Jennifer and the Dalmation

A word from Lil' Oprah about Jennifer:

Getting to know Jennifer over the last 6 or so years has been like slowly unwrapping a wonderful present. She's an incredible portrait artist, throws a fabulous party that is planned perfectly to the tiniest detail, and is killer on a tambourine. Each time I spend time with her and her husband Andy, I feel wrapped up in goodness and am charmed by her gentle spirit and her awesome sense of humor.

Jennifer's Story:

When I first got Kalimba’s email about the $20, my immediate thought was that I’d turn her down, thinking that I didn’t have time to come up with a plan for the money. Then an idea popped into my head. From time to time at work, when I need an escape, I enjoy going to the website of a SoCal Dalmatian rescue organization and looking at the Dalmatians who are up for adoption. I look at their sweet, innocent faces and dream of the day when Andy and I have the home and financial resources that will allow us to adopt a rescued Dalmatian. I particularly remembered one Dalmatian girl, whose story nearly made me cry when I read it a few months ago:

“Beautiful Violet was found the day before Thanksgiving 2007 emaciated, starving, drinking dirty water off the city streets and barely able to stand & walk. She was about 24 hours away from death. There were people all around but everyone ignored her until a wonderful kind hearted soul turned her car around and rescued her. She then contacted Save the Dalmatians for help. Once we heard Violet's story we knew immediately we had to find a way to help this poor girl, who was also covered with infected sores and was blind in one eye. She obviously had a strong will to survive. For all that she has been through Violet has one of the sweetest and most loving temperaments anyone could ask for.

Save the Dals brought Violet to the vet and found that she is approximately 7 to 8 years old. She was put on antibiotics to help clear up her infected sores. We had blood work performed on her and she was seen by an eye specialist. It has been determined that she has glaucoma (a painful condition) in one eye and is completely blind. She is currently on medication that hopefully is alleviating her pain. Glaucoma is not common in Dalmatians and it is believed she may have had an injury to the eye that was left untreated. The best course of treatment for her is to surgically remove the eye. While her care and surgery will be costly at nearly $1,000, we are compelled to help this beautiful and sweet tempered Dalmatian find another chance at a wonderful and pain free life and ultimately adopted into a loving permanent home.”

After remembering Violet’s story, I knew I wanted to give Kalimba’s $20 to this organization, a non-profit group run solely by volunteers. Though Violet has already had her surgery, I know the $20 will go towards helping another precious doggie in need.

Cynthia the "American Mom"

A word from Lil' Oprah about Cynthia:



Cynthia has the gift of "getting it done". When she puts her mind to something, consider it accomplished. She can be tough as nails, but she is also one of the most sensitive people I know. That duality was a huge blessing during our trip to Asia last October and I felt incredibly blessed to have her as my travel companion. It was a life changing trip for both of us.

Cynthia's Story:

A few months ago, Kalimba and I went on a fantastic adventure to Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. While we were at the Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia, we ran into 2 sweet children selling postcards. Although we resisted buying their trinkets, we did end up inviting them to have lunch with us so they could practice their English. Somehow Angelina, I mean, Kalimba, picked up 2 more children along the way. We quickly decided to ditch our sightseeing plans and spent the rest of our time in Cambodia with the kids (who now included 2 siblings, bringing our flock count to 6). We committed to send the children to English school (only $120/year for each child) and upon our return, Kalimba and I sent out e-mails to family and friends to gather donations. I formed a charity, Davana Foundation, for the children as well as other projects close to my heart.
Now, Kalimba and I are the proud "American Moms" of 8 children (yes, we added 2 more!), who are now attending English language school in Cambodia. All the joys of parenthood without the stretch marks! My $20 went to Davana Foundation. Thanks Lil Oprah!

Danielle and Diyana

A Word from Lil' O about Danielle:

Danielle was the first friend I made in Los Angeles 10 years ago - in many ways I feel as though we have grown eachother up. She's a rare combination - equal parts beauty and silliness. She's a complex woman who inspires me and pushes me to be a better person, friend, and human. Here's the letter she wrote to the organization she donated the $20 to~

Danielle's Story:

I have been donating $25 monthly to a little boy through Plan USA for the past 8 years or so and have always wanted to donate to a little girl.

What inspired me to take action was my best fried Kalimba who started a "pay-it-forward" type of experiment.
Basically she gave 6 of her closest friends $20 each and challenged us to see just how far that $20 could go in making a positive change in life of someone in need. She also recently visited Cambodia Thailand and Laos. She met some very special children in great need out there and has collected money to help these children pay for food, supplies and schooling. She inspires me greatly.

And so I have finally took action on something I have been "saying" I wanted to do for quite some time. I had heard another incredible out reach program (much like Kalimba's) helping woman and children in Africa called "Healing Bridges" which was started by a dynamic and soulful woman named Zebiba. Healing Bridges was founded to help women and children in the poverty stricken and war torn African nation of Eritrea. Their mission is to create jobs in Africa for women to support themselves and their families.
Their sponsorship program will provide individual children with a U.S. sponsor to facilitate health, education, family support and a chance to succeed.

I choose Diyana because my mother's name is Diana and I just found her demure and shy spirit in this photograph to be all together sweet and heart-breaking at the same time. I feel that my two monthly sponsored children hold the spirit of the 2 children I plan on having one day.