I’m No Superstar

I’m No Superstar is a blog for people like me who want to make a difference in the world but know they aren’t activists. Each post contains a social action idea that most of us could do, a book that’s worth reading, or a link to a website that offers other ideas. Oh, and it’s all introduced by a sometimes quirky story from my life.

Choosing Thoughtful Gifts

Many years ago, the adults in our extended family decided we would only buy presents for the kids. Life would be easier, and the Christmas budgets less stressed, if we didn’t buy for the grownups, we all agreed. And then on Christmas Eve, as we opened our presents, there were gifts for all the adults

The Abolitionists

Last night I went to see the documentary The Abolitionists with some friends. We did not, as the ticket-taker encouraged us to, “enjoy the movie.” Because this movie is about human trafficking. It follows members of the organization Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) on actual stings in three countries in South and Central America. I had some

Don’t Panic—Great Gifts in a Minute!

It’s crunch time! Do you still have people to buy Christmas presents for? Likely they are people who “already have everything” or “really don’t want anything.” I’ve got the perfect solution. Give them something heartwarming that they don’t have to store, use, clean or display. Give them an alternative gift. Give a woman in Burundi fabric

Justice Flows on a Torrent of Prayer

Imagine it’s a Friday morning at 11 and you’re the IT director for a global organization. Through a glitch in data migration, your data systems are down. All of them. No e-mail, no internet. Nada. Employees are back to face-to-face meetings to accomplish anything (tough when you’re scattered around the world). What are you doing?

Arresting the Slaves Rather than the Slave Owners

Want to make slavery even more of an atrocity? Charge the victims with a crime and let the perpetrators go free. Who would do that? American law enforcement, way too many times. As William Kristof wrote in his November 6, 2013, editorial in The New York Times: “Some of the women selling sex there [backpage.com]

Cause de Jour

You expect fashion to go in and out of fashion. After all, it’s called fashion for a reason. But what always amazes me is how causes seem to go in and out of fashion. I mean if people are homeless in Haiti, shouldn’t it be important to care until the problem is solved, not just until

An Alternative Guest

  One of the people I’ve gotten to know who is committed to making a difference here in Lancaster County and around the world is Jennifer Knepper. She is a staff nurse in the medical ICU at Hershey Medical Center, an adjunct clinical instructor for Lancaster General College, and a volunteer RN at Water Street Health Services.

Life Is Good (for me)

Sometimes I’m a whiner. I know you find that hard to believe, but it’s true. And it seems a little incongruous, considering that my standard uniform these days is a a pair of jeans and a Life Is Good t-shirt (one of the perks of working for yourself is you get to set the dress code). And

 

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An accomplished and flexible speaker, Carol tailors her topics to fit the theme and timeframes of your meeting, conference, seminar or retreat.