Today, I pledge the same pledge I made eight years ago. My job was and continues to be finding inspiring people and sharing their stories with the world. I realized after this divisive election that now, more than ever, the world needs to see, hear and feel more goodness.

I’m not going to lie. My heart hurts. I couldn’t sleep on election night and I wept in the dark.

My sadness wasn’t because of the election results. I cried because so many people are hurting. Red, blue … black, white… gay, straight or <FILL IN THE BLANK>, we all feel pain and joy. We are all more connected than we think. We all have the divine allowance of having the human experience.

This post isn’t about my political leanings. No matter what party line you’re on, this historic election shows us that, bottom line, people are hurting.

I’m an immigrant from Vietnam. My family came as boat people. My parents gave up their comfortable life in search for freedom, the chance at a proper education and the American Dream. We ended up in Sacramento, Calif. My first home was in a trailer park.

I didn’t think my own story mattered, so I lost myself in the stories of others. I was obsessed with reading. I read everything — even shampoo bottles aloud in the shower in a pretend broadcaster voice.

As fate would have it, I did achieve the American Dream I imagined for myself. I became a broadcaster, motivational speaker, university instructor and so much more. Thank you, America.

The first eight years of my career were spent in TV news as an on-air reporter. I covered car accidents, the economy’s ups and downs, politics and everything in-between. Most of the stories were about death and destruction. What often didn’t make it on-air were stories of humanity at its best.

I treasure the connections I made with people from all over — red and blue states and small towns and big cities. SO many people told me about stories — good news — that never made it onto TV.

During the economic meltdown of the late 2000s, I decided to leave it all. Mentors told me to hold on. The economy was bad and there were far fewer jobs on-air than there were traditional jobs. But I followed my heart. This led me to reconsider my career choice and ultimately I left TV news.

In contrast, I’ve spent the last eight years covering positive stories about everyday people around the world through my nonprofit, Go Inspire Go. Along that journey, more than 150 volunteers have pitched in to help my mission to tell the stories of these unsung heroes.

It’s come with many hardships. There were times when I doubted myself, but I knew inside it was the right thing to do. I held on. There was a time when I only had 80 cents in my bank account. I held on. There were many times I knew better, so I did better. I remember Oprah telling Lisa Ling, “Once you know, you can’t pretend you don’t.” This inspired me to hold on when I felt like letting go.

I knew that even though I wasn’t rich or famous, I could connect to people on a deep, soul-to-soul level and inspire folks to be and do better for themselves and others. It’s like alchemy, this connection.

Here is a snapshot of a few stories of kindness and love that inspired mini movements of hope. People like Phoebe Russell, a San Francisco kindergartner who was sad to see so many hungry people in her city. She wrote letters asking people to give her aluminum cans so she could recycle them and donate the proceeds to the San Francisco Food Bank.

After sharing Phoebe’s story, a stranger on social media asked me to submit her video to nominate her as a Tyson Foods “Hunger All-Star.” They awarded her a special prize of 15 tons of chicken that was given to the S.F. Food Bank. About a year later, three kids in her former kindergarten class were inspired to replicate her “YES you CAN” drive and raised even more money. In the end, Phoebe’s efforts led to more than 200,000 meals for the needy in San Francisco.

In the Midwest, there’s Amy Pankratz, a stay-at-home mom from Sioux Falls, S.D., who made and prayed over more than 10,000 superhero capes for sick kids and their siblings around the world.

And in New York City, there’s Jorge Munoz, the “Angel in Queens.” For more than a decade, Jorge has devoted countless hours and half his school bus driver salary to purchase groceries, prepare hot, home-cooked meals and pass them out to more than 150 hungry people under a Queens subway station every day.

After sharing Jorge’s story, the worldwide community used their power to pitch in. People sent thank you letters. Random strangers gave money, baked goods and even new appliances to help. Len Harris Inc., a family-owned store in Flushing, N.Y., was inspired by all the generosity and threw in free delivery and set up of the kitchen equipment.

Friends from ServiceSpace heard about our surprise follow-up and wanted to cook for him, and a family from the Midwest moved by Jorge’s selflessness joined me in surprising him with a new refrigerator and stove. We captured this on video. Grab a tissue:

I’m not going to sugarcoat this — this journey has been effin’ hard. The challenges… the ego… letting go and not letting go.

Personally, professionally, spiritually, I have learned a lot about humanity and myself.

What can we all learn from this?

1. I believe people are genuinely good-hearted. Every video I’ve produced with my volunteers have inspired actions both small and large.

2. We are all gems. Some of us lose our sparkle and get dusty because of the characters in our stories who make up our lives. What if we all spent more time doing what we love? Surrounding ourselves with people we love, people who help dust us off and make us shine? There are so many people hurting in our country. It’s a wake-up call to the divided States of America. From jobs to homeland security insecurities, this brings to light the darkness many don’t see in our country. While we are witnessing so much pain across the board, I know there is more good than bad in the world. No matter what your party line, we as humans want to be seen, heard, felt and loved.

3. We have more power than we think. We all have the power to help others. We can’t control what happens, but we have the power to control the way we react. A smile, a kind act, a thoughtful gesture… My challenge to you: Do something nice for yourself and someone else today. The world needs it. The world needs you. Now you know, you can’t pretend you don’t. What can you do?

Onward and upward,
Toan

Follow us: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram.

The post Healing a Divided States of America — the KIND of Country I See appeared first on Go Inspire Go.

Many people don’t realize this in their lifetime and die not knowing their power, or worse, not using it to better their lives and the lives of others. Unfortunately, I discovered this life lesson after losing four family members in about a year’s time. Fortunately, I paid attention and took action to make small changes that rippled out to big changes that shifted my life personally, professional and spiritually.

