P.U.S.H. NOT A BLOG ON A BABY BORN IN ANOTHER COUNTRY WITH THE PROVERBIAL SILVER SPOON IN HIS MOUTH

I'm not sure where to begin. Yes, I am. Thank you Ryan from the bottom of my heart and soul! I've never been more taken aback or had a feeling of specialness like I did this morning when I saw that you did respond to my asking if you would please share a piece of you. You responded so openly. This is one of the greatest gifts I've ever received. I'm still very touched. Like I told Ryan, I had the blessed opportunity after Katrina given by a young man named Lamar. He told me of his Katrina experience on his roof top where rescuers in a boat had to come back after dark because they were being shot at. He also told me many details of all the things he had seen and done in his life. He was only 15 at the time. With Ryan, I feel incredibly blessed. I first learned about him as I was working on Lets Big Chipper which came from my life altering experience with Lamar. I was looking in on my home town of New Orleans and I saw that there was going to be a food truck fest in the French Quarter. Now for all Austinites, that may not seem like that big of a deal; but, in New Orleans it's a real battle for food trucks especially in the French Quarter. I saw something called CAFE RECONCILE. The name immediately intrigued me so I went to its website. It was exactly what I believed in. A place that lets kids who are born into really really bad circumstances  know that they DO MATTER and they too are supposed to dream and hope like any and all of us! There I "met" Ryan Dalton. Restless Ryan is what I'd like to call him. And I mean that in the best of ways. I learned of his goal for P.U.S.H. Project. It was damn near exactly what I pictured I wanted to create except better. He knows things first hand. In no way could I do what I envisioned justice. I knew this the very first time I read his words and saw video of him. His first plane ride ever was from New Orleans to Washington D.C. to meet President Barack Obama. I'm going to interject right here before I go on so you can see his journey. He's not a famous athlete or screen star. He's a man....a very special man who so many need and some do have in their lives but he wants to touch as many as he can. Go to my facebook page facebook.com/letsbc to see his SPIKE LEE VIDEO but  here are his words he cared to share with me knowing that I wanted him to BE this blog:  

I grew up in the 8th ward around poverty and violence almost all my life. From seeing my mother abused and having guns drawled to her face to having to get on the floor many nights because of gun shots on the block, sometime rite in front the door.
Post Katrina I moved to Houston, where I dropped out of school, later moved back to New Orleans to complete school. Obtained my diploma and enrolled in college and could not finish due to the financial demands, became discouraged and dropped out.
After dropping out of college I begun selling drugs and running the streets, initially to make ends meet.  I was introduced to Cafe Reconcile by my sister, Javon Randolph, one week into the program I was shot 3 times with AK 47, street term “choppa”, giving me some time to re-evaluate my life situation…..
After being hospitalized for over a week, and back and forth to intensive wound care for over 8 months, not expected to make it, I had a chance to look at my life and put it on a pedestal, weighing out what was most important to me and what I want for my life.
Cafe Reconcile at the time was my last resort, allowing me additional time to make a decision on what path I want for my life.
After looking at my options and my situation I made up my mind to flip the script,taking in consideration my kids, mother, siblings, family and the people that mean the most to me.
About 6 months after completing Cafe Reconcile I was called back to be the front house manager and trainer, allowing me to give back in a way, training youth who were at-risk as I was at one point. After noticing that there wasn't any more room for growth at Cafe Reconcile, I begin to crave for something that would allow me to grow and challenge me but I knew I still wanted to work with youth to help carve a better future. I broke my risk and had time to think, I then wrote down a list of goals I wished to accomplish before the year end, in 2012.
January of 2013 the Mayor called on me to lead the Nola For Life Midnight Basketball initiative, since then, in only 6 months, I have engaged over 1,500 young men.

Here's what he told me about his mission for the P.U.S.H. Project:

My mission is to educate and empower at-risk youth using their talent and passion as the vehicle to do so, helping to end the pipeline to poverty and criminal activities among youth.
The objective of the PUSH Project is to provide precise and positive guidance towards success and greatness, to help end the cycle of youth related violence and criminal activity through prevention and empowerment.

