No more sofa sitting when fresh air awaits

"Because I Said So" column for The Commercial Appeal

April 30, 2009

When my sisters and I were growing up, there were two things you never said to our mother. You never asked her what was for dinner after she got home from work, and you never, ever told her you were bored.

You didn't ask her about dinner because, whatever it was, it would come with a heaping portion of lecture. You didn't tell her you were bored because she'd find you something to do, and it almost always involved cleaning or mowing something.

Joshua, my 7-year-old, is the most bored of my four children, but he and I deal with his boredom by a means of shorthand, a kind of secret language twins, 31 years separated, might use ... (read more)

Passion to serve: Servicemaster, employees earn praise from MIFA program it helps sponsor

Corporate Giving story for The Commercial Appeal

April 17, 2009

ServiceMaster sponsors the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association's annual "Day of Reflection and Service," and this year the business found itself among the honorees at the event.

The day is a celebration of MIFA's staff and volunteers and honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton gave out awards for special service to MIFA over the past year, including the first MIFA Pathfinder Award, which went to ServiceMaster for "the company's 15 years of faithful service and generous contributions, as well as eight years of sponsoring Day of Reflection and Service."

The Memphis-based ServiceMaster Co. offers cleaning, lawn care and other services to homeowners and businesses, and employs more than 30,000 people nationwide ... (read more)

The magic of books often lost on big screen

"Because I Said So" column for The Commercial Appeal

April 16, 2009

One of my kids' favorite pastimes is watching movie trailers online. We rarely go to the theater because it costs $832 for a family of six to see a movie, yet my kids know exactly what is coming out and when. They can quote2 minutes and 37 seconds of any children's movie on its way to the big screen.

Even 2-year-old Genevieve has become a fan of the cinematic CliffsNotes and has her own way of describing plots. "I want to see the one about the big man and the little boy" means she wants to see the trailer for Disney Pixar's "Up" for the hundredth time.

The kids were spellbound recently as I pushed play and the opening scenes of "Where the Wild Things Are" unfolded before their eyes. The story of Max and his time as king of an unknown land inhabited by wild things came to life right there on my laptop ... (read more)

Baptist Memorial Health Care uses only its people for work on its first Habitat for Humanity house

Corporate Giving story for The Commercial Appeal

April 10, 2009

Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp. has been working to build the largest house ever built in this area for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis. Dedication for the five-bedroom home on Pershing in Binghamton is slated for May 13.

"This is probably a defining moment in my private and professional life as an opportunity to give back," said Beverly Jordan, vice president and chief nursing officer for BMHCC. "You can see it in volunteers' eyes and hear it in their voices that they're grateful to be participating in this."

BMHCC is the exclusive sponsor for this house, donating $60,000 to Habitat and covering all 480 shifts, at 41/2 hours per shift. This is its first building project for Habitat ... (read more)

Enterprise Rent-A-Car program puts youths on strong path

Corporate Giving story for The Commercial Appeal

April 3, 2009

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Memphis Inc. is hosting the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Leadership Academy for high school sophomores and juniors.

The six-session course, from Feb. 7 through May 16, is designed to help young adults reach their potential when they get jobs.

Enterprise (enterprise.com) supports BBBS (bbbs.org) on a national level, but, "West Tennessee wanted to do more and worked with BBBS to develop this program," said Chris Anderson, Enterprise regional vice president. "We wanted to do something that was more structured."... (read more)

Dad tries to teach kids to want less

"Because I Said So" column for The Commercial Appeal

April 2, 2009

I did two things last weekend: I sat in on a session of the Enterprise Leadership Academy focusing on finance at Big Brothers Big Sisters, and I visited the Costco on Germantown Parkway.

I'm here to tell you, the economy will be fine. I base this knowledge on the young people I saw absorbing what local professionals had to teach them about the basics of finance and budgeting at BBBS, and on the ravenous consumption of goods at Costco.

And on pure speculation ... (read more)

A Place Called Hope

Feature story for Memphis Parent magazine on the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Memphis

April 2009

Vincent Borello is a living testament to what the Boys & Girls Clubs can do for kids. As a product of the East Utica Boys Club in upstate New York, he grew up in a rough, inner-city neighborhood. He candidly admits, if it hadn’t been for his Boy’s club, “I’d probably be dead or in jail.”

Instead, he was given control of that club at age 17, becoming the youngest unit director in the organization’s history, and never looked back. “I could have been a doctor and saved lives, but not as many as I save here.”

As president and CEO, Borello speaks passionately about the Boys & Girls Clubs and doesn’t consider what he does as work. With the six clubs he oversees in Memphis, “we give kids as much choice and opportunity as possible,” says Borello.

The choices for these children are plentiful from day to day: Play pool or read? Basketball or help from a mentor? Air hockey or cooking class? Other opportunities lie within each choice, namely helping kids improve in mind, body, and character ... (read more)