Alberto Cairo: There are no scraps of men - YouTube

Alberto Cairo: There are no scraps of men - YouTube:

WOW! Watch this. It is amazing. Maybe my favorite "TED talk" ever. It sums up my view of why we help perfectly.

" Alberto Cairo's clinics in Afghanistan used to close down during active fighting. Now, they stay open. At TEDxRC2 (the RC stands for Red Cross/Red Crescent), Cairo tells the powerful story of why -- and how he found humanity and dignity in the midst of war."

To Alberto Cairo, I do not know you, but I wish I did. You are my new hero.

To every volunteer we have had, watch it. This, better than even Three Cups of Tea, encapsulates why we do what we do. From after disasters, to locally, all jobs are high priority to those affected. It doesn't need to be a category 5 hurricane, or a F5 tornado, a leaking roof can be nearly as bad to those affected.

And finally, to every volunteer who wonders why we do so many wheel chair ramps: this, to a microscopically small small degree, is why wheel chair ramps are needed: wheel chair ramps aren't just an inclined entrance to a house, they are a road to a better life. And when watching, pay particular attention to the reason the son can now go to school. How many "sons" might our ramps set free in a similar manner?

An Indirect Thank You from a Catskills resident and a valuation lesson

BonaResponds Volunteers helping in Margaretville

I received the following (only SLIGHTLY edited) from another SBU professor today:

"I was recently speaking at an American Legion Post downstate in Delhi, New York.  After the dinner and speeches were done a woman came up to me and asked if it was true that I worked at St. Bonaventure and I said yes. She immediately started to cry and wound up just holding me.  I asked her what was the matter and she said that we have no idea how much the help from the BonaResponds students meant to her family and their area recently ravaged by the floods. She went on about that for awhile with several folks listening since they saw her crying, when I left their Post about a hour later she came up and thanked me again and wanted to make sure the folks back at Bonas knew how much that meant. "

I have no idea who the woman was.  No clue. I do not even know if we worked on her home or not.  It could be any of many that were helped on that trip, or a family member, or even just a neighbor who was worried about someone we helped.  I have no idea.

I do know that many many times we have no idea of the residual impact of our work.  (think butterfly in Africa).  We can measure the dollar value of a job, but it fails to measure the true impact.  I know that since graduation in May BonaResponds has provided about $300,000 in services to people.  I report that to the BonaResponds board regularly.  But the true value of this can not be completely measured in US dollars, Haitian Gourdes, or Ghanaian Cedi.  To get the true value you can start with the currency but must also add in hugs, smiles, reduced anxiety, and tears of joy. And as a finance professor who teaches valuation, I just do not know how to value those, so I guess they are priceless :).

Sean Lynch wrote from Singapore

Sean Tearing out "dry" wall
Originally uploaded by FinanceProfessor.

Sean went on our first trip to Biloxi in October 2005 and was instrumental to our success.

He remained an advisor after graduation when he was in NYC and went on more trips as well as coming back to SBU for a local service weekend.

He is now in Singapore working for Moodys. He wrote in response to the newsletter. A few comments were for public consumption:

"My involvement in BonaResponds as a co-founder, volunteer, and now alumnus has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, both personally, and to those I've aided. It's helped me gain a new appreciation for how fortunate I've been in my life, while at the same time allow me to connect to those in need across the US. It's a core competency of our University to live out the Franciscan way of life, and makes us a leader among Universities regionally, nationally, and globally."

And later:

"BonaResponds has also benefited me professionally, by helping me develop my time & people management skills, and at the same time made me a more results oriented person. I can say affirmatively that BonaResponds was the strongest aspect of my resume and the primary reason I was able to land a great career out of St. Bonaventure University."

Comments on BonaResponds from James

I asked several members of BonaResponds to write a few paragraphs about what BonaResponds means to them. They will be running here and I will link to them on the BonaResponds webpage as well.

We will start off with James Kane's comments. James as most of you know was the student leader for much of the past year and while I can say much bad about him (some of it is even true!), he will be very hard to replace and all of us in BonaResponds will have to step up.

His comments:

"BonaResponds defined my college career. It was through BonaResponds
that I developed many close friends and had several memorable moments,
such as any time Jim Mahar did something foolish.

I wish BonaResponds was around when I was a freshman at St. Bonaventure. BonaResponds provides an opportunity for people to serve communities, whether near or far, at their convenience. People who could only commit one day or an entire semester joined BonaResponds.

BonaResponds is constantly known as the group that did the "hurricane trip." It is known that BonaResponds sent nearly 300 people to the Gulf, which is the 2nd largest collegiate service trip I've ever heard of.

What a lot of people do not realize is, BonaResponds is much more than hurricane relief. They have sponsored several local service days and even responded to Buffalo after the devastating that struck on October 13, 2006.

It was through BonaResponds that I developed skills such as leadership, which define the person that I am today. BonaResponds made me a better person."

Thanks James!