– Jim Fenno
After surviving three years of loss, trauma, and grief, Harold Cameron has transformed himself into the “The Chief of Helping People.” His mission and passion is to encourage positive thought and action and, along with the governors of three states, he has proclaimed March 1 to be “Be Positive, Do Something Positive Day”.
Governor Jennifer Granholm wrote in an official proclamation, “The citizens of Michigan, as well as those across the country, are experiencing negative news on a daily basis, and as a result are feeling the negative emotional and health impacts of this news.”
Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania agreed and extended his support of the March 1 effort. “It is my hope that positivity in thought and action will lead people to be more positive and do some good things for another person, organization or charity.”
Governor M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut has also joined with Harold Cameron, along with Senator Arlen Specter, Senator Robert Casey, Jr., and Congressman Paul Kanjorski. Hundreds of people have even contacted President Bush asking him to issue a Presidential Proclamation for the “Be Positive Day”.
The genesis of positive thinking for Cameron, 51, occurred when he read the best-selling book, The Secret. It turned his life around and ignited a passion for positive action toward others.
Before his encounter with the book in November of 2006, he had experienced three years of loss, trauma, and pain, the likes of which only the biblical character Job could have imagined.
First his mother passed away, then his step-mother passed away, “who was a saint.” He developed two brain tumors before his father passed away. “He was my hero and the wind beneath my wings.”
He was burned out of his home and lost nearly everything. He lost his rights to the family homestead, where he had lived as a child and young adult. His sister, who was suffering with mental illness, suddenly suffered two strokes and had to move in with Harold. “She was so bad I had to have her committed to a mental institution.”
Disabled with illness, he lost his job at a printing company, which he had loved. Meanwhile his sons’ lives were in absolute chaos and one of them twice tried to kill himself.
“Needless to say, things were not looking good,” Harold told me. “But one day I was watching Oprah on TV and she raved about a book called, The Secret, and I knew I had to have the book.”
“I got it and started reading it—no devouring it—as my soul was starving for something positive. My head, my heart, my entire being needed to know “The Secret” and discover it I did.
As a result of reading and practicing what the book teaches, along with a daily practice of meditation and visualization, his life began to change.
“I changed my thoughts and I changed my life. I started helping people as a consumer advocate which gave me a great deal of joy and satisfaction, Cameron said. “I also created The Be Positive, Do Some thing Positive Day.”
“I knew how I had suffered and how my life had been. At the time I sure needed something positive, but I also realized other people needed someone and something positive in their lives as well…someone like them—not rich and famous…just an average guy who could relate to them on a personal level, respond to their pain, and help them in a positive way, (with no hidden agenda or asking for anything in return).”
Since then his life and the direction of his life has been all-positive. His health overall has improved. His sons are doing better than they have in years.
Through his collective philanthropic efforts to help consumers — under the banner of Harold Says — he helps people from all across our country with their consumer issues or questions.
He cites these examples:
“My message is one of positivity and hope for all people everywhere in the world. I believe that as we change our thoughts we change our lives. I am living proof of that. My mission is to promote a positive message and action to all people so that we can create change in our homes, our communities, our states, in our country and in our world. My goal is to create a safer, better, and more positive world in which we all can live.
President Bush highlighted the successes of his mostly-compassionate African policies while on a recent 5-nation tour there, from a quadrupling of U.S. humanitarian aid since he took office to his programs that fight AIDS and malaria.
He and his wife Laura visited a sub-Saharan US-built hospital that has saved thousands of lives and a factory that facilitates the new program in Tanzania to distribute — in partnership with the World Bank — 5 million bed nets providing every child in the country up to the age of five with protection from the deadly Malaria mosquito virus.
“Americans should feel proud, mighty proud, of the work we are doing in Africa,” he said during a recap of the trip which included a presidential slide show. “Without a doubt, this was the most exciting, exhilarating, uplifting trip I’ve taken since I’ve been the president,” Bush told hundreds assembled at the event for an African development foundation.
250,000 African men, women and children now receive lifesaving HIV anti-viral drugs — up from 800 four years ago — thanks largely to the plan Bush launched in 2003. One of his most widely praised foreign-policy initiatives, rock star Bono said it “turned the fate of the continent around”.
Bush urged lawmakers to quickly approve his new proposal to double America’s donation to the Global HIV/AIDS fight, from 15 billion dollars over five years to 30 billion.
