January 4, 2012 – CNN Living -

Justin Churchman is helping change lives in Juarez, Mexico, one house at a time.

Through Casas por Cristo, he was able to accomplish a remarkable goal: building 18 homes for people by his 18th birthday.

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 January 14, 2012 – Christian Science Monitor - By David Clark Scott, Staff

Forget Tim Tebow, the star athlete and starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos.

Forget his on-field genuflections, the Bible quotes, and the fourth-quarter “miracles.”

Let’s look at Tim Tebow, the philanthropist.

For all the controversy around his public prayers or his readiness to lead an NFL team to a Super Bowl, few can fault Tim Tebow’s acts of kindness.

Just before each football game, when most pro-athletes put on their “game face” and ignore teammates and family members, the Denver Broncos quarterback makes it a point to visit with a struggling fan.

Minutes before the start of last Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tebow took time to chat with 16-year-old Bailey Knaub, a girl who has had 73 surgeries.

In Buffalo, on Dec. 24, Jacob Rainey, a young football player who had lost his leg, was the beneficiary of Tebow’s pre- and post-game attention.

This Saturday, Tebow will meet with 20-year old Zack McLeod on the sidelines as part of The Tebow Foundation’s Wish 15 program that grants requests for young people with serious medical issues.

Aren’t such charitable activities a distraction from his chosen profession, asked ESPN columnist Rick Reilly.

“Just the opposite,” Tebow said. “It’s by far the best thing I do to get myself ready. Here you are, about to play a game that the world says is the most important thing in the world. Win and they praise you. Lose and they crush you. And here I have a chance to talk to the coolest, most courageous people. It puts it all into perspective. The game doesn’t really matter. I mean, I’ll give 100 percent of my heart to win it, but in the end, the thing I most want to do is not win championships or make a lot of money, it’s to invest in people’s lives, to make a difference.”

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January 11, 2012 – By Diana Rico for Ode Magazine – December 2011 – reprinted in Huffington Post

Five years ago, I was coming out of Vidiots, my favorite video store in Venice, California, when I spotted him sitting on the ground against the painted brick wall. He was dressed in rags and his skin had that dusky look of someone long homeless.

“A dollar so I can eat?” He said it by rote, without looking at me; underneath I heard no hope.

I tucked my videos under my arm, dug around in my wallet and bent down to hand him some money. As I pressed it into his palm, I made eye contact, said hello and smiled. His whole face lit up.

“Bless you! Thank you!” His watery blue eyes had that luminous, raw fragility one sometimes sees in the mentally ill. I squeezed his hand. He squeezed mine back, then fumbled through some plastic bags on the ground. Pulling out a plastic necklace, he held it out to me.

“You are a queen! You are beautiful! Thank you! Here.”

The necklace was of green beads with a fake jade pendant, Cleopatra-like. I hesitated; he had so very, very little, and I knew I would never wear it. But he was insistent. “This is for you. You are a queen.” I bowed my head, suddenly overwhelmed. This unexpected exchange was cracking my heart wide open.

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January 6, 2012 – Jacob Siegal – Games Beat

Gamers are a generous sort, as evidenced by the countless ways they have been raising money for charities over the past several years. 2011 was an especially noteworthy year, a year in which the Child’s Play charity alone raised $3,512,345.

Child’s Play was founded by Penny Arcade owners Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins in 2003 as a charity dedicated to improving the lives of children with toys and games in a network of over 70 hospitals worldwide.

Throughout the year, the charity hosted and inspired hundreds of events that helped lead to over a $1,000,000 increase from last year’s donations, by far the largest margin in the history of Child’s Play.

Some of the most notable events from 2011 include the Child’s Play Gala and Auction, which raised $351,000 for the charity by auctioning off rare pieces of video game history along with the chance to appear in a Penny Arcade strip.

Ümloud, the annual “Rock Band Night for Child’s Play” saw its third year of existence bring in more than twice the amount of money raised last year, coming to a grand total of $26,523.85.

The Annual Child’s Play Golf Tournament was also founded this year, along with a brand new website redesign. Child’s Play has now broken the $10 million mark for donations over its lifetime.

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