There are nine Boys and Girls Clubs in Scottsdale, each uniquely serving the needs of their neighborhoods. Today I visited with Lauren Stratton, the Branch Director, at the Hartley & Ruth Barker facility. She was a wealth of information about all of the programs that her club and she took a big interest in One Million Acts Of Kindness. She told me of some of the groups who visit her club. Naval Officers from the USS Constitution had just paid a visit. Members from the Joe Foss Institute which teaches patriotism, are frequent guests. They can be found at www.joefoss.com Be Great, Graduate is a program which is pairing children with mentors, in the hopes of having these children graduate High School and encouraging them to go on to college. Lauren loved The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes. The more positive role models in a child’s life the better. She is helping to make that happen at this club.
Riding back into Downtown Scottsdale, Jeff flagged me down. Unbelievably, he volunteers for the Joe Foss Institute! He shared with me of how some educators are saying that they have a crisis in the classroom. Jeff is helping by sharing the great story about the Good Samaritan and the importance of helping strangers. He had many inspiring stories as well.
I made two quick stops, one was to a local satellite rescue squad station, Al and Mike, two EMTs wished me well on my travels and the other was to Coronado High School where I left an information packet for the Guidance Counselor and Principal.
While in Scottsdale, The Kindness Bus has been parked across from Buca di Beppo for a few of the days. A big tip of the hat to Vickie, the manager, for the invite to this great Italian restaurant to meet some of the staff and have a complimentary dinner.