While on tour, the president and Laura Bush danced with locals (watch video below).
A Salt Lake City high school boy with one arm led his baseball team to a state title last year and now has risen, again, above all expectations becoming one of the high-scorers on his basketball team which made it to the state semifinals. Porter Ellett earned first team all-state honors as a senior baseball player and the MVP award as a junior. (KSL-TV)
“The Indian government plans to cancel the entire debt of the country’s small farmers in a giant program that will cost 600 billion rupees ($15 billion). The move is a centerpiece of India’s latest budget, with the government also increasing education spending by 20% and health funding by 15%.” (Full story at BBC News ) Thanks to Victor R. for the link.
Mediator Kofi Annan pushed throuhgh a deal to end post-election turmoil in Kenya that has killed nearly 1,000 people. For the first time in a month, opposition leader Raila Odinga and president Mwai Kibaki sat down at the same table. They shook hands amidst applause after signing a power-sharing agreement that seemed to signal a return to peace and mutual understanding. (Video and text)
An Iowa woman working in public relations found a passion for redecorated bedrooms for sick kids. Her first project picked up the broken pieces of a dream for an elementary school teacher who experienced a major car accident that left her 6-year-old daughter in a body cast and herself to deal with months of recovery. Each of the children got a new bedroom and Project Dream Space was born.
The full story from the Des Moines Register is copied below because the story is no longer on the internet. Here it is:
For six years, Nancy Berg of Waukee couldn’t get the idea out of her head.
In 2002, she read about an Ohio-based nonprofit that redecorated bedrooms for sick kids. Since then, the mother of three kept revisiting the concept, believing a similar project was her purpose in life.
A tragic accident finally put her dream into action.
Berg initially contacted the Ohio group after reading about its work, but discovered starting a nonprofit is cumbersome. She needed a business plan and a foundation, and the Ohio nonprofit wanted a share of her proceeds.
Still, she held the idea.
“I’d bring it up every two or three months to somebody,” said Berg, who works in public relations. She wanted to help, not only children with illnesses but also those who had been injured in an accident or who were dealing with disabilities.
“I just have a passion to do something better and do something for the community where I live, and I’m good at organizing and love decorating and painting,” she said.
“Kids are my passion and going over the top for their bedrooms is my little pet project.”
Finally, her friend, Amy Brown, decided to help. She said the words that kicked Berg into action: “Let’s find a project.”
Berg said she thought about a recent e-mail she’d received about a teacher who had been in a car accident. Berg realized she already knew the family who might benefit.
They decided to call their new organization Project Dream Space.
Before April 11, 2007, the Julseth family of Earlham had plans to move to a different house, a home where each of the children could have a bedroom.
A car accident changed that.
Jacy, then 6, was in the hospital for nearly a month afterward, healing in a full-body cast. Robin, his mom, a Waukee elementary school teacher, was in the hospital for more than a month.
“Jacy lacerated his intestines, groin, liver, and broke his back and had multiple fractures,” Robin said. “I had multiple fractures to my hip. I was trapped under the dashboard. … I broke my ankle and heel. … They had trouble getting my foot out. And I have tons of nerve damage.”
Suddenly, the family had new plans to follow: a long schedule of surgeries.
They had a pile of hospital bills and Robin was confined to a wheelchair. A new house was nowhere on the agenda. Instead, she and her son were literally stuck in their old house. He wasn’t allowed to go outside and her injuries kept her in the chair.
“Just getting outside and enjoying the sunlight was not something we could do,” she said.
Berg arranged to meet the Julseths in May.
“Amy and I walked through the door and Jacy said, ‘Are you here to paint my room?’ ” Berg said.
Berg had hopes for an even bigger improvement. She had mentioned the project to a builder, D.J. Schad of Destination Homes. Their sons played on the same soccer team.
“I approached (Schad) and I said, ‘I have three plans. Plan one is to build a bedroom.’ And the builder said, ‘Done,’ ” she said.
Berg’s to-do list grew longer from there.
They repainted the house, resided the exterior, added landscaping, replaced the windows and turned the porch into an entryway and closet.
“Jacy loves science and space, so they gave him his own little laboratory with a sink and a fridge where he can do experiments,” Robin said. Project Dream Space decorated the room with a picture of Einstein and his famous discovery, “E=mc.”
His sister, Addison, received a room makeover, too. The team painted her room with a woodland princess scene.
