Sunday, November 21, 2010 100-Year-Old Doctor Still Making Rounds  Dr. Walter Watson of Augusta, Georgia sees a few patients every day. Then, he drives himself down the block to University Hospital where he still serves as chairman of his department. Why is this significant? He's 100 years old. From his first delivery in 1944 until 1995, Dr. Watson ushered in a small army of satisfied customers. Today, they're known simply as the "Watson babies." Having delivered 10 percent of the Augusta population, Watson's patients now range in age from 15 to 66 and their ranks are innumerable. "We went to a basketball game one night and he looked at the program and said, 'I delivered every one of these kids,'" laughs his wife, Audrey. Read More >>
back to top  Saturday, November 20, 2010 Leadership Through Solitude  "We have a crisis of leadership in America." In a speech delivered at West Point, writer William Deresiewicz states that many of today's leaders have jumped through the hoops and climbed up the greasy ladder of hierarchy only to maintain the status quo. Real leadership, though, "means finding a new direction, not simply putting yourself at the front of the herd that's heading toward the cliff." They recognize when they're in a position that compromises their values, and have the courage to hold steadfastly to what they believe is right. So how does one know what is right? By practicing solitude. Read More >>
back to top Friday, November 19, 2010 Exercise Helps Improve Memory  Memory loss is the single biggest fear for Americans over the age of 55. And it's understandable: over 4 million currently suffer from Alzheimer's disease, and those numbers are expected to quadruple by 2050, according to the Alzheimer's Foundation. That may be why memory-boosting products like Sudoku puzzles and ginko-infused soft drinks are lining storefronts. But beyond the marketing campaigns, there's one common practice that's been proven to preserve memory: exercise. Just walking six miles a week can increase the growth of new cells and improve cellular processes associated with learning and memory. Read More >>
back to top Thursday, November 18, 2010 In the Footsteps of Gandhi  As they say, the more things change, the more they remain the same. And this adage will be proven true by a British woman who will walk on the path Mahatma Gandhi took 80 years ago. Eight decades ago, Gandhi embarked on a Salt March demanding to break free from British colonialism through a nonviolent movement. Starting today, an inspired Jill Beckingham will retrace his route in the same Gandhian spirit of "right over might". Walking from India's Ahmedabad to Dandi, she plans to raise funds for six NGOs, three each in Mumbai and Gujarat. Read More >>
back to top Wednesday, November 17, 2010 Los Angeles Bans Plastic Bags  Enacting one of the nation's most aggressive environmental measures, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted yesterday to ban plastic grocery bags in unincorporated areas of the county. The ban, which will cover nearly 1.1 million residents countywide, is to the point: "No store shall provide to any customer a plastic carryout bag." Grocers who choose to offer bags will sell them for 10 cents each. Environmentalists hope that the ban will help diminish the 6 billion plastic bags used in LA each year, 1.5 billion of which ends up as "urban tumbleweed" on the street. Read More >>
back to top Tuesday, November 16, 2010 A Quiet Savior  Though her story is nearly forgotten, she was once America's most admired civil servant. Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey's journey - honored with the FDA's first Kelsey Award - has transformed medical safety in the US and throughout the industrialized world. Thanks to Dr. Kelsey, thalidomide - causing children to be born limbless or with flipper-like arms and legs - had a far more limited effect in the United States than in Europe. Furthermore, the FDA was authorized to demand that drug makers prove their products safe and effective. Dr. Kelsey helped write the rules that now govern nearly every clinical trial in the industrialized world, and was the first official to oversee them. And these accomplishments almost remained unknown. Read More >>
back to top Monday, November 15, 2010 25 Visionaries Changing Your World  Nelson Mandela didn't always look like a visionary. For 27 years, he simply looked like a prisoner, locked up for antiapartheid activism. What seemed like a long exercise in futility is now legend: after his release, he became his country's president, and today is an icon of commitment and compassion. Fortunately, visionary thinkers aren't always imprisoned, but they are often ridiculed, marginalized, or just plain dismissed for proposing big ideas that sound outlandish to others. To prove that dreams are possible, Utne Reader highlights a few of the lofty, laudable, and reachable goals of 25 visionaries. Read More >>
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At New York City's Ground Zero Visitor's Center, one anonymous individual drops $10,000 cash in the donation box for the 9/11 memorial. A couple in Kansas City pledges to give $25,000 to Salvation Army, an organization that housed and helped them when they had nowhere to go. On his fifth birthday, Matthew didn't want any gifts. Instead, he told his friends to make a donation to charity, raising $288 dollars for the Ronald McDonald House. These days, charities across the country report receiving less while people need more. Fortunately, many people are stepping up to help. [ 
Jorge Munoz is a bus driver in New York City who started feeding the hungry in Queens five years ago, using food that would otherwise have been thrown away. Since then, he's been there, day-in and day-out, distributing 121,000 meals over the years. And that's how he discovered a secret- the power of sharing. "People are telling me, 'Jorge, you have no money, you do all this and get nothing back.' And I say I have a checking account full of smiles." Recognized as a Top Ten CNN Hero of 2009, Munoz recently received the US Citizens Awards from President Obama. [ 
As we consider all the things we are grateful for on this Thanksgiving Day, we also reflect on how we can turn that gratitude in action. What does it mean to be generous? Why do we feel inspired to give? And what can we share with the world? What follows is a five-minute video montage of CharityFocus volunteers reflecting on how being truly selfish leaves us with no choice but to be generous. [ 
A new study by researchers at Yale and Duke Universities find that optimism pays off in job hunting and promotions. After studying the effect of an optimistic disposition on MBA students' job searches, the researchers found that optimists fared better than their less-optimistic peers. Optimistic grads found jobs more easily, with less-intensive job searches. Even better, two years after graduation, the optimists were more likely than their less-optimistic peers to have been promoted. What's the rationale? Some suggest that people who are optimistic by disposition are good at coping with problems and flexible about trying new courses of action when needed. And, the authors point out, there's the question of self-fulling prophecies. [ 
In a recent interview, David Schmittlein, Dean of MIT Sloan School of Management, hones in on the importance for business to be able to state their social value. "The social contract that businesses, organizations in general, have with the world is changing, and unless organzations can demonstrate and explain the social purpose and the social value that they've fulfilled, they will fail. They will run into insurmountable obstacles. That wasn't the case 50 or 60 years ago, indeed probably not even 10 years ago. And it isn't just a consequence of the economic events of the last few years." [ 
It's a question posed by many immigrants. "When you come here and are successful, you have this nagging feeling. What have you done for the people at home?" Born, raised, and educated in Uganda, William Kisalita is now a University of Georgia bioengineering professor. He designs three-dimensional cell-based biosensors, a promising new technology that could revolutionize how pharmaceutical companies test new drugs. But his true passion lays in bringing simple engineering solutions to rural Africa. Though devoting his energy and talents to the nameless has cost him a promotion and recognition, Kisaalita's rewards are much greater. He is slowly revolutionizing the milk market in Uganda, improving hen breeding in Burkina Faso, and helping nut-oil cooperatives in Morocco. [ 
