Friday Foybles
Friday foybles: Pets without parents (updated)
Apr 30th
Note: the Friday foyble of the week (FFOTW) is a once per week post where we single out one of our favorite foybles from the many over at www.foyble.com. We don’t have any criteria for the foybles we pick- it’s pretty random. Email us at contact@foyble.com to nominate someone for the honor!
This weeks Friday foyble comes to you courtesy of user Gabi Ragusa. Pets without parents is an organization that Gabi has volunteered to work for- one that she clearly cares about, based on her other foybles and the fact that she has committed to them by going through an orientation process.
Pets without parents (www.petswithoutparents.net) is “no-kill, non-profit shelter for dogs and cats located in the Clintonville area of Central Ohio.
I wanted to draw some attention to this foyble not because of the act, but because of Gabi’s profile. She is setting such a wonderful example for her friends, peers, and family. She has logged 16 foybles on the site- many of them with the same theme. She clearly likes to help animals, and she likes to help hungry people around the world.
This little glimpse into Gabi’s life is one of the things I love about foyble- you see these 16 acts of goodwill she committed and you know that she is a generous and principled person. And this gets to one of the things I feel strongly about in regards to social media. Of all the things you can choose to share with *literally* the entire world, these types of stories seem like a no brainer to me. If you go to an average person’s profile on the the standard-issue social media site, you’re generally going to immediately know things like their favorite book and their political affiliation. But why would you want a stranger to know that about you immediately?
One of questions we get all the time about the site is about “bragging” about the things that people do. Some people are uncomfortable with this notion- they often say that it seems narcissistic to them. But I think I point them to Gabi’s profile page with her list of foybles and honestly say that it never even occurred to me that Gabi is all wrapped up in herself. Her stories are an inspiration to me! We hope you feel the same way- please take a moment to check her profile out and consider learning more about the causes she has devoted her time to!
Thank you very much for being a part of our community Gabi. You certainly deserve more, but here’s your internet high five all the same. Boom. Update: I donated to pets without parents!
Posted by Brian
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Pets without parents: www.petswithoutparents.net
Free Rice: www.freerice.com
Kiva: www.kiva.com
Thanks for reading the foyble blog and for your continued support of foyble. You can join our movement at www.foyble.com. You can reach the author of this post, Brian Foy, via email at BJFOY@FOYBLE.COM
Through 10:00 PM tomorrow people are shaving their heads at Notre Dame!
Apr 22nd
Jonn Shaver getting his head shaved in the name of cancer research today. We're all aware of the pun with his last name. So, why don't you go and be "Susie Donor" already?
Note: the Friday foyble of the week (FFOTW) is a once per week post where we single out one of our favorite foybles from the many over at www.foyble.com. We don’t have any criteria for the foybles we pick. Email us at contact@foyble.com to nominate someone for the honor!
My friend, Jonn Shaver, got his head shaved today at a fundraiser for St. Baldrick’s. The hair will donated for wigs for cancer patients and the sponsoring donations go to fund grants for childhood cancer research. We love battling cancer here at foyble and we are encourgaging all of you out in foyble-land to get involved. If you’re in South Bend, go get your head shaved! If you’re not in South Bend or just love your faux-hawk too darn much, sponsor Jonn or another head-shaving-do-gooder by making a donation! They are clipping through tomorrow night at 10:00 EDT, so you have plenty of time to help.
Information on the event can be found here.
Go here to make a donation.
Jonn’s original foyble on getting his head shaved can be found here. If When you donate, be sure to click “this inspired me” and link Jonn’s foyble to your own to continue the giving thread! Donating hair is a great way to foyble. Juli grows her hair out and donates to Wigs for Kids benefiting children that have cancer, burn victims, and other diseases. You can view Juli’s foyble here.
Thanks, Jonn for taking an active role in the battle against cancer this week. An internet high-five to you as our Friday Foyble Of The Week!
-Posted by Jerry
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Thanks for reading the foyble blog and for your continued support of foyble. You can join our movement at www.foyble.com. You can reach the author of this post, Jerry Kaltenbach, via email at JLKALTENBACH@FOYBLE.COM
Friday foyble of the week: helping out commuters
Jan 8th
Note: the Friday foyble of the week (FFOTW) is a once per week post where we single out one of our favorite foybles from the many over at www.foyble.com. We don’t have any criteria for the foybles we pick and you don’t get anything but our gratitude and an internet high five. Check back every Friday for another installment. Email us at contact@foyble.com to nominate someone for the honor!
Today we bring you “pick up” by Corey Luffler. Corey tells us the story of Sergeant First Class Ruiz, who stopped on a rainy morning and picked up Corey and crew while they were walking to breakfast. keep reading the friday foyble…
Friday foyble of the week: starting the give and making friends
Dec 11th
Note: the Friday foyble of the week (FFOTW) is a once per week post where we single out one of our favorite foybles from the many over at www.foyble.com. We don’t have any criteria for the foybles we pick and you don’t get anything but our gratitude and an internet high five. Check back every Friday for another installment. Email us at contact@foyble.com to nominate someone for the honor!
This week’s foyble comes to you from Trista Polo. Trista offered up the other half of her oversized table in a crowded restaurant, then offered up some of her food to a stranger when that person’s order didn’t go well.
One of the things that inspired us to create the website is the notion of random acts of kindness. The concept has grown quite a bit from there but we are still moved when people do the types of things that Trista described in her story. Trista and her friend were in a crowded place and they saw a need they could fill.
We are presented all the time with situations where we might be able to do something nice for a stranger- and it’s really hard. Thanks to Trista and her friend sharing this story with us and reminding us that when we take risks we might meet new people!
Here’s an internet high five for Trista. Boom.
Posted by Brian
Friday foyble of the week: Just do it
Dec 3rd
Note: the Friday foyble of the week (FFOTW) is a once per week post where we single out one of our favorite foybles from the many over at www.foyble.com. We don’t have any criteria for the foybles we pick and you don’t get anything but our gratitude and an internet high five. Check back every Friday for another installment. Email us at contact@foyble.com to nominate someone for the honor!
We have chosen