Monday, November 23, 2009

another milestone reached

I am happy to report that the Each One for US All website is now live. I huge thank you goes out to Bob and Leigh Karsch at Karsch Creative for gettin' her done. Thanks also goes out to Rob Sims and Matt Cordes for their writing talents, great job everybody.

Although my blog has captured my visions and ideas for the developement of the organization, I feel the website really captures the goals. This will be a tool to update our progress and educate the visitor of what we're all about and in turn motivate those to get inolved.

I hope you will all stop by and check it out. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts, I have gained so much from so many just by listening to their point of view.

On another note, my interview will be running on Thanksgiving day in The Courier Times, The Intelligencer and The Burlington County Times, hoping for a huge push from the publicty, fingers crossed. You can also see it on http://www.phillyburbs.com/. Last week a preview was run online at this link, check it out.
http://blogs.phillyburbs.com/news/bcct/yardley-resident-founds-non-profit-to-help-flood-victims/

Wishing everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving holiday.

DD

Thursday, November 19, 2009

blame all you want, what we need is a change

A great portion of my day is spent doing research, primarily on the internet, finding stories about towns across our country still in disarray from disasters mostly years after the fact. What I love about the web now is the ability to access it anywhere, anytime. In fact, right now I am writing this blog in a waiting room of a car service center, they have wireless access, meaning I don't have to page through the old copies of the popular rags on display and I can continue my quest to learn more about the goings on in our country at the moment.

I stumbled upon this article form the LA Times about the Army Corps. Of Engineers that I felt I needed to share - http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-katrina-flooding19-2009nov19,0,3370102.story. The events of Hurricane Katrina were like no other in our country. The news about how people are still struggling to rebuild can be found every day. We as a country all sat there and saw firsthand how unprepared we were with an event of this magnitude. This article to me really shows why we need to deal with natural disasters in a more proactive way. From what I understand about the Army Corps., they are a government agency. Like other government agencies, they are assigned a budget every year to deal with finding solutions and rebuilding to help alleviate the effects of natural disasters or to eliminate them altogether. Having to determine a budget for this type of need must be an unbelievable task. Frankly, this approach in my mind can only lead to more things being moved to the back burner and falling through the cracks. Think about it in terms of your family, we all have expenses, the car breaks down, the roof may spring a leak, the carpet needs replacing. Your budget will take care of needs and fixes that fall highest on the priority list. You may opt to fix the car and the roof but put off the new carpet until your budget opens up. We've all been there, that carpet replacement could take months or longer if something else pops up like it always seems to do.

I guess as a society we want to have someone or something to blame, this gives us closure on some level so we can move on. However, as the article states, this ruling will open up our government to thousands of new claims costing the government and ultimately us as citizens, billions of dollars. Looking at it in that respect is why I have started my organization Each One for US All. My town of Yardley, PA had a solution in place to control the water on the Delaware River provided by the Army Corps. Of Engineers since the 60's and still to this day, they won't move forward in its implementation. We as a united front can tackle these situations with a proactive approach with charitable donations coming from each and every one of us that has been, will be or knows someone dealing with the effects of a natural disaster. Unfortunately they way things are set up; we are already footing the bill for a system that doesn't seem to work.

DD

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

something to talk about

I'm back and I'm sorry I've been away for so long. The truth is that for the past month or so I have been in a waiting mode. Not to say that I haven't been keeping busy but I didn't think every aspect of my research and every detail of my day-to-day was really that interesting. I was sure there would come a day that I could inform everyone of something new and today is the day.
I am very excited to announce that I have been interviewed by our regional newspaper for an article that will be published on Thanksgiving Day. I am scheduled for a photo shoot along the banks of the Delaware River on Thursday of this week,,, fitting to say the least. For those of you in Bucks County, you can find it in the Courier Times, for those of you that are out of town, you can see the article on the web at - http://www.phillyburbs.com/ A special thank you to Amanda Cregan for her interest and providing the stage for a broad audience to see my vision.

With this article I will also be launching the Each One for Us All website. Part of the details I referred to earlier was the building of this site. There has been a large amount of work done here. It is amazing what it takes to put something like this together. Frankly I never really thought too much about how web pages work and the planning that goes on behind its creation, but like almost everything else in life, you never really know until you actually do it. The website I feel is such an important part of the organization. The web has made the world a smaller place and with the launch I will be able to share my vision on a grander scale. I intend to utilize this tool to its fullest extent, to educate, to inspire and to gain support so needed for so many.

Throughout the past 5 months I will tell you that I have experienced a rollercoaster of emotions. With every risk one takes, you have to expect there will be a fair share of ups and downs. Those experiences for me have been the fuel to thinking outside of my comfort zone, something I believe is necessary to the success of my path. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I'd be remiss not to send out a huge thank you to all the folks along the way that have inspired, challenged and encouraged me to move forward with this vision. With your support, I am confident I will see every success I know that can be accomplished.

Leigh, Brenda, Fred and Rob, thanks for climbing aboard, you will all bring your special gifts that will make a huge difference in others lives.
Ron, thanks for spreading the word, you by far have been more than just a friend, you are a true advocate of this cause and I won't forget.
Ronni, Michiel and Richard at Dechert, I'd still be sifting through IRS forms without your intervention for sure.
Lorna for always asking how I'm doing in this process,, for sharing the link with your friends as well.
Facebook friends and Twitter followers, what a cool vehicle social networking can be.
Followers on this blog, email subscribers and folks that just pop in. Your comments are priceless.
Brittany, Bobby and Laurel, just seeing you all grow make me want to be a better person.
And finally my Jacqueline, none of this would have ever happened if it wasn't for your unconditional love and support. You've given me the greatest gift I could ever receive, the belief that I can achieve anything if I put my mind to it.

DD