What About the Missing? Organizations NEED Donations

by Cynthia Caron

First let me say, I am so very sorry for the way the Karen Klein, the 68 year old woman on the bus, who was treated horribly by the bratty bullying teens with terrible words hurled at the woman. Nobody deserves to be treated that way and those that did the bullying should need to have to make amends by community service, assisting those who cannot help themselves is a good thought, supervised of course.

But I must add...am I right to feel this way? $400,000 raised by caring people from around the world? I want nothing more than to see Karen Klein be able to use that money to fund her living expenses so that she doesn't have to work if she chooses not to. Also to use it towards enjoying precious times with her 8 grandchildren without having to worry how to come up with extra money for each of their birthdays.

However, with that said, I cannot help feeling very sad. Maybe even a bit jealous? It is so hard to raise funds for our 501c3 nonprofit in which we assist law enforcement and families of missing loved ones. Not just "missing" as in, "where is Uncle Joe that moved to Arizona years ago?" and not "I wonder where my high school friend went? I've not heard from him/her in years?" Those are not missing loved ones. Missing loved ones are somebody's child, no matter the age, that disappeared off the face of the earth in the middle of a normal life. One who did not show up to work and was not home for a very important family event. One who would NEVER go missing on their own. One who has children at home wondering where their mommy or daddy is and family not knowing how to explain except to say "We are looking, honey." Why can't their pain and the awful roller coaster ride of not knowing if their child is alive or dead not touch the hearts of the same people who donated to Karen Klein?

I know fundraising is very difficult, trust me…we do it all of the time…yet, our nonprofit existed of 85% of donations by myself out of my own personal funds and those of a few staff members. I know other nonprofits helping families of missing and doing search and rescue experience the very same situation. Our nonprofit, for example, asks for very little. Perhaps a $5.00 donation. If 100 people donated $5.00 that would be $500 and would cover the costs of printing posters for missing loved ones for four families. A far cry from what we really need but every penny helps. We are all 100% volunteers, as are most nonprofits who do not have government grants. We do not draw salaries and our funds are running short. We are doing all possible to reach out and get the public to please take notice of our work, of the pain our families are enduring and of the many more things we want to do for them…and are struggling due to funding. Bank accounts that hold less than $600.

As stated, this is not only for LostNMissing Inc, this is also a problem our families of missing are enduring, as well. They depend on us for services, yet at the same time many are trying to raise funds for searches to bring their children's bodies home. Now that is sad. , Thus far this year we've only raised $1,256 for our organization from public donations. Our families raise an average of $5,000 (if they are lucky) and yet....over $400,000 has gone towards helping this woman who had to endure kids disrespecting her in the most nasty way. WHY do people not care to donate to help find missing loved ones, too? Am I wrong for feeling this way?

It is frustrating. Over 2000 loved ones go missing EVERY DAY. Families are having to halt searches when they have very good leads, media coverage only goes so far...billboards are needed for awareness and the cost is unbelievable! Families need to increase or add rewards. We are of the firm believe that EVERYONE missing...someone holds the answers. We need people to be more accountable to helping these families...people need to have a conscience who have information that can help these families. I believe the reason donations are not coming in is because the general public has no idea what it is like to lose a missing loved one. It doesn't touch their hearts" in the way that they want to help because they've never experienced it" or they feel it is "well covered" or that it happens "so rarely" that it is not truly a cause to support. How wrong they are. Every missing person is someone's missing child.

The networks have reality shows from "evicting people from their apartments" to "chasing hogs in the wild" and they need to really re-focus and start doing some reality shows of what it is like to be a parent of a missing child. Perhaps walk in the shoes of families and the roller coaster ride of pain to see what they are going through. Now that is reality. I hope producers out there start thinking of helping families of missing instead of sensationalizing people who eat drywall and rocks. And I hope those who have the means to donate will consider donating towards any and all organizations that are struggling, without government grants, and who are all 100% volunteers trying to help these families of missing.

Here are just a few nonprofit organizations that are in need of funding:

www.lostnmissing.com LostNMissing Inc.
www.lrcf.org Laura Recovery Center
www.blackandmissinginc.com Black & Missing Foundation
www.ncmissingpersons.org Cue Center
www.projectjason.org Project Jason
www.kristenfoundation.org Kristen Foundation
http://heidisearchcenter.com Heidi Search Center

Won't you take a moment today and donate whatever you can afford? Even if only $5.00. Every bit helps.

Cynthia Caron
President/Founder
LostNMissing, Inc.
PH: 603.548.6548
www.lostnmissing.

