Making a Living vs. Making a Difference: What being an Everyday Superhero Really Means

(l-r): Steven Samra and Tasha French Lemley, publishers of The Contributor newspaper.Of all the videos I’ve watched that highlight stories about disaster relief, the one where a Red Cross volunteer says she "worked in the corporate world for 30 years making a living,” and then retired, and now she wants to make a difference, stood out most. Her statement had me wondering how many of us choose one or the other, rather than overlapping them.

It concerns me that some men and women in communities across the nation feel like they aren't in a position to have a positive impact on other people while also being able to put food on the table. I don’t know about you, but when I picture what the right time to make a difference looks like, that image often doesn’t depict any one of us waiting until some abstract point in the future. After all, the future is uncertain and none of us can guarantee we’ll even be around to see it.

Of course, we all need to make a living to survive and have opportunities to enjoy our days here on this earth. Even in the midst of our daily hustle and bustle, there’s still room to make a difference at the same time, if each person puts forth effort in marrying the two. Prime examples of this can be seen in the tireless, underappreciated and often unglamorous work of everyday heroes who have a positive impact on other people or issues that matter to them upon noticing that something needs to be done.

Yoga training at Rachel Lloyd's GEMS are among the therapeutic and fitness services provided to young women.Thousands of teenagers, like those in the documentary film Very Young Girls would be in jail, dead, on drugs, or still exploited in sex trafficking rings across the U.S. if Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS) CEO and founder Rachel Lloyd waited until retirement to provide counseling, legal assistance and housing to children and young women in the sex trade.

Several hundred homeless veterans like those in the documentary film Street Paper would still be lacking a place to sleep at night if The Contributor newspaper founders Tom Wills and Tasha French Lemley waited for thirty years or until they were done with their careers in fine arts and outreach work, respectively, to provide jobs for men and women – some of whom served in the military -- affected by homelessness and poverty. Heck, most of us would even be up the creek without a paddle today, if the great inventors, activists, philosophers, leaders, and artists of previous generations decided to wait a few more decades before making their mark on the world.

People like Lloyd, Wills and French embody the fact that there is no better time to make a difference than now. We need not put off doing good deeds until later on in the future when it’s more convenient for us. After all, if you’re already on your way to mastering the art of being your own superhero, just imagine how wonderful it would be to teach someone else how it’s done.

M is for Meaning

What was the last documentary YOU watched?

If YOU inherited six figures from a long lost relative, conditional upon your using half of the money to impact other people’s lives, how would YOU make a difference in the world?

Sunday Synopsis: A $100+ Gift of Hope Goes to the American Red Cross

It’s been seven months since my Red Cross fundraiser launched with the first stop on my Dinner-and-a-Movie tour. As the dust settles on this campaign, I am blogging today to thank the small businesses, military families and citizens from the southern and northeastern regions of the country who helped make it possible.

The tour raised over $100 to provide emergency shelter for men, women, children and pets who escape home fires. Did you know fires are the biggest disaster people experience in the United States? Just within the last few weeks, this organization assisted dozens of families who became displaced when fires destroyed their homes and belongings in a matter of minutes, leaving them with nowhere to go.

Individual donations enable the Red Cross to cover a night in a hotel, food, and clothing as well as provide emotional and spiritual support to these survivors, among other services including finding new homes. After the Red Cross provided aid to the U.S. Air Force Veteran I worked with who lost his home in a New Year’s Day fire, I am glad that I decided to use my short film “Abyss: The Greatest Proposal Ever” as a vehicle for hope – putting more people on the path to recovery following our nation’s most common disasters.

How often do YOU practice fire safety drills with your family (including children)?

Sunday Synopsis – Sleep Outs, Movie Titles and ‘Lighten Up’ (RELOADED)

An event planner in Philadelphia told me (when I attempted to plan a sleepout last month as part of the “ABYSS” premiere, to raise awareness about homelessness) that likely none of the residents would attend my film screening because no one likes sleeping on the ground in cold weather.

The irony of that reasoning was precisely my point, which is why I was glad to meet so many men and women from the business sector who united during the Covenant House Pennsylvania’s annual Sleep Out this past week; supporting homeless youth who are on the streets due to various circumstances such as child abuse, job loss, displacement following tragic events and related factors.

Geared up with just the clothes on their back, cardboard Home Depot boxes and sleeping bags, these individuals spent the night outside on the ground in chilly conditions – the very thing that someone told me earlier would not be done (willingly) in The City of Brotherly Love. Participants raised over $89,000 to support Covenant House’s many services while experiencing a small taste of what life is like for a homeless teenager.

During a candlelight vigil earlier that evening to kickoff this event, I was among the attendees who were introduced to a local University student who had to put her pursuit of higher education on hold after becoming homeless, as her family being split up among area shelters. Her story caused me to wonder what, if anything, are large Universities doing to assist in the wellbeing of students enrolled at their school who experience homelessness or are in danger of becoming homeless.

Anyway, although my premiere plans for “ABYSS” have changed, I will be launching an initiative in conjunction with the upcoming release of the movie, to help raise funds and awareness for the working homeless who are affiliated with organizations that provide jobs and housing assistance to the underemployed.

Speaking of “ABYSS” and changes, a modification – or rather addition -- to the film’s title is also coming soon. I decided to tweak the name of the movie so that it could give people a clearer picture of what this short film is about. Stay tuned for the title reveal!

In the meantime, here’s a one-minute comedy film called “Lighten Up,” that I wrote and directed a few years ago. It’s about a woman whose tolerance level is tested when her attempts at having fun with her boyfriend goes unnoticed due to him being preoccupied with office politics. She wants to enjoy their time together; he won’t let up about his beef with a company that doesn’t appreciate the contributions of their employees. The Monday Movie Meme is coming late, again, so hopefully this short film will hold you over.

Would YOU ever sleep outside for one night?

Do YOU know anyone who has experienced homelessness?

What’s YOUR favorite Monday Movie Meme theme, to date?