Okay ... it is my friend, Gloria's turn! 

 

Our trip to LaRamona will be her first opportunity to travel specifically to serve others and she is "looking forward to giving a hand to the Dominicans".  What is she looking forward to most?  The day we get to spend at the orphanage!
 

She is from Colombia; when she lived there she often spent time visiting the elderly at their homes and sharing time with children who have AIDS.  This was truly a rewarding experience for her as she came to realize how a little compassion makes a big difference in the lives of the less fortunate. 

 

She worked for a travel agency for 14 years in Colombia and therefore had an opportunity to travel to many places.  She has visited Europe, the Caribbean, Aruba, Curacao, San Juan, Bermuda, Jamaica, and Cancun.   

She is the mother of two boys.  Mateo is 20 and is attending college.  Arturo, her angel, is handicapped.  She says he has been a great blessing in her life for the past 21 years. They are currently living in Colombia, but she hopes they will be moving to the United States to be with her in January of 2014! 

Gloria has worked part-time for JetBlue on the Spanish Reservations line for almost eight years, and is part of the Values Committee.  She enjoys traveling, movies (her favorite being Gone With the Wind), and the outdoors. 

Wow!  I have been busy!  School has been much more of a chore than normal.  Thank goodness I have such an awesome JetBlue "family."  Crewmembers really came through for me when I needed surveys filled out for a research project.  It went really well! 

 

On to Humanitarian Hearts business ....

 

I'm happy to introduce Stacey!  (The cutie in the hat.)

 

She is super excited to return to the beautiful Dominican Republic - this time to provide humanitarian service for the people of the bateyes in La Romana. She is looking forward to our trip and truly believes it will be a life-changing experience.

 

What to share about Stacy ... ?

 

She is single, and has three beautiful, daughters, a wonderful son-in-law and two adorable grandchildren (Jacy - 5 and Quin - 2).

 

She works part-time for JetBlue but is also a certified Paralegal and has a love for teaching.  She has a passion for traveling and does it as much as she can.  She counts herself lucky that she was able to visit Egypt before it became hostile - it is one of her most favorite trips!  

 

You may have noticed her attire in the picture above.  If so, I bet you can guess that she is an avid Utah Ute football fan!  She says her season begins with the opening game, and ends on the last! (There's no question of where she'll be Saturday's ... I know she's in the crowd out there somewhere!)

Some other interesting facts?

 

After football season, she enjoys water skiing and wake boarding.

 

She is a twin! (I had no idea!!)

 

Her dad invented and built the sonar equipment used to find the Titanic, and was there when it was found!  How awesome is that?!

 

Introducing one of our fabulous Mother-Daughter teams .... Cinthie and Casey! They are excited to serve the unfortunate and know that this opportunity will be life changing! 

Though Cinthie and Casey have not traveled specifically to provide humanitarian services before, boy have they TRAVELED! 

Cinthie has worked in the travel industry for 20 years so has had the unique opportunity to travel  to about 30 differet countries!!  (Is my face green with envy? ) 

Since Cinthie is single she’s been able to take her daughter with her to many of these places – lucky gal.  (I’ve seen some great pictures of them in London – they look so happy!) 

What else do they do together? They are fans of Utah football and Yankees baseball.  Just a month ago they went to their yearly Yankees game!  WOOT!

Casey is single like her mom.  She graduated from the University of Utah and now works in the Out-Patient Therapy department at Primary Children’s Hospital.  She was a four-year starter for her high school softball team so she’s going to be a great asset during out baseball game in LaRomana!

Cinthie works part-time for JetBlue in the Queues Crew and is a member of the Values Committee.  In addition, she is a travel agent for Cruise Directors. She was involved with the PTA for many years and also volunteered her time by running Mueller Park baseball for three years. She has another child named Colton, who after serving a mission in Uruguay, returned home and married his high school sweetheart Tara. Her little granddaughter, Lola, brightens everyone’s life. 

What does Cinthie do when she’s not working or traveling?  (It can't leave her much spare time!) She scrapbooks and collects antiques.

. 

The Perfect Team!

Oh My Goodness!  

I'm doing it ... avoiding my school project again!  It's like I have no control!  I guess I'm much more excited about the Humanitarian Hearts.  My excuse this time is that in an hour I have to get ready to go to Arianna's Cross Country meet, so I don't want to get all wrapped up in school that I forget about it.  (Like writing a blog doesn't have that potential too ....?)