My wish for you this new year is that you take baby steps. Start by helping someone in need or volunteering. It doesn’t have to seem laborious or like something you check off in a long list of to-do’s. It should be inspiring and fun. Think about what you enjoy doing naturally.

For example, people who know me, know I like love to talk. For me, there’s no better way to use my power of connecting with everyday heroes, telling their stories to inspire you, the viewer to find your inner superhero power to help them.

I know this may sound kidlike, woo woo or a bit cray cray, but it’s true. Each and every one of us has the power to make or break someone’s day. It doesn’t matter how great your wealth, health or connections — you have the power. I believe this so much that during the throes of the economic meltdown in 2008, I decided to quit my “dream job” as a TV reporter in San Francisco to prove this theory.

My power: connecting with people. To take it a step further, I know that I can have a soul-stirring conversation with someone and uplift, inspire and change their perspective — and in many cases spark action within them, which billows out into the community.

A journalism brother, Archith Sehshadri, recently asked me what one word describes our power. He said, “My network.” I said, “Inspiring” people. On any given week about 5+ people message me saying they need some “Toan Time.” What a great compliment! When I left the news biz, I was dead set on testing this algorithm: Authentic Storytelling + Leveraging Social Media = Action.

More than 60 videos and 200 posts later, I realized this works. The impact is real.

One of our most popular stories is about Jorge Munoz, a.k.a. the “Angel in Queens, New York,” a school bus driver by day and real-life angel by night. For more than a decade, Jorge has devoted half his salary of $700 a week to purchase groceries that fill his tiny shoe box-sized apartment in Queens, New York. He and his family pour love into making home-cooked meals that he delivers each night in his white pickup truck to a subway stop to more than 150 people. No questions asked!

Other inspiring impactful stories include:

Reverend Alerte, who built a high school in his hometown of Grand Saline, Haiti, after the country was devastated by a 7.0 earthquake. This story created a movement that allowed 32 kids to attend school in Haiti.

Dr. Ron Holt’s story about spreading his message of awareness and compassion around the LGBT community inspired people to love their authentic selves and thwart suicides.

We also helped Phoebe Russell, who as a kindergartener enabled a local food bank to give out more than 200,000 meals in San Francisco.

The common thread in each of these stories is that the hero’s journey began with a small act that rippled out to meaningful (and sometimes big) changes.

Don’t think you have the time or money to help others? Meet Claire Lemmel, who used her smile to inspire connectedness and kindness.

So many people have said to me, “I wish I had the time,” or “One day when I make a lot of money I want to give back.” The truth is, you don’t need money or a lot of time to give back. You just have to take action.

Do one small thing to help someone. If you like books, use your power of the spoken word and volunteer to read to kids. If you like to garden, help upkeep or revitalize a neighbor’s yard. The key is to do something, anything that you enjoy and plant the seed.

So, what is your power? What are you doing to make someone else’s life better? We want to know! You just might inspire a movement…pow!

Follow us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube.

Join our movement & Go Inspire Go…

The post New Year, New Time to Discover Your Power appeared first on Go Inspire Go.

Woohoo! After more than six months of planning — my team and I are excited to launch 50/50, our first crowdfunding campaign via Indiegogo. The goal: To uncover and highlight 50 inspiring, unsung street-corner style heroes from each state. Regular people who are doing what’s in their power to help others. We know that you will be inspired to “Discover and Use Your Power to Help”.

Everyone has a power. What is your power?

Some people discover it early in life, like Phoebe, Nico and Vivienne.

Others, a bit later in their life’s journey, Jorge, Amy and Aumatma.

You may be like many and have not yet realized your power, but when you do — hold on — it will change the trajectory of your life.

That’s what happened to me. I grew up a few bad neighborhoods and never believed I had the power to make a difference. I loved to read, write, talk and to connect with others. It’s also my gift that has enriched my life.

How do you find your “gift?”

Start by asking yourself three questions:
1. What am I naturally good at?
2. What do I gravitate toward?
3. What do I look forward to each day?

My answers to these questions led me to a career in TV news reporting. I started in Wisconsin, then headed south to Texas and back to California (Fresno and then San Francisco). While reporting the news — what I thought was my dream job — I became despondent and empty covering death and destruction.

People would tell me they didn’t want to turn on the tube because they were inundated with bad news.

I could do something about this by creating a YouTube channel and uploading stories about inspiring everyday people, real-life superheroes and giving them the support they need and deserve!

I thought if five people helped five others, fantastic!

Be careful what you wish for. A few hundred thousand people started watching and thousands of people helped, using their own power.

GIG became something bigger than I could have ever imagined while we made a BIG impact on humanity.

Aside from the engagement we created in several communities, I was approached with two opportunities to create TV shows. Since they were not the right fit, my volunteer team and I kept doing what we know best — telling authentic stories, leveraging social media to build community to spark civic engagement.

This was the genesis of 50/50. Once I shared this idea with my volunteer team and some friends, dozens of people pitched to make this idea a reality. (See links at bottom of blog to follow our behind-the-scenes journey).

We believe that highlighting one hero from every state will not only highlight their passion and good work to get them support, we know it will inspire you to take action.

There are everyday heroes out there who are living examples of generosity, goodness and selfless service. Likewise, there are people like you who want to help but don’t know how. Through our character-driven stories, GIG inspires you to make it your GIG to use your power to help those we feature.

We need your help!

We are crowdsourcing support to help highlight these superheroes and spread their stories out to the world like how small actions ripple out to meaningful changes.

We invite you to use your power and join our movement!

