StandUp For Kids

This past week I was invited to be a part of Conversations With Masters; dialogue with Master Coaches from all over the world who are renowned in their mastery in their areas of expertise. To say it blew me away is an understatement and you’ll hear more about this as the weeks go by. We spoke about mastery, development, practice in our craft and about every facet of every kind of coaching imaginable. Spending a morning in conversation with George Leonard was a gift beyond measure. And although every moment of the three days brought me insight and growth in my field, day three hit a chord that resonated through every aspect of my being….at the launch of The Coach Initiative. Being a part of this initiative is one of the examples as to why I became a coach in the first place.

The mission is “To be the central gathering point where professional Coaches can volunteer their experience and expertise in support of global projects that focus on the betterment of the human condition and uplifting the human spirit. The Coach Initiative holds the value that professional Coaching has the ability to increase both personal and professional effectiveness, contentment and success of committed clients ("coachees").

The Coach Initiative stands for the fundamental belief that every professional Coach holds the intention to positively change the world one person at a time, and that by doing so in unison with their colleagues, can effectuate that change at an exponential rate.“

Within the umbrella of Virgin Unite we will work to support their initiatives. We heard from the founder of StandUp for Kids, Rick Koca who, spoke to us from the heart, from a place where passion resides…passion and anger that kids have to end up living on the street because to them it’s better than what they had to live with in their homes. We heard statistics that were shocking that spoke of a way of life, or ‘no life’ as Rick says, that is just plain unacceptable. It mobilized us to take part in whatever way we could in whatever country we were in. How could we not do something when our purpose is 'to better the human condition and uplift the human spirit’? How much worse could any condition be especially for children, not to mention a defeated spirit?

I had no idea this was happening. My first question was “Why didn’t I know about this?” when I heard the horrible statistics of children in the streets. Well now that I do, I can’t sit back and do nothing. Can you?

I challenge you do something…whatever is in your power to do, one kid or one organization at a time. Spread the word throughout the world. Tell others what’s happening right under their noses in their cities. If nothing else, go to the website and click on a link that won’t cost you anything so American Eagle will donate clothing to homeless teens. All you have to do is tell two people (at least) and ask them to tell two and so on so we can reduce those daunting statistics. Yes, you can wait for someone else to jump in. That’ll mean there will be one less person fighting the odds. And we all know how much of a difference one person can make in this world. You don’t have to be a coach to change someone’s life.

If you do do something, then please come back and share what you did with us. We will applaud you from afar and it’ll give us the impetus to get out there and keep doing whatever we’re doing. The energy will grow as the word spreads. We can change the world one person at a time.

Best!
Donna Karlin