The goal is to provide the knowledge, experience and resources necessary to ensure the success of our next generation.
The PUSH Project focuses on the interest of the individual

• Prevention efforts-in attempt to help end the pipeline to the street-life at a young age, we should have resources in place to ensure all youth have the opportunity to be successful, what i plant to offer to at-risk youth throughout the PUSH project......
• Consultant Group - Small group of individuals dedicated to connecting youth to necessary resources (ages 16-25), in addition to being on-going support system for participants.
• Landscaping - Create working opportunities for youth (ages 14-17) Cutting grass, Yard maintenance, Garden keeper
• Concession - Provide concessional opportunities for youth between the ages of 12-17, where they will also have the opportunity to learn and get incentives while learning.
• Financial literacy
• Leadership skills 
• Work ethic

{LOVE IT!....Ryan, you really deserve to capitalize "I" when referring to yourself, you truly do!}

I am currently looking at a building so i can truly implement my program on a broader scale. It needs a little work done to it, but it is in the area my brother was murdered, and that community really need it! So i am going to try and raise some money to cover the lease for 12 months. They are giving me 3 months to revitalize and build funds, just received a verbal agreement on yesterday. Now i just need to type up a contract, but more importantly i need to start raising money asap.

So friends, Ryan actually picked himself up a FEW times! I wouldn't be surprised if he knew the lady I met who also went to Houston from Katrina and is now selling pralines in Texas. Her motto is "NEVER LET CIRCUMSTANCES DICTATE YOUR ATTITUDE." Ryan gets shot by an AK 47 three times while he was trying to do right by working at Cafe Reconcile. He still is driven and even more so to make a difference and offer real hope to those who just happened to be born into their circumstances. Remember "But for the grace of God, there goes me." Ryan sees he does have grace as we all do. ALL kids/people just need someone to tell them and show them so and introduce them to the mechanics of life outside the "hood". Dispel your prejudices and ignorance (meant in the sense of not really allowing yourself to get what it must be like) and really face that there are human beings (children of God) out there living a life they didn't ask for and don't know anything else. They weren't born into normal or semi-normal circumstances much less exceptional circumstances where as soon as one enters the world you already have a really good advantage.

     HOW can we continue to refuse to see that  something needs to be HAS to be done not because of crime statistics but because every innocent child born into this world deserves to know they have worth. Their life has value.  The Little Prince we don't-yet-know-his-name just happened to be born into his circumstances just like ALL KIDS are born into theirs. 
     Ryan's sight....his passion...his vision took him from the streets to Cafe Reconcile where while he was building himself up he gets shot by an AK 47 nearly losing his life and all of this is after growing up watching his mama being severely abused and his brother gets murdered yet STILL the only thing he sees is hope, drive, and determination.

What about you? 
Do you see it in him and for him and for others? Or do you think you will just continue as you have with casual conversations and discussions that amount to being pointless sometimes mindless (again, meant in the sense of lacking depth and ACTION) about what can be done? Remember, it was Albert Einstein who said " the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." I would venture to say that this applies to doing nothing over and over again and expecting different results!!!
     We have a way to DO something right in front of our faces! Ryan "PUSH" Dalton is the one you need to turn to for answers. Who better than he? Not you...not me. It's not something you can study in a book, read online, or get from television. Ryan was born into his circumstances but is one who pays attention to what that might mean and has put his purpose into ACTION.
       I told Ryan about crowdfunding like Rocket Hub, Indiegogo, and Kickstarter. Stay tuned because when...hopefully not if...he launches I will let you know where to go and contribute as little or as much as you want/can so he gets this building and has the funds to make it into a place where "kids" get to know their worth. And once they find their lives matter then so does everyone else's. Is this simplified? Yes...that's why we need to put it in the hands of Ryan. No matter what your political beliefs might be, you've got to agree that it's a pretty good start having the mayor of New Orleans and the President of the United States recognizing him. This isn't an issue that needs divisiveness. I know there are die-hard racists. I'm not addressing them here. They live in their own personal hell. You're not one of them. There are lower key but significant prejudices we carry inside of us which are basically memes. We can fix this! I believe that at the core of us we  just haven't thought deeply enough about real human beings and circumstances they're in and how "But for the grace of God (or whatever you believe), there goes me."  WE NEED RYAN for so many reasons. I don't care where you are in your life. Wouldn't it be nice to be restless in the sense you desire to grow and expand as a person rather than just going along with what is. Think about it and when  you decide to help him get, keep, and grow within this building as I hope you do, know that you're not just giving money or donating a service or supplies, you're becoming part of the story.....KDD

