Kevin Myer is the president and chief executive officer for LifeGift and Brian Rothermel is a heart transplant recipient who is about to celebrate being 24 years post-transplant. He was diagnosed with a deadly heart disease when he was in his 20s. After being placed on a waiting list, he received the heart of a young woman. He eventually met with her family and it's as powerful a story as it is moving.
The family's act of kindness and generosity is one we can all make. Signing up to be an organ donor only takes a couple of minutes. To donate a heart, kidney, liver, and other vital organs, can literally save up to 8 people. Countless more are profoundly helped through tissue donations like skin, bones and heart valves.
www.DonateLifeTX.org

Emily Manderson is the conservation director for the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center and Christine Mansfield is their manager of marketing and development. The Houston Arboretum is in the middle of a 3 phase renovation which will include a new Children's playscape. Major improvements have already been made to the nature trails and you should know their Arboretum at Night events to learn about and see some of the awesome animals that live alongside the bayou. People don't realize the bayous are highways for wildlife but you can find out a lot about them just by going to their website: Www.houstonarboretum.org

The Houston Museum of Natural Science opened a new exhibit: Death by Natural Causes and David Temple, their associate curator of paleontology, is on hand for another awesome conversation. We talk about the less obvious causes of natural death, like the red and white amanita mushroom and the assassin bug but we also discuss some of those deadly things we all know about, like rattlesnakes and deadly Japanese hornets. The exhibit has some live animals on display and also beautiful 3D models of various deadly agents. The Houston museum of Natural Science is always worth visiting so check out their website: www.HMNS.org for tickets.

Ashley Brochette is the marketing manager for Child Advocates and Kelly St. Mary is the sponsorship director for McDonald's Houston Children’s Festival. They are celebrating the festival's 30th year on Saturday and Sunday, April 7th and 8th. It is the biggest festival of its kind in the country and it's only $10 to buy tickets online: www.houstonchildrensfestival.com.
The McDonald's Houston Children’s Festival has raised over $5 million for Child's Advocates and we hear about their need for volunteers. Child Advocates are thoroughly trained to work through our court system hand in hand with minors. Beyond the needs of the child in court, Advocates are also help with making sure the children are getting what they need from their foster homes and schools. It is an invaluable service which sometimes forges lifelong relationships between Advocate and child.
There is much to learn and you can begin on their website: www.childadvocates.org

Our friend Dr. Vernus Swisher is back to fill us with optimism. He is the CEO of Career and Recovery Resources (CRR), a United Way of Greater Houston agency, and he and his awesome staff just moved into the Baroness Kandy Kaye Horn Employment & Technology Building. It was finished thanks to a huge and generous gift by the lady whose name is on the building. It allows CRR to help even more people. That's what they do: help people identify and overcome barriers to employment. They offer Veteran services, deaf and hard of hearing services and substance & alcohol abuse outpatient programs. Their website is: www.careerandrecovery.org and everyone in Houston should know it.

Schelika Chisolm is the emergency disaster services statistician for the Salvation Army of Greater Houston and Janae Jones is the education coordinator for the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs. She is administering the program which awards the Youth of the Year which she won years ago, before joining the organization professionally. She is the first person in her family to graduate from college and she is currently obtaining an MBA. Schelika shares her personal experience helping people in the immediate aftermath of Harvey's flood and she reminds us that the strength of the salvation Army comes from its volunteers. They always have a great need for volunteers so go here to sign up: www.SalvationArmyHouston.org

Rodney Waters is the program director for Music Doing Good with Scholarships and Phillip Hall is their director of Music Doing Good In Service, a brand new program. Phillip is providing free coaching and piano accompaniment to students learning how to sing – in their school, as you might have guessed. He helps them pass their important UIL exams. It is a perfect example of a local non-profit identifying a need in its community and helping people deal with it.
Music Doing Good is also giving out scholarships and the deadline to apply is coming up on March 21st. You can find information about that and other programs (like how to get them into your school) by going here: www.MusicDoingGood.org

Cullen Geiselman is a board member of Houston Parks Board and she is the co-chair of Bayou Greenway Day. Doug Overman is the chief advancement officer for Houston Parks Board. Bayou Greenway Day is on March 24th at Tidwell Park in Northeast Houston. It will celebrate the progress of Bayou Greenways 2020 which is on track to be completed on time. This massive endeavor creates a continuous parks system along Houston's major bayous. By the time it's done, most Houstonians will live within less than 2 of miles from a Bayou Greenway. Check out their website for more info.
Cullen is also a bat specialist and she is optimistic about our Houston bat population rebounding after Harvey.
www.HoustonParksBoard.org

Kelly Young is the CEO of AIDS Foundation Houston and Joe Fuentes is the CEO of Avenue 360 Health & Wellness which brings a holistic approach to helping uninsured people obtain the health services they need (physical and psychological). AIDS Foundation works with Avenue 360 Health & Wellness and they will be donating part of the proceeds from their next fundraiser: Rock the Walk, March 4, 2018. A big concert will follow the 29th annual AIDS Walk Houston with Houston musicians Bun B, Paul Wall and Los Skarnales headlining. Go to www.aidshelp.org for info. It's also a great place for information on PREP, the pre-exposure prophylactic, a subject we explain in detail.

Adam Farris is the owner and President of Younique Abilities, a company that sells merchandise like jewelry and keychains manufactured by people with disabilities. Adam is on the autism spectrum and has Tourette syndrome but he sees himself and his partners as "Younique" and in possession of great talents. With him is Eddie Page, the vice president of Younique Abilities. First and foremost, Eddie is Adam's friend. They are roommates and Eddie's son treats Adam like an uncle. Eddie shares his own struggle out of foster care and how his relationship with his brother who is also on the autism spectrum, guides how he treats people.
These two friends have an extraordinary story to tell and you can support their work by going to their website: www.youniqueabilities.com. They donate part of their sales to local Non-Profits.