A Thought From Maya Angelou

"Sister, there were people who went to sleep last night, poor and rich and white and black, but they will never wake again. And those dead folks would give anything at all for just five minutes of this weather or ten minutes of plowing. So you watch yourself about complaining. What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it." -

Change is pretty powerful stuff. It is often just what the kids at RAP House Shelter need to begin to turn their lives around. Last Tuesday was a powerful day for me as Youth and Family Alternatives' Development Director, the guy that looks for $$ for our programs and services. I received notice from a United Way in Arizona that a donor had pledged over $1,000 to our not-for-profit! That isn't an everyday occurrence. When I reached the donor later in the day she told me that she only wished she could contribute more because in 2001 our shelter "made all the difference" in her son's life and oh by the way he is about to graduate law school! RAP River Run is more than a 5K race. It really is a day to make a difference! - Jim Simms