Tag Archives: Washington

St. Jude Children’s Hospital Named Official Charity Partner for 2020 South Asian Spelling Bee’s Regional Competitions

is the official charity partner of the South Asian Spelling Bee’s (SASB) virtual regional events on Sunday, Aug. 23, in Seattle, Washington, and on Sunday, Aug. 30, in Fremont, California. 

SASB is an annual spelling bee in the United States for children of South Asian descent. Founded in 2008, the event has become the essential gateway for success at the popular Scripps National Spelling Bee. In fact, 11 of the 15 Scripps champions are alumni of the SASB since 2008. This year’s installment of the SASB will be held virtually across six regions, whose winners will get a chance to compete at the finals in September.

Just like SASB, St. Jude has a deeply held commitment to education not only as a research institution, but also as a children’s hospital responsible for providing long-term care to childhood cancer patients. For children undergoing treatment, the St. Jude School Program by Chili’s not only offers a familiar routine with St. Jude teachers offering one-on-one instruction for K-12 students, but also provides patients with a feeling of being in lockstep with the outside world.  In addition to K-12, students from around the world also have an opportunity to attend the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, further displaying the importance of education within the core values of St. Jude.

 Because of generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – so they can focus on helping their child live. St. Jude also freely shares the breakthroughs it makes, so every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children.

This is what makes a difference for patients like Smyrna and her family. At St. Jude, Smyrna’s treatment for medulloblastoma, a type of brain cancer, included radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Smyrna celebrated the end of her treatment with a No More Chemo party, surrounded by her care team, friends and family.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a humanitarian effort supported by millions of Americans of all faiths and backgrounds united in their desire to help St. Jude continue its mission: Finding cures. Saving children.® Because together, nothing is impossible.

Donor support for the patients of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital brings hope and comfort to their lives. Share a sweet message today by sending a patient art-inspired card to fill their day with happiness.  

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Its purpose is clear: Finding cures. Saving children.® It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since the hospital opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude won’t stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude freely shares the discoveries it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel.

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Amma: 39 Million Hugs & Counting

Through her extraordinary acts of love and self-sacrifice, Mata Amritanandamayi, or ‘Amma’ as she is more commonly known, has endeared herself to millions around the world.

Tenderly embracing everyone who comes to her, holding them in her loving embrace, Amma shares her boundless love with all — regardless of their beliefs, their status or why they have come to her. Amma does not ask anyone to believe in God or to change their faith, but only to inquire into their own real nature and to believe in themselves.

In this simple yet powerful way, Amma is transforming the lives of countless people, helping their hearts to blossom, one embrace at a time. During the past 45 years, Amma has physically hugged an estimated 39 million people from all parts of the world.

Now, Amma is coming once again to North America. Amma will be here for an 11-city tour from June 6 – July 18, and will visit Seattle, San Ramon, Los Angeles, Santa Fe, Dallas, Atlanta, Washington D.C., New York, Boston, Chicago and Toronto for a series of free public programs and retreats. Thousands will turn out to listen to Amma’s inspiring talks and to receive one of her profoundly touching motherly hugs.

COMPASSION IN ACTION

Amma’s tireless spirit of dedication to uplifting others has culminated in a vast network of charitable projects in 40 countries around the world, under the global banner of ‘Embracing the World.’ For this work Amma has been honored with a number of international awards, including the prestigious Gandhi-King Award for Non-Violence (2002), the James Parks Morton Interfaith Award (2006) and an honorary doctorate from the State University of New York (2010). In 2014, Amma joined Pope Francis and 10 other global spiritual leaders from a range of faiths to sign the Declaration of Religious Leaders against Modern Slavery.

A LIFE-CHANGING EMBRACE

If you attend one of Amma’s free programs, one of the first things you will notice is that people come to Amma from all religions and all walks of life. Some have been walking the spiritual path for decades; others have never picked up a spiritual book in their lives.

Some come because they are suffering mentally, physically or materially and they hope Amma can help them. Some are simply curious. Regardless of why they have come, in Amma’s arms many describe experiencing a feeling of radiant and unconditional love. Some are moved to tears and feel a cleansing of old wounds; others experience profound peace and even joy. Regardless of people’s different backgrounds or cultures, the experiences of the heart show us how similar we all are — how we are all searching for true love and compassion.