   

Influences

By Susie Kroll

Today I watched an episode of the new 90210.  I was struck by part of the storyline.  There is a nerdy smart kid that likes one of the popular, rich, and self-absorbed main characters.  She is thin, pretty, popular, failing math, and could have her choice of guys.  She has found herself attracted to the nerd.  This nerd is short, wears glasses, is excellent at math, and loves science fiction.  In prior episodes they even make reference to the fact that her reputation would be ruined if her friends knew she liked a nerd.  So they agree to save both their reputations and keep their hooking up a secret.

She makes all kinds of assumptions about the nerd.  One is that he is inexperienced in bed.  Clearly, she believes that she is going to educate him about sex.  After their first intimate act, she basically said to the nerd, “Wow, you were great.”  Furthermore, she questions how a virgin could perform so well for the first time.  The nerdy kid then tells her that he is not a virgin.  She was shocked and asks how many times before her.  He replies, less than the square root of 64.  He says, “7.”  She is shocked and so was I. For me it wasn’t because he was a nerd.  It was because both of these characters are supposed to be seniors in high school-so they are probably supposed to be 17.  It is worth noting that while all of this was happening, these kids had chartered a private jet and flown to Cabo for their Spring Break.  It goes without saying that alcohol was readily available.  Additionally, the nerd finds out that his new flame is failing math and refused to have sex with her again until the studies and correctly answers all his math questions.

So why am I blogging about this?  If you remember from one of my prior blogs, the statistic from a Kaiser Family Foundation that stated:  76% of teens said that one reason young people have sex is because TV shows and movies make it seem normal for teens. 

Let us take this a bit further, so now we have moved from teens losing their virginity before they graduate from high school so approaching double-digit sex partners.  And the one approaching the double-digits is a math nerd.  If teens are emulating what they see on TV because it is portrayed to be normal then here are a few assumptions to consider.

1. If real teens don’t want to be considered nerds then do they need to strive for more than 7 sex partners before they graduate?
2. Does that mean that the popular girl has had more partners than the nerd?
3. Why does the show portray the only reason for her sudden motivation to pass math is so she can have sex with the nerd again? (Getting into CU is second on that list.)
4. Do all popular girls only respond to sexual motivation?
5. Why are the stereotypes of nerds vs. popular and over-sexed pretty girls reinforced?
6. How many of our tweens and teens are seeing this and thinking this is the norm and that’s what they should be doing because they lack the necessary guidance to make educated choices?

My list of questions could go on and on.  So what do we do?  What do you think?  Are you scared?  I am.

Maintain the Fire!

By Jillian Maas Backman

In a time of reality TV, shock jock radio and bully commentators, how in the world has self-help gurus like Dr. Oz, Jillian Michaels, and now , Anthony Robbins been able to infiltrate closed media programming? What could be the driving force behind this cultural open-minded media phenomenon? Maybe I am going out on a limb but I believe we are primed, willing, and able to see ourselves as WINNERS again. Have we had enough of powerful people telling us we are stalling out with our perpetual potential? Are they really self help gurus or possibly intense dynamic peaceful warriors coming forth to gather the troops to exclaim once again the battle cry of our American spirit………”YES WE CAN.”

By the grace of NBC and Anthony Robbins for the next couple of weeks, we are being allowed free prime time access to the highly successful world of what I call the “Anthony Zone.” This self-help entertainment encouraging us to think positive, go for it and let nothing stand in the way of your own success. An over worked battle cry we have heard many times before, ever so logical, but nearly impossible to replicate in our daily life. We will be inspired by human triumphs over the saddest of challenges. We will cry together, laugh aloud together, and recite simple mantras in unison with the intent of igniting the fire of greatness within each one of us. However, what happens to this “spark” after our high priced cheerleader is no longer available? Like anyone who has attempted to start a fire in the forest – it is one thing to have a spark but it is something all together different to create a fire capable of burning all night long. How do you sustain the spark so that it can ignite a fire within? Robbins is a world -class public speaker capable of creating that spark. As a spectator in the television audience how can you capitalize on this once in a lifetime event? Here are my suggestions:

He will cover a lot of ground in several weeks of life coaching material. Listen with great intent to what he is saying. Focus on the information and take notes on the material that resonates with you. Ignore the rest. Work with your notes and break them down into workable pieces that you can implement as you go. Your understanding will come after the weeks of faithful work and repetition.

The goal here is sustainable changes inside and out. Anthony Robbins is a well-known figure in the world of life coaching but there are also exceptional life coaches in your local communities who are readily accessible to help you maintain the “fire” of your newfound course of action.

The simplest part of self-improvement is striking the spark for change. The most difficult part is maintaining the “fire.”

In loving gratitude, Jillian Maas Backman