Let me start by saying, Happy Holidays to all of our devoted followers and to the new members of the fold. I pray that this time of year brings you great joy and a since of fulfillment. This annual Christian holiday gives many a reason to travel to visit with family, some to reevaluate their lives as the year comes to an end, and others cause to shop. I know many of our female readers are waiting to see what Santa has stuffed in their stockings this year. Is there a little blue box under tree? And guys are wondering if they will get the new gaming system, tool-set, or maybe Santa was really generous and brought that new Cadillac EXT. Well ladies and gents, this might have been true two to three years ago. I know many of you are happy to just have this time to share with family and blessed to know that you made it another year without loosing everything you hold dear. Many have lost jobs and had to downsize over the last year. For this reason, I didn’t want to give you another guide with shopping advice or repeat tips on the hottest sales. I have taken BE-Style in a different direction. Staying with last years theme, I am calling this issue - HOLIDAY HEARTS! I felt the need to let you all know that in spite of your current situation, there is always hope for a brighter tomorrow. I wanted to celebrate the efforts of celebrity, international, and community organizations that continuously work to change the lives of others. 

I had the pleasure of speaking with Atlanta’s on-air personality and philanthropist, Mr. Frank Ski, also the co-founder and creator of the Frank Ski Kids Foundation. My eyes were opened to the difference experience and exposure can make in the life of a student with drive, passion and talent. Just a few hundred miles up the eastcoast, the fashionably conscious are gifting while shopping on Madison Avenue. Kathy de Meij revealed to me, the importance of  The Children’s Aid Society of New York City amazing day of shopping. The organization is celebrating its 23rd anniversary this year with the Miracle on Madison Avenue shopping event. The combination of countless volunteers, supportive retailers, and holiday shoppers flood the pavement of Madison Avenue where 20% of the day’s sales are donated to help the Children’s Aid Society provide health care to families throughout the communities and schools of New York City. Lastly, UNICEF has done it again this year. "Several of U.S. Fund for UNICEF's corporate partners have created special product offerings or other creative options to help UNICEF in its mission to reduce the number of preventable childhood deaths from 24,000 per day to zero.” I personally found it a privilege to know that persons are helping those in dire situations through selfless acts of charity. So regardless of your current state, there is always someone doing worse.  "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalms 30:5) Be grateful for the blessings bestowed upon and remember that we all can make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. 

BE-Style: How did you get your start in the industry which now has turned into a re-known radio personality? 

FS: I started in the industry while attending school at the University of the District of Columbia and I worked for the college radio station. At the same time, I was also a Dj playing many of the fraternity and sorority parties. So it went from there to me having my own radio show. The first show that I that got paid for was in Baltimore…

BE-Style: How does it feel to hold Atlanta on your shoulders?

FS: Oh, it feels good. It’s been a long road but it’s a very comfortable situation to say the least.

BE-Style: What’s your take on new forms of media such as BE Magazine, Twitter, and Facebook?

FS: I think it’s an interesting challenge to the old forms. I don’t think they will eliminate what radio brings. I just think gives people different choices and they have more control over their content.

BE-Style: Can you express how important it is for Afro-American celebrities to be conscious of their images and impact on society when going about their daily lives, i.e. Serena Williams, Mike Vick, and Tiger Woods?

FS: It’s an unfortunate situation to be in and we live in a different world than we did years ago. People now have access to information much faster and the it's much harder to protect one's image now than it used to be years ago. If you took a picture back then, it would take a week to a month before it got out. But now with the use of camera phones and the Internet, it’s a question of protection your privacy and hop to keep your private life private. I never believe that a lot of these artist, entertainers, and musician were good, bad or better than another, it is just a matter of whether they get caught or not.

BE-Style: A lot of them are thrust into being role models and they are just doing something they are passionate about….

FS: That in and of itself, is true. Wanda, my co-host, and I are of different opinions. She is of the opinion, which is a fair opinion, that celebrities ask for their stardom. I don’t necessary believe that. There are some entertainers that don’t ask to be famous, they just like what they do and become a part of pulp culture. And because people like what they do as well doesn’t mean that you asked for the fame. I think it is very difficult to handle what comes with the fame. What I have realized is that these people don’t really have someone to really handle the "risk." I truly believe that some people do not have to right handlers around him, i.e. Kayne West. No one was there to tell him, not to walk on stage during an awards ceremony. There are so many persons have "yes men" around them. This can lead to someone being very destructive to their own careers.

