There are many second chance stories in progress. Some people
have just realized that they have received a second chance. Others are
in the middle of doing something productive with them. Some have had
success and are finding ways to give back. All are inspiring and motivating in their
own ways.
REBORN New homes have replaced mud-walled huts in Tamil Nadu, India, which was devastated by a 2004 tsumani.
Tsunami victims have hope again, 5 years after tragedy struck. "Rebuilt and refashioned", devastated villages get a second chance - one village at a time.
Akash Kapur, from Thantirayankuppam, India, wrote in an article which appeared in the NY Times on January 3, 2010: "In the weeks and months following the Dec. 26 tsunami, as the full, almost unimaginable scale of the tragedy became apparent - more than 200,000 dead across Asia, and almost 8,000 her in the southeastern state of Tamil Nadu - I returned again and again to the coast. Signs of devastation were everywhere: in the thatch and cement debris tossed far inland, in the village schools and temples crowded with refugees, and in the ambulances and hearse vans that drove up and down the East Coast Road...
The aftermath of the tsunami was evident too, in a fleet of altogether shinier vehicles on that same road - the air-conditioned S.U.V.'s and jeeps of relief agencies. These vehicles would crawl along the coast, stopping occasionally to disgorge aid workers, many of them white, all of them in well-pressed clothes.
It was easy to be cynical. "Vultures," I remember a friend calling the aid workers, and we scoffed at the way they jostled for media attention and the favor of government officials. Their concern, we were certain, was ephemeral. Their money, were sure, would be misspent, and then quickly dry up.
Five years on, after again spending a couple of weeks driving along the East Coast Road, I have come to reconsider my cynicism. The flood of aid money - an unprecedented $12 billion to all affected countries and around $1 billion in Tamil Nadu, the worst-hit state in India - has transformed the region. It has rebuilt- and refashioned - the local economy. It has given devastated villages a second chance."
Lynda Sanders took time to donate blood and as a result, a truama victim was saved.
Helping save a life one pint at a time.
If 5% of the population gave blood 3 times per year, we would never have a shortage in this country.
Most often blood donations are used for patients in the same vicinity/town/county as the donor. It may be for your neighbor, or a salesperson from a store you frequent, or someone who grew up with your children.
You most likely will never know who specifically needed your donation, but you can know that you are helping to save a life.
Read more about a blood drive in Famington, NM. The Daily Times; by Elaine Martin; photo by Rebecca Craig
Julio Medina greets students in the New York Theological Seminary master's of professional studies program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining.
Helping to transform a prisoner one person at a time.
The classroom can be a turning point as seen for some inmates in the masters program held at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, NY. Julio Medina, 48, director for after care for the New York Theological Seminary, runs the program and told The Journal News, he has "built his life around second chances, devoting his own to keeping former inmates out of prison and making sure the ones still inside are prepared to stay out upon release. ...he graduated from the master's program at Sing Sing in 1994 while serving a 12-year sentence for drug dealing.
He returned in 2001 to teach... "I came in with the idea that it would look good for the parole board, but 30 days into the program, the lights came on," said Medina. "The program gave me a blueprint that I was more than a drug dealer and that I was a community organizer."
Read the full article in The Journal News- LoHud.com; by Marcela Rojas; photo by Ricky Flores
Andrew Lemon, 17, found himself performing community service after being arrested for battery at age 15. Now he is back in high school with the loving support from his second family.
Making a difference in one teenager's life in Jacksonville, FL.
When Andrew Lemon got arrested at 15, he did community service at the Justice Coalition where he met Terri Johnson who ultimately became a second mother to him. Over the next couple of years, Andrew spent as much time as possible with Terri and her family .
Josh Gore reported for The Times Union: "When (Andrew's) mother was arrested, the weeknight stays became permanent. 'He is just like one of my own', Johnson said.
'I realized this might be my only chance to go back and correct all my mistakes,' Lemon said. Now 17, Lemon is back in school... where he plays the bass drum in the marching band and has a family that supports him. For the first time in his life, he has dreams.
'I want to go to college', he said....'I don't care if I am two years behind; I am going to graduate.'"
Paralyzed at 15 from a motorcycle accident, Melanie Davies never gave up on life. She fell deeply in love and married, created TREAT, a charitable trust for art rehabilitation and therapy in South West Wales, and wrote a powerful book: Never say die.
Read the full article about this honest, grateful, straight forward woman, and get ready to be motivated.
