Thursday, February 26, 2015

Join Us For Our Monthly Community Clean Up on Saturday!

When: Saturday, February 28th, 2015 at 9am
Where: Starbucks Downtown Fairfield 700 Jefferson St Corner of Jefferson & Texas (map)
Description: We meet every last Saturday of each month (weather permitting). We clean up different locations and neighborhoods. Please join us. All are welcome
At the Matt Garcia Foundation we don’t want to complain about this, we want to create solutions to problems. It is with this spirit that we began our Monthly Community Clean Ups.

On the last Saturday of every month, volunteers get together and clean up a neighborhood in Fairfield. We pick up trash, work on landscaping paint windows, fix fences – all in an effort to improve our community. This is another example of community coming together to help make a difference.

The Matt Garcia Foundation Dream Team, is all about stepping up and stepping out of ourselves to serve others and our communities to be a part of the solution. Matt would say ” if you see a piece of garbage on the ground, please just pick it up” How simple is that! So, that is what we do.

Monday, February 23, 2015

Why Keeping Young offenders Out of Jail Could Reduce Crime



Juvenile offenders kept under supervision close to home, rather than in secure, state-run facilities, are significantly less likely to be arrested again or commit more serious crimes, according to a new study. Judy Woodruff discusses the findings with Xavier McElrath-Bey of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth and Michael Thompson of the Council of State Governments Justice Center.

Friday, February 20, 2015

Support The Matt Garcia Foundation Through AmazonSmile!

You can help support The Matt Garcia Foundation by shopping through AmazonSmile.

  • Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to The Matt Garcia Foundation whenever you shop on AmazonSmile.
  • AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same Amazon Prime benefits.
  • Support your charitable organization by starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com.

 
Click the logo above to start shopping!

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Nadine Burke Harris: How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime



Childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain. This unfolds across a lifetime, to the point where those who’ve experienced high levels of trauma are at triple the risk for heart disease and lung cancer. An impassioned plea for pediatric medicine to confront the prevention and treatment of trauma, head-on.

Saturday, February 14, 2015

How Do You Live With Compassion?

Compassion is more than just the occasional feeling of mercy. It's all about deep love and care, usually without expecting anything in return. It's all about going beyond yourself.

Here are some ways on how to uphold the value of compassion:

1. Learn how to forgive. One of the biggest forms of compassion is forgiveness. Not a lot of people are aware of the fact that it's completely liberating. It often washes away the pain, the hurt, the guilt, and the shame. Though people may never forget about the past, it doesn't affect them anymore.

Forgiving isn't a very simple process, especially if it's you who gets hurt. Nevertheless, at some point, you have to do it as a way of freeing yourself from the anger and hate.

2. Think more of others. Being compassionate doesn't mean you have to completely reject yourself. However, you now have to think of others more seriously. Before you do something, ask yourself the question: What good will it do for humankind? By then you'll discover that some decisions are merely self-serving.

3. Find time to be with others. Compassion is more than emotions or feelings. Most of all, it's all about action. That's why you have to see to it that you can spare a portion of your time for others.

Many have the notion that the only time when you can be compassionate is when you volunteer in organizations. Though that it's true, you don't have to do it all the time. A very simple act such as listening or holding other people's hand in times of their sorrow and pain is already a type of compassionate act.

4. Don't expect any reward. Compassion comes at the deeper part of your soul. You do it because it makes you feel satisfied. You feel and give compassion because other people deserve it. It doesn't expect anything in return. Otherwise, what you're doing is a task, no different from performing a job at an office.

5. Remind yourself to always be compassionate. With the way the world goes, it's not surprising if you think of your own interests first before those of others. After all, we are born and trained to really survive. In the process you place compassion in the back burner.

You have to learn how to remind yourself to offer compassion as often as you can. Subliminal messages may help you with that.

When you're losing your interests on others and giving more attention to yourself, just think of the following affirmations:

There's more to this world than me.
The world doesn't revolve around me.
I am capable of loving and caring for others.
I am of greater value by being of service to others.

6. Meditate. What's the significance of meditation? Meditation relieves yourself of the worries that are causing you stress, anxiety, and depression. It removes the build-up of clutter or negative thoughts, and it makes you more aware of the present. Moreover, you can use it to detach yourself from material possessions so you'll have more space and attention on important matters, such as the needs of others.

Nelson Berry is the Pioneer of Subliminal Messages Videos and Subliminal MP3s Audio Subliminal Messages Online. Click for 4 Free Subliminal Video Messages Downloads (valued at $160).
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nelson_Berry

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6103276

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

From Pain, to Power to Success: Macio Thompkins at TEDxYouth@TheBeltline



Macio Thompkins is a 19 year old employee of the City of Atlanta and a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta. Growing up on the Northwest side of Atlanta, Macio had to overcome numerous challenges and hurdles to achieve his dream of graduating high school and being a model of success for his family and friends. However, thanks to Beyond the Bricks program offered this summer at Georgia State University, Macio dreams now include sharing his talent with the world and his message of determination and success.

Sunday, February 8, 2015

The Matt Garcia Foundation's Community Investment Day - S.T.A.N.D.

 

The Matt Garcia Foundation invites you to STAND with us this day to Support, Teach, Advocate, Nurture, and Dream with the youth, businesses, and residents of our community. Help us continue our efforts to support the many neeeds of our neighbors and partners by pledging to STAND with FFINEST.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Changing the World, One Word at a Time! | The Queen Latifah Show



Belissa Escobedo, Rhiannon McGavin, and Zariya Allen, members of the Get Lit organization perform "Somewhere in America".

Monday, February 2, 2015

Ruth Chang: How to Make Hard Choices



Here's a talk that could literally change your life. Which career should I pursue? Should I break up - or get married?! Where should I live? Big decisions like these can be agonizingly difficult. But that's because we think about them the wrong way, says philosopher Ruth Chang. She offers a powerful new framework for shaping who we truly are.