South Sudanese Returnees Board Plane for Journey Home

Malakal, South Sudan. Today in Malakal, South Sudan, 150 returnees line up to board a plane chartered by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and bound for Wau. This week, IOM is arranging transport for over 700 people who have been staying in the Malakal Way Station. From Wau, they will settle in towns all over the greater Western Bahr el Ghazal region.

24 April 2013  |   Malakal, South Sudan   |   Photo # 549090

Smoking mostly starts at a young age. Teenagers start to smoke because of peer pressure and to feel important. About 90% of adult smokers started as teenagers, estimates Dawn Titmus, an editor who writes frequently on this topic. In her article on New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s latest antismoking initiative, Danielle Tcholakian claims that 28,000 public high school students in NYC tried smoking for the first time in 2011. “Many teenagers take up smoking because they think it looks cool,” Titmus explains.

Teenagers’ grades drop drastically when they start to smoke. Why? A U.C.L.A. study found “a disturbing correlation.” Researchers say as a teen’s nicotine addiction increases, prefrontal cortex activity decreases, which suggest that smoking may affect brain function.

“Such an effect can influence the ability of youth to make rational decisions regarding their well-being, and that includes the decision to stop smoking,” said Edythe London, the study’s senior author.

Several studies indicate that smoking is also prevalent among low-income people (see this Gallup study, for example. In the book, The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton, examines two groups: low-income and the wealthy. Members of the lower-income group, the greasers, get into fights, take drugs and begin smoking at an early age. They also had no feelings for the importance of life. Is this a coincidence? Or does smoking affect judgment and one’s value of life?

Most people know the negative health effects of smoking, yet they continue. Smoking causes high blood pressure and stains the lungs and heart with black tar. It is responsible for 87 percent of lung cancer deaths and 30 percent of all cancer deaths in the United States, Titmus reports.

Man smoking. © World Health Organization.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco kills up to half of its users. The organization also estimates that tobacco kills at least 3 million people annually. Studies predict that if current trends continue, smoking could kill around 8 million people annually.

Smokers damage not only their health but also the health of those around them through second-hand smoke. As the BBC reported, passive smoking causes an estimated 600,000 deaths annually. Of particular concern are the estimated 165,000 children who die of smoke related respiratory infections.

As one can see, smoking has a tremendous impact on one’s health and well-being. Why do smokers choose to smoke when they know the effect that smoking has on their body? Do they feel no remorse for harming others who are negatively affected by their smoking?

These questions have answers, but each answer is specific to that person. Is it worth it to start smoking to impress your friends or to distinguish oneself? Regardless of the reason, smoking is not worth it. Period.

Latin lachrymae

dactylic entablature

hearty Icarus

Daddy did him in

Daedalus damn near killed him

dear demented boys

Such unwieldy toys

Sweet young girls smile through it all

Wizened women weep

and such are the tears

such utter and total pain

sustains aged demons

Sing until you’re hoarse

Cling cleave colonic embers

At the reception, my friend Jumaane Williams of Brooklyn presented Isaac with a proclamation from the New York City Council for his efforts in philanthropy, and Congressmember Carolyn B. Maloney, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg sent letters of support. At the event, Isaac showcased a new initiative campaign he began this past summer, while at a pre-university business program at The Wharton School of Business with his two friends Amay Bhojani and Seal-Bin Han.

We like to say that The World Youth Initiative is a response to today’s problems, by tomorrow’s leaders. What we are trying to accomplish is the constructive empowerment of diverse youth from around the world, who come from different backgrounds, through the undertaking of projects that target prevalent issues in their countries. Through these projects, youth involved in the World Youth Initiative can gain crucial skills in leadership, communication, and management, while subsequently contributing to the global community.

I have passed the torch to the next generation – and this profound student-run organization has passed it even further. To this day, from the first event Isaac hosted with his friends, to The World Youth Initiative (WYI) projects that are currently being worked on today, young students have empowered over fifty children around the world, raised over $50,000 dollars for global non-profits, and impacted over ten countries.

