24 minute read
LYNNE TWIST Giving Back
An Amazing Twist
Can one person change the world?
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The life’s work of Lynne Twist,
environmentalist, social activist and
critically acclaimed author of The Soul
of Money, suggests that with passion and
determination, the answer is yes.
“A hungry child doesn’t cry out as an Ethiopian, a hungry child doesn’t cry out as an Italian, a hungry child cries out as a human being in the space of our lives as human beings.”
BY MINNA HIBBITTS SENIOR, MARIN ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL
As a tireless advocate for the planet’s downtrodden and for the planet itself, she’s spent the past four decades tackling some of our greatest challenges head on, writing, speaking and working with the likes of Mother Teresa, Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama. Though we only had an hour to talk with her, her downto-earth modesty as she discussed her groundbreaking accomplishments blew us all away.
As an Illinois high school student in the early 1960s, Lynne was deeply engaged in social and global issues — “way more than most of the young people in my time.” Growing up in a politically active family, she developed a social consciousness that played a critical role in shaping her and informing her life’s work. When she graduated from high school in 1963, the Civil Rights Movement was in full force. Lynne quickly became involved, drawing inspiration from young, dynamic President John F. Kennedy and the “sense of possibility about the world” he aroused. Kennedy’s death was a deeply traumatic experience for Lynne and the many other members of her generation who felt that Kennedy was “their president.” Youth across the country were outraged by his murder, which Lynne believes unleashed the hurricane of unrest that followed — the escalation of the Civil Rights Movement, the feminist movement, environmentalism, and the anti-Vietnam War protests — all of which Lynne was very much a part of.
As a young adult, Lynne was inspired by Buckminster Fuller, the humanist designer and architect Lynne considered “the grandfather of the future.” Fuller became her mentor and role model, demonstrating that the difference one makes as an individual can have an impact on all of humanity. She adopted this belief and made a commitment to effect as much positive change as she could during her lifetime; her 40-plus years of global activism testify to her dedication.
When she introduced Fuller to another one of her personal heroes, Werner Erhard, founder of EST (Erhard Seminars Training), the Hunger Project was born.
When it was founded in 1977, the audacious goal of this global grassroots organization was to end world hunger. Despite the demands of raising three children, Lynne acted as the project’s fundraiser, requiring her to travel to Ethiopia, India, and Bangladesh. She described the experience as “somewhat inconvenient”: “Fundraising for the end of world hunger was a big job.” When the Hunger Project was established, a quarter of the Earth’s population was hungry. Most were children under the age of 5 — “That were a billion hungry children.” Though Lynne didn’t know the first thing about fundraising, her deep sense of purpose made up for it.
The project’s objective was to find ways to move financial resources that would give more people the chance to live healthy and productive lives. But an economic solution wasn’t enough. Lynne wanted to promote the realization that “a hungry child doesn’t cry out as an Ethiopian, a hungry child doesn’t cry out as an Italian, a hungry child cries out as a human being in the space of our lives as human beings.” She wanted people to see beyond the statistics — to see that these children were their children too — and that it was everyone’s responsibility to help in any way they could. She developed a fundraising methodology that reflected the principles she believed in: love, integrity, and dignity. She didn’t want to exploit the “pornography of hunger and poverty,” vowing never to use the faces of starving children to guilt people into donating, which was contrary to the values and aims of the project. Instead, she focused on the strength, resilience, and commitment of people living with hunger to destigmatize the issue. She wanted the more privileged to understand that these are their fellow humans, their equals, and victims of circumstance, not “a billion hungry people they needed to help” but co-equal partners in improving the human condition. She’s honored to partner with the men, women, and children on the frontlines of hunger because they’re the most committed to ending this global affliction.
Her work with the project helped Lynne see “the front and back sides of the hand of hunger. The front side of the hand of hunger is starvation, malnutrition — people with physical hunger, it’s devastating, painful, heartbreaking. The back side of the hand of hunger is the hunger in our world, the hunger of the affluent, the hunger of the privileged to make a difference. That’s a different kind of hunger.” She realized that to truly effect change, the two sides had to be treated as one.
To address the “back side” of hunger and to harness the willpower of the more privileged who wanted to make a difference, Lynne created the Soul of Money Institute in 2003. It was and remains today a center for exploring and sharing the best practices, theories, and attitudes surrounding money. Its goal is to transform people’s relationship with money, to help them recognize that money is fluid and doesn’t belong to any one person, and to recognize opportunities to move it to the highest good, no matter where you are on the economic spectrum. Lynne had seen firsthand “how dysfunctional our relationship with money is, how much suffering there is around money, how people make money the point of life.” Moving money toward the highest good became the institute’s central fundraising goal.
