In Rememberance - The Last Lecture - Lives on in All of Us

We can't change the cards we're dealt, just how to play the hand. --Randy Pausch

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From the Wall Street Journal

In his final months, while millions of people world-wide were watching his inspirational last lecture, Randy Pausch was cocooned at home in Virginia with his wife and three young children. "Every time I'm with the kids now, there's this total sense of urgency that I try not to let them pick up on," he told me. "I can't say things and reinforce them in four years. My time is now." The computer-science professor from Carnegie Mellon University, honored as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world, died at home Friday morning at age 47 of pancreatic cancer. MORE

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There is also a very touching video on that page. I received an email last fall when the Last Lecture was given at Carnegie Mellon University. I had meant to buy his book over the last months only it got away from me. Ironically I made the purchase on Thursday, July 24 - and he is now among the angels as of Friday.

I wish his family and friends peace in this trying time but know that he ignited the world with his words - never intending to. I guess his dreams just happened. Karma just came.

PRESS RELEASE / ANNOUNCEMENT - BREATH OF HOPE RECEIVES GRANT FROM GMAC FINANCIAL

We are pleased to announce that Breath of Hope, Inc. has received a grant from GMAC Financial. This grant is for an Endowment Fund to award scholarships to people attending colleges and universities with an interest in raising awareness, developing treatment options, increasing the survival rates, and giving our children born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia ("CDH") a better quality of life. Scholarships will also be available for survivors of CDH.

Breath of Hope wants to give back to those who further our cause. We want to help them with their education so they will be able to lessen the residual affects that plague families affected by CDH.

Thanks to the generosity of the public, Breath of Hope has generated enough funding to cover our operational expenses for this year. Breath of Hope keeps it's operating expenses to a minimum and by doing so, we have maintained enough funding to set aside and start this fund.
This generous grant from GMAC Financial will further the education of those children born with CDH, as well as people who are interested in increasing awareness, treatment and knowledge of the congenital diaphragmatic hernia birth defect.

Breath of Hope is currently creating a Scholarship Committee that will review the applications and help contact colleges and universities to get the word out that there will be awarded scholarships for the 2009-2010 year.

If you have knowledge of any available grant programs which you would like Breath of Hope to apply for, or if you would like to contribute to this scholarship fund, please contact Elizabeth Doyle-Propst at Elizabeth@breathofhopeinc.com or 888-BOH-CDH0 (888-264-2340).

Leadership is...

Leaders are more powerful role models when they learn than when they teach. --Rosabeth Moss Kantor

Caring, Spreading Awareness and Capturing Memories

On Wednesday, September 17 - Breath of Hope will have a project with the Thomas Jefferson Area United Way for the Day of Caring. We will assemble 500 baby hand print kits. Fifty of the kits will be used for our Expectant Parent Packages we send families of Breath of Hope along with a few other items which help these families prepare for their CDH baby.

The University of Virginia Children's Medical Center NICU has approximately 450 infants admitted each year. The remaining and bulk of these kits will be delivered to the University of Virginia's NICU so each family that has a baby admitted will have this special memento of their child's first moments.

A Community Grant will help fund the materials needed for these hand print kits and once that is finalized we will formally thank the corporation.

Each family will also know that Breath of Hope and the United Way Day of Caring made these hand prints possible. This will also spread a bit of Awareness!

Inspired by Some Great Purpose

When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bounds. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be. --Pantanjali

Very inspirational video at this link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25568850#25636841