www.letsbigchipper.com

A WORLD FOR CHILDREN

www.letsbigchipper.com

I love this name. The very warm and welcoming people at A World for Children exude heartfelt smiles and peace in light of the darkness they are too well aware of. It has to be because when they wake up every work day morning they wake up to the passion of doing something that brings light and hope into the lives of children. I met with them on a MONDAY after all. No signs of the name of the day of the week getting to them. They don't think this way. They are too busy helping to create a world that is for ALL children and making sure to the best of their ability that no child is left to his or her own in very dire circumstances. They look to find homes for these children that allow them to know their worth, their value, and that they are loved. Angela, Taiquan, Jennifer, Michelle....thank you for letting me get to know of you. I look forward to knowing more.   KDD

PURSES, COMPUTERS, OR YOUR CHILD

Lets Big Chipper is about helping kids who need our help for a variety of reasons. I raise FUNds for non-profits who are there for the kids who need them. Today, however, I find myself needing to talk about the children who are in good homes, not battling cancer or other horrible diseases, and for the most part are growing up in normal healthy circumstances. Before looking into my Lets Big Chipper facebook page and checking on my webite www.letsbigchipper .com this morning, I did something I don't normally do. I turned on the television. It's the good old summer time right? That used to mean you'd hear about rising temperatures, rising gas prices, the latest movies and whatever other local or national things might be taking place. But now it seems we have to add to that list of what we can expect to hear about when summer rolls around. It is absolutely unfathomable, unbelievable, incomprehensible what we've come to allow ourselves to accept. What is this life is busy stuff? I've got a lot on my mind mantra. Hasn't he or she suffered enough? In case you haven't figured out by my title or the content of my blog so far, I'm talking about the absolute absurdity of children dying a horrible slow death as they are left behind in hot cars. Forgotten...forgotten? FORGOTTEN? Let that sink in. We're told to put our purses or computers next to our child's car seat so we won't FORGET THE CHILD because goodness knows we would never forget our purse or computer in the car. They're too precious. As I write this my temperature is rising. Hasn't he or she suffered enough? The one who got out of the car with the purse and/or computer and stepped into an air conditioned building while the child slowly died inside a car reaching 140 degrees or more. The latest I heard is of an eleven month old left in a car and the mother thought she had driven to the day care before going to work. While driving she had "a lot on her mind." One thing on her mind was planning her child's one year birthday party and she forgot the guest of honor in the car. Three hours later it was the day care that called her asking her where her child was. THAT'S when she realized she left her baby in the car who unspeakably had passed away. To date, since 1998, 583 children have died due to being locked in sweltering hot cars. Of the 583 51% were FORGOTTEN; 29% were playing inside the car (that's another story); 18% the child was left intentionally (truly another story) and 2% the circumstances are unknown WHAT???