This approach was phenomenally successful, bringing in “hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars from people on all levels of the economic spectrum.” The institute received donations “from people at all levels, from people who could barely put $15 a month away ... to those who gave a million dollars … and everybody in between, mostly normal, regular people who realized that ‘I have a responsibility.’” The funds the Institute raised provided financial resources for the Hunger Project.
A story from the early days of the Hunger Project is a testament to just how impactful and universal Lynne’s message has been. She was asked to deliver a speech to an audience of CEOs and executives from the most prominent organizations working to combat hunger and poverty, like UNICEF, Save the Children, Feed the Hungry, and Oxfam. There was a belief then that “a pie of resources” existed that was finite and shrinking, and Lynne remembers standing in front of the 200 or so heads of these “giant multimillion-dollar organizations” and sensing palpable resistance to another organization taking up the cause of ending world hunger. Though she didn’t know the first thing about business, marketing, or accounting, “what I could
Lynne Twist in a Bangladeshi village.
talk about was the heart and soul of humanity. I knew about the human heart. I knew about the resilience of the human spirit.” So she vowed that the Hunger Project would expand the pie of financial resources by generating more donors for everybody and would raise consciousness about ending world hunger. By the end of her speech, Lynne was in tears and the audience was giving her a standing ovation.
Lynne and her Hunger Project partners kept their word, bringing millions and millions of people to the cause to fund the organization of their choice. “That was our fundraising methodology,” Lynne explained, “to be so generous as to invite everyone to get involved in financing the end of world hunger.” Today the Hunger Project and the Soul of Money Institute are thriving organizations that have transformed the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world.
So how can we effectively fight for the issues we believe in?
That was our final question for Lynne, and her answer was full of wisdom and hope: that we must move energy and time “away from overconsumption, away from defense, away from argument, away from conflict, and toward what we love: the health and well-being of our communities, the health and well-being of our families, the health and well-being of our world, the health and well-being of our democracy, and the health and well-being of all children of all species for all time.” She believes it’s crucial to be aware that our actions are significant and will affect future generations, and by fostering and nourishing each other and our world, we can overcome many of the world’s problems.
Lynne is also inspired by the youth generation, believing we carry the potential, power, smarts, savvy, capacity, and depth to meet any of the issues we face, and are well-equipped to face them head on. By coming together to overcome these obstacles, Lynne believes “we will be stronger, more resilient, wiser and more loving. That is the future. That is the future that I know is there for you.”
The Marin County Free Library’s Mission is to provide welcoming, equitable and inclusive opportunities for all to connect, learn and explore. A core strategy to achieve our Mission is providing resources and information that will help our community learn about and more deeply engage in racial equity. Visit: marinlibrary.org
SPONSORING SAN PEDRO SCHOOL GARDEN
Each month Sloat Garden Center offers a $250 garden grant to a new Marin County school.
e Farm at San Pedro School provides fresh produce for the SRCS school meal program.
When COVID hit the farm became an emergency food distribution site with over 60,000 pounds of organic produce delivered to Covid positive families doorsteps throughout Marin County.
Our School Garden - The Farm Lori Davis, Garden Teacher
Our favorite thing about the garden is there are lots of butt erfl ies and it’s prett y seeing all the fl owers. We also plant food because it goes into our school lunches. — Brianna and Nancy, 4th Grade We like to plant seeds and see the plants grow. Then we like to eat the food! — Louie and Angel, 4th Grade I like walking into the garden and seeing all the fl owers. They smell so good— Lemny, 4th Grade Our school lunch has the vegetables we grow in the garden. — Rosmery, 4th Grade We love our garden teacher, Ms. Davis. — Christi an and Michael, 4th Grade I love the fl owers in the garden. — Yenifer, 4th Grade I like to watch everything grow in the garden. — Rolfi , 4th Grade
To learn more about our work with Bay Area school gardens, visit www.sloatgardens.com Mill Valley: 401 Miller Ave. 415-388-0365 & 657 E. Blithedale Ave. 415-388-0102 Kentfi eld: 700 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. 415-454-0262 Novato: 2000 Novato Blvd. 415-897-2169
Strawberry Point School
Anya Esmail, 5th Grade Fede Tellez Patterson, 5th Grade
Casey Clemons, 5th Grade FastForward visited Danny Gasparini’s and Rachel Quek’s 5th Grade students to conduct a writing workshop.
