Back with a Whole New Story!

I last wrote in this blog on February 13, 2008 which, coincidentally, was my husband's 43rd birthday. At that time I had decided that if Oprah wanted to know about iCREATE and the Texas Legacy Arts Incubator, I was better served by stepping away from the keyboard and showing the world what it was all about. Since that time, quite a bit has happened. iCREATE will be part of the STELLAR campus in Manor Texas, I've gotten married and I have a new story to tell. And, yes, I still want to be on Oprah to tell it!

Let me begin by telling you that my husband, Keith Hogan, is a remarkable man. He is 43 and has Spinal Muscular Atrophy. He's outlived his doctor's predictions by about 30 years at this point. His form of the disease is Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2. And, his film tells a lot of the story.

He entered South Austin Hospital with pneumonia on February 18th and, due to his inability to use his hands or legs, there was somebody with him 24/7 to be sure his needs were fully covered. Any night that I didn't stay with him, his mother did. For the most part he received excellent care from caring staff. There were some notable exceptions, but that's to be expected I suppose.

Keith did not return home until May 27th bringing new accessories: a trache, a ventilator and the need for 24/7 personal care attendants. This automatically doubled our PCA expense to almost $9000/month. We attempted to get help from the state of Texas, but don't meet the poverty level necessary for Medicaid and are not wealthy enough to continue paying out of pocket.

This is where the real work became clear and where our new story begins. The story I want to share with Oprah and the world is about the shameful, unarticulated public policy of impoverishing and marginalizing people with disabilities. To deny access to all the things that make life worth living so that a person might receive moderate support from an uncaring authority is patently un-American. There is no life, no liberty and no pursuit of happiness. We provide more support to visitors to our shores than natural-born productive citizens whose only limitations are physical.

At the present time many potentially productive members of society are being warehoused in nursing homes which are funded by Federal dollars, little of which is spent on quality patient care. This can be changed by the Community Choice Act which is based on the concept that the funding follows the patient, thereby empowering the individual. We are in an election year and have two Presidential candidates who have come down on opposite sides of this issue. Senator Barack Obama is for the Community Choice Act; Senator John McCain is against it.

With her early endorsement, Oprah Winfrey brought Senator Obama to the forefront of the American political scene. Keith and I are grateful for that for many reasons, including the fact that Senator Obama has shown by his actions that he is committed to creating opportunity for all citizens whether they can raise their own hands in support or need assistance.

This is the story we want to tell Oprah.

NadaMoo! has reached another major market....

I was shopping in Central Market tonight and was excited to see that Amy's incredible NadaMoo! is in the frozen case at the Westgate Central Market in two of the most popular flavors: LaDa Mint Chip and GaDaDo Chocolate. Which means it is in your local Central Market too!

NadaMoo! is also available in Whole Foods in the Rocky Mountain/Southwest region. We'd love to see it everywhere. So, if you've been looking for a frozen taste treat that's non-dairy, agave-sweetened, organic with the taste of premium ice cream...tell your local grocer that there is an incredible product that you deserve!

Only in Texas!

This was an email I got on my listserve today:

My husband needs more armadillos at the ranch in Llano County. The drought last year decimated the armadillo population (no water=no grubs=no food for armadillos, and not enough water). Not enough armadillos = proliferation of termite mounds and red ants (they eat both) = huge areas of pasture land destroyed by the insects. Destruction of pasture (grasses) = erosion, proliferation of invasive species, etc.

If you have any that you have trapped and want a place to put them, let me know. He will come get them and take them to a really nice place in the country where they will have plenty of food (and water -- they now have LOTS of water) and can reproduce and restore balance to the ecosystem there. And it's unlikely they'll be run over -- too many acres of pasture to live on to wander out into the road.

And if you have anyone who's fast enough to catch them, send them over to my house -- I have several armadillos (or more), but can't run fast enough to grab them any more.

We Need More of These Millionaires in Texas!

Technology Millionaires Switching to Social Entrepreneurship

California's Silicon Valley is rife with people who over the past decade built fortunes working for technology companies or arranging mergers, and who are leaving their jobs while still relatively young to start new careers as social entrepreneurs, Bloomberg News reports.

Social entrepreneurship, which came of age during the 1990s, is especially apparent in Silicon Valley and other parts of California, which had more millionaire residents than any other state in 2003, the most recent year for which the U.S. Census Bureau has complete information. In a related development, the number of private foundations in the state has surged 81 percent, to 11,367, over the past decade.

Former software executive Charly Kleissner, 50, left his job at Ariba, Inc. five years ago to help bring renewable energy to impoverished areas of the world; his goal is to provide electricity to at least 100,000 people over the next five years. To that end, he has established two organizations in Sri Lanka that back biomass energy projects — growing crops to be used as fuel in a power generator. His group also helps remote villages restore forests with gliricidia trees and other vegetation, which in turn are used to fuel a power plant.