Take Action:
1. Donate to our 50/50 Campaign. All donations will be used to bring you more inspiring stories.
2. Share with your friends, family, colleagues.
3. Tell us about ordinary people doing extraordinary good in your community. Email us: info@goinspirego.com

Behind the scenes blogs leading up to our 50/50 launch:

• Check out our 1st Post, Behind the Scenes 50/50 Post
• Check out our 2nd Post, Meet Our Fearless Leader
• Check out our 3rd Post, Seven Crowdfunding Campaigns That Inspired Us
• Check out our 4th Post, Meet the Marketing & Communications Team
• Check out our 5th Post, Meet the Team Part Deux: Gig’s Journey Toward Our 1st Crowdfunding Campaign 
• Check out our 6th Post, Meet the Fabulous Folks Behind 50/50’s Media and Org Outreach 

The post 50 Inspiring Stories in 50 States: Help GIG Uncover a Real Life Hero in Your Community appeared first on Go Inspire Go.

One small act can truly change the world.

Just ask Phoebe, a six-year-old first grader who inspired her community to enthusiastically support her aluminum can and letter writing fundraising campaign. After seeing homeless people in her San Francisco neighborhood when she was in preschool, she felt two things: sadness and a desire to help. She eventually inspired contributions to cover 135,000 meals for the needy, donated by the San Francisco Food Bank. First Lady Michelle Obama also wrote her a personal note to congratulate her.

Then there’s Caitlin Boyle, whose operation is beautiful from the inside out. After having a bad self-esteem moment (who doesn’t have those?), what’s a girl to do? Do something kind for others. Not everyone would conclude, or put this positive thought into action. Caitlin scribbled, “You are beautiful” on a piece of paper and stuck it on the mirror of the public bathroom at her community college in Florida. She blogged about the experience. Worldwide response action ensued with readers posting their own notes. As fate would have it, those words of encouragement turned around days for weary folks. Some smiled and in some cases, some recipients of the random note decided not to commit suicide.

In New York, Jorge Munoz, a school bus driver, has been cooking, packing and delivering food to the 140+ hungry people who wait under a subway stop in Queens, New York every night at 9:30. For many years, he’s used half of his weekly salary of $700 to buy food and supplies. Then, CNN, Go Inspire Go and other media outlets shared his story.

Hungry for more? The Yahoo! For Good do-gooders asked me to report and blog about 10 Inspiring Acts of 2010, where we featured 10 folks, including the three above, who did one small act of kindness that rippled out to big changes!

This was an epiphany for me because of my sordid childhood.

Growing up in the ghetto as an immigrant from Vietnam, all 10 of my family members crammed into a small trailer. People said “Wow, that sucks.” However, if you ask any of my family members, they’ll tell you quite the contrary. My mom says, “We were so happy, we were safe, all together and we clung onto hope and opportunity.”

Books were my passport out of the ghetto. I voraciously read every single thing I could find. I remember even reading the shampoo bottle in the bathroom out loud everyday as a kid. Many of the words I’ve learned became my everyday vernacular. I tried very carefully not to slip up and use words like “enamored” around the neighborhood bullies. I was unsuccessful. The neighborhood kids would often say, “$##*!” why you tryin’ to be white?” (I never could understand why being able to conjugate my verbs and speaking in complete sentences meant that I was acting white.)

I let them have my power.

They stole my voice and I became quiet — until college — that’s when I realized that through my voice, was my gift, my power.

In red ink, my expository writing teacher, Carolyn Weber wrote on one of my papers: “You are a gifted and talented writer. I hope you do something with it in your life.” This woke me up. It created a shift. Against my parent’s behest — to become a doctor, lawyer or engineer — I went on to do TV news, but was still unfulfilled after 10 years in the biz.

The biggest gift given to me in my adult life was being laid off from my big market TV reporting gig. During a run shortly after being axed, I “woke up” and decided to make a drastic move. As soon as I realized the intent and meaning in my life, clarity followed. I promised myself that I would eat out less, shop less and take a year off of work to use my gift for storytelling to give back. I did not have a huge savings. I was worried about how I would make ends meet after a few months. I was not rich, am not rich and have turned down many lucrative jobs to continue my mission. To pay the bills, I teach two days a week at a local university. The small YouTube channel became Go Inspire Go aka GIG. Since launching GIG year and a half ago, so many miracles — large and small — have transpired. I’ve met so many amazing people who did one small thing, that created big changes. I’ve also crossed paths with those who helped complete the circle of giving, those who were inspired to reach out and help the inspiring people we’ve featured.

My new GIG allows me to be the voice for the voiceless. With every story, every blog, I try to inspire my viewers/readers to do what I did: “Discover and use their power (talents, gift, network, etc.) to help others.”

This holiday season, give the best gift of all — yourself. I hope you’re inspired by my Yahoo! 2010 Inspiring Acts blog.

Be inspired. Take action. For more inspirational stories go to Go Inspire Go.

What can YOU do?

The post Small Acts. Big Changes. What Can YOU Do? appeared first on Go Inspire Go.

Laurence and Florence Spungen and their four children sold their PEER Bearing Company last fall and gave the money to employees as bonuses (some bonuses were six figures) based on years of service. Sure, many of the 230 employees needed the cash. Who wouldn’t during this time of economic turmoil (OK, maybe former financier “Bernie” Madoff, but I won’t go there), but that wasn’t the impetus for the generosity.

In a time when we are inundated with bad news about our economic landscape, corporate greed and bank bailouts, it was refreshing to meet such an authentically kind family with solid values — a shining example of corporate responsibility (listen up corporate America). A family who cares as much about their employees as they do their own family and treats them with dignity and respect — traits not often heard of in big corporations. When a Go Inspire Go viewer sent me an e-mail about the Spungen family from Waukegan, Ill., and told us about their generous deed, we were intrigued and wanted to know more about them. Who are they? Why would they give millions of dollars away during the economic downturn?

But it didn’t take me long before we found out why the Spungen family was so caring and sharing. What I didn’t expect (before even making any contact with the family) was that they’d be so down-to-earth, genuine and extremely compassionate. While taking a tour of the Spungens’ other business, PEER Chain, unlike owners of many other big companies, the Spungen family knew the names of every employee, how many children they have… and their stories.