While the accident disrupted life for months, Robin said the family has been blessed, not only with the makeover but also with support from friends and family who helped keep the household in order while Robin was recovering.
Living in the improved space has eased the stress of adjusting to the accident.
“It’s wonderful,” Robin said. “Because of the accident, it takes a couple of years to settle the insurance.
You have to wait until the surgeries are done until you get a settlement. So there would be no way we could move…. And (paying for) all my equipment, the wheelchair, ramps, bathroom shower chair.
“We were thinking, ‘this is how it will be for two years, and it’ll be tight.'”
Instead, their old home feels almost like a new one.
“It’s wonderful,” Robin said. “It was a load off our heads. It looks like a brand new house on the inside.
“We’re at home now.”
Which is more than Berg had hoped to achieve with her first project. She’s now fundraising and seeking kids to help with Project Dream Space. She is also seeking people to form a board of directors for the organization and leadership team.
She hopes to eventually expand the organization to tackle projects throughout central Iowa.
“I want a stash of funds for the accidents and sudden situations that come up, so we’re able to help a child immediately,” she said. “I also want to have some funds on hand where we can help children that are new to a wheelchair or have a long-term illness.”
EDITOR’S UPDATE (8/2014) This project may be inactive because no further info is available since 2008.
Thanks to Linda P. of Clive, Iowa for submitting the inspiring link!
“Saint John police are praising a 24-year-old university student for his attempts to rescue a man drowning in the frigid city harbour. Alex Scott had been trying to keep the other man’s head above water for about 10 minutes.” CBC (Thanks to my friend, Blue Melnick, for submitting the link.)
With all the negativity in sports these days (i.e. Michael Vick, steroids, exorbitant contracts, etc.) I’m glad to see GNN come out with a sports section to report all of the good things that are happening in the world of sports. Great for kids and adults to view the good side of sport celebrities. I love GNN. It starts my day off in a great frame of mind.
Your site is great for me. When I read it I can see how my prayers for worldwide peace and tolerance are being answered.
Thanks for the fantastic site. It’s a relief to go somewhere with REAL news that leaves me in a good mood.
One Australian state aims to get its people more fit and offers employers the Get Moving At Work kit for tips on how to introduce exercise into the office. The ideas are universally useful because these efforts to make employees more healthy can save bosses money while increasing — even doubling — productivity. (News.com.au)
Fifty years ago, pro hockey was a different sport. No one wore helmets, and no black athletes ever donned an NHL uniform — until Willie O’Ree changed the face of the game. An inner voice told him he could.
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China is to get tough on executives responsible for causing severe pollution in rivers and lakes by fining them up to half their salary. The Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law goes into effect June 1.
Acclaimed thinkers and doers are gathering on the picturesque California coast to candidly discuss evil, beauty, the future and how to save humanity. The names of attendees at the annual Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) Conference is safeguarded to provide liberating privacy to “Tedizens” ranging from scientists, singers and sociologists to poets, entrepreneurs and politicians. You can view videos of “TED Talks” on www.ted.com/talks.
“The largest-ever survey of Muslims worldwide — 50,000 adults in 35 nations — shows that a vast majority want Western democracy and freedoms, but do not want them to be imposed.” The Gallup poll was featured on the BBC News.
A new program is tackling domestic violence by enlisting the help of beauty salons. Employees are educated on how to spot and help abuse victims. Bianca Solorzano reports.
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“Sages going back to Socrates have offered advice on how to be happy, but only now are scientists beginning to address this question with systematic, controlled research. Although many of the new studies reaffirm time-honored wisdom (“Do what you love,” “To thine own self be true”), they also add a number of fresh twists and insights.” (O, The Oprah Magazine)
The New York Philharmonic played an historic concert in Pyongyang on Tuesday opening with both countries’ national anthems to emphasize the goal of improving ties between the US and communist North Korea. The US orchestra helped to open ties with the Soviet Union in 1959 and today earned a 5-minute standing ovation from high-level North Koreans.
“There could be an end to the nursing shortage in Kansas thanks to a 10-year, $30 million state funding and matching grant program that was signed into law in 2006, which led to an increase of 507 students.” (MorningSun.net)
“The participation of a large number of women in Monday’s elections is a significant development that will pave the way for gender equality in politics. Additionally, fifteen female candidates secured National Assembly seats.” (Daily Times of Pakistan)
