Hope - #HelpJapan

Two weeks ago today, a devastating earthquake struck off the coast of Japan causing a massive tsunami wreaking havoc on property, displaced many and killed thousands. In the wake of tragedy there is one thing that is always certain. Americans and many others from around the world will come to the aid of those hurting and in need.  We sent teams of searchers to look for survivors. Our military brought in emergency aid and water.  Nonprofit groups mobilized to provide food, water, shelter and safe zones for children.

Over the last two weeks my church has also been active and helping to support the relief efforts.  Just after the earthquake Bayside Church took a second offering in each of its seven weekend services to raise $85,000.  When churchgoer and restauranteur Taro Arai (Mikuni) approached Bayside about hosting a fundraiser they launched the beginning of a miracle.  In ten or so days, they reached out to other restaurants, lined up entertainment, secured an amazing artist to paint on stage during the event, and got other businesses to donate auction items.  Last night, 900 attendees and 100 volunteers helped raise an additional $85,000.

I never like to say it's all about the money, it's not.  There are many other churches, groups and individuals that have raised smaller (and larger) amounts of money to help those impacted by recent events in Japan and other disasters around the world.  The important lesson here is that one group or one individual can make a huge difference.  If Bayside would have just taken a second offering, it would have been an amazing gift to the people of Japan.  However, there was more in-store and with the help of an entire community even more was raised to support two amazing charities, World Vision and Covenant World Relief.

We can all make a difference. How are you living your life to make a difference? What partnerships can you develop to help double your impact?

Below are some pictures and a video taken at last night's event (I did not attend, but followed along on Twitter). Pictures courtesy of BaysidePictures.com. Full recap from BaysideOnline.com and KFBK.com.

MrAndrewBradley on The Sacramento Bee's "Sacramento Connect"

Last week I was contacted by Sacramento Connect, a service of The Sacramento Bee, that brings together more than one hundred local blogs. I never thought that my blog would qualify because it doesn't really focus on a single topic. I'm not a food blogger, but I blog about food. I am not a travel blogger, but I blog about travel. I am not a family blogger, but I blog about family. However, for all the things I am not, I am a lot of other things. I write about my life and the events that I find interesting or thought provoking.

For those of you who are new to the blog, welcome. I hope that you find my posts to be relevant to whatever it is you are looking for. Feel free to post comments (moderated), ask questions and most of all realize that all of the thoughts and ideas on the blog are my own. I will often write about my clients and the things I get to do because of my job, but all reflections are truthful and honest. I love my job and I love my clients and often times my blog will reflect that.

Safelite AutoGlass Repair

As I mentioned in my last post, my windshield got a crack in it on my way to Napa Monday afternoon.  The crack started out small (about the size of a dollar bill), so I was hopefully that it could be repaired, but by Tuesday when I arrived back in Roseville it had grown another few inches and today it was about 16 inches long. Safelite sent a technician to my office yesterday to verify if it could be repaired and once we determined it could not be, scheduled me to have my windshield replaced today.  The new technician came to my office around noon, but since it was still raining was willing to meet me at my house about two hours later.

Once at my house (right on time), he filled out all the paperwork on his BlackBerry, printed out a work order and worked to replace the windshield on my Ford Escape.  One hour later, he was done, I was $200 poorer and my windshield looks like new (which is good, since it is).

As proof that I have a wide variety of clients and because it fits with the automotive theme of this post, I was at Specalized Parts Planet earlier this morning for a client meeting.