Kids Yoga Network

A sunny Sunday in Coronado California, we’d been to yoga, to the beach and were now going to a ‘little party’ at my friend’s house. Kids were jumping up and down, excited to have fun playing with their friends, time to eat some popcorn, chase, laugh and swap toys the usual 3-7 yr olds stuff. But this was a party with a difference, it wasn’t a birthday, it was to fund raiser for the ‘100Friends Project’ with the founder Marc Gold.

Marc is an extraordinary individual. A retired schoolteacher from New York, Marc started this small project in 1989. His idea was very simple: If he could find 100 friends to donate money to him he could take the money to Third World Countries and look for the neediest people to help. The first year he raised over $2,100 and was thrilled. This may not sound like a lot of money to us in the Western World, but in a third world country this can save many lives. Since the project began Marc tireless efforts to fund raise have raised over $294,140.

Marc took early retirement so he can dedicate his life to this mission. He fund raises 6 months of the year in the US and then goes to different countries in need like Cambodia, Afghanistan, Indonesia and works with local groups to change people’s lives for the better. As he says ‘I put the money to work in the most compassionate, appropriate, culturally compatible, constructive and practical manner possible’, and he really does. On this evening, in my friends Susie’s house we watched a slide show of the work he has been doing. It was an incredible, emotional evening, a group of mothers with their children watching the suffering of similar aged children in third world countries. Kleenex was abound. One of the older kids aged 8 ran down stairs to get his ‘Gameboy’ to give it to one of these children. He said ‘ I don’t need it any more I can always get another one’. We recently heard that 25 boys in Cambodia now share this Gameboy and it is their most treasured possession.

When you put the donation into Marc’s hands and he really does put the funds directly into the hands of the needy individual or family, or a small trusted grassroots organization to help them.

As a child Marc had a dream about going to India and then he had the same dream as an adult he knew he had to go. His first trip was in 1989 where he met a Tibetan family in the Himalayas. Although the father of this family was an accomplished artist they were still struggling to survive and his wife had lost her hearing. Marc was able to restore the hearing and arrange for a cure of a terrible ear infection for this Tibetan woman for a little over $50. He changed this family’s life for ever. The mother was able to hear her new born child for the first time and began to sobbing, Marc knew at that moment that he had found his true calling in life, and his mission began.

Here at Kids Yoga Network we want to show case Marc’s work and have become one of his ‘100 Friends’. If you want to find out more go to www.100friends.com. All donations are tax deductible and even $5 will make a difference. As Marc found out in India $50 can change a life forever.

Here at Kids Yoga Network we are on a mission to help children globally. By just taking the time to read this, you are part of our network. For the children that Marc Gold helps learning yoga and meditation is not a priority. Their stressors need a different solution. Survival is the driver. Please come join with us and be part of the change to save children’s lives. Please Donate. Paste http://www.100friends.com into your browser.