Help Ardita = the Power of One

I came across this story in Madison's free alt-weekly and it's pretty amazing. I hope you are touched by it too and are inspired to take action. It's truly a story about the "power of one - one community, one family and one little girl."

Ardita Bilalli has been called a miracle child. After her premature birth, in war-torn Kosovo, she came to the United States in 2001 seeking medical treatment for a spinal condition. She was two years old.

After receiving treatment in Chicago, Ardita came to Madison; she's attended Elvehjem Elementary since early childhood. Now age 10 and in the fifth grade, Ardita suffers from spina bifida, among other serious health problems. She uses a wheelchair and is often in pain.

"I've cried a lot, and it's been hard," says Ardita, who over the years has had nine major operations. "There have been many surgeries, but it's fun here, and I've been with some really nice people."

Now Ardita faces what could be her toughest challenge. At the end of the current school year, she must return to Kosovo, where her future is less secure. She and her mother, Shemsije, have twice extended their visas to allow for Ardita's continual medical care, but have been denied further refuge in the U.S. They worry that Ardita may not be able to get the medications and care she needs in Kosovo.

"I just wish she could get the documents to stay," says Shemsije. "I wish there was another way."

Ardita and her mother came to Chicago in 2001 with the help of a Madison-based uncle, Gani Ahmetaj. He arranged for her to receive treatment at Shriners Hospital. Ardita's father, Sami, has remained in Kosovo, having been denied permission to leave. Says Shemsije, "My husband has tried to come and hasn't been able to."

While Ardita looks forward to reuniting with her father, the village in Kosovo to which she's scheduled to return in June has spotty electricity and unsafe water, which may exacerbate her medical conditions.

But there may be a glimmer of hope. Ardita has won the hearts of her classmates in Madison, and a group of concerned moms at Elvehjem Elementary School are taking up her cause. They have contacted lawyers and international experts and are now raising funds to ensure that Ardita has a fighting chance when she heads home.

> Read more about Ardita and this story here (The Isthmus)

Want to do something? Visit helpardita.com to learn more and/or you can also send money to:

Help Ardita Fund
Associated Bank
608-259-4275
4407 Cottage Grove Rd.
Madison, WI 53716

Age of Conversation 3 - I'm Published!

So late last year I volunteered to write a short essay to be included in the latest Age of Conversation book. What is it about?

Following on the success of the first two editions, Age of Conversation III: It’s Time to Get Busy! again kick-starts the discussion about how the global marketing landscape is changing. With over 300 of the world’s leading marketers, writers, thinkers and creative innovators contributing chapters, this collaborative work investigates the roles that community, conversation, experimentation, engagement, and collaboration play in shaping the 21st century’s economy of ideas. As businesses, public and private organizations, and individuals realize that there’s much more to social media and its impacts than first meets the eye, Age of Conversation III shows which platforms, tools, and approaches truly work. (read more)

It's pretty cool - my piece is on innovation and execution. It will be available in mid-April so stay tuned to the book's website for more news and other details.

In the meantime, check out the complete list of the other fine authors contributing to the book.

Disability Doesn't Stop This Teen From Dancing

...and defying expectations. What an amazing and inspiring story this is that I came across in this week's Parade magazine:

In Challes Reese’s dreams, her face is bathed in a spotlight as she dances freely across a stage.

In Challes Reese’s reality, she is a 15-year-old with cerebral palsy who relies on a wheelchair for mobility.

But she has long refused to let her neurological condition, which permanently impairs muscle control, block her dream of dancing.

That dream started when Challes was a little girl in Chicago, before her family relocated to Dubuque, Iowa. And it persisted when she moved into Hills & Dales, a local residential facility for young people with profound physical and mental disabilities, a few years ago.

So when the Stephen Hempstead High School dance team held tryouts last fall, the freshman, one of nearly 1600 students, steered her motorized wheelchair to the center of the floor. She was ready. A wheelchair in a dance routine? Skeptics were soon won over as Challes moved her arms and spun her chair around, “dancing” in sync with the music. It was an unconventional routine but one she performed to near perfection.

Told she was the newest squad member, Challes, a young woman of few words, unleashed a scream of joy. The dream was on.

> Read more here.

Related Sublime Goodness Posts:

• Amputee Swimmer Doesn't Quit
• Disabled Iraq Veteran Overcomes Tragedy & Inspires...
• One Man Helps the Disabled See the World
• No Stopping Five-Year-Old Girl with New Legs
• Don't Quit Poem Video

Move Your Money Contest

For the first time, I have to make a personal appeal, but it's for a good cause.

Have you heard of Move Your Money? The movement was started by Huffington Post and is all about getting folks to...:

..move their money out of the Wall Street banks and into community banks and credit unions. Community banks are typically more conservative about how they manage their money, they’re more closely connected to the people and businesses who live near them, and they’re more inclined to make loans they know will get paid back. In other words, they have the values that more people would want banks to have.

Coincidentally, a friend and I both work in credit union organizations and play together in a band called The Disclosures. Recently a contest opened up that asked for people to submit a 2-minute video around moving your money - the only stipulation is you had to start your song with "Money in a bank. Money in a bank. Looking like a fool with your money in a bank."

Almost all the other entries are rap...but we came up with this. Enjoy!



Voting started this week and is open until Wed. March 17 - anyone with an email can vote. It's easy and only takes a second.

> VOTE FOR US HERE (#5 - the Disclosures)

Then please share our video with others and ask them to vote.

Thank you!

Separated Twins Reunite Decades Later

I love stories like this (and in my own backyard too!):

A local woman has been reunited with her twin after 52 years.The family's story starts in Japan, continues with family scattered from Madison to San Diego, Calif., and ends with twins finding each other on the Internet.

Watch the video recap:




> Read the full story here (Channel3000.com)

Related Sublime Goodness Posts:

• Co-workers Discover They Are Brothers
• Mother & Son Reunite via MySpace...After 32 Years!
• Reunited Siblings Were Living Only 300 Yards Apart...
• Firefighter Meets Woman He Saved 40 Years Ago

It's Not All Bad - 100 Things That Are Getting Better

I came across this list at CNN.com and aside from strange listings (#2-shapewear?), it's a nice read for you pessimists:

> Read 100 Things That Are Getting Better (at Oprah.com)

Random yes, but personally I do hope those crazy fees from the big banks go away (#10) and I somehow make it to the moon before I leave this earth for good (#3).

"Major Leagues" by Pavement

I've been thinking and listening to Pavement a lot recently - one of my favorite bands of the nineties. They broke up in 1999...but are actually and amazingly reuniting this year to play some select shows (one in Chicago even!).

Anyway, they have a wealth of songs that would fit in the Sunday Sublime songs category, but it feels right to have a song off their last album included here on the blog.

Close your eyes and listen:



Have You Downloaded the Sublime Goodness Mixtape yet?