When I asked the family my favorite question of all time — “WHY?” — the Spungens explained it was “just the right thing to do.” When the family decided to sell their ball bearing company, the family knew they wanted to give some money to the employees to thank them for their dedication and hard work. They just didn’t know how much.

After figuring out an equation based on years of service, the family got right to work on the big surprise. The family hand-signed every “Thank You” card. Printed on them were their names and years of service and a heart-felt message of gratitude. When the Spungens called a company-wide meeting to tell the workers about the sale, Eddie S., an accountant for more than 30 years with PEER, said “I thought we were going to get laid off… But I was excited to see the large sum of money and I was happy to see that I was being compensated for my loyalty.”

The family said, “Many people cried, other employees say the money helped save their home from foreclosure. Sure we all wanted to do it, but there we just didn’t know how much.”

Laurence Spungen, former PEER Bearing CEO, joked, “After we gave the bonuses, they had to check to see if I was still standing.”

Glenn Spungen, Vice President of Sales and Operations, said the workers were an integral part of their success, so they wanted to compensate their employees for their loyalty and “blood, sweat and tears the workers put into the company.”

Just have a conversation with the Spungens and you’ll realize that kindness and generosity is a huge part of the Spungen legacy. The family also created the Laurence and Florence Spungen Family Foundation, dedicated to cancer research and Jewish causes. Every year, the children and grandchildren are required to research and donate to a charity of their choice. Wow. If we could all plant the seed early, what a difference it would make in our community and our world.

“How much money do we really need?” said Debbi Spungen. “I want others (big businesses) to do the same, if they can.”

In such turbulent economic times, when all we hear about are corporate crooks and Wall Street woes, it was refreshing to meet a family who humbly built their empire (through lots of hard work, determination and passion) from the ground up and used their success, resources and talents to help their employees; the very people responsible for putting in the elbow grease, talents and time in the well-oiled multi-million dollar empire.

You may remember the Spungens from my last blog and video. When they heard about Jorge Munoz, a NYC school bus driver responsible for more than 70,000 meals, they wanted to help him. “We want to buy him a new refrigerator and stove,” the family said. They stuck to their word.

I recently hopped a flight to meet them in New York to deliver the stove to Jorge. It was amazing to see how this experience, through Go Inspire Go unfolded. Here you have two families, the Spungens and the Munozes. Both come from opposite ends of the financial spectrum, yet their values and characteristics so aligned; compassion, good will and philanthropy. So to the Spungen and the Munoz families — we salute you. Thank you for helping elevate humanity.

What YOU can do:

You don’t need a million dollars to make a positive impact on your community or on someone else’s life:

1.) Volunteer, it’s free, fun and a great way to meet people. Partner up with a friend or sign up a group of friends. I’ve volunteered at the San Francisco Food Bank and packed food with some friends — we had a fabulous food packin’ time. Try it!

2.) Got a special skill? Lend it to someone in need! When I was laid off from my TV reporting job in San Francisco, I thought, “What can I do, using my talents and resources to improve someone else’s life?” Little did I know, that in five short months, this question would turn into the vision of my inspirational website GoInspireGo.com

Check out my recent video of one school bus driver in Queens, NY, who makes $700 a week and has fed more than 70,000 people in his community! (He spends more than half of his paycheck weekly to do this.)

3.) Ask, ask, ask! It’s the little things that count most — especially during these tough economic times. Use family, friends and neighbors as a sounding board to see what they think you can do to help others. So many people I connect with say, “I wish I could do more, but I don’t have time or I don’t have anything to offer.” Get of the humility boat and ask folks in your circle, they may give you insight on how you can help. That’s how I got my website started!

4.) Let us know what you’re up to — and maybe we’ll feature you on our site. And if you still don’t think you can do anything, volunteer for Go Inspire Go.

***

You can find out more about Toan Lam at www.goinspirego.com. Click on the YouTube link and check out the stories his team created, and videos created by viewers.

The post Illinois Family Sells Company, Gives $6.6 Million In Bonuses appeared first on Go Inspire Go.

This was one of the most logistically challenging, bust your butt weekends: blogging, shooting, editing, meet ups with the Go Inspire Go (GIG) crew — and juggling phone calls with Good Morning America. GMA anchor Chris Cuomo saw our tweet about Munoz’s selfless service and collaborated with us to feature the story on Good Morning America. It was a juggling act, calling the GMA distribution and rights lawyer, coordinating the purchase of a new stove and refrigerator for Munoz with a family who saw the “Angel in Queens” video, e-mailing and calling his sister, Luz, to make sure Munoz was home ) — all the while trying to make travel plans and coordinate with 20 volunteer crew members for the big surprise we had in store for Jorge! Shew… Deep breath. Be present, I reminded my self. Albeit hectic, this experience also proved to be one of the most exciting, rewarding, inspiring, warm and fuzzy weekends I’ve experienced since launching our inspirational website just five short months ago.

After the “Angel in Queens” story went viral, many viewers from around the world contacted GIG and Jorge’s family. Our e-mail inboxes flooded with inspiring stories of how you the viewers were moved by the video… and how you could help.

One of the first to reach out was the Spungens, an amazing philanthropic family out of Waukegan Illinois (they’re the topic of our next blog on corporate responsibility). They insisted on buying a new stove and refrigerator for Jorge and his family after learning about Jorge’s amazing project through GIG. On Saturday, I met Debbi Spungen and her brother Glenn Spungen (I promise you that you’ll be even more inspired after our next blog and video on this family) in New York for the big surprise.

Mission Accomplished.

In the sweltering humid summer New York heat, my volunteer crew and I surreptitiously met at the end of Munoz’s street… Knock knock… (Jorge answers the door.)