Dubai representative and co-founder Amay Bhojani explains the scale of the WYI:

Currently, we have around twenty regional branch managers who have begun their own philanthropic initiatives in their communities. Eleven of them are scattered around the U.S., while nine of them are in foreign countries. And they are all inspired to bring change. Think about that for a moment. It’s incredible.
We are experiencing a true movement. When youth see youth doing good, while enjoying the process, they are galvanized into action. When students form into groups of mutual interests and carry out activities with their peers on a charitable level, then their hobbies become inherently charitable and vice versa. It’s truly remarkable.

Kids run this place. That’s our magic sauce, our secret formula. You see, we live in a world where the need for youth to speak up and voice their thoughts is growing exponentially. We no longer live in a world of ageism. Kids are the future.

We are successful because kids are making all the decisions. Kids are organizing the events. Kids are managing the fundraising. Kids are making the presentations. We have teenagers authoring the business plans, and middle school kids putting together the venture strategies. If you come into our business meetings, you won’t see uptight uninterested individuals. You’ll see individuals with bed-times, individuals with high-school drama, and individuals who are university matriculates, who all have one thing in common: a passionate desire to bring change.

It’s all about kids here. They do what they love, and love it for the reasons they choose. That’s how you breed success. Allow the dreamers to dream, and give the impassioned independence, and their fervor will do the rest. That’s innovation.

It feels good to help people who need help. And it’s cool knowing I can help. I mean, I’m thirteen so I’m very little but people let me do it because they see I really care and I want to. What makes it fun and easy to do is that I can give back in any way that I want.

Stephanie has personally raised thousands of dollars for those less fortunate. But it gets better. Under WYI, Stephanie Franco, along with her twin brother Jack Franco and her also thirteen-year-old cousin David Hedaya, co-founded The Charity Crew, a Brooklyn community organization that encourages children in elementary school to take initiative and learn about the importance of giving back.

Jack, David, and their friend Michael Catton have recently initiated the “Helping Our Community” Campaign, where they hope to triple their funds within months, and expand their brand amongst the community. As the head marketer and expansion strategist of The Charity Crew, David pitches ongoing projects to prospective donors and investors, while Jack, the financial officer of The Charity Crew, finds the most efficient and profitable way to conduct charity projects and manage donations. Currently, there are approximately two-dozen members in The Charity Crew all under the age of fourteen, who have raised over $10,000 together.

Although we all come from different backgrounds, we are united in our dedication to new approaches to philanthropy. I am old enough and wise enough to realize that WYI is the future – and I am proud of the role our foundation has had, however small, in mentoring these young leaders towards that day.

Originally published in The Huffington Post, May 13, 2013.

J. Luce Foundation | World Youth Initiative | Alphabet Kids

See Stories by Jim Luce on:

Brooklyn | Children | New York | Philanthropy | Social Responsibility

Teen Philanthropist Outlines Steps To Making A Difference (Daily Kos)

Youth Leader on Philanthropy – Giving Back, Launching Global Fund (Daily Kos)

First Person on Celiac Disease: How It Shaped My Life (Stewardship Report)

The James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation (www.lucefoundation.org) is the umbrella organization under which Orphans International Worldwide (OIWW) is organized. If supporting young global leadership is important to you, subscribe to J. Luce Foundation updates here.

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Indian glamour: Actor Zoran Saher, Sneha Shah, and Kawas Bhasin. Photo: Kabir Chopra.

A Mbukushu mother and child cross Botswana’s Okavango River in Africa.

Mother and child in Lima, Peru.

Mumbai slum mother holding child. Mother in sari, with several ear and nose piercings.

A lesbian couple with their children in the U.S.A.

See Jim Luce’s Pinterest album ”Mother & Child”  in celebration of this year’s Mother’s Day.

Held in elegant ballrooms of the historic New York Athletic Club overlooking Central Park, hundreds of New York’s movers and shakers turned out to support the cause and to congratulate meningitis survivor and Para Olympic Gold Medalist Nick Springer, an Honorary Chair along with Ambassador and Mrs. John L. Loeb, Jr. The Ambassador is also known for his work with the FDR Conservancy and the new Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island. I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet Kyle and Samantha Busch.

