Receiving a second interview for your dream job. Seeing the ground start to crack where you planted those vegetable seeds a couple weeks ago. Being able to add five pounds to the squat rack. Having your kid respond with, “Fine,” instead of an emphatic, “No! And you can’t make me.” … We can all relate to having a glimmer of hope in some area of our lives.

One glimmer came to me last Thursday in the pool. First let me tell you about Tuesday; I was doing many of the same swim drills that have been my pool life for three weeks, and I could only manage to get mouthfuls of water when it was time to breathe. Despite my best efforts, and to the concern of my swim coach, I was swimming about three inches too low. I was close enough to see the surface, but too far to survive! My thoughts snowballed, “I’m gonna drown. I will never make it 1.2 miles!”

Then came Thursday. With a renewed drive and corrected body alignment, I gave it another try. Not only was I swimming at the correct depth, but something clicked to where I was feeling smooth and fast! It was a reason to celebrate…or to at least keep training. It was the glimmer of hope I so desperately needed.

Many kids around the world only need a glimmer of hope to keep going. Instead of trying to catch their breath in a pool, they are desperately trying to find a meal in the garbage dump or on the street. I took this picture on my last trip to Honduras. It captures just that struggle:

I hope you will join me in my goal to really make a tangible impact in people’s lives from the United States to Honduras to Iraq. This is about far more than completing an athletic competition. It’s about giving food to those in need, so they don’t have to dig through a garbage dump.

Be that glimmer of hope today! Simply click the button below and choose “#TRI2FEED Ironman Triathlon.”

Donate
Or, text your donation. Text the dollar amount you wish to give to 28950 and designate “ftnkids.” You’ll then be prompted to provide your credit card and contact information.

A wise man told me that the best presidents are the ones who are willing to surround themselves with people who are smarter than they are. No president can know best how to run the FBI, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the rest of the 15 departments in his Cabinet. He has to be willing to surround himself with men and women who are smarter and more informed than he is.

To go from sitting at my desk to completing an Ironman Triathlon, I DEFINITELY need help from people who know more, have more and have experienced more than I have in all facets of a triathlon. I also need opportunities and equipment to be able to complete this amazing challenge.

This week on social media, I am starting to thank those who have generously and graciously been willing to surround me with their tangible support. From my training opportunity at the Benton Harbor-St. Joseph YMCA to my swim coach’s amazing insight to those who have donated incredible equipment, I am blown away by people’s generosity and willingness to make a world wide impact in hungry kids’ lives.

You and I can join together to provide kids with the opportunity to play or go to school with food in their stomachs. How? By doing three things:

1. Spread the word to your co-workers, family members and friends about this opportunity to change lives.
2. Pray. Plain and simple yet so powerful.
3. Donate money, so someone else can eat.

So many of us, myself included, will like a post or a pic and will share a tweet. Those are all nice, but kids can’t eat tweets, likes and shares. We need to do something tangible to make a real difference.

Join me in making a difference today! Simply click the button below and choose “#TRI2FEED Ironman Triathlon.”

Donate
Or, text your donation. Text the dollar amount you wish to give to 28950 and designate “ftnkids.” You’ll then be prompted to provide your credit card and contact information.

The sounds of a YMCA pool fill your ears; water cascading in the over-flow, kids laughing and splashing, instructors giving pointers, parents talking in the seats, and that one kid screaming as he clutches the side of the pool for dear life due to his fear of going under the water.

If we flash back 30+ years ago, that kid screaming on the side of the pool was me. As much as I don’t want to admit it to myself or anyone else, that is where my lack of swimming skill was honed, while white-knuckled and red-faced. Two weeks ago I walked back in to the exact same YMCA and faced the exact same pool where I had unfinished business.

At 6:00 a.m., with a smile on her face, my swimming coach said, “Swim to the end and back, so I can see what we have to work with.” A little while later as I finished one slow lap of the pool and clutched the exact same pool-side, she followed up her first comment with, “Well, you made it.” We then started where I left off so many years ago, drill after drill of putting my face in the water and swimming. This time without using any arms or hands for a full two weeks worth of training.

My struggle with swimming somewhat reflects the struggle that so many kids around the world have every day of their lives. They have to be uncomfortable, nervous and even fearful of what their day or weeks will have in store for them. A big difference is that I have a choice to do something about my struggle with swimming. The orphans on the streets of Lusaka, Zambia or Tegucigalpa, Honduras, don’t have the choice to make theirs go away. In Zambia alone there is reported to be over 1 million orphans. This gives it the highest number of orphans per capita in the world.

With numbers like that, so many of us wonder how can we make a difference. That is why I am pursuing the Ironman Triathlon with a goal of raising $20,000.00. If this goal is met, we could send 500,000 meals or, put another way, feed 685 kids two meals a day for an entire year.

Join me now by becoming a partner. Donate today to help kids like these face their challenges and fears head on. Simply click the button below and choose “#TRI2FEED Ironman Triathlon.”

Donate
Or, text your donation. Text the dollar amount you wish to give to 28950 and designate “ftnkids.” You’ll then be prompted to provide your credit card and contact information.