“Hi Jorge, it’s Toan from Go Inspire Go. On behalf of Go Inspire Go, my team, and our viewers world wide, we wanted to thank you for your selfless act — through your “Angels in Queens” project. Thank you for feeding more than 70,000 hungry people the past four years. We have a surprise for you.”

“Ahhh WOW,” says Jorge, as he wipes tears away from his eyes, “I called you last night to thank you for getting my story out there, we’ve gotten so many calls and donations and now you’re here!” “As I walked him down his driveway,” I said, “I want you to meet our viewers and friends of Go Inspire Go, Debbi and Glenn. They came all the way from Chicago… to meet you. Glenn says, “We heard about this story, this amazing thing that you do. How charitable you are, you are an inspiration to everybody, around the country, around the world. We flew in from Chicago, to give you a special, special gift from our hearts.”

As I open the van door to present the new washer and dryer, Jorge wipes away even more tears and says, “WOW! I was just thinking right now… what I was going to do because the (stove) handle isn’t working. I didn’t know what to do. But now, check it out!” He explained that he had been using his sister Luz’s stove upstairs. The wear wear and tear on her stove, from cooking for hours at a time everyday, was taking a toll, too.

The excitement kept on building. Len Harris’ team not only threw in free delivery and set up of the appliances. They surprised all of us! Len Harris had his team deliver a microwave as a gift to Jorge, after we got in contact with him about purchasing appliances for Jorge and he saw the GIG video.

The whole GIG crew decided to give Jorge a break, so we rolled up our sleeves and started cooking. On the menu: ham, beans and rice. With Jorge’s guidance, we got to work. I’ve never had such a good time cooking, about a dozen of us bumping into each other in the tiny kitchen. The sweet smell of pinto beans and savory, juicy ham cooking over the stove reminded me of good old home cooking — comfort food. I was in awe by how much love and time went into cooking food in bulk. It was even more humbling to witness this angel in action.

As we were cooking, a woman who looked really tired, stressed and aged, knocks on the door. Jorge runs to answer it. I said, who is it? He said, “Shhh, I’ll take care of it.” Munoz fills the woman’s two-wheel cart with groceries and produce. He face lit up as walked down the driveway with a mini-two wheeled cart in tow.

I can’t even begin to explain the excitement, the thrill, that came from the delivery of the Spungen’s wonderful gift. But as all of the volunteers agreed, we were the ones who received the biggest gift — the lesson of gratitude and perspective.

In the spirit of service, we thank Jorge, Luz and the entire Munoz family.
What can you do?!

*Special thanks to the volunteers on this story: Sarah Mirza, Julian Cohen, Gilles Cohen, Shephali Patel, Takeshi Inamura, Birju Pandya and the Spungen family.

More Coverage:
–An Angel in Queens, New York: School Bus Driver Responsible for 70,000 Hot Meals and Counting
–An Angel in New York (a continued series brought to you by Toan Lam)
–Toan Lam Heads To New York
–A TRUE Angel In Queens, New York

The post ‘Surprise!’ An Angel In Queens, NY Follow-Up — The Gift That Keeps On Giving appeared first on Go Inspire Go.

I hopped on a flight to New York this weekend to shoot a follow-up on Jorge Munoz’s story on Go Inspire Go. Journalism got really personal and emotional. Munoz, a.k.a. Angel in Queens (bus driver responsible for more than 70,000 hot meals to hungry people in his neighborhood) admits, he was surprised when the Go Inspire Go crew, along with a the Spungen family, a generous family from Waukegan, Illinois, knocked on this angel’s door to surprise him with new appliances.

Munoz admits, “I want to cry every night when I go out there to deliver the food. But this guy, (he slaps me on the chest) he made me cry!”

This was one of the most logistically challenging, “bust-your-butt” weekends for me; blogging, shooting, editing, meet ups with my Go Inspire Go.com (GIG) crew, juggling phone calls with Good Morning America, (GMA anchor Chris Cuomo saw our Tweet about Munoz’s selfless service and collaborated with us to feature the story on Good Morning America). It was a juggling act for me, calling the GMA distribution and rights lawyer, coordinating the purchase of a new stove and refrigerator for Munoz with a family who saw the Angel in Queens video, e-mailing and calling his sister, Luz, to make sure Munoz was home, etc. — all while trying to make travel plans and coordinate with 20 volunteer crew members for the big surprise we had in store for Jorge! Phew… Deep breath.

Be present, I remind myself. Albeit hectic, this experience also proved to be one of the most exciting, rewarding, inspiring, warm and fuzzy weekends I’ve experienced since launching our inspirational website just five short months ago.

After the Angel in Queens story went viral, many viewers from around the world contacted GIG and Jorge’s family. Our e-mail inboxes flooded with inspiring stories of how you the viewers were moved by the video… and how you could help.

One of the first to reach out was the Spungens, an amazing philanthropic family out of Waukegan, Illinois (they’re the topic of our next blog on corporate responsibility). They insisted on buying a new stove and refrigerator for Jorge and his family after learning about Jorge’s amazing project through GIG. On Saturday, I met Debbi Spungen and her brother Glenn Spungen (I promise you that you’ll be even more inspired after our next blog and video on this family) in New York for the big surprise.

Mission Accomplished.
In the sweltering, humid summer New York heat, my volunteer crew and I surreptitiously met at the end of Munoz’s street…

Knock knock… (Jorge answers the door)

“Hi Jorge, it’s Toan from Go Inspire Go, on behalf of Go Inspire Go, my team and our viewers world wide, we wanted to thank you for your selfless act–through your Angels in Queens project. Thank you for feeding more than 70,000 hungry people the past four years…

“We have a surprise for you.”

