!deation Conference Highlights (Just One & Plywood People)

Charles Lee created and hosted the !deation Conference.  Here are more highlights:

Greg Russinger from Just One introduced Laundry Love, an initiative that brought health, hygiene, and tutoring to those in need in multiple cities across North America and as far away as Singapore and Nigeria.

In the U.S. we have a malnutrition problem called obesity. As a result, Just One introduced On Bike With Love to encourage bicycling as exercise.

TCMD is a collaborative redistribution effort that uses trashcans for the collection of new goods for those in need. The items collected are then specifically distributed to those in need through partnerships we’ve developed with other local non-profit organizations. TCMD is continually growing through franchise activism—that is, a growing network of concerned individuals, families, businesses, groups, churches and schools collaborating autonomously to host a trashcan in various locales, providing those communities with a visual reminder and an opportunity to embrace the values of generosity, social concern and cooperative living.

Jeff Shinabarger from Plywood People and Gift Card Giver.  57% of all birthday gifts are gift cards and 15% of these will never be used. he gift card industry has risen to be a $90 billion industry with $8 Billion going unused every year. Plywood created a new philanthropic non-profit organization to collect gift cards and give them to people and organizations in great need. This unique project has already been featured by NPR, Paste Magazine, Relevant Magazine, Chicago Sun-Times, Atlanta Journal Constitution. This idea has resulted in giving over $30,000 of unused gift cards directly to people. Learn more at http://www.giftcardgiver.com

A Horrific Date to Remember (Genocide in Rwanda)

A Church with Skulls
A Church with Skulls

From Jeff Shinabarger:

“If you didn’t know, this is the 15 year anniversary (if you can call it that) of the genocide that happened in Rwanda. The genocide lasted for years, but culminated in 100 days of what many people refer to as hell on earth. In those 100 days of massacre, there were nearly 1 million men, women and children brutally beaten to death with machetes, grenades, guns, and knives. Since that horrific event, Rwanda is rebuilding the beautiful land of a thousands hills, restoring the hope of its people, and reconciling the relationships in every community.”

For more pictures and thoughts from Jeff’s trip, go here.

Personally, I remember the genocide because my college roommates and I had adopted a child through Compassion International.  It was months before we heard that our little guy, Uhigumugabo, had survived along with his mom.  Unfortunately, his father had been killed.

The anniversary of the tragic genocide in Rwanda reminds us of humanity at its worst.  The stories of recovery, healing, and reconciliation from Rwanda are incredibly inspiring and remind us of humanity at its best.