In just a few short days one of the most anticipated sporting events in America will be taking place: The Super Bowl between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots.  

In American football there is a debate over what is more important in winning a game… a better defense or a better offense? My opinion? I don’t know. 

What I DO know is that just this week, a Giants fan took ‘defense’ to a whole new level. I was contacted by a business owner who is a self described Giants fan and who was planning on going to the Super Bowl this weekend. He said he intended on spending about $10,000 to do so. But a few days ago he felt very strongly that he wanted to donate that $10,000 to support Love146's work instead. His desire to help protect and defend vulnerable children was greater than his desire to see an offensive line protect and defend a quarterback. And that to me…is a HUGE win! 

PS: Okay Patriots fans…let’s see what YOU can do…

Amazed and grateful,

Rob

President & Co-Founder
Follow me on Twitter HERE

I’ll never forget the first time that my youngest son recognized that I was a different color than him. He was about 5 years old. We were sitting on the couch cuddled together with our arms all tangled up. His beautiful brown arm and my very white arm looking like a half baked pretzel. He was just staring at our arms, and I could tell he was thinking really hard.

Finally he looked up at me with complete sincerity, and with sympathy said; “Dad…you’re REALLY white”. He felt sorry for me. It was both a very funny moment and a beautiful one. He was completely innocent, untouched by any kind of prejudice. We have obviously had many great discussions since then. Being a multi-racial family affords natural opportunities all the time.

Years later, I remember coming home one day to find my son sitting on the floor looking through one of our photo books on the life of Martin Luther King Jr. The book was sitting on his lap open to the photos of the Birmingham riots. He sat staring at the infamous photo of people being blasted with fire hoses and attacked by police dogs because of the color of their skin. When I walked in, he looked up at me with the most heartbreaking, quizzical look of confusion. His eyes pleading for an answer…”Why?” His look just about brought me to my knees.

How do you explain hatred and violence to a child, when it doesn’t make any sense to begin with? Just try explaining it, and you’ll find out how the explanations begin to sound as lame and insane as the actual acts and attitudes you’re attempting to unravel.

In our work with Love146 the question of “Why?’ rages daily. Why do people prey upon the most vulnerable and innocent among us? Why are we not doing more to stop the exploitation of children?  Why do we often remain bystanders while so many suffer? 

I wonder if the answer to the “why” questions has to do with love.

In the movie, Midnight in Paris, the character that plays Ernest Hemingway says; “All cowardice comes from not loving…or not loving well, which is the same thing.” Poet Elizabeth Alexander wrote: “What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.”

No doubt that these are extreme times. What we desperately need are extremists. Not right wing or left wing extremists. Not religious or political extremists. But the kind of extremist that Martin Luther King Jr. wrote about from that small jail cell in Birmingham; “So the question is not whether we will be extremist but what kind of extremist will we be. Will we be extremists for hate or will we be extremists for love?”

I hope we choose love. For my children, and all children’s sake. Even for our own sake.

Rob

President & Co-founder, Love146
Follow me on Twitter HERE

We sat around the lunch table at Love146 today arguing about end-of-year appeals...

Frankly, I think that year-end appeals from charities have become like white noise. And using the “last chance for a tax deductible donation” tactic feels at best, awkward and at worst…manipulative. I contended that we shouldn't add to the noise. But other staff pointed at the gaps in our budget and argued that we should offer you the chance to give if it's a good time. It was looking like a potential mutiny and I was clearly over ruled.

So…I'll keep it simple and have only two things to say: first, sorry to bug you, and second, give money if you can.

No, please- despite my reluctance to ask at this time, we could really use it to prevent kids from being trafficked and care for survivors.

Hope your holidays have been filled with wonder and love… end-of-year appeals and all,

Rob

President & Co-founder, Love146
Follow me on Twitter HERE

“Hopelessness is not the opposite of hope. Fear is.”- Margaret Wheatley

The fall of 1961 was marked by turbulent times in the U.S. The entire nation was gripped with fear. President Kennedy was advising American families to build bomb shelters to protect them from atomic fallout in the event of a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union. A year later, the world was on the brink of full-scale nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

It was during this time that my parents found themselves having to make one of the toughest decisions of their lives. They were strongly considering having a second child but were afraid of bringing a child into the world, which seemed to be going crazy. They have told the story of how, with limited income, they literally came down to deciding between spending the money on building a bomb shelter or having a baby. Having to choose between fear…and hope. I am thankful they chose hope. The baby they ended up bringing into the unstable and chaotic world, exactly 49 years ago today… turned out to be me.

I think all of us who wrestle with the brokenness, beauty and mess of the world we live in, face the constant tension of giving into fear and hopelessness, or love and hope. Rebecca Solnit writes; “To hope is to gamble. It’s to bet on the future, on your desires, on the possibility that an open heart and uncertainty are better than gloom and safety. To hope is dangerous, and yet it is the opposite of fear, for to live is to risk.”

So, if given the choice of whether to give in to fear or to give in to hope…Give in to hope. You never know what you might give “birth” to.

Rob

President & Co-Founder, Love146

Follow me on Twitter HERE

“I will do this because I want to help those trafficked and abused children like us…”

-Chile (One of our girls in the Love146 Round Home)

Upon hearing about the efforts of so many people participating in Tread on Trafficking, eleven of the girls in the Love146 Round Home have decided to jump in and become Treaders themselves! This in itself is so powerful. But what makes it even more amazing is that they want to use their efforts to raise funds not just for their own futures, but also for prevention. They want to stop from happening to other children, what had happened to them!

Our Director of Aftercare, Dr. Gundelina Velazco describes their enthusiasm;

"The girls came up with different ideas. Some asked if they could swim, some asked if they could draw the life stories of the other girls. Some asked if they could cross stitch, and some asked if they could teach themselves how to play the piano. 

In other words, they were thinking of what they could be good at. The girls are just crazy about the idea. The money they raise will be put together and represent our contribution, as a team, to helping other children in other parts of the world. They asked about the situation in Cambodia and were amazed that there is a similar problem there.

This is actually the first time they are going to work as a team toward something concrete, significant, and vital, so this is the first time their leadership abilities are emerging. I do not know what to say. This is an aspect of their personality that has not surfaced before. The facial expressions and the light in their eyes, as well as the body language are all new. Thank you for Tread on Trafficking."

Dr. Velazco has often said that “the girls are re-writing our mission in aftercare. Love146 is not only restoring survivors…but restored children are also becoming restorers of a broken world.”

The courage, tenacity and resiliency of our girls is inspiring and humbling to say the least. They are as Dr. Velazco describes them; “active participants in their own recovery.”

Renata, another girl in the Round Home, sums it up well:

“I will do [Tread on Trafficking] because I want to help other children and myself as well. I know that I am not the only one who needs help. And because of the love I have for other kids I will try to reach my goal everyday. Besides, I’ve been dreaming of helping all those who need help and now it will finally come true. I want to help them because I know what they feel.”

Please consider helping the dreams of Renata and the girls of the Round Home become a reality. It will mean the dreams of so many others just like them coming true as well. You can read about their individual goals and support the girls effort to Tread On Trafficking at http://bit.ly/RoundHomeTread.

Thanks!

Rob

President & Co-Founder Love146

Follow me on Twitter HERE