“Ahhh WOW,” says Jorge, as he wipes tears away from his eyes, “I called you last night to thank you for getting my story out there, we’ve gotten so many calls and donations and now you’re here!“

“We have a surprise for you,” I said, as I walked him down his driveway. “I want you to meet our viewers and friends of Go Inspire Go, Debbi and Glenn. They came all the way from Chicago… to meet you.“

In a warm, sincere tone, Glenn says, “We heard about this story, this amazing thing that you do. How charitable you are, you are an inspiration to everybody, around the country, around the world. We flew in from Chicago, to give you a special, special gift from our hearts.”

As I opened the van door to present the new refrigerator and stove, Jorge wipes away tears and says, “WOW! I was just thinking right now,” he explained “What I was going to do because the (stove) handle isn’t working. I didn’t know what to do. But now, check it out!” He explained that he had been using his sister, Luz’s stove upstairs and that the wear and tear on her stove, from cooking for hours at a time everyday, was taking a toll on Luz’s stove too.

And the excitement kept on building.

Len Harris’ gracious team not only threw in free delivery and set up of the appliances, they surprised all of us! Len Harris had his team deliver a microwave as a gift to Jorge, after we got in contact with him about purchasing appliances for Jorge and seeing the GIG video.

The whole GIG crew decided to give Jorge a break, so we rolled up our sleeves and started cooking. On the menu; ham, beans and rice. And with Jorge’s guidance, we got to work. I’ve never had such a good time cooking. So much fun. I was even more humbled when I witnessed this angel in action.

While cooking, a woman who looked really stressed and tired knocks on the door. Jorge runs to answer it. I asked, “Who is it?” He said, “Shhh, I’ll take care of it.” Munoz filled the woman’s two-wheel cart with groceries and produce. Munoz embodies the meaning of service and selflessness.

I can’t even begin to explain the excitement and thrill that came from this surprise delivery from the Spungen’s wonderful gift; the kind gesture of a gift that keeps on giving. But as all of the volunteers agreed, we were the ones who received the biggest gift — The lesson of gratitude and perspective. I was surprised that this amazing experience came together with such finesse. (Thanks to Birju Pandya, with Karmatube.org, whom I met from a friend via FaceBook just days before the shoot — thanks for volunteering Birju and all of my GIGsters!)

I learned that perhaps when you dedicate your life to service, as Jorge has led by example, there is this energy, this intangible, indescribable thing called joy, that happens. You’d have to meet this real life angel to know what I’m talking about. So Jorge Munoz, we salute you!

In the spirit of service, I thank Jorge, his family and the people he is reaching out to. As they have taught, me, my GIG’sters, all the volunteers on this story (Sarah Mirza, Julian Cohen, Gilles Cohen, Shephali Patel, Takeshi Inamura and other volunteers, Birju Pandya and Shephali Patel (from CharityFocus.org and Karmatube.org)–most of us were strangers brought together by GIG and this surprise donation.

Glenn Spungen poignantly pulled me aside and explained, “Toan, this was an amazing process, GoInspireGo has brought everyone together, and no matter what direction the website and project goes, you’ve made beautiful life long friends here today.”

Once again I realized that you don’t need much to make a big impact on the world. Look at Jorge, who makes $700 a week and spends half of it feeding the hungry people in his community. Amen to that! What can you do?

*Special thanks to the volunteers on this story: Sarah Mirza, Julian Cohen, Gilles Cohen, Shephali Patel, Takeshi Inamura, Birju Pandya and the Spungen family.

——-> Want to learn more about what you can do? Please visit our website’s volunteer section or subscribe to our mailing list to find out about more of the efforts we are making to such causes. If you would like to donate money to help us cover and promote more stories of inspiration and good in this world, visit us here.

Thanks Toan! And thank you GIG supporters!

More Coverage:
–An Angel in Queens, New York: School Bus Driver Responsible for 70,000 Hot Meals and Counting
–‘Surprise!’ An Angel In Queens Follow-Up, The Gift That Keeps On Giving
–Toan Lam Heads To New York
–A TRUE Angel In Queens, New York

The post An Angel in New York (a continued series brought to you by Toan Lam) appeared first on Go Inspire Go.

I met a real-life angel recently. His name is Jorge Munoz and he lives in Queens, New York.

This is not just a story about a man who has spent the last few years tirelessly cooking, packing and giving free, hot meals to hungry people every day under a subway stop — some 70,000 in total.

It’s a lesson about compassion for people and humanity. It’s also about how one 46-year-old school bus driver was moved to take action in a selfless and big way. Munoz said he found his passion and path in service after choosing to stop turning his cheek to a growing problem, so prevalent in his neighborhood, and so many other communities across America.

Munoz said he spends more than half of his salary, roughly $700 per week, buying food from local grocery stores. Every night for the past four years, Munoz comes home from work, takes a quick coffee break, then heads out to diligently collect food donations from the community and then shops for more groceries. He heads home to meet a team, consisting of his mother, sister, 5-year-old nephew and a friend. Together, they are a well-oiled machine, as they multiply whatever they’re having for dinner into, by 120 to 140 home-cooked meals, carefully packed with love and care in his tiny kitchen in his shoebox-size flat.

His living room looks more like a pantry, filled with fresh food, parceled out, and ready to be cooked. There are even bags of clothes and blankets, cleaned and ready to be given out. His stove isn’t fully operating anymore because it’s been overused to cook food in bulk. Because the stove is broken, he carries huge restaurant-sized vats of food up to his sister’s apartment to cook — just so he can make his daily deadline. “They depend on me,” said Munoz. Even with an injured back, he never once complained about the love and labor he puts into his daily routine of service.

At 9 p.m., it’s time to pack his white Toyota pickup truck with coolers full of hot drinks and food and hit the road.

