Brought Together By Fate

Fate recently brought two strangers from the same town together, and now they’re on a mission to help support others who are diagnosed with the same life threatening disorder that they both survived.

Roopa Desai and Lauren Melnick both survived brain surgery after being diagnosed with brain aneurysms.  The two young women didn’t know each other at the time, but their passion for helping others brought them together.

Take a look at the video below showing how the two found each other and started “Step For Hope” :



Does Roopa look familiar?  That’s  because we shared her survivor story here in September.  Revisit her inspiring story and watch how she coped after being diagnosed with an aneurysm and blood clots in her lungs just days before her wedding. 

Helping Children in Kenya

A Chicago based organization is holding a benefit on Saturday to help children in Kenya living in poverty. 

Deacon Willie C. McLaughlin created the non-profit Friends of Shelter Children in Kenya (FOSCIK) after visiting Kenya in 2003 to distribute bibles for a mission project.  On his trip, he visited the Shelter Children Rehabilitation Center and met so many orphans that touched his heart.  He came back to the US and created FOSCIK to help raise money so the kids there could live better lives.  

FOSCIK has raised $85,000 since then and now even has its own orphaned shelter and outreach program.  McLaughlin and others in the organization work hard to make sure the orphans there get the care they need and feel loved. 

Saturday, November 12th, FOSCIK will hold its annual Humanitarian Awards Banquet to raise money for its program and to honor humanitarians who are making a difference in the world.  Past recipients include Secretary of State Jesse White, Father Phlager, Congressman Danny Davis, Denzel Washington and Judge Mathis. 

The event starts at 5 p.m. at 8900 West 95th Street in Hickory Hills. For more information on the benefit or to find out how you can sponsor a child in Kenya, you can email foscik@sbcglobal.net.

Take a look at some more pictures from FOSCIK's visits to Africa: 

Different is the New Normal

Photo from documentary FB page

An inspirational documentary about a Highland Park teen premieres in Chicago this Sunday on WTTW.

The documentary "Different is the New Normal" is about Ariel Small, a 17-year-old who was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome when he was six years old.  Teachers originally thought he was just acting out, but he was actually experiencing uncontrollable tics caused by Tourette's.

Small hopes the documentary about his life will help other kids realize that it's alright to be different, so they don't have to face the hardships he did while growing up. 

Check out the trailer for the movie by Hourglass Films below.  You can watch the full documentary on WTTW Sunday at 6 p.m.

Different is the New Normal (2011) - Trailer from Hourglass Films on Vimeo.

Bike Program Encourages Youth

Photo:  AP, Martha Irvine

Kids on the south side of Chicago are learning valuable life lessons from a bike shop in the Woodlawn neighborhood.  Blackstone Bicycle Works has an after school youth program that teaches kids how to build a bicycle.  They learn mechanical skills and learn how to conduct themselves in a work environment.  The best part, is that after they log 25 hours in the shop, they earn their very own bike.  

But the kids are coming away from the program with much more than a bike.  The Associated Press video below shows how the shop is empowering the youth to work hard at the shop and in the classroom.

The bicycle shop is always looking for donations. If you have an old bike that's not working and just taking up space in your garage, donate it to Blackstone Bicycle Works!  They'll be able to use the parts to help teach local kids!!