Skiing Adrian Hale
My heart is pounding in my chest, I stare down at the mountain as if I am on top of the Burj Khalifa. I hear a plane flying just above my head because. I’m not afraid— yeah, I am. I drop in and I feel the wind brushing against my face as if I am going 100 mph. The sweet scent of cinnamon buns is waiting for me at the bottom of the run. The snow feels like a pillow in my hand. I taste the sweet crisp pine whooshing through the air. I pick up a lot of speed and ...... SHOOF! I feel as if I am Superman flying through the air. I quickly do an unnatural double cork 1260 ... and I land it. “That is the hardest trick in skiing,” someone shouts. “If you try hard enough you can accomplish anything.”
Volleyball Izzy Rupp
Shoes squeaking on the hardwood floor. The ball is coming down over my head ... smack I hit it over right where I wanted it. That was the best hit I’ve ever had. My family signals me a thumbs up. I can see their smiles under their mask. My team was cheering for me, I felt warm and fuzzy inside. I felt like I found myself right there in that moment. I belonged. That was the first game my team has ever won.
Lacrosse Tashi Perkins
Your teammate crosses the sideline, and you dash to the field like a cheetah chasing its prey. Adrenaline rushes through your veins and you feel your heart pounding with bravery. The ball shoots in the air. Flying to another person’s net. You race to the ball and before you can even say, “Holy Guacamole” you catch the ball right in time. Now you are the target as if you are adventuring in the Amazon rainforest. Every single animal has their eyes on you. A pack of lions chasing a meerkat.
Hawaii Ramzi Bryson
The volcano is gurgling, palm trees swaying in the wind, waves crashing on the shore, and coral reefs teeming with fish. I jump off the boat into the secret reef. That was so fun. Waves crashing against super sharp giant rocks. The water is spraying so high. With a thunderous crash gravity pulls it back to earth.
Activism Sasha Luzato
I don’t play by the rules. I don’t listen. Somebody asks me to do a writing assignment I consider running out of the classroom and take a plane to Mexico. I try to make my world better and stand up for what’s right, but it is a lot harder than it looks. I am a child activist. That’s who I am.
Alaska Adventure Emily Gore
I gazed out at the bay and bolted past the cabin on my dad’s three-wheeler. I slammed my foot on the pedal and we jerked forward, the many logs and branches dragged behind me. I climbed up the rope to our old, abandoned cabin. I yanked off my shoes and sprinted into my room. There I opened the box where I had put my little bird friend I found in the nearby stream. My friend hatched a few days before we arrived in Alaska. When I found her, there was no nest and no mother. I looked at her fluffy feathers, then quickly closed the box and ran to the door, sliding down the hill to the stream.
Crabby Surprise Simon Peled
Thousands of little orange creatures with nasty claws entering my driveway and storming my pool.”Moooommmm!!l!” The warm sun was up against my face. My heart was racing and the hot tub mist was fluttering in the air like majestic butterflies, but what was in my driveway was NOT majestic, it was terrifying. I slowly stuttered, “Mom, come to the driveway, please.” Her jaw dropped. We all screamed, “CRAAABS!”
Chocolate Anya Esmail
Chocolate is the satisfying SNAP when you break it in half. The warm sensation of chocolate in your mouth is like heaven with a cherry on top. Imagine a creamy, warm, and delicious flavor with a hint of caramel or mint. Each flavor melts in my mouth with a new story, a new adventure.
Cheese Mason McCrea
You might be interested in the most expensive cheese on the planet. The Pule cheese is a circular greenish white cheese. Pule cheese is worth $600 per pound. Why is this cheese so expensive? Pule cheese is so expensive because of its
Micah Berguig, 5th Grade
rarity, only 100 donkeys are milked for this specific cheese and it takes six and 1/2 gallons of milk to make two pounds of Pule cheese. While you were reading that you may have been thinking, “Did he say donkeys?” Yes, I did say donkeys. Donkeys, cows, goats and sheep give milk for cheese. I bet you didn’t know that. With all that said, I gotta’ go eat some cheese.
Painting Bellamy Herndon
The color explodes on the paper. Greens and blues. The texture of a wet, smooth paint brush brings me joy. Paint fills the air around me. When I finish a painting, I’m inspired to make more paintings.
Basketball Skylar Duffy
Sweat drips down my face like a wet slobbery kiss from an excited puppy. I hear the squeaking sound from my shoes. There are 15 seconds left in the game. I hear heavy breathing. The buzzer goes off. Will it go in? The ball circles around the hoop a few times and finally goes in! We won!! This was the moment we were the top girls’ basketball team.