Every single night at 9:30 p.m., for the past four years, Munoz and his family have been repeating this routine, which he calls his “second job” every day, except one. With furrowed brows and a disappointed frown on his face, Munoz regretfully admits he did miss one day — the food and drinks were packed, but a snowstorm shut down all lines of transportation. He said, with disappointment, “The subway and buses all closed. We couldn’t get to them.”

Why would anyone spend most their free time and energy putting so much love in home-cooked meals for strangers on the street? Arguably, some people wouldn’t don’t even do this for their significant others, but that’s another blog topic altogether.

Words can’t really describe why Munoz so unselfishly does what he does. He just does. You just have to be there to experience it. But when you’re there watching him do his work at the gritty Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street subway stop, you begin to understand why.

Sarah Mirza (who at the time was an unemployed TV producer I invited to come along on the shoot) and I hopped on the subway to meet Munoz and his small team at the subway stop, where a line of people quickly multiplied. Seven, 14, 20… then a crowd of more than a hundred neatly and politely lined up. Meanwhile, many passersby clutched their purses while walking by this group of people waiting for food. When Munoz first started this project approximately four years ago, he said there were only eight people. Then there were 24, and today, the crowd has grown to nearly 150 people because of the down economy.

When Munoz’s truck pulls up, the melancholy, stoic, troubled looks on their faces brightened (I’m tearing up as I write this and recall the moment).

And wow, the smiles. The expressions on their faces reminded me of when family and old friends have just been reunited at the airport, after not seeing each other for a long time. “The smiles on their faces, when see they got something to eat….aaaaah, [We’re] feeding [more than] a hundred people,” Munoz said passionately. “If you change the life of one guy, that’s enough…”

Munoz said the idea came to him one day while waiting to pick up his students at a routine school bus stop. “I saw people throwing away food at a food factory,” he said. “I thought, why are they throwing that away? I can give those to the hungry people I see on the street every day.”

He asked if he could pick up the perfectly fresh food and take it to the hungry strangers, he’s seen every day. Strangers whose faces have became so familiar.

Munoz said the inspiration came from “God and my Mom. Since I was little, my mom teach me to share, and that’s what we’re doing here.”

Although Munoz isn’t getting paid for this second job (remember, he actually has to use own money to do this), he seems so happy in service. Just by the tone of his voice, you can feel his passion for compassion. His eagerness to serve brings him joy. He said he’s happy to have a paying job, so he can continue doing this. “You have to see their smiles, on their faces. When they smile, I always say that’s how I get paid.”

I was moved so much by this story that I teared up as I wrote the preceding paragraphs. And let’s be real, I cried many times during this assignment. After the interview, I fought back tears and told Munoz I was humbled (goosebumps and all) to be interviewing him, to be sitting in the same room with him, a true angel. I wept while editing the video and I’m wiping away tears now, as I write this blog.

You see, I once utterly disliked homeless and hungry people. I was angry and didn’t understand their trials and tribulations. I didn’t understand or care to fathom their stories. I was jaded by several experiences in which I would give some food to a hungry person, just to be turned away and instead be asked for money. I would think, I come from an immigrant background, my family and I worked hard and pulled ourselves up from the bootstraps. They’re able-bodied, why don’t they work?

But it wasn’t until I interviewed some homeless people on the street and spent the day with folks in the tent city encampments, that I started seeing a shift in my perception. What a great payoff and life lesson I learned. I realized that they too, had — and have — hopes, fears and dreams just like we do. Some fall on bad times, I realized, just alike I have. The difference? I have an amazing support system, thanks to my family and friends. A social worker also told me one of her homeless clients was a doctor, his wife a lawyer. He became homeless and lost everything. When his wife was killed in a car accident on the way home from work, he lost it, my friend explained.

Some cynics say they believe the old Chinese proverb, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Although I agree with this old adage, I also believe in this comment, from one of my blogger readers, “Yeah, but the fisherman [or fisherwoman] has to eat while fishing, don’t they?” This blog is about compassion. If you can teach someone how to cast that net and catch fish, great. If you can’t, think about what you can do. Think about what resources and talents you may have and what you can do to help someone else in need and improve his/her life. I urge you to do something to better your community.

Remember, as my last blog, about phenomenal 5-year-old Phoebe, proves, it doesn’t have to be BIG. She saw a problem and wanted to help hungry people in her community. So she held a can recycling campaign and to everyone’s amazement, she raised enough money to feed nearly 18,000 people.

A quick story and kudos to my 4-year-old nephew Drew, better known as “cutiepatootie,” for his compassion. Last week, my brother Phat took Drew out for ice cream at Gunther’s (one of my local favorite mom-and-pop ice cream shops in Sacramento.) Being the spoiling uncle that he is (OK, I spoil him too, but that’s my job right?), my brother bought Drew two mini ice cream cones. Drew ate happily, ice cream dripping down the mouth and all. But his smiling face turn sad when he looked outside the window and saw a little girl crying.

“Oh no!” Drew said, “Why is she crying?”

Phat said, “I don’t know, maybe she’s sad or doesn’t have a cone?”

Within an a-ha, split-second moment, Drew quickly said, “I know what! I have another ice cream, can I give it to her?”

Phat said, “Do you want to give it to her?”

With no hesitation, Drew said, “Yes.”

He walked outside, patting the weeping girl on the shoulder, “Don’t cry little girl,” he said, “I have an ice cream for you.” The girl smiled and so did Drew! I was so proud of Drew for sharing and caring.

Again, this is not about handouts, giving people food, but rather a passion for compassion. Wouldn’t the world be better place if we all planted the seed early and had more people who are aware? When Drew was a baby, I remember asking my sister Lynn what she wanted Drew to be when he grows up. Lynn replied, “I don’t really care what he chooses to be, as long as he is a compassionate human being.” And compassionate he is.

Perhaps Mother Teresa’s quote sums it up best, “If you judge people, you don’t have time to love them.”