BE-Style: What do you think of the current state of music? And who do you think will carry the touch now that Michael Jackson has passed?

FS: It’s interesting because I think the difference is that Michael Jackson became iconic here in the United States before he became iconic in the rest of the world. The international recognition elevated the image of who he was to everyone. The world is a lot smaller now and the exchange of information is a lot quicker. I understand what Kayne is saying when he says that he is the "Next King of Pop" because his music is worldly appreciated. But I don’t think that there is anyone that can capture the world like that with his or her music. I don’t think that the hip-hop as an art form can do it. Unfortunately, hip-hop represents too much negative to be respected by lots of people. It makes the art form look too easy and people don’t respect easy. With respect to Michael Jackson, he sings, dances, and was an amazing performing. There are very few artists that do both these days. I don’t knock hip-hop. I love hip-hop. But I don’t think that we will have artist to achieve Michael’s status until hip-hop is transformed. You’re not supposed to rap over your own track. Take Jay-Z for instance, he is transforming hip-hop into showmanship. If we have more artist that respect the artform and be true to it, then maybe we will have another iconic entertainer.  

BE-Style: What inspired you to start the Frank Ski Kids Foundation?

FS: I started the foundation with the intent to be the foundation the attracted celebrities with the means to donate money to an organization and the monies go to where it is supposed to go. Unfortunately, there are only a hand full of all the non-profits here in Atlanta that are operating for that which they were started. I wanted to form an organization with my wife the athletes could donate money to for a cause. To form a foundation that is certified and recognized by government as a properly operating non-profit. The problem I found was that most athletes that are black don’t give money unless it’s back to their own foundation. If you notice, most of the persons on my list are big philanthropic people that give lots of money. For example, Sean Combs doing the marathon in New York City, Ludracis was just given an award for having one of the best celebrity run foundations, and Kevin Liles has a couple of foundations anchored in Baltimore. He has built a football stadium in his community. These are the kinds of people that you want linked to your organization. So that when people see their names, they know that you are not playing. You’ve come together to raise some money. We get the likes of Shakespeare, Shawn Garrett, and Devyne Stephens to show up and they respect the efforts of philanthropy by donating $5,000 to $10,000.

BE-Style: What is your overall goal for this year with the Wine Tasting & Live Auction?

FS: Our goals are to be more personal by having an event like this and get the check writers all in one room and have them to start writing the checks. This has been successful for us. It also allows me to go to those that I’ve helped and say, "Hey I could use you help this time." 

BE-Style: What have you learned by starting the foundation and impacting the lives of children? Has this changed you at all?

FS: It really has changed me by making me aware of how blessed I am. I never felt like I missed out anything from my childhood. So every aspect on which the foundation was created is a direct reflection of what my wife and I went through. I never played organized youth sports because my father could never afford to pay for me to play. However, did play in the community in the yards of friends and in parks and my wife was a cheerleader since the age of 5. For us to know that there are parks closing because of funding, it gives us a cause to continue to try to make a change in the lives of students by offering the opportunities afforded to them by our foundation. It’s good to know that this Sunday a team will get a $10,000 check for their park and recreation programs. This will give hundreds of kids a place to go.

BE-Style: Does any story stick out in your mind of a child that has been directly impacted by your efforts?

FS: At the event on Sunday, we started last year by giving a Mentorship Award to those that have inspired or influenced. We also started giving an award to students that became leaders after they went through our foundation. This year Blake Sims will be receiving the reward. He is a high school quarterback for Gainesville High School. If you were to Google his name you would find of he and T.I. on his tour bus and page after page of his accomplishments thus far. Just to give you an idea of his talents. They are calling him the little Michael Vick. Blake Sims is now going to be signing with the University of Alabama. He made his choice to be a football quarterback after his mom called me to tell me their family story. They wanted him to go to a football camp headed up by Michael Vick. This was the first year that Michael Vick was in the NFL. Our foundation sent Blake to this camp. What he saw in that camp challenged him to return home with an idea of what he wanted to do. He told his mother that he had found what he was going to do with the rest of his life. His parents were poor and he told them, after the camp, that they would never have to work another day in the lives. That young man is playing football because of the Frank Ski Foundation. We also have a student at Auburn in the space program. Then Elizabeth Oppong has received a full scholarship at Phillips Exeter Academy in Andover, the school attended by President Bush and Mark Zuckerburg, the creator of Facebook.

BE-Style: Do you find it hard to continue raising funds in these economic times?

