Neighborhood-Kids All Local. All for Kids. All the Time.

I have a dream that someday our children will learn how to love other children and human beings regardless of their similaries or differences, from the time they are born. And I believe that our classroom teachers can help promote that love in their students -- which is why I am a supporter of Teaching Tolerance.

Founded in 1991 by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance provides educators with free educational materials that promote respect for differences and appreciation of diversity in the classroom and beyond.

I still get the chills every time I read Martin Luther King's famous I have a dream speech. Can you believe such an amazing man lived right here in our country?

For a long time now, I've been feeling like I want to contribute my time and money to something meaningful - on a bigger scale than my own small life. I think it will be a good monthly blog topic and will simultaneously encourage me to get my rear in gear - to stop making all my standard excuses (I'm too busy to make my own life work, I'm too broke to pay my own bills, you get the idea). When it really comes down to it, I have my own house. I have my family to fall back on. I've never had to worry about whether I could give my kids dinner (although cooking it, that's a different story). Even bigger than all that, though, I've never had to deal with the unthinkable - child abuse. I've never been in a place where I had to decide between staying or running with my children. So this month, I've chosen to help Lydia Place in my own small way. For now, I'll help with their web site, and give a small donation. Hopefully, this will be just the beginning for leaving my own small footprint in this world.

"Lydia Place serves women and their children by offering shelter, individual and group parenting training, case management, and a program that assists them in moving from poverty to self-support and independence."