Well, the decision is made ... and the excuse is kind of legitimate ... so forward I go!

I’m truly honored to introduce you to Brent and Kelly Van Sickle!

When I asked, "What excites you most about this service project?" I loved their answer!

We are Flipping excited about it all! :)  We are excited to go with this great group of people and help/serve a small group of people in the DR, what a great opportunity this will be!

Kelly is not a novice with providing humanitarian services in other countries!  She served an LDS Welfare mission to the island of Mindanao in the Philippines in 1988. (Don't be embarrassed if you have to look it up - I did too.)  (In addition to serving her mission in the Philippines, she has also visited Aruba.)

Amazingly she already had a big accomplishment under her belt prior to her mission - she had finished her nursing degree!  As a Welfare Sister she focused on health and safety practices among the people.  It was striking to her that she had to spend more time teaching the people how to understand how to get healthy rather than stay health. 

Her passion for those in need has continued in many forms:  She served on the PTA board for 13 years as President Elect and President.  While working part time in JetBlue's Customer Support department, she has found time to be part of the Values Committee as well as the JetBlue Ready Team. I'm sure it was a humbling experience to travel as part of the Ready Team and see the devastation after Hurricane Sandy.  She remarks that, "Even though this was in the US, we had to practice safe water techniques and teach people how to clean /test the water ... and also helping people in an evacuation situation." 

  

Both Kelly and Brent's passion for service overflows - and touches everyone in their family and everyone they know:

We have experienced in the past the feeling of thanks and gratitude; and a feeling of accomplishment when we are allowed to go help/serve others.  Our religion has taught us that service to others is a Christ-like attitude. Both of our parents have taught that service is a way of life. We have tried to teach our children to recognize when someone is in need and even if they turn you down for help, if you see that they need the help, "grab the shovel" and just start helping.  Instead of a no, you usually see a smile or a slap on the back in thanks.  There are opportunities to help all around, look for them, find them, then go and do it! 

Speaking of their children ... they have 9 kids together!  

When they married, Kelly had a 5-year-old, and through Brent she gained 7 children and 6 grandchildren!  Several years later Little Red, their youngest, came along.  There are still two other children living at home, both who are attending Utah Valley University. (Jamin - 18 and Connor - 21)  Connor has recently returned from a Spanish Speaking LDS Mission and is also working for JetBlue!  (Maybe we can coerce Connor into coming with us to LaRomana - it would be nice to have another translator!)  

I should also mention that Kelly is in charge of the party we will have at the orphanage in LaRomana!  Her Plans are well on their way.  (And she has promised to take pictures as she works to keep us all apprised of her progress - so be looking for updates!)  She is the perfect person to take on the task, because most of these kids have a passion for the same sport that she and Brent do ... Baseball!

This family LOVES Baseball!!

Before Little Red was born the family got together to come up with baby names ... it was between Easton and Barry Bonds.  Haha!  I'm happy to report that Little Red was named Easton. Each family member has their own take on who the best team is as well.  Brent and Kelly love the Angels (having grown up in Anaheim), Jamin loves the Braves, and Easton loves the Dodgers!   What about Connor you ask?  He's out in left field ... with no particular interest period! 

Brent and Kelly have a combined total of 20 years of volunteerism with Baseball Boards as their children participated in the sport throughout the years!  Brent hit a home run while living in Price, UT the year they hosted the West Coast Little League World Series.  He headed up the baseball field's renovation and due to his inspired idea; he received permission to pick up inmates to work in the field to get it done in time.  

Extra Tidbits about this Terrific Team?

Brent loves building and designing in their home, he is very talented! 

Kelly loves to travel, sew and make cards - and though she doesn't like to cook, she "loves to eat!"

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' - Who Got This Project Rolling ?

You may be wondering who had the gusto to start this whole adventure .... so I'd like to introduce the fabulous and beautiful Julie!

(Applause ... applause ...!! )   

She has truly put a lot of effort into getting things rolling.  I know its got to drive her bonkers when trying to get everyone together for meetings.  Schedules vary widely with a 24-hr operation so it's not an easy task - but she never falters in her dedication to making sure we all make it to LaRomana!

