Recently, I met Jane Goodall and was inspired.
Oddly, I was having a hard time writing this blog; partly because I am always asking people to help but also because people are always being asked to help.
As you may or may not know, working with non-profit organizations is a passion of mine and in my “spare time” I work with several; obviously I have a problem saying no. I’m full up. I recently turned a project down because there weren’t enough hours in the day. Then along came an invitation to meet Jane Goodall in a small and intimate setting. Her entire message focuses on reaching out to kids, not just on saving the chimps…it’s more full circle than that. She’s speaking to kids (and adults) about understanding the world and knowing that every decision made HERE can affect changes around the world.
If you don’t know who Jane Goodall is, she is NOT the Gorillas in the Mist person (that’s Dian Fossey), she’s the other one. I had the combined feeling of being inspired and excited along with feeling hopeless and overwhelmed. Since I know we all are responsible for our own happiness, I’m going to focus on being inspired, because Jane has made it very simple for us to make a difference. And that is what I need – simple. God knows there is enough complication out there and dire predictions so, along with everything else we do day-to-day, it’s hard to spend a moment thinking about the environment let alone the chimps in Africa. After meeting Jane I realized it doesn’t have to be difficult or confusing.
In the end I was simply motivated by Jane and her team and I just wanted to share that with you. If you’re inclined to take a deeper look at what they are doing, awesome. I encourage you to share with your kids what the team does. They will love looking at the pictures of the chimps!
We’ve also been given a gift pack for us to give away – make sure you enter to win:
The pack contains:
From the Jane Goodall Institute:
– ½-pound pack of Jane Goodall Institute Blend coffee
– Patrick McDonnell’s children’s book, “Me…Jane”, telling the inspring story of Jane Goodall (signed!)
– a DVD/Blu-Ray of Disney Nature’s the Chimpanzees
From Thomas Allan & Son:
– Safari: A Photicular Book created by Dan Kainen; written by Carol Kaufmann