FS: A lot of non-profits have folded this year so it has been a very difficult time. Most people aren’t doing any work this year because they are trying to hold on to what they have. Corporate giving of monies and services are really down this year as well. 

BE-Style:What are tips that you would give to someone that is not financially wealthy but would still like to make a difference in the life of a child?

FS: Interesting enough, charity is viewed in two ways. It’s viewed as donating and/or services. You know all through the bible, there are acts of charity that didn’t involve money. We’re experiencing unemployment at an all time high and thousands of people don’t have jobs. I tend to ask them, "What are you doing with you free time?" I believe they should be at a shelter helping out or volunteering their free time. If you are a parent and out of work, you should be at your child’s school volunteering or attending PTA meetings. You have all the time in the world. So a lot of parents that claim not to have time to go check on their child at school should have no excuse now.  

BE-Style: As you continue with your philanthropic efforts, what are your hopes for the Frank Ski Kids Foundation to BEcome?

FS: I would love to some how turn the foundation into a school. I am not worried about students like Elizabeth Oppong who took her experience with us and turned it into a full scholarship at one of the best private schools in the country. On the other hand I am worried about the kids that have to go into the public schools systems. Think about this for a second. It’s probably virtually impossible to say about public schools but if you went to Pace Academy or Westminster and you’re in somebody’s science class or marine biology class, it’s a good chance that your teacher has been around the world in their area of study. But in the public schools and in the hood, I can’t say that. It’s very unlikely that your teacher has been to the Amazon or Costa Rica. At Pace Academy you know that the teachers have been aboard because they make sure the kids have that experience. The students can’t get out of high school without this type of experience. I spoke with someone yesterday, as a matter of fact, at the Philharmonic Orchestra in London. And they said this class of Afro-American students dressed in blazers and ties were in the Orchestra Hall. It was the students from the Ron Clark Academy, here in Atlanta. (Note: Oprah Winfrey recently sent a check for $1.5 million to the Ron Clark Academy) My things is this, if you are student at 12 or 13 and you are introduced to all the different cultures and being able to travel abroad. Imagine how competitive that now makes our students as they go off to college and prepare to be tomorrow's leaders.

Special thanks to Michelle Marron @ 360 Media (http://www.360media.net) , Jenika Thomas - Business Manager, & Ben Rose Photography

For more information on the Frank Ski Kids Foundation:

http://www.frankskikids.org/

http://www.frankski.com/

BE-Style: Explain for me, what is Miracle on Madison Ave.

KM: It’s a shopping event that was originally started by two boutique owners from Madison Ave. This marks our 23-year. It is supported by hundreds of volunteers that are out on the street during the day. The key thing is that with the participation of the 77 retailers, 20% of the day’s sales are donated back to the Children's Aid Society and its health services. The money goes to our center within the business district in NYC and to our affiliated program at Mount Sinai  that  offers health services to teens.

Children's Aid started in 1853, and helps over 100,000 children each year in 45 different sites across New York City, including 22 community schools. Several of our schools have health centers offering mental, health and dental services.  Unfortunately, in some of the poorer neighborhoods, the presence of asthma is very high and when a child has an asthma attack we are able to help them in the school versus having an ambulance take them to the hospital emergency room.  Each child we assist in school saves over $1000 in emergency care. 

BE-Style: Are you available to student year round?

KM: We have community schools, where we help students before or after school. We would like to see health centers in every school offering dental, mental, and medical health. The big issue is that not everyone can afford insurance. We like to get the parents involved and show them how to find ways to obtain health insurance. We provide counseling and mentoring to parents to help them understand the programs available to their families.

BE-Style: How do you feel about universal health our current health issues before us in government right now?

KM: I think that everyone should have health insurance. We see a lot of cases where a child is ill, for example, with a chronic ear infection and as a result ends of missing a lot of school. This is something that could have been prevented by antibiotics and simple health. So, it’s hugely important. These children have to start playing catching up and sometimes have to repeat a grade. And you see, all of this is preventable. So it’s essential for Miracle on Madison to raise funds for the health care services.

BE-Style: Do you notice that there is growth among the participants, even is these economic times? 

KM: Yes, because we did more advertising with CBS as our media sponsor, we received a wonderful amount of radio coverage. Tamara did a CBS radio spot and Citybuzz video. We also had a presence in social media including Twitter and Facebook. I think this year people are opening their wallets up a little bit more than they were last year. Consumers seemed to be a bit more comfortable this year than the last. Thousands of people did come out this year on Miracle Sunday to shop and we definitely did have more traffic on the Avenue. 