When I created my inspirational website, GoInspireGo.com, I knew I wanted to help people. What I didn’t realize was how much this project would help me understand people and humanity while connecting with them. As I embark on this new journey of my career — or should I say, my life’s work?! — I have met so many amazing people from; the subjects of my stories to volunteers to those of you reading this right now. I saw a shift in myself and have witnessed the amazing changes in others joining me on this journey of service and inspiration.

Take Sarah Mirza, the amazingly talented producer who collaborated with me on this video shoot, Sarah said after getting laid off from her TV gig, like millions of other jobless Americans, it was hard to be inspired to get out of bed in the morning, much less garnering the strength to send out resumes. When I invited her to join me on producing this video, she was stoked! After the shoot, she texted and then called me to tell me, with caps lock and smiley icon “THANK YOU,” for the opportunity to collaborate with you on this story. I couldn’t sleep the last few nights, in anticipation of meeting Jorge and doing this shoot.”

This experience was cathartic — Sarah’s perspective changed. And it was obvious she was inspired. You could hear it in her voice. She told me it was one of the most rewarding experiences and that this was one of the most moving stories she has ever covered in her career. Sarah also said she then took a “laycation.” (What I like to call laid-off vacation or lay-off me time) Then she came back inspired to get out of bed and look for jobs. Well, she recently called me and told me she got a network TV producing job! Woo hoo… congrats, Sarah!

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Speaking about service, I connected with Arianna Huffington, during the last Craigslist Bootcamp workshop in Berkeley, Calif. She was the guest speaker and I was volunteering for the event. I was fortunate enough to listen to Arianna speak about the spirit of service, and I was moved by her stories of volunteerism and goodwill, so I emailed her. She then invited me to blog for her based on my website, which uses social networking to inspire social change. And voila… here I am, sharing inspiring stories with you.

So I want you to stop for a second, take a deep breath (or a couple) and be aware of the present moment. Be grateful. Then, I want you to think about what you can do to improve someone else’s life. It doesn’t have to start off big. If you read my last blog about 5-year-old Phoebe’s mission, you’ll see that it really doesn’t have to be a something big — it can start off small. And like Phoebe, you may be surprised of the outcome. (If you didn’t read it from my last blog. Please do.)

If you can’t think of what you can do, then please make a small donation to www.AnAngelInQueens.org. Someone saw Munoz’s good deed and helped him file paperwork to start a nonprofit. Still, he has to use his own money to feed people in his community. You can also make a donation to Go Inspire Go. For now, be good to each other and think what can you do?!

We love to hear your quirky and not-so-quirky comments, so please make a comment below. Thanks for reading and watching! Stay tuned…

GO INSPIRE GO’s Goals:

The Mission: To set up a global platform for people to see and share inspirational stories. (There’s a link at the end of every story where people could go to help the person/people featured in the video)

The Vision: My hope is that everybody will be inspired to use their resources and talents to see what they can do to better someone’s life or better their community.

I launched this website in March of 2009, with the thought that if I could just help one or two people through my expertise and skill set, then my mission would be accomplished. I didn’t expect such a huge show of support around the world. I surely wasn’t ready for the influx of e-mails, messages, comments and calls to come in. Viewers continue to connect with us from around the world, including North and South America, Asia, Europe and Africa, to tell us what they’re doing to better someone else’s life or improve their community.

Onward and upward,
Toan

More Coverage:
–An Angel in New York (a continued series brought to you by Toan Lam)
–‘Surprise!’ An Angel In Queens Follow-Up, The Gift That Keeps On Giving
–Toan Lam Heads To New York
–A TRUE Angel In Queens, New York

The post An Angel in Queens, New York: School Bus Driver Responsible for 70,000 Hot Meals and Counting appeared first on Go Inspire Go.

Things are sizzling over here on the Go Inspire Go (GIG) side. These are just a couple bullet points of milestones we’ve hit:

1.) We filed for the 501(c)(3) status, so we can be a nonprofit organization, that inspires the community and world!

2.) We have a PayPal account widget linked to our main website www.goinspirego.com and this blog (look over to the right) — please ask all your friends, family, co-workers, etc., to donate so we can continue to do inspiring stories!

3.) We have more than 2 dozen volunteers, so if you would like to help, please contact us at goinspirego@gmail.com

4.) People have come out of the woodwork wanting to help; from making GIG tee shirts, to creating and printing fliers/business cards, a GIG facebook fan page manager, event planner, etc!

** We now have fliers with tabs on them for your distribution, please let us know if you want the PDF, so you can print them and post in coffee shops, at college campuses, etc.

5.) Any ideas, we want to hear them! Please contact us through the site or email listed above!

4.) There are also some amazing stories down the queue, including this one:
Thanks to Terrie Crowley, of Illinois, for sending in this story.

‘AN ANGEL IN QUEENS, NEW YORK’

I’ve interviewed thousands of people in my nearly 10 years of being a TV news reporter and magazine show host, but I can truly say that Jorge Munoz is one of the most inspiring people I’ve ever met. A school bus driver by day and Angel by night. Please take a moment to visit his website after viewing this story: www.anangelinqueens.org

AND once again!

Go Inspire GO (GIG) is proud to announce that we have the wheels in motion to create Go Inspire Go, a non-profit organization.

Please donate $5, $10 or how ever much you can so we can continue to do stories, like this one, that inspire the world to take action. And please forward this video to everyone you know via email, Facebook, etc.

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT.

–An Angel in Queens, New York: School Bus Driver Responsible for 70,000 Hot Meals and Counting
–‘Surprise!’ An Angel In Queens Follow-Up, The Gift That Keeps On Giving
–An Angel in New York (a continued series brought to you by Toan Lam)
–Toan Lam Heads To New York

The post A TRUE Angel In Queens, New York appeared first on Go Inspire Go.