for someone behind me at the drive-thru (although I don’t eat much fast-food anymore).

I’m going to sleep on it.  In the meantime, I hope this story inspires you to pay it forward, too. Being kind to others will make you smile, guaranteed.

Good News inspires me to spread the word about ordinary people doing great things around the world.  I will write about my personal experiences and share tales of random acts of kindness.

As a former TV News Anchor/Reporter, I have covered my share of tragedy over the years.  WCMH-TV in Columbus, OH has a segment called “Good News Matters,” which I loved to do whenever I had the chance.

My dream job would be to work on a program that only focuses on Good News. Until then, I will report from here. Who knows? Someday, there may even be an entire Good News Channel.

Never Give Up On Your Dreams!