I'm curious .... In your opinion, what are the "obvious" places for a US citizen to travel to?  I'm curious because Julie says she has been out of the country a few times to "obvious" places such as Banff, Canada; several destination in Mexico with Puerta Vallarta being her favorite; and Jamaica-Ochos Rios, Nassau.  I have never been to Any of those places!  I've got to catch up!  :)


To look at her you'd never guess that she's been married for over 20 years to her husband Troy. Their 21st Anniversary is next month - Congratulations!! 

Julie - if you read this - let me know what you do for your anniversary - I need ideas!

OMG!  I just - at this very moment - realized that I will be leaving to La Romana directly after my 21st Anniversary!!  How could I have overlooked that?! I wonder if Devin has been thinking about that all along!  I've got to make this year's anniversary super special!!

okay .. okay ... suppress the panic .... back on point!

Julie and Troy have 3 lovely children - one of whom is serving an LDS mission in Fort Lauderdale, Florida!  I know she is very proud of him because she talks of him often.  We wish he could come with us to LaRomana because apparently he speaks Haitian Creole! What an asset he would have been!   Kaiti is a senior in high school and is actually part of the Humanitarian Hearts. She will be traveling with us so I'm eager to get to know her. Last, but never least, there is Max who is an 8th grader!  

When it comes to her children, she wants to let Nicki know: 

"Nicki may think her kids are the best ... I would beg to differ!!  HA!"

... I'll just let 'em both think what they want because I know the truth!  It's my children who are the best!  ;)   haha!

Julie works with me on the Values Committee at JetBlue as well - but she is a Chair Person - the head honcho of her sub-committee.  ;)  She has been making a difference for crew members for the last three years!  What's obvious (unlike where US citizens travel .. haha) is her dedication to service.  She took an idea that was being casually talked about - serving in impoverished areas - and turned it into a reality!  I admire her very much.

So what does Julie do when she isn't out saving the world?
                                                                           

She is a "TV JUNKIE" (said in her own words!)

Since she brought it up I have to share that I can totally attest to her admission!

When at work one night she said something - in a panicked voice - about missing the Bachelorette!  I'm thinking, "Oh man!  That's horrible!  Who's getting married?"  She sheepishly says ... oh no ... its just the TV show.  LOL!  I've never talked to anyone who watches it!  She is indeed unique!  (For any other unique individuals out there - forgive my sensibilities.  haha)

In addition to the Bachelorette (cough) she enjoys reality TV shows, and Jeopardy.  ("Mostly because I am pretty competitive," she says.)  
                                  Think back to her comment to Nicki - hehe.  
                                                     Also notice that the Bachelorette doesn't qualify as "reality" ... ;)

                   

She also shared something special with me ... 


She has spoken from the pulpit at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square here in Salt Lake City!  


 It doesn't hold the 21,000 people that the new Conference Center holds ... but speaking in front of 1,400 people is still quite impressive in my book!   O,O

So that about sums Julie up when squished into a little blog!

She wants to remind everyone to remember to meet at her house this Saturday "to work on the family packs"!

                         "Can't wait to see you!"





As for me, I hope to continue with introductions ... but I have a HUGE school project that is due this Friday so it might be a few days before I do.  (Unless I get bored and procrastinate some more - which would be a VERY BAD thing.)

So, until next time - Adios!

In A Sing-Song Mood

Like I mentioned last time - I will be adding information about each of our group members as I receive their responses from the survey I sent out. 

I'm humming the tune to "Mickey" by Tom Basil.  I guess it's because there is a version of the song called "Hey Nikki"  and the first person to get back to me was Nicki!  

Nicki shares that she has never been out of the country but she is totally looking forward to it!  Despite the fact that we will only be in LaRomana for a short time, she plans on diving in and working hard at whatever they need of her.  She also plans to share her compassion by giving lots of hugs to the people out there!

As for her everyday life?  She works full time at JetBlue helping large groups book their reservations. Despite the fact that she loves her job, she says she'd quit and do volunteer work all day if she could because it keeps her grounded. As it is, she tries to stay active in the community by devoting her time to service projects when she's able.  What she didn't mention in her survey is that she is the mastermind of our 5K.  Without her knowledge and experience we would not have this amazing fundraising opportunity!  It's one of those jobs that is  more easily accomplished on your own, so none of us really knows how much work she has put into setting up the event so far.  I'm sure it has taken many, many hours and many, many calls and headaches, for her to find the staging ground and a route in Saratoga, Utah.  The rest of us are at the starting line, awaiting the signal to start our assignments for the next stage of preparation!  If no one has told you lately - We Love You Nicki!  