 I'm not here to discuss what should happen to the parents or caregivers that FORGET a child is in the car but I certainly don't go down the road of hasn't he or she suffered enough.{ In case you haven't noticed, I just can't wrap my head around FORGETTING a child is in the car and I know I never will.} I don't care to concern myself with that individual's suffering. I am sure it is immense. But they had options and the child did not. I think we need to stop patting ourselves on the back for how busy we are and think about busy doing what? What can possibly trump the life we've brought into this world? We're like hamsters on a wheel always striving to get somewhere when, once we become parents, we have arrived. Of course our careers and personal fulfillment are important. Both lend to the person we are and the parents we become. But when we FORGET that precious little life that is completely dependent on us and we remember to go to work and make sure we have everything we need so the boss doesn't get mad at us that's when we need to stop being so proud of ourselves. When I say we, I'm not speaking to only those who have committed this unspeakable act of neglect. I'm speaking to anyone who finds themselves really able to understand how that could happen. Please, do a self-check now. Slow yourself down and take the time to second guess yourself. If you really can get how this could happen then you are weighing in a little too heavy in the self-important department when it comes to everything but your child or children. I don't ever see us going back to the days of when children grew up coming home from school and spending summers with their mom in the home making things feel so safe and so comfortable but to go to this extreme on the other end of the spectrum is utterly inane and insane.  KDD

WEBSITE ADDRESS: www.letsbigchipper.com
For now you have to type in the www. while google is reindexing? Sorry, I'm not too tech savvy. All I know is you could easily google search by just typing letsbigchipper and there was my site. I edited my page and voila, I'm in limbo!. I've neglected this blogspot which is why I'm basically talking to myself. But, things with my social enterprise are finally kicking into gear and I look forward to developing a great place to share my stories and definitely hear yours.

BIG CHIPPERING

Oh yes, this is Big Chippering.The fleur de lis honors my being a New Orleans Lady. Laissez les bon temps rouler...Let the good times roll!

Hi from Karen D! My husband Mike says hello too. I am sincerely glad you are here. I am very glad I am here as well. I've recently found the place where all of my strong thoughts and energies I've developed through the years can call home. It's the comparatively low red-tape world of social media,blogging in particular. A favorite quote of mine from the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has now served its purpose. Allow me to indulge...it goes like this:
"Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat
"I don't much care where-" said Alice
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.
                                               -dialogue between Alice and the Cheshire Cat
Through relentless pursuit of wanting to live my passions, sometimes I got to Alice's place of just wanting to go somewhere.But since I always did know where I wanted to get to, it has always mattered which way I would go. Simply put, I've always wanted to be alive in my work and for my work to matter to way many more than me.
     Finally, I think I've got it. First, there's this amazing cookie that my husband and I developed at least 15 years ago and it has seen the light of every walk of life with addictive approval. I kid you not. I like to call it really good chocolate surrounded by a little bit of cookie. I dubbed it "The Big Chipper" because it truly is out of this world (and it is big and filled with lots of chips and chunks). My family looked at me funny, but then what's new? The name stuck throughout the years and the cookie monsters we've encountered won't go away so here we are.
     This phenom of a cookie is meant to launch a great new funtastic movement for many to follow their need and desire to do for others. This new craze calls out "LETS BIG CHIPPER!" which is basically getting people on board and having a lot of fun with our cookies to help put a dent in some serious things they hold close to their hearts. For me and my husband we will take our FOR profit business (which will allow us to live) and benefit children at risk Our motto is "All Children Matter". There's much more to come on this later.
     What's your cause? I'm looking forward to helping you reach your goals. It goes like this. We do everything with labor of love using our secret technique that really does make the cookie its special self. We make the cookies ready for you to sell at a profit for your non-profit. We sell the cookies that sell themselves to you for $2 ea and you sell them for $3 ea giving you a fundraising profit of 50% while having a lot of fun doing it. You can hold a Big Chipper eating contest! We've made these cookies many days and used it in many ways but always as a non-profit and below. This has kept us in our making-no-difference income paying jobs. We've decided to stop the madness and make making a difference our livelihood.

Side Note: LET me explain "lets big chipper" compared to "Let's Make That Change." The "lets" is an intentional grammatically incorrect use of the word for ease of typing in the .com address, etc. Although, you do welcomingly and with much gratitude have permission to Big Chipper!!!!