September 11, 2001. I was horrified by the events of the day, and confused. Why would anyone do what those 19 people had done? I could not make sense of it. And about two months later, a Heifer Catalog (mysteriously) ended up in my mail box. I had never heard of Heifer, but it seemed like a great approach to ending hunger and poverty. And so, I started a tradition within my family and circle of friends, that for special occasions, people would get something that they wanted and a Heifer gift. I think the first year, people were like “Huh?” When I explained that most of us fortunate enough to live in the USA have more “stuff” than we could ever use, AND we definitely did not need anymore “stuff,” people (acted like they) got it.
Anyway, this went on for about 10 years or so, and at the time, Heifer would allow people to visit Heifer projects. So I chose to go to Poland. It was an AMAZING experience. It was my first time in Poland (I have since returned to Poland three more times). And seeing the work that Heifer did in Poland, really got me excited. Since then, I have continued my tradition of giving Heifer gifts and I also volunteer at the Orange County Fair (when we have them) to tell people about what I saw in Poland.