My Retro Collection Rourke Blignaut
Clunk! And then there’s a hiss and black and white dots dance on the screen, clunk, clunk, clunk, click and it turns off. Piles and piles of retro stuff is stacked behind
Rollercoasters Hudson Martin
Going so fast through the endless void of space my face is as flat as a pancake and my stomach feels like it’s behind me. I’m bobsledding with a Yeti and I see him through the ice ready to chase me all across the mountain.
Ode to Doughnuts Sabrina McEntee
Doughnuts are circles from heaven. You take a bite and a burst of flavor coats your tongue. So many types to eat, so many flavors to smell! When I sleep I dream of doughnuts.
Baseball Alexander Ting
Bang crash something almost ended my life. I was getting ready for the fight of my life and we were facing off against the nine and zero baseball team in the travel ball championship. I was put into center field and in one split second something hit me. I could barely feel the hard fake grass and I could hear the people yelling my name, when my team was rushing over, time started to slow down. I could barely sit up. At noon I could see the stars of my galaxy. The adults carried me to the bench. When I fell on the bench it felt like I passed out. When I woke up I could smell the crisp frying of our victory donuts.
Basketball Ronin Wong
I feel the pressure. 5 seconds on the clock, you inbound the ball, sprint only to get double teamed, then crossover and you see the opponent fall like you pushed him. Now you take the shot for the buzzer and the net goes swish! That’s what it feels like to be in the moment of basketball. You taste victory before the game even starts like you can predict the future. You hear the crowd roar your name. You feel the glass shatter as you do a slam dunk over the seven-foot opponent’s head. When I play basketball, I feel my anger disappear as if it was never there. I feel like I am in my dreamland destination in Staples Center in game 7 of the NBA finals against the rival Celtics. I feel the energy from the 40,000 people coming to do the same thing.
School is about learning, making friends, and playing.
Writing is AMAZING. Hard work pays off. Learning to never give up and always give my all helps me.
All that glitters is not gold.
Fishing makes me happy and brightens my day. Family is everything.
Belonging is feeling like it’s home.
Actions speak louder than words. School helps me make friends. Belonging can be very difficult.
You cannot always win.
Positivity makes life better. Adding two numbers together gives you a sum and that’s called math.
To be a good friend you need to be kind and empathetic. A good deed is helping your parents do a chore.
The severed head of a sea slug can grow a whole new body.
To be a friend you have to be understanding and respectful. Everyone deserves to be treated kindly.
Kindness, thoughtfulness, and caring for others = friendship. Covid ruined school because we couldn’t socialize.
Some sea snakes can breathe through their skin.
My friends are always there to be funny.
Trying your best will benefit you. Hard work leads to success. Playing sports helps you create bonds with friends. The higher the grades, the harder the homework. When you challenge yourself, you’re always getting better. It’s important to treat people fairly.
Friendship is an unbreakable bond. Dolphins sleep with one eye open. Being creative inspires others. Determination is always going to pay off. Let paint dry.
To save the environment you need to sort your trash and you need to also to re-use re-use and reduce.
Continued from Page 29...
Soccer by Logan Eisenbud
Flashing lights fill my startled head. Cheers and boos distract my mind from what needs to be done. I patiently wait for the game to start; not knowing what will unfold. My hands start to rapidly shake, sweat slowly drips down my four head, flashing lights, I feel like I’m about to burst… silence. Everything starts to slow down as I shut my eyes. I take a few deep breaths. The soothing air fills my nervous lungs and calm my body. My cleats clap across the ground. I get into position, wait for the whistle.
Art by Valentina Portillo
Paper scrunching. I am watching a pencil move side to side, up and down. There is a smell of sharp pencils and wet paint brushes, dripping. The beautiful art pieces comes to life. A big furry creature jumps up and down looking around. I am in a big colorful world with pink, teal, and green everywhere. I can’t stop smiling.
Soccer by Kai Angeles
Picture this: 90th minute, one minute of overtime left, champions league final. You hear the fans chanting. You feel the air from the ball in your face with sweat dripping down. You jump up, turn backwards, and then… PING! It hits the post and goes in the top corner. One. More. Kick. Then, the whistle blows. The crowd goes crazy and the coach and everyone on the bench rushes out to you. Best. Day. Ever. Soccer connects people in the best way.
Swimming by Nathalie Anglen
3, 2, 1…BEEP! My heart raced. I pushed off the diving block into the cold deep water. I had to win this race, had to! With the butterfly stroke, I pushed my arms in circles through the water over and over again. As I breathed, I’d hear screaming for a moment and then it would fade away as the water sucked my head back in. For the last lap I flip-turned and sprinted into my freestyle. I saw the wall a few feet from me, and as I touched it, I immediately looked at the board. I wasn’t first, but I was happy.