UPDATE: Join the 5K!!  http://heartstohumanity.com/

Hmmm ... what else has she shared?  She's still married to the man of her dreams.  (Ok, she didn't specifically say "man of her dreams," but you can kind of infer that after 20 years and the fact that she "loves date night."  Say it with me ... "Awwww, how sweet!") 

With her fabulous guy, they are raising 4 kids (ages 10-18) ... three of them teenagers!  (Ever heard that song by My Chemical Romance ?) Can you say stress?  How does she have the wits to set up an event?  She says she's lucky to have great kids!

Speaking of songs ... how 'bout the Steve Miller Band?  "I'm a joker, I'm a smoker, I'm a mid-night toker" ... This is what I first thought of when I read the sentence about her hobbies.  Haha!  No - she's definitely not any of those things in the song, but ... 

She's a "cyclist", she's a "runner", she's an awe-some "swimmer"...  

:)

She actually says she's not fast or anything, but I think fast is a relative term.  I'm positive I'd classify her as fast!

She also loves to cook, loves the outdoors, loves the beach (which is a special kind of outdoors that deserves its own mention) ... and again ... Loves Date Night.

So what's new?
     .... The further realization that time really does fly and that there are so many facets to preparing for a trip like this ... and about 80% of them out of your control!  Sponsors, city officials, schedules ... the list goes on.

Being at the fundraising stage is kind of an unsettling place to be ... you can't help but wonder if other people will feel as passionate about your cause as you do yourself. Success or Failure of the 5K can really make or break our entire venture. Suddenly the ideas of marketing and advertising become important ... It's up to us to share our passion and get the community excited about the services we will provide in LaRomana!  At the moment, thanks to awesome leaders, it is coming together nicely!

Psst .... 

Hey - if you are still reading, I need your help.  I need ideas you might have on ways to effectively raise money with big prizes, like plane tickets, in conjunction with the 5K. Thanks!

The book project .... I am getting ready to launch the project on kickstarter in a week or so.  It will result in one of 3 outcomes:

1. a complete bust - but great learning experience
2. a wonderful project to commemorate our service in the Dominican Republic
3. a fabulous success that will allow me to complete the book and have extra money to donate to our humanitarian project

You never know until you try, and I'm a cup-half-full kind of gal - so I'm going to concentrate on outcome #3.  :)  I'm trying to come up with a name for the book.  So far "What Binds Us Together" keeps washing through my mind over and over.  I found a quote that fits well with it too :  

Our human compassion binds us the one to the other - not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.

Nelson Mandela 

Unless someone else cares to share their opinion - now that I found the quote - I'll probably stick with the title.   

Hmmm .... what else to share?  I could just rattle off dates, times, supplies, and such in regard to preparing for our service project - but what about the human element?  I mean - humanity is what our whole adventure is about! At this moment the story is about us - the Humanitarian Hearts, so I think we should share a little bit about our members. 

I have to share that most of the Humanitarian Hearts made faces of horror when mention of writing a blog was voiced.  Which is odd, since we were IM'ing.  It must have been the force of the distaste everyone felt for spending time writing that made me visualize faces.  haha!(Honestly, I'm only slightly less horrified at the thought of blogging when I have so much else going on ... but I'm always up for a challenge!)  What I'd like to do is introduce each fabulous person I am sharing this experience with. 

If I can get everyone to fill a short survey out - I'll share a little bit about each person, what they have going on in their lives, and how they are feeling about our objective.  (A survey shouldn't evoke the fight-or-flight instinct like writing a blog did, should it?  It's kind of fun teasing the group like this ... maybe I'll find out if they actually read what I write.  Haha!!) Since I came up with this idea last  night - I started with myself.  Each day, I will add information about another member.

About Me (Heidi)

Lately I seem to exist in a bubble full of fear and excitement ...

                I have a lot going on in my life which is causing this roller-coaster of emotions ... 