Others are quick to point out that social entrepreneurs can also apply their talents to more established organizations. George Yandell, 49, switched to full-time philanthropy in San Francisco after working as an investment banker for First Boston and Montgomery Securities. Now he negotiates land purchases for the Nature Conservancy. "I'm buying land and trying to get the best bang for the donor's buck," he told Bloomberg. "Conservation is very similar to investment banking. A remarkable number of skills are transferable."

"[Social entrepreneurship] is not just about writing a check and walking away," adds Doug Bauer, a senior vice president at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors in New York City. "It's about rolling up [your] sleeves."

How Does ExxonMobil's generous visionary action help iCREATE?

I think it is best answered in the story of Leonardo da Vinci ( 1452-1519), who was truly was a man well beyond his time. His lists of interests and achievements are extraordinary; as well as an artist and architect, he was an astronomer, researcher, scientist, experimenter, anatomist and inventor. His most acclaimed paintings are the Mona Lisa (La Gioconda) in the Louvre, Paris and the Last Supper in the refectory at Santa Maria delle grazie, Milan. His work was founded on a strict science and based on a profound analysis of ancient and traditional sources, but it was his curiosity which really drove him and his inquisitive mind.

The creative campus we are developing in Manor will be an incubator for creative and intellectual curiousity. Participants will learn the art of science...and the science of art. And then capture that knowledge in ways that will sustain them economically for the rest of their lives. Community based economic growth rooted in cultural legacy knowledge and shaped by intellectual rigor. Whole-brain thinking...and "doing". A place where 'genius' is recognized, encouraged and expected. The kind of place that Leonardo would feel at home.

ExxonMobil becomes the patron this work needs by committing $125 Million to the IDEA of this work. By supporting math & science initiatives in Texas, they have declared the importance of this work to the future of our world. So, eventhough the check is not written directly to iCREATE, the residual effect makes it possible for the creative campus to move from dream to reality.

Flaunt-a-Friend Friday!
(well, ExxonMobil is not a *personal* friend...yet!)

ExxonMobil Commits $125 Million to Math and Science Education Initiative (3/13/07)

ExxonMobil and the ExxonMobil Foundation in Irving, Texas, have announced a $125 million commitment to the National Math & Science Initiative a nonprofit organization created to facilitate the national scale-up of programs that have a demonstrated impact on math and science education in the United States.

With the funding from ExxonMobil, NMSI plans to expand two efforts that have been successful in Texas: training and incentive programs for advanced placement and pre-AP courses, and UTeach, a collaborative program of the Colleges of Natural Sciences and Education at the University of Texas at Austin that encourages math and science majors to become teachers by offering an integrated degree plan, financial assistance, and early teaching experiences.

Both programs have demonstrated considerable success in Texas over the past five years, with schools enrolled in the training programs more than tripling the number of students who scored a three or higher on AP exams in math and science. Over the same period, UTeach has doubled the number of UT-Austin students graduating with math and science teacher certification, while more than 80 percent of the program graduates who entered teaching four years ago are still teaching, compared with a 60 percent four-year retention rate nationally.

"Meeting the world's energy requirements and environmental challenges demands that we have a steady supply of well-skilled engineers and scientists," said ExxonMobil chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson "For many years, ExxonMobil has been greatly concerned about the erosion of the number of students coming out of American schools who are qualified and interested in careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and we are confident that NMSI will help to reverse these trends."

"New Program Launched to Foster Next Generation of Scientists and Engineers to Improve U.S. Global Competitiveness."
ExxonMobil Press Release 3/09/07.




http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/10006546/story

Flaunt-a-Friend Friday!

ATXtreme is the heart/brainchild of Jeff Lewis who has put together this 5-day musical event with local, national and international musicians who are all excited to get their rock on in South Austin!

Please join us at Cafe Caffeine, as we host ATXtreme which is an incredible lineup of music March 14th to 18th to benefit ONE, which is an effort by Americans to rally Americans – one by one – to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. ONE is students and ministers, punk rockers and NASCAR moms, Americans of all beliefs and every walk of life, united to help make poverty history.

The first chord will ring out at 11am on Wednesday March 14th and bands will play at the top of every hour until 11pm each night. The festival runs from March 14th to March 18th...and all the music is FREE!

Be sure to bring some cash for food, drink and artist merchandise. Some of the acts you've heard of [Tommy Ramone, Michelle Shocked, Pam Tillis], others you'll be happy to discover. Check the ATXtreme website for all the acts and any updates.

Jeff has reserved the entire Old South Austin Post Office parking lot for the event at the corner of S 5th & W Annie Streets. Free parking there . . .probably holds 150 cars . . . maybe more. Visitors must enter off West Annie Street side. Gate will be unlocked at 10:00am each day. The address is 1800 S. Fifth Street, about a block away from Cafe Caffeine.

We'll see you at Cafe Caffeine, 909 W. Mary, 78704...Austin's Original Hip Zip!