|
COURTESY COACH: February 2007
|
The Tea Party Company
|
Jan 24, 2007 17:31 PST
|
IN THIS ISSUE:
FREEDOM WRITERS FOUNDATION—FREE MOVIE TICKETS FOR TEACHERS
A TALE OF ROMANCE AND HEROISM
BOOKS FOR SOLDIERS
==================================
Gratitude is the sign of noble souls--Aesop
Whenever we are appreciative, we are filled with a sense of well-being
and swept up by the feeling of joy--BMJ Ryan
==================================
FREEDOM WRITERS FOUNDATION
I was touched by the movie ‘Freedom Writers’ and thrilled to learn more
about the foundation that is associated with the teacher and students
who were the basis for this movie. I am also happy to share with you
news that teachers can attend this movie at no cost from January 26th to
February 1st at participating AMC movie theaters! So follow the link
below to learn more:
http://www.freedomwritersfoundation.org/atf/cf/%7BB2A26556-086E-4FFA-AF6C-DC4EE722C801%7D/AMC%20PRESS%20RELEASE.PDF?tr=y&auid=2307537
=======================================================
A VALENTINE’S DAY STORY OF ROMANCE AND HEROISM: THE ROBINSONS
From The History Channel at www.historychannel.com
Jackie Robinson is one of the most admired people in sports. But unlike
most sports heroes, his battles did not take place only on the athletic
field. His most important battles were against the pervasive national
racism that not only excluded blacks from participation in major league
baseball, but from economic opportunities in fields of all kinds.
Robinson led the Dodgers to four National League pennants and one World
Series championship in 1955. And, in the process, he led his nation in a
struggle for civil rights that continues today -- but he didn't do it
alone.
When the Brooklyn Dodgers' Branch Rickey began his search for a talented
and educated black baseball player to be the first to integrate the
sport, twenty-six-year-old Jackie Robinson seemed the perfect man for
the job. A graduate of UCLA, he was a superb four-sport athlete with
strong religious roots and a strict work ethic. But, Rickey realized the
hard road that lay ahead of Robinson, and during their first meeting, on
August 28, 1945, he harshly questioned him about whether or not he could
handle the hatred, threats of violence, and baiting he would have to
endure as he crossed the color line. In his autobiography, Robinson
recalled Rickey asking, "You got a girl? There are going to be times
when you're going to need a woman by your side."
Rachel Isum was Robinson's fiancee. They had met in 1940 when she was a
first-year nursing student at UCLA and he was already an accomplished
athlete. They were married on February 10, 1946. Two weeks after the
wedding, they left for Robinson's first spring training, for the minor
league Montreal Royals, in Daytona Beach, Florida -- the deep south, a
bastion of hard-core racism. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle,
Rachel Robinson later recalled, "That first spring training was like a
nightmare. There was so much degradation. There was bigotry like we had
never encountered." But Jackie, with Rachel at his side, endured the
indignities of the training trip and a season filled with countless
insults, threats, and bean balls on his way to leading the league in
batting, runs scored, and fielding. The next spring, despite a
threatened boycott by the club's players, the Brooklyn Dodgers promoted
Robinson to the major league -- seven years before the Brown vs. Board
of Education Supreme Court ruling integrated the country's schools.
In the majors, the Robinsons again suffered through death threats,
constant verbal harassment from managers, players, and fans, and
physical abuse, including more pitches to his head and body. But
Robinson succeeded in winning the respect of players and fans and was
named Rookie of the Year in 1947, after batting .297 with 125 runs
scored and twenty-nine stolen bases and leading his team to a National
League title. By 1949, with the signing of more blacks to major League
baseball, integration had arrived in major league baseball.
Throughout his life, Jackie credited his wife Rachel for providing the
support that allowed him to work through the difficulties of his
baseball career. "Strong, loving, gentle and brave, never afraid to
either criticize or comfort," he once wrote of his wife. Later,
according to People magazine, he said, "When they try to destroy me,
it's Rachel who keeps me sane." People also reported that Norma King,
wife of Dodger pitcher Clyde King, once said of Rachel, "I recall the
look of pride on her face watching him play while the rest of us were
worrying about whether our husbands would do something foolish."
After Jackie's retirement from baseball in 1956, the Robinsons continued
to play a visible role in politics and the civil rights movement. They
were staunch supporters of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the fight against
segregation, and spoke out against black separatists like Stokely
Carmichael. The Robinsons were especially proud of their three children,
Jackie Jr., Sharon, and David. Sadly, Jackie Jr. died in a car accident
in 1971. In an interview with the Boston Globe, daughter Sharon said of
her parents, "The house revolved around my father, but my mother was
always the center of the family. She was in a real partnership with my
father. We felt that. We knew that. He Appreciated it and we did too."
Even after a heart attack cut short Jackie's life on October 23, 1972,
Rachel, who has also worked as a nurse and teacher, has continued to
work hard to advance the legacy that she and her Husband began as
newlyweds. In 1973, she founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which
she still chairs. To date, the foundation has raised hundreds of
thousands of dollars in scholarships to help send more than 500 minority
and underprivileged students to college. Rachel Robinson continues her
husband's work of leading by example. Many who knew the couple are not
surprised. Major league first baseman Mo Vaughn, who wears number 42 in
honor of his hero, Jackie Robinson, once told the Boston Globe, "Jackie
Robinson couldn't have been Jackie Robinson if it wasn't for Rachel
Robinson. It's another case of the fact that behind every good man is a
good woman. Study your history. He wanted to quit. She wouldn't let
him."
For more stories of romance and history, visit The History Channel at
www.historychannel.com
=============================================
BOOKS FOR SOLDIERS
I have really tried to be good a purging clutter in the new year and I
find that I have so many great books…too many to just toss out, I want
them to go to someone that I care about sharing their stories with. And
so I’m thrilled to have found the organization BooksForSoldiers.com who
focuses on care packages for the mind. Their story is below:
During the first Gulf War, several of my friends from school were in the
reserves and were activated to fight the Iraqis. CNN reported that once
the soldiers were deployed, they were faced with massive downtime and
were restricted to their base due to the travel limitations set by the
Saudi government.
I am a voracious reader and at the beginning of the Gulf War, I had a
closet full of paperback books. Books that were not being used. So
instead of selling them at the used book store, I packed them up in
small care packages and sent them out to all the soldiers, sailors,
marines and airmen I had addresses for.
Within a few weeks, I ran out of books before I ran out of addresses.
Friends and family members began donating their paperback books and in
the end, over 1000 books were sent to the Gulf.
After the war, we received many thank-you notes from soldiers who got
one of our books. Unless it was time for them to fly back home,
mail-call days were one of the most anticipated events of deployment.
Regardless of why the military is deployed, the men and women of our
armed services are there for us. They deserve our support and if we can
make their deployment easier, then all the better.
Currently, BFS is a non-profit corporation, operated as a ministry of a
non-denominational church in North Carolina.
I am collecting books from my book club and friends and would like to
encourage you to do the same. If, however, you’d find it easier to just
drop them in the mail to me then of course I’d welcome them too:
Courtesy Coaching
PO Box 36671
Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236
==========================================
The mission of The Courtesy Project is to Cultivate a Culture of
Courtesy where individuals work, live, play, and learn. Our training
improves work and employability skills by improving life skills.
|
|
 |
|
