Eyes That See the Good in Things - January 8, 2018

I shared a cartoon on Facebook last night…it shared my frame of mind just perfectly. Two little mice (I think they’re mice) are sitting on the numbers 2 and 0 looking forward to where the numbers 1 and 18 would appear.  

 One mouse is kneeling with gardening tools around him on the ground. Another mouse standing behind him asks, “Why so optimistic about 2018? What do you think it will bring? Everything seems so messed up.”

 To which the other mouse replied, “I think it will bring flowers.”

 “Yes?” How come?” inquires the other mouse.

 “Because I’m planting flowers.”

 It took me a lot longer to tell it than if you would have just read the cartoon, but I wasn’t able to get permission to publish it in the paper before press time or I would have shared the cartoon with you here, too.

 It resonated with me because I’ve been working on what everyone in the office knows is my favorite thing to do, the Year in Review.

 This year’s reviews have been extremely negative, and I refuse to follow suit! So, rather than talking about the cold weather, I’m planting flowers in the winter and I am finding that others are too.

 One of those people planting flowers is Philadelphia Eagles football player Carson Wentz. Last night on my way home from work, I heard a news report that started with, “Imagine how cool it would be if you could say, ‘I got a Christmas present from Carson Wentz.’”

 Well, there are North Dakota students that can say just that. The story posted on Wentz’ AO1 Foundation website says that it didn’t take Carson Wentz long to decide what to do with his free time while recuperating from his recent knee surgery.  

 Despite being sidelined recently in what’s been a very successful season for the Eagles, Wentz turned his focus toward supporting others through his foundation. As a result, 98 North Dakota students, in the Fargo and Bismarck communities that he’s called home, received $100 gift cards for a shopping spree at Scheels, along with a signed note from Wentz.

 Then his foundation went to work in Philadelphia and hosted a breakfast for more than 100 children and their families that were staying at the local Ronald McDonald House. They provided Christmas gifts and Eagles gear to everyone staying there. Although Wentz wasn’t able to attend due to his recent knee surgery, he did send a personal video message that was played at the breakfast.

 The AO1 Foundation is a fiscally-sponsored project of The Giving Back Fund Inc., a not-for-profit corporation and national public charity that creates and professionally manages charitable foundations and other philanthropic programs for athletes, entertainers, business entrepreneurs, and corporations.

 Thanks for planting flowers in the winter, Carson!

 Other athletes in the news this week included the announcement of the 2017 Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works team. Apparently this award has been around for awhile, but I hadn’t heard about it until I was (kind of) watching the Sugar Bowl on New Years Day and this presentation caught my eye.

 If you already know about this award, you can skip forward a bit, but since I wasn’t familiar with it, I’ll share. The award shines a spotlight on selfless stories of community service displayed by the members of the team. This year 149 college football players were nominated, and the committee narrowed the list down to 22 members of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. The team was honored with a great presentation at half-time of the Sugar Bowl game in New Orleans.

 The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team represents the “best of the best” among more than 50,000 student-athletes participating in the sport at all four-year institutions.

 “While glory and praise may be traditionally reserved for the most athletically skilled college football players on the field, it is the student-athletes committed to serving others who make the most important impact off the field,” stated Tim Tebow, a former Good Works Team Member. The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team exists to tell their stories and acknowledge their impact beyond the game.

 These young men have helped to build houses overseas, provided foster care resources for children; developed athletic programs for children with developmental disabilities; worked with programs to advocate and raise awareness about preventing sexual assault.

 They’ve mentored children, especially those from one parent households because one parent is incarcerated; they’ve delivered food to impoverished families; worked with Special Olympics, Read Across America and many children’s hospital programs; built a soccer field in Honduras. They’ve provided shoes to kids that needed them and have worked in homeless shelters and soup kitchens.

 If, like me you think that’s a lot, that list came from reading the stories of just three of the players selected as members of the Good Works team. These guys are busy planting flowers!

 Is someone you know planting flowers? We’d sure love to share those stories.

 Stop in to share your stories with us, give us a call at 947-2417 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Or send a letter to Eyes That See the Good in Things, c/o Allison Lindgren, The Transcript, 6 8th St N., New Rockford, ND 58356.