BE-Style: With respect to participants of retailers, are you noticing an increase in numbers?

KM: Yes. We were actually receiving calls up to the day before the event. So that was really encouraging for us. Madison Avenue is a wonderful shopping district and the retailers are so supportive of Children’s Aid. One retailer told a volunteer ( who was also a shopper) that they look forward to this day every year. We have tents on the Avenue and our volunteers are on the streets letting shoppers know the importance of Miracle on Madison and encouraging them to participate by purchasing a gift, and at the same time they’ll be positively impacting the lives of the children we help. 

BE-Style: Are you looking at expanding the shopping event to other major markets such as L.A., Atlanta, or Miami?

KM: It’s a great template for someone to copy but we are a New York City agency. However, while our sites and centers are New York based, we do have programs that have been replicated and adapted nationally and globally. There are 13,000 community schools that use our model, and our pregnancy prevention program has also been replicated across the country and is a Tier 1 outcomes driven program which we hope will receive national funding.  

BE-Style: How does Children Aid help with kids that are going through emotional and mental issues? 

KM: Increasingly we work with disconnected youth. These are mostly kids that age out of foster care and are now adults that have never had to make decisions on their own. They didn’t have parents that taught them basic life skills. We also work with teens that are disconnected from family, or kids who are starting to get in trouble by making the wrong choices. We have a new center called The Next Generation Center, which is up in the Bronx, and it provides support for these types of kids. We received the funding and the kids worked on the building design and interior every step of the way. When you arrive, the teens (from 14 to the early 20s) walk up and introduce themselves to you in a respectful manner. It’s amazing that these types of programs are not available everywhere because it could change the lives of our youth. Teenage years are tough times anyway and if you’re in a difficult environment, it’s even harder to make the right decisions.

BE-Style: What would for Miracle on Madison to BE in the future?

Special Thanks for to Kathy De Meij - Director of Marketing & Events, Emily Crossan - Public Relations Manager, and Michael DiVito - Photography.

For Information on Children's Aid Society: 

www.childrensaidsociety.org

www.miracleonmadison.org

http://blogs.childrensaidsociety.org/childrensaid/category/domestic-violence/

http://blogs.childrensaidsociety.org/childrensaid/category/disconnected-youth/

It is the time of year that many of us storm the streets and flood the malls to purchase gifts for our loved ones and co-workers while millions of families are not fortunate enough to have a joyous Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanza. In doing all my shopping this year, I noticed more shoppers in stores than last year. I wonder if this is a sign that more are comfortable with their financial situation or are they digging themselves further in debt. I wonder if families will struggle in the New Year after spending more than they could afford. Will kids even play with the toys for longer than two to three months? This is why I only purchase clothes or items that can be used for the long term. 

I have personally decided not to splurge this year and set budgets for those receiving gifts. I also wanted to make a difference in the lives of the families that depend on local missions for their survival. So a group of friends and I came together to donate to our local Union Mission. You will be amazed at the difference a few dollars can make in life of a family. This same idea can extend farther than the local areas. All types of Aid are needed worldwide. As I did last year, I want to open your eyes to the advantages of donating to international missions through UNICEFusa. This year UNICEF has formed amazing corporate partnerships to reduce the number of preventable childhood deaths from over 24,000 per day to zero. 

Luxury brand Gucci celebrates its fifth year of the “Gucci Campaign to Benefit UNICEF,” by commissioning acclaimed Fashion Director, author, and illustrator Michael Roberts to create a new children’s book entitled “Snowman in Africa.” The book will be sold at Gucci.com with 100% of the $25 retail price to be donated to UNICEF. In addition to the most successful philanthropic partnership, Gucci will also donate 25% of the special edition “Gucci for UNICEF” Baboushka bag sold at Gucci.com and in Gucci stores. The funds raised will support UNICEF’s “Schools for Africa” program in Malawi and Mazambique.

Also celebrating its fifth year partnership, IKEA – the leading home furnishing retailer and UNICEF’s largest corporate cash donor taken on two holiday initiatives. “IKEA has continued its annual soft toy promotion. Through this campaign, which has raised over $16 million for UNICEF to date and has benefited 7.6 million children. These Soft toys range in price from $1.49 to $19.99 and are available at all IKEA stores.  

So as we shop the retailers and think about our financial woes, there again, is a way to make a difference in the lives of others less fortunate. If not donating to you local organizations and charities, you are able to give the gift of life to millions over the world.