Reading the proposals on who deserves the grant, I realized most problems we feel need to be addressed or "fixed" can, ideally, be put into one. I read, Family Education and Vocational Training to Prevent Homelessness, Go Green Pinellas, and Empowerment Through Environmental Change. And I even read Pay It Forward 5000.

When I read all of these, I feel like the common denominator is lack of education. People end up homeless because they dropped out of school, and couldn't find a stable job. People litter and pollute because they aren't educated on the effects humans have on the environment, and that change starts in the classroom, as Jay so kindly demonstrated with the reference to the Kevin Spacey movie "Pay It Forward".

I feel like we should attack the Pinellas school systems with an agency that educates on the importance of going green, the power of compassion, and overcoming homelessness. I feel like we need to dig deep and hard to find a non-profit organization that tackles all three of these and bundles it all into one pretty package. I feel like there is a place somewhere out there. I also had the question, is there a way we can donate the $5000 to USFSP to start an educational program that seeks to do this?

Mostly I was inspired by Jay's post on paying it forward and the power of one person. If we can at least teach children to be compassionate and do one good deed for someone, I believe we can change the world.

I believe the next step, after reading the posts, is to find hard facts. Statistics, interviews, personal experiences, plans. That is what we need to get on so as to figure out where to go from here. Hardly anyone had facts and no one had interviews. That's what we need. So I urge everyone to start making phone calls. I feel really great about this group, because I can see the dedication we all have into finding an organization that really needs it.

I just had an idea. We are all in the LLS program....what if there was a way for us to start a LLS program in middle or high school, so that the next generation learns successful tactics and compassion like we are doing now? I know I wish that I had had this class in high school, because I would have become more active and pursued more activities.