Tag Archives: Interview

Waking up from suburbia stupor — lessons from a global soccer mom

Posted on December 3, 2011 by Cat-Dan Lai-Smith in Advocacy, Conversations

Meet stay-at-home mom Shayne Moore. She spends her time stocking the refrigerator, supervising homework, and driving her kids to sports practices. In the midst of all that, she wrote a book called “Global Soccer Mom” that’s not about soccer at all — but about how the “soccer mom” demographic can be global thinkers. After visiting World Vision’s headquarters to share her testimony in an all-staff chapel, I sat down to chat with her about the journey that has led her from the kitchen to the White House. Here’s what I learned… * * * Was there a specific experience that prompted you to really get out of your seat and take action against poverty? In 2002, Bono came through my...

Congratulations, sponsorship trip winners!

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Meghan Bardwell in Child Sponsorship

In September, World Vision introduced our first-ever travel sweepstakes: Supporters who found new sponsors for five or more children in a month’s time were eligible to win a trip to Peru to witness the impact of child sponsorship firsthand. Just over a month has passed since the sweepstakes closed, and we are ready to officially announce our two winners! Congratulations Sarah Baerg of Trabuco Canyon, California, and Terry Adams of Venice, Florida! We’re very excited to have Sarah and Terry travel with us to visit sponsorship communities of Huanta and Forjadores del Futuro (Huamanga) in Peru, where they’ll meet sponsored children and their families and local World Vision staff members. We’re also blessed that so many more children have been...

Ask an expert about food aid

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Lindsey Talerico-Hedren in Conversations

When I was a little kid, my sister (who never ate her vegetables) used to wish aloud at the dinner table that she could send her broccoli to Africa, where the kids really need it. At the time, I liked to think of myself as not quite so naive — I knew we couldn’t literally send our vegetables to Africa. It would taste really bad by the time it got there. Yes, shipping leftovers probably isn’t a best practice in terms of humanitarian food aid. But what about food security? And malnutrition prevention and mitigation? And ready-to-use therapeutic food? Asking questions like these is absolutely essential in better understanding the complexities of humanitarian work. It’s also why we’re continuing with...

Train. Pray. Run. (6 questions with a 100-mile runner)

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Lindsey Talerico-Hedren in Causes, Child Sponsorship

Superman can defy gravity. Captain America has superhuman speed and endurance. Spider-Man can scale walls. For practically every law of nature, there is a superhero who can break that natural law. Michael Chitwood is one of those guys. Where no single person in their human physical condition should be able to do what he is about to do, Chitwood and three others are going to do just that. They’re going to run 100 miles in 21 straight hours — 74 miles through the night starting this afternoon, October 8, and then they will join 1,000 Team World Vision teammates for the final 26.2 miles of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. When Michael first told me he was running 100 miles,...

Where are they from? A World Teachers’ Day pop quiz

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Heidi Isaza in Causes

My grandmother was a teacher. My mom taught special education. My brother teaches middle school math. My sister is on the school board. Clearly, the importance of a good education was instilled in me from a young age. Still, the teacher gene is not dominant in my DNA. I think it might have something to do with my patience — or lack thereof. Although teaching is not in my vocation, I understand and value the work of teachers across the United States and around the world. These dedicated servants are molding the future generations, often in difficult circumstances. In my time working with World Vision, I have had the privilege of meeting and interacting with many teachers around the world....