Day 120

I'm always asked how/where I got the idea for Project 365. For the most part, the idea of giving back every single day was an overnight kinda idea, but the idea to give back and make a difference came from elsewhere.

I love reading and really wanted a good book to read one night. My brother, Jiten, shoved his college world literature books my way. The first one I read - Not for Sale by David Batstone. I couldn't put this one down. I was so moved by the stories - I knew I wanted to start making a difference in my world. So today Jiten and I attended an awareness/fundraiser 5k walk hosted by the Not for Sale campaign.

Slavery is not a thing of the past, the global slave trade is still very prevalent and is closer to us than we think. In fact, Atlanta ranks #13 in the WORLD for human trafficking of women and children! Atlanta is possibly one of the biggest hubs for underage sex trafficking in the U.S. - 500 girls are trafficked for sex each month, servicing 7200 men. Further, each weekend, between 100 and 150 girls are "raped for profit," a phrasing that stresses the true horror of this crime: not only are girls violently raped, but money changes hands for that rape to occur.

Change starts with awareness. And now we all need to take action to help re-abolish slavery!

Doing the Cupid Shuffle as we warm up for the walk

Day 119

If you're ever looking for inspiration come hang out at SafeHouse.

I'm finally back in town for a few days so spent some time at SafeHouse. I had one of the best conversations while I was there today. So a bit of background, each night this gentleman comes to SafeHouse. He is very well dressed and sometimes I'll see him sitting in a corner working on his laptop. It didn't fit! I didn't understand why he was there (I thought he was a volunteer the first time I saw him).

He introduced himself to me last week and he told me that he had a business. Again, I didn't understand why he was at SafeHouse. Today he came up to me, shook my hand, and started a conversation. He is an optician who moved to Atlanta two years ago for a fresh start. Life happened and he ended up on the streets (no drugs or alcohol involved). He had a vision for what he wanted out of life, he kept his focus, stayed motivated, and now has his own new business (check out his website birthdaycardstudio). That doesn't mean he's where he needs to be, but he is working on it. He lives in his office and is an entrepreneur who wants to give back to his community (specifically programs to feed children).  He is intelligent, resilient, and humble. And he's an inspiration.

Day 118

So I'm still out of town and unable to find places to volunteer here - which means online volunteering tonight! Also, Raksha and Dona have done such a wonderful job covering, they really deserve a break, so here goes...

A couple months back I tried a new online volunteering site - www.sparked.com. While it was a great opportunity it just wasn't one that I really enjoyed and I couldn't find a lot of challenges to help out with. I got an email from them this week to come back and check out the new challenges. I did. And I actually found some that I  enjoyed and could help with.

The first was Cradles to Crayons - an organization that strives to provide children up to age 12 living in homeless and low-income situations with the essentials they need to feel safe, warm, ready to learn, and valued. They needed help researching stats on poverty - research...right up my alley (yes I'm the nerd int he group)!

I also critiqued a website for an animal rescue shelter (www.GreenPetsAmerica.com) based in Canton, GA: Green Pets America is a non-profit animal rescue organization formed by volunteers who are dedicated to providing innovative solutions to solve the homeless animal crisis in America.

The last was some more research on blogs related to Alzheimer's for the Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation, an organization dedicated to the prevention of memory loss and Alzheimer's disease.

So if you're interested in making a difference and aren't able to get out to do so, check out sparked.com. They have a variety of non-profit organizations on there that need help in various ways.

Day 117

So in light of the tornado watch, and Chandni being out of town... we decided to play Freerice!

I think Lubna started playing this morning, I know this because she got stuck on the word "halo", hehe! Lubna, it's the "ring of light" you see on the top of my head... I'm kidding, she knows that i'm no ANGEL!

My coworker Maliha suggested that we create a group on Freerice.com for our friends to join and for us to be able to keep trach of everything... So we did, and it's called "Project 365"! (Click, Join, PLAY!)

Also joining us tonight is my cousin, Sarah, in Canada, whom I was only able to surpass when she decided to take a break.

I decided to dabble in a little bit of Geography (which ended quickly after I kept forgetting what Ulaanbaatar was the capital of) and Spanish. with just a LITTLE help from Giselle, the office staff, and a few other friends... I donated about a thousand grains of rice answering in the Spanish category ALONE. yeah, i'm brushin my shoulder's off.

So off I go, on my way home... i hope I don't get swept up in the winds!

JOIN OUR GROUP! PLAY with us! And give back in ANY way you can! Sometime's it's just a matter of clicking!

Here's the link one more time, Project 365 on Freerice.com


Happy giving!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 116

Chandni and Dona are letting me write the blog today! So here it goes.

Today was another eventful night at safehouse. I dont know what it is
about that place but everytime I'm at Safehouse (SHO) the everyday
hustle that we all have to be a part of, almost diminshes. Today we
met different groups of people from different organizations at
Safehouse that weren't just there to "help", but actually have a
purpose and mission to help bring all the "bad stuff" that goes on in
this world to an end. It made me think about how this world IS filled
with selfless people that our society and our world really needs. I
realized that we all get caught up in this everyday hustle of work,
school, family, friends and relationships, etc. But we forget to see
what some people really have to go through and how we take so much for
granted. I know we've all heard this before and we see it on tv and
our parents preach it to us everyday. But taking yourself out of your
own comfort zone and being a part of something selfless really can
change someones ideology on life and how the everyday "BS" that we
make such a big deal about is not really a big deal when you surround
yourself with people who's needs are greater than yours.

Today, we were inspired by a homeless man... and even though he had
nothing to give us, he offered us words of sound advice and
encouragement.

I think the biggest gift you can give someone, is the gift of giving.
Chandni has given me the opportunity to give back in ways I never
thought would be possible. I admire her in every way and can't be
thankful enough for letting me be a part of project 365. If anyone of
you have just one day to be a part of this project, take advantage of
it. It's something you'll never regret doing.


~ Raksha

Day 115

I stopped at SafeHouse this evening before going out of town for the week. It started like most days there, hanging out on the lot, talking to anyone and everyone. But when service started I was in the kitchen helping put together the meal.

The group that came by today made meatball subs, and they served it with a side of fruit and oreo cookies. They usually come in a big group but today there were only four volunteers. So I was able to help out some. We were just a little bit behind schedule, but everyone waited patiently as we made food boxes for them. We made over 200 meals, so everyone got seconds and even thirds!

Highlight of the day: watching one of the guys sing and dance after service - he was having a good time!

Day 114

After an afternoon of Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons I headed over to SafeHouse to hang out for the evening. Being Easter Sunday, there was a smaller crowd (one of the guys explained this was because there were churches serving meals everywhere). It was nice out so I stayed on the lot and just hung out with everyone.

Conversations went from hair braiding, to food, to fashion and tattoos with my six-year old buddy. One of the guys from before is back (he was the quiet one). He's gone back to being quiet but before I left he called me over to talk for a few minutes; hoping to eventually have a full conversation with him.