About Amy.Gress

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So far Amy.Gress has created 177 blog entries.

MACKEEPER DONATES $1 FOR EVERY 10 SECONDS SPENT BY A CUSTOMER ON HOLD

MacKeeper is launching a new charitable campaign that is aimed at optimizing the response time of its support technicians for a good cause. With this initiative MacKeeper will make a donation to the American Foundation for Children with AIDS (AFCA) for every customer who spends their valuable time on hold when they contact the MacKeeper support center to activate MacKeeper remotely. MacKeeper is not just a software, it also offers a complete customer support service to assist users with any software related issues. The average hold time is around 1 minute, if it takes more than 1 minute, MacKeeper will donate $1 for every 10 seconds spent by a customer [...]

2017-11-21T11:53:13+00:00

I DECIDED TO DONATE MY BIRTHDAY

Today is my birthday. Another year in this crazy, beautiful, broken, and exciting world. What a gift!  I sit here, reflecting on the past three months spent visiting AFCA’s programs in various countries.  I visited hospitals which receive medical supplies and equipment from us.  I visited children in their schools and orphanages to make sure they are healthy and learning.  I spent time with elderly guardians, inquiring about their health, needs, and dreams for the children they are raising.  I played with countless children, listening to their stories and paying attention to their dreams. I wrote various budgets for new programs, plans for expansion, and reporting formats for new projects.  [...]

2017-11-21T11:50:30+00:00

EATING ON A BUDGET

It is a known fact that United States is seen around the world as a country with a “poor” diet. Following the first world pace and trends, people tend to fall into poor eating habits. Eating rituals begins to revolve around convenience for some, while for others, it is simply a matter of their budget. It is safe to say that nowadays more people choose to eat out (whether it’s fast food, or a full on wine and dine restaurant) mostly due to its convenience, and partially due to lack of time to cook. Most people believe that they don’t have enough time to cook meals from scratch even if [...]

2018-08-13T07:03:10+00:00

MAKE A CHANGE, START A NEW DIET

I am a mom of three, a worker, a wife, a friend, a daughter, sister, aunt, and friend.  I am a busy person and somedays, I can’t seem to get much done. How many times have I vowed to make a change, start a new diet, get my finances on track, declutter, be more intentional… the list goes on and on. About a year ago, I started making a plan for some of these goals, and realized that taking action was not as easy as just writing a list of personal goals or New Year’s resolutions in my perfectly organized planner.  Goal-setting and resolution-making are not bad; in fact, they [...]

2017-11-21T11:45:24+00:00

PRIMROSE. PRECIOUS. BLOSSOM.

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe ~ Primrose. Precious. Blossom. All names that describe the beautiful girls at horse therapy I meet today. All of them with cerebral palsy and all of them affected slightly differently by it. Some of the children here today are very verbal, others can’t speak at all. Some can’t walk and must be carried and placed on their horse, with a person walking the horse and a coach on each side. Some are able to hold themselves up. I walk besides those because I am just learning. I observe Jill, the lady who runs this therapeutic program and I immediately pick out things I want to learn from her, [...]

2017-11-21T11:37:12+00:00

AFCA PARTNERS WITH OUTDOOR RETAIL INDUSTRY

The outdoor industry has been a long-time support of AFCA’s life-saving work. We work to provide sustainable programing for kids who are infected and affected by AIDS. AFCA’s major fundraisers include Climb Up So Kids Can Grow Up and Vacation with a Purpose. The Climb Up program takes teams who have committed to and met a fundraising goal on adventure trips like climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro or hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. This is where the outdoor industry comes in, and Outdoor Retailer in particular. Companies who specialize in hiking and outdoor gear for camping and outdoor adventures support AFCA with product donations, so that our climbers can focus [...]

2017-11-21T11:33:03+00:00

THANKS TO REPRESENTATIVE JOHN LEWIS FOR BRINGING AWARENESS TO HIV/AIDS

Representative John Lewis tweeted last Monday about HIV/AIDS and the impact of the epidemic. Rep. Lewis has said that “HIV/AIDS is not a disease that discriminates. It affects all of us—our friends, our family, our neighbors. We must fight this together.” In this global community, the American Foundation for Children with AIDS (AFCA) tirelessly works to support those hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic: the children who are infected and/or affected. Our blog relays countless stories of lives impacted through our work at hospitals, schools, and with community programs. AFCA provides lifesaving medications for kids, supports livelihood programs including livestock and garden projects, funds community health initiatives by training midwives [...]

2017-11-21T11:21:29+00:00

HELPFULNESS, KINDNESS, AND JOY

I listen to the sounds of children playing soccer, arguing about rules, and celebrating goals. Paper crinkling under ladders and the smell of fresh paint and turpentine accost me from the other side, interrupted by the sound of a stiff broom being used on the wooden floor. Singing from the kitchen, in N’debele. The stirring of pots with lunch in them. Chirping of an occasional bird. The soccer ball rolling past outside the window. A door creaking open as someone enters the farmhouse to find out if it is time to collect eggs. The snapping of a sheet before it is tucked under a mattress as someone makes beds. I love [...]

2017-11-21T11:10:16+00:00

RAINDROPS – SLOW, STEADY, REFRESHING

I wake up at 2:00am and listen.  I hear a sound I’ve never heard in Zimbabwe, in all the years I’ve been coming to this amazing country and I am confused. Then, I realize I am hearing raindrops -slow, steady, refreshing.  I step outside the hut and smell the rain. The floor is wet, the dirt is wet and the grass is wet as far as I can see in the light of the moon.  I can’t help feeling overjoyed and one must share joy, so I wake Eric up with, “It’s raining” and I can hear him smile in the darkness. Twenty of us from all over the country [...]

2017-11-21T11:08:57+00:00

I SHOWER AND FEEL ALMOST HUMAN AGAIN

I drag my body through the Kisumu airport, through the Nairobi airport, and through the Johannesburg airport. I find myself telling me (in my head) to stand up tall, to make my backpack look light, to pat my cheeks to make them look like I have color in them, and to not look sick.  The last thing I need is to get quarantined somewhere!  So, even though I really, really want to lean on every counter I approach, I hold it together and make it through customs and flights and airports just fine.  I do find myself running to the bathrooms in each airport and there comes a point where [...]

2017-11-21T11:07:56+00:00

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