Dreamer ENT – Dream. Dare. Soar.

You are browsing the archives of 2012 January.

Cards for Hospitalized Kids is an awesome organization that gives hope, joy & love to hospitalized kids across America through cards. You can get involved by making cards to send, hosting or attending a card-making event or referring a child to receive a card. I was inspired by how many kids have been reached already by this awesome organization! Visit http://www.cardsforhospitalizedkids.com to find out how you can join in on this cause.

Cards for Hospitalized Kids was founded by 17-year-old Jen Rubino who shares her story about her own hospital stay and inspiration to start the organization on the website:

Jen Rubino, Founder of Cards for Hospitalized Kids, Shares Her Story

Above: Cards for Hospitalized Kids founder Jen Rubino was interviewed by B96’s Rebecca Ortiz on December 8, 2011.

My motivation for creating Cards for Hospitalized Kids goes back to my own experience as a patient, which began when I was diagnosed with a chronic illness at age 11. Since my health problems began six years ago, I’ve undergone 15 surgeries and have had countless treatments and hospital visits.

My experience as a patient has shown me how difficult it is to be a hospitalized kid. Kids who are hospitalized often feel isolated and forgotten about. They also miss out on many of the little things in life that most children take for granted.

My experience as a patient has also shown me that cards can bring hope and joy into the lives of hospitalized kids, which is why I founded Cards for Hospitalized Kids.

As the founder of Cards for Hospitalized Kids, I am able to use my own experience as a patient in a way that allows me to help children across America who are facing what I’ve faced.

Lifting others up through Cards for Hospitalized Kids has allowed me to lift myself up as well and, chronic illness or not, I know it will be the same for everyone who gets involved with Cards for Hospitalized Kids.

Do you have an awesome idea for a business? The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship is partnering with Vertical Response to launch America’s search for the Next Teen Tycoon!

Share your idea with the world and win some cool prizes – like $4,000 in cash to help launch your business (better than any loan!), a trip to New York to attend the TEDxTeen conference, and more!

NFTE’s own Steve Mariotti will be one of the contest judges, along with a great panel of experts.

If you are between 13 and 18 years old, all you have to do is record a 2-minute video of yourself pitching your business or business idea, upload it to YouTube and fill out a short form on www.verticalresponse.com/TeenTycoon. Then tell everyone you know, because the videos with the most Facebook votes move on to become finalists!

If you think you could be the Next Teen Tycoon (or if you know someone who fits the bill), enter today at www.verticalresponse.com/TeenTycoon!

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

“If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness…

Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Let’s remember the legacy and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. His vision was one of service, unity, leadership, faith and community. We can all play a part in making it more vivid today, through the words we choose to speak, the ways we choose to impact our community and in the love and kindness we show to others.

Listen to Dr. King in the videos below, talking about his dream and passion for service:

“If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.