I try not to watch television that much.  I guess that was an outcome from when Alicia was sick 8 years ago.  I couldn’t bear to watch the news that was constantly telling me of all the terrible things happening in the world or making celebrities even more famous with stories of their bad and outrageous behavior.  I had enough of my own bad news at the time, so I really didn’t need to hear anymore.   I learned a lot from my little exercise in ‘turning off’ TV.  I suddenly found that my mood was not as bad as it could have been, and when I did watch a show, it was one that made me laugh, taught me something or just made me smile.  I still follow my not too much television rule today.

 I wish there was more coverage of what’s good in the world and stories of what is right, but my wish has yet to come true.   I however, in my blog will tell you a great story and one that I still marvel over.  Spring of 2009 I was trying to promote a golf outing for the Honeysuckle Foundation for Children with Cancerz(www.honeysucklefoundation.org), without much success when I got a call from a New York City radio station Fresh 102.7 (http://fresh1027.radio.com/).  The lady from the radio station told me  my charity had won $102 from a promotion they were running.  Someone had nominated me and the Honeysuckle Foundation and we were the chosen charity for that week.  I thanked them and asked if they might help me with the promotion of our golf outing and was told someone from the promotions  department would call.  A few days later I got a call from the radio station and  I proceeded to go on about the event the club and what the radio station could possibly do.  The lady on the other end said she was not calling about that, but instead I had been the grand prize winner of the Cabot Celebrity Community Awards.  A six-day, five night Celebrity Cruise for me and a guest for the following January.  I was speechless and thankful, but I was looking for ‘the catch’.  Could this be real?  Did I have to sign up for something, spend half the cruise listening to a ‘sales’ pitch or were there hidden fees involved?  I found out in January 2010 when I went with my daughters Lauren & Alicia, along with about 100 other people, that Fresh 102.7 and Cabot Cheese ( http://www.cabotcheese.coop/) meant it when they said it was an all expense paid trip.  It was the trip of a lifetime and profoundly changed me as I met many other wonderful and dedicated individuals who do good each and everyday with the foundations they created, work in or just volunteer at.  People from all walks of life making a difference in this world one-act of kindness at a time.  It was during this trip that some of the people at Cabot read my book Alicia’s Updates A Mother’s Memoir of Pediatric Cancer (http://www.site.aliciasupdates.com/) Roberta MacDonald, who is a Cabot mover and shaker on the spot said ‘we have to get this book to every cancer hospital in the country.’  Cabot Cheese along with Roberta and all the people involved made good on that promise and donated 250 copies of my book to pediatric oncology hospitals across the country.  We coordinated the distribution for right now with September being National Childhood Cancer Awareness month and we are almost done with the mailing.  I share this story with you as you will not see this on television or hear it on the radio.  It doesn’t warrant the media’s attention. I share it however, because it gives me faith and re-invigorates me to believe in the compassion and kindness of people.  I thank and want to highlight the kindness of Cabot Cheese and their wonderful coop, all companies should learn from their business model that includes community involvement.  I thank and recognize Fresh 102.7  for partnering with Cabot and having contests that actually reward people for good deeds rather than just outrageous ones. If not for that contest, I never would have met the people at Cabot.   I also want to thank all of the other Community Celebrities who I met on that dream cruise.   Kellie Greene who founded SOAR (Speak Out Against Rape) (http://soar99.org/) after turning her horrific experience into something good and Holly Hirschberg who founded the Dinner Garden ( http://dinnergarden.org/)in order to fight hunger in this country plus the countless other Community Celebrities as well as those I have not met.  There are plenty of good people, generous businesses and compassionate communities and you won’t see them on TV.  They conduct themselves with honor and integrity each and everyday and make a difference wherever they can no matter how insignificant it may seem.  They are unsung heroes.   We need to acknowledge their success, help them through failures, encourage their growth and help promote them for more public support in order to grow their missions and businesses.  It is because of these people this country is a kinder and better place for all us.  They are the good news for all of us and I hope the media starts paying attention!