When supermodel, Gisele received Amma’s darshan, she posted, “What an honor to meet Amma, one of the most inspiring women in the world. Amma, thank you for all the love and compassion you share.”

Inspired by Amma’s dedication and tireless service, volunteers throughout North America serve more than 150,000 meals to the homeless and hungry each year. In the California Bay Area alone, Amma’s Pantry project has donated more than 20,000 lbs. of food staples to local food pantries. Throughout the United States, volunteers organize community clean-up drives, tree planting and conservation initiatives, and donation drives of clothes and toys for the homeless. Volunteers also write letters to those in need of reassurance, as well as to the incarcerated.  

All are invited to experience Amma’s unconditional love in the form of an embrace. To watch a movie about Amma and her charities, visit: embracingtheworld.org/news-etw-movie/

Locations & Program Dates:  

Seattle:  June 6 & 7, Hyatt Regency Bellevue, 900 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA  98004

Bay Area:  June 9-14 – MA Center, 10200 Crow Canyon Road, Castro Valley, CA  94552

Los Angeles:  June 16-18 – Hilton Los Angeles Airport, 5711 West Century Blvd, LA, CA  90045

Please plan to arrive at least 90 minutes before the program to receive a free token if you would like to have Amma’s embrace. Tokens are limited by time constraints.

For information, please visit www.amma.org, call 510-537-9417

This article was provided to India Currents by the MA Center

17 Minutes of Silence

On Wednesday morning, March 14, Mount Madonna School (MMS) middle and high students participated in the National School Walkout day, with a short hike to a nearby fountain on their campus. At the same time, MMS fifth grade students, with parent permission, held their own silent vigil outside of their classroom.

“Watching 10-year-olds think of others and make this choice to sit in silence really sealed my belief that our youth is what will change the world for the better,” commented teacher Jessica Cambell.

“We participated in the National Walkout because the administration and faculty wanted to provide the space and opportunity for students to express themselves,” shared Upper School Director Shannon Kelly. “We talk to them so much about social activism and engaged citizenship, it was important to give them the space to practice both of those things.”

“Sometimes, it takes a community loss to bring us back together,” reflected Dean of Students Bob Caplan.  “Yesterday morning at 10:00am, the students, faculty and staff of Mount Madonna School took 17 minutes out of our bustling, busy day to stand still by our lake, in the rain.

“In solidarity with many thousands of students, faculty, staff and families throughout the country, we stood silently, allowing our hearts and minds to ponder the loss and injury of those Parkland Florida youth and adults, as well as so many other losses for so many reasons around the world. As we dropped flower petals into the lake after 17 minutes of silence, the names of those killed in Florida were read.”

“Theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking died yesterday,” said teacher Tiffany Wayne, addressing the assembled group. “He studied the universe and he once said, ‘It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love’.

“These people were loved:

Alyssa, Scott, Martin, Nicholas, Aaron, Jaime, Chris, Luke, Cara, Gina, Joaquin, Alaina, Meadow, Helena, Alex, Carmen, Peter

“These are the people who were loved and lost.”

The vigil closed with the reading of one of Maya Angelou’s poems in which she seeks to inspire people to summon the courage to face each new day with possibilities of new choices and new outcomes.

Teacher Haley Campbell read aloud the second portion of Angelou’s poem, beginning with the line, “The rock, the river the tree, your country.” The entire poem follows:

Lift up your hearts.

Each new hour holds new chances

For new beginnings.

Do not be wedded forever

To fear, yoked eternally

To brutishness.

The horizon leans forward,

Offering you space to place new steps of change.

Here, on the pulse of this fine day

You may have the courage

To look up and out upon me,

The rock, the river, the tree, your country.

No less to Midas than the mendicant.

No less to you now than the mastodon then.

Here on the pulse of this new day

You may have the grace to look up and out

And into your sister’s eyes,

Into your brother’s face, your country

And say simply

Very simply

With hope 

Good morning. 

“Sometimes we need a solemn moment to help us return to the joys of life,” reflected Caplan, “and a renewed reverence for the well-being of others.”