I am attending school full-time, work full-time, and am a member of the Values Committee at JetBlue. I'm spending a lot of my personal time focusing on education as well. I've had the opportunity to present tuition reimbursement structures at work (for when the time is right to add that benefit).  I am creating a group that will support students and others who are proponents of education and professional development.  I'm also campaigning at school for those in non-traditional educational programs to be eligible for induction into honor societies. (The Dean agrees - it's time to change!)  Lastly, I am the weird, funny, crazy mother of a new Junior High student, Arianna - and two High School graduates, Alissa and Andrew.  (They're my A Team.) I'm also the lucky wife of the most patient, loving, understanding man on Earth! (Devin will have put up with me for 21 years this December - unless you include the 2 years we were dating before that.  He's definitely an amazing man! ;)  )

Why am I fearful? My fear stems from a few things: fear of failure, lack of time, letting people down and eventually traveling to LaRomana - a place I've never been.  Not that I haven't traveled at all ... I've lived in Maryland, Michigan, Georgia, Arizona, Utah and with 3 tours in Germany (my father was in the Army) I spent a total of 12 years there.  While in Europe I visited France, Spain, and Italy - but never any place that was impoverished.  This will be a new experience for me.

Surprisingly - the excitement comes from exactly the same things!  I'm excited for all of the opportunities around me!  I'm excited to accomplish my goals.  I'm excited to work with amazing people who also have a love of providing service.  I'm excited to meet Bob Beck, with laromana.org, who is helping us set up our visit. (Check out the site.) I'm excited to get to know the people of La Romana!

When people ask for a word to describe me I say "optimism-driven"!  (Though the first thing my kids would say is "weird".)  I like doing a large variety of things like crocheting, scrapbooking, sewing, reading, drawing (I may put some drawings in the book I mentioned above), painting, working on my car, camping, and hiking.  I also like to play instruments.  I have a couple of flutes, a piccolo, a couple of guitars, and a violin ... but at one time I had been able to play the saxophone, clarinet, piano and french horn too.  (Though none of them at the level of my flute and piccolo.  11 years versus 1 year of experience makes a difference after all!)  Every now and then I take out an instrument and play.  It's sad how you lose skills when you don't use them. My youngest daughter is playing the flute now so I have more occasion to play!  :)  

Well, that's about it for me.  "Tune in" next time for another Humanitarian Heart!

Making Progress

I have never had a blog before, so this is an interesting endeavor!  I'm willing to give it a go to document the progress of our humanitarian project!

Let's start by defining who the Humanitarian Hearts are.  We are a group of about 30 individuals who work for JetBlue Airways who are interested in giving back to our fellow man.  Our plan is to visit La Romana in the Dominican Republic to provide humanitarian service to those living in poor conditions in their villages, or Bateyes.  Not only will it be an immensely rewarding experience, it will be a great way to support JetBlue's mission of "Inspiring Humanity.'

We've been lucky to have a contact through JetBlue's group department.  Bob Beck with Laromana.org often books missionary groups to travel to the Dominican Republic to work with him, which is how we came to know him.  It is with his guidance that we are able to plan this trip.  He set up different activities to serve in the area,  providing accommodations for a very reasonable price, transportation for your stay, interpreters if needed, and meals.  

The difficulty comes in the preparation to go.  Since JetBlue is a 24hr operation, it is virtually impossible to get all thirty people to attend meetings.  We won't let that stop us though!

What we've been working on lately:

Meeting at the Park

While in the Dominican Republic, we plan to have a party at the orphanage so preparations are on the way for that.  Apparently the children absolutely Love Baseball, so we are collecting equipment to take with us for a spectacular baseball game which we anticipate losing dramatically since most of us don't play.  Since I have trouble just connecting the ball and the bat, I offered to be the cheerleader instead of playing, but the other Humanitarian Hearts will hear none of that!

We are also working on a 5k walk/run to be held in the beginning of October.  This is a wonderful opportunity to raise money for the trip!  We are excited to be able to offer a couple of round trip flights as incentive for participating since JetBlue was so kind to donate them.  They have also agreed to match the amount of monetary contributions we raise!  May i just say - I love JetBlue?! 

Collecting Clothing Donations

Another project we are preparing for is to put together outfits for a family group - Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister - which will be provided to those in need.  We'll take these with us when we travel to the Dominican Republic and deliver them at the same time we distribute food.

As far as fundraising - I'm trying to think of an idea involving Kickstarter.com.  It would be awesome to create a book about our experience. I wonder what the response would be for donations? I think I might try it out ... If anyone has had personal experience with Kickstarter.com - please leave a message and share your insight.  

School work, housework, and my family are calling ... so I'll write more later.  Have a wonderful day!

Humanitarian Hearts