Long Lost Brothers Find They Are Neighbors

These stories never cease to amaze me. Hearing about siblings that have reunited is always fantastic...but when they turn out to be neighbors or coworkers, it's reminiscent of Hollywood. Here is the recent story of a pair of brothers in Canada:

After years of trying to find each other, two long-lost Newfoundland brothers have discovered they live just metres apart in Corner Brook.

"He was across the road. I could not believe it. That was crazy. It took me about three hours to get up the nerve to call," said Tommy Larkin, 30.

Larkin and his brother, Stephen Goosney, 29, were adopted as children by separate families. Larkin grew up in a happy family in Cook's Harbour, on Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula.

Goosney grew up a few hundred kilometres south, in Woody Point.

Both Larkin and Goosney spent years searching for their biological family but had no luck, until they received help from Newfoundland and Labrador's Post Adoption Services agency.

On March 25, the brothers found out they have been living on the same street in Corner Brook, western Newfoundland, for the past two years.

"[Finding him in] Newfoundland would have been really exceptional … but across the road is something amazing," said Goosney.

> Read the full story here at CBC News

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Surfer Paddles 40 Miles for Breast Cancer & is Joined by Whale

This story of surfer Jodie Nelson's 40-mile journey to raise money to fight breast cancer would have been amazing enough on it's own...but wait:

18 miles into the paddle, Jodie had a close encounter with a 30-foot minke whale, which are fairly rare for the waters but are known to be friendly and docile. She dubbed him Larry and watched as he blew bubbles beneath her, fluked, and showed her his belly. The whale stayed with Jodie for about an hour and a half. "It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life," she said.

According to Ray Hsieh from the Crow's Nest Boat Center, who was driving Jodie's support boat, "I've been boating and fishing all my life and have never seen anything like what I saw today. It was so strange, I actually called my friends at Sea World to ask them if it was normal, and they said, 'It's your lucky day! That whale is just playing. Sit back and enjoy the show.' So I did."

> Read more here

> Check out Jodie's site "Paddle with a Purpose" (some great videos and pictures there - you can also donate to the cause too.)

Her goal was to raise $50,000 - she's raised over $100,000 so far!

Dad Rescues 2 Year-Old Daughter After She Falls in River

As a father this story both scares the bejesus out of me and makes me happy at the same time.

A California dad dived into the frigid East River and rescued his 2-year-old daughter Saturday after she plunged 20 feet from a historic boat docked at the South Street Seaport.

Witnesses heard a splash, then a terrifying scream.

A moment later, the father, David Anderson, was racing down the deck of the four-masted Peking ship, emptying his pockets along the way.

"He jumped in like a scene out of a movie," said Eric Stringer, 34. "He was pulling things out of his pockets as he was running down the steps. He didn't hesitate."

Once he reached the pier, the frantic father flicked off his shoes and bolted over a fence. Witnesses said he then gazed into the water. His daughter, identified by sources as Bridgette Sheriden, was below the surface.

"He jumped in feet first like a pin," said Stringer, a freelance TV producer from Hicksville, L.I. "He went all the way under, and when he came up, he had her in his arms.

"She was motionless, at first. It was a couple of seconds, and then she started crying."

The crowd of onlookers gasped in relief. (NY Daily News)

> Read the Full Story & Watch a Video Recap

* Thanks to Greatdad.com for the tip on this story.

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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.

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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!