Barry Klarberg, vice-chair of the gala and founder of Monarch Wealth and Business Management, reminisced that he was Nick’s hockey coach when Nick was stricken with meningitis at the age of fourteen. Sara asked Barry to be involved with the NMA in 2007, they since became engaged and continue helping to raise awareness that there is a vaccine. As Barry Klarberg told me afterwards, “It’s nice to see that a world-class athlete like Kyle Busch and his wife Samantha provide exposure to the National Meningitis Association and its cause.”

There is nothing worse than losing your child. It is a grief that will never leave you. To then find out that your child didn’t need to die, that a simple vaccine could have saved his life, is something no family should endure. I am grateful to everyone who supported the National Meningitis Association at its annual fundraiser, “Give Kids A Shot.” The most important word – “vaccinate!”

The National Meningitis Association is a non-profit organization founded by parents of children who have died or live with long-term effects from meningococcal disease, also called bacterial meningitis. NMA works to protect families from the potentially devastating effects of this disease by educating the public and medical professionals about the disease and its prevention.

The NMA network also provides critical emotional support for families who have been affected by meningococcal disease. Additionally, NMA raises awareness of other preventable diseases and recommended vaccines across the lifespan.

Honorary chairs for the event were Ambassador and Mrs. John L. Loeb, Jr. and Para-Olympic Gold Medalist Nick Springer. Gala chairs were Lenore Cooney of the Cooney/Waters Group, Sara Herbert-Galloway and Gary Springer of Springer Associates PR. Vice Chairs included Joanna Goldenstein of KPMG, Barry Klarberg of Monarch Business & Wealth Management, Ulrika “Red” Nilsson of Redcircle International, and Heike Vogel of Arent Fox. Chairs of the successful silent auction were Matt Klarberg and Errol Rappaport.

Honorary Committee included Susan and Hon. James A. Baker III, Commissioner on Disabilities for the Mayor’s Office Victor Calise, Susan Sarandon, Liv Ullman, U.S. Senators from Maine Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and a host of Congressional Representatives from across the U.S.

Committee members included the Mayor’s Deputy Counsel Norma Abbene, Lynn and Alan Bozof, PTSD expert Lorraine Cancro, Thomas Cook, broadcaster Rita Cosby, Citibank’s Ida Liu, entrepreneur Kevin McGovern, newscaster Frank Recchia, April Sandmeyer, Allison Strassberg, and Mr. and Mrs. John Wukovits III.

Also attending was Miss Teen USA 2012 Logan West, and teen star of Showtime’s “Shameless” Emma Kenney, as well as Bree Michael Warner, star of Nickelodeon’s “I Carly,” and NMA Teen Ambassadors, brother and sister Justin and Alana Galloway.

An Online Charity Buzz Auction featured an extraordinary array of one-of-a-kind experiences, art work and luxury items such as a week for twelve in an elegant Acapulco Cliffside villa, VIP tickets to the Justin Timberlake and Jay Z Concert at Yankee Stadium, exclusive NASCAR Sprint Cup VIP Experience for four, behind-the-scenes tour for four of Good Morning America with ABC News’ Dr. Richard Besser, VIP passes to Art Southampton, the premiere international contemporary art fair in the Hamptons, and much more.

Last fall I wrote about heaving learned about meningitis for the first time and my desire to have my teenage son vaccinated against this horrible disease. Since then, meningitis has passed into my own community — the gay community — and I received my own vaccine last fall. It makes no sense that anyone should be afflicted with this senseless tragedy that is preventable through inoculation. The gala’s theme resonates loudly in my head: Give Kids a Shot!

Originally published in The Huffington Post, May 9, 2013.

National Meningitis Association (NMA)

See Stories by Jim Luce:

Children | Health | New York | Philanthropy

Meningitis: Give Kids a Shot — Save a Kid’s Life (HuffPo)

The James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation (www.lucefoundation.org) is the umbrella organization under which Orphans International Worldwide (OIWW) is organized. If supporting young global leadership is important to you, subscribe to J. Luce Foundation updates here.