Tennis by Ireland Cameron
The coach smiled as she put the medal around my neck! I admired the bright red and orange sheen. There was a tennis ball picture on the medal. I love the competition of playing tennis, the hot burning sun on my face, playing with friends, meeting new people.
Drawing by Sae Tsutsui
My hands move more quickly than ever and outline the characters perfectly. I draw lightly, so there will be no marks of the outline left when I erase it. I draw the details and see the characters moving in my head. I see them smiling at me.
Baking by Charlie Howe
When I bake a big cake, I feel the slimy whites of the eggs and taste the sweet sugar. I hear the flower pouring into the bowl and watch the cake rise in the oven. When it is done, it smells like lavender
Dirt Biking by Clark Collman
As the wind brushed against my face a smile appeared on it. I was a dirt biking up at Wheelers in Modesto CA. My hands on the handlebars controlling my speed. As I looked at the ground below, I saw the dusty road. I saw Rachel coming up ahead and with a blink of an eye I zoomed faster. It turns out that the hill was a jump and now I was 50 feet up in the air.
Basketball by Dean Jabbar
As I walked back onto the court, I felt sweat coming down my face at every angle. I told myself, let’s go win this game! I heard the sound of sneakers and got into my position. It was my time to shine my teammate past the ball to me. I pull up for three and… SWISH! I shot the game-winner. The crowd was jumping up and down. It felt like the whole stadium shook.
Cele ating the Beauty of ganic
Mill Valley Middle School ART TEACHER Kim TranArt HeadSpace
Fiona Bailey, 8th Grade
Amelia Green, 8th Grade Sonia Manshouri, 8th Grade Nico Brand, 8th Grade
Amy Le, 8th Grade
PROUD TO SPONSOR STUDENT ART MON—SAT 10AM-6PM Sun 11AM-4PM 415-457-2787 1138 FOURTH STREET SAN RAFAEL WWW.RILEYSTREET.COM
Front, left to right: Front Row: Amanda Chang, Leyla Winton, Luca Fondnazio, Serena Killlingsworth, Ophyra Martin and Jennifer Jackson Middle Row, l to r: Cristy Lopez , Miranda Maldonado, Liliana Peixotto, Sidney Labovich, Nicole Wasserman, Alex Balistreri and Kevin Allen (Teacher) Back Row: Gabriela Finell, Olivya Arens, Olivia Genolio, Penelope Sonnet, Cole Morris, Cooper Burdick, Zander Mercer, Ryan Gundersen, Ms. Deamer (Teacher & Producer), Angeline Phan and Vechara Ly
In this Sondheim masterpiece, Fairy tale characters meet in the woods as they search for meaning in their lives whether it’s a child, a prince, gold or a parent.
San Rafael High School’s Hayes Theatre - March 24, 25, 26 at 7:30 pm; Sunday March 27 at 2:00.
Students say:
I remember joining theatre my first year of high school, and ever since I fell in love with the performing arts. Joining led me to self-confidence, speaking clearly, and having the best time of my life! I meet people who instantly become family and we create remarkable memories. — CRISTY LOPEZ Theatre gave me a new sense of belonging and new found confidence. — LUCA FONDNAZIO I joined this program because I love Into the Woods. I was nervous during auditions but everyone was really accepting and cheered me on. I now know everyone’s names and there is a strong sense of community. We all got a role, and we’re working hard to nail our performance. — SERENA KILLINGSWORTH I like doing things that are challenges and appreciate being part of something on a stage that normally is out of people’s comfort zone; and, you’re free to do whatever pleases you. — RYAN GUNDERSEN It is very fun to be in the play as I get to be with my friends and create something special alongside a bunch of very talented people. No one judges you, and you feel “free, to do whatever pleases you! — ALEXANDER MERCER I get a chance to perform, meet new friends and learn the ropes of being on stage, and have fun doing it. — COLE MORRIS The play was a different experience for me. After being silenced by my own condition, I finally got to breathe and be on the stage with the cool set and actors. It felt so alive! It almost felt like a dream that was too good to be true. I would never forget being in this play and forever hold it close to me. — JOVANI RODRIGUEZ Into the Woods is a very emotional and intense show. It allows each cast member to express a variety of feelings in a given moment. It also brings together a group of passionate young actors. — OLIVIA RUBIN This musical has given me a chance to challenge myself vocally, as an alato-mezzo cast and as a soprano; it’s a very fun and interesting experience. — LEYLA WINTON