Follow Jim Luce on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Secretary-General Meets President of Republic of Korea

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) meets with Park Geun-hye, President of the Republic of Korea.
United Nations, New York | Photo # 549925.

High-level Event on Human Security

Wide view of the high-level event on human security, hosted by the Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on the subject.United Nations, New York | Photo # 550339.

Two of my cousins have mental illness, but neither’s diagnosis was shared with the rest of the family. I remember one had a breakdown in college and took refuge in fundamentalist religion; the other made it into finance where he seems to have crashed and burned. Although they’re my age, I can no longer reach them by phone or Internet. The suicide of another family member was also never discussed.

Our members who have families that stick with them are extremely lucky. For those who don’t have family connections, the Fountain House community is there. If members want to go to work or go to school, and if they need some extra help to achieve those goals, the community will be there to support them. That’s what Fountain House is about.

Fountain House delivers for New York, and beyond. The Fountain House model has been replicated in more than 300 locations in 30 countries and 32 states and currently serves more than 100,000 people with mental illness worldwide. “The House” offers its members free services for life in areas including employment, education, housing, and wellness – there is even a freestanding art gallery, Fountain Gallery, where I’ve seen striking works exhibited for sale by a band of gifted member-artists (link).

Among participants in the Fountain House education program, 77% successfully complete their studies, ranging from learning to read to obtaining a graduate degree. Nationally, the average success rate for students with mental illness is 32%.

Employment plays an important part in helping most of us to lead independent and substantial lives; Fountain House members have achieved an employment rate of 65%, while nationally, the average employment rate for people with serious mental illness is 15%.

Companies in New York that participate in the Fountain House employment program include Broadridge Financial Solutions, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Dow Jones & Company, The Estée Lauder Companies, Morgan Stanley, New York Life, Publicis, Warner Music Group, and Young & Rubicam.

Honorary chairs included dedicated mental health advocates such as the Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy and actress Glenn Close (both are past Fountain House honorees). Glenn, who has volunteered at Fountain House and established a visiting artists program at Fountain Gallery, sent this message to the event:

As someone who has witnessed, firsthand, the terrible suffering caused by mental illness, I am a deep believer in the power of the Fountain House model. To have a stigma-free, member-run, collegial sanctuary, where you are taught the skills that can lead to a life where work and independent living are a possibility, and to be part of a supportive and nurturing community that understands the everyday triumphs and challenges of living with mental illness, not only engenders life-affirming hope, but, indeed, changes and saves lives.

For his latest book, Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity, Andrew interviewed a host of families coping with autism, deafness, Down syndrome, schizophrenia, transgender issues, and more. He recounted the acceptance and love he witnessed among many of these families as they navigated this rugged terrain, and his observation that “parenting is no sport for perfectionists” rang true; even “normal” families must negotiate differences. Perhaps it is “difference” that unites us all.

Andrew and I chatted after the program about our partners and children. He lectures at Weill-Cornell and shuttles between New York and London. His earlier book, The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, won the 2001 National Book Award. Far From the Tree won the 2012 National Book Critics’ Circle Award for nonfiction and was lauded by the New York Times as a “generous, humane and compassionate book about what it means to be a parent.” Andrew is like that.

Originally published in The Huffington Post, May 7, 2013.

Fountain House | Fountain Gallery

See Stories by Jim Luce on:Art | Children | Gay Issues | Health | New York | Social Responsibility

Fountain Gallery Is “Mad About Art” (HuffPo)
Mental Illness Tackled at Fountain House Luncheon in NYC (Daily Kos)
Fountain House Stands Up to Mental Illness (Stewardship Report)

The James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation (www.lucefoundation.org) is the umbrella organization under which Orphans International Worldwide (OIWW) is organized. If supporting young global leadership is important to you, subscribe to J. Luce Foundation updates here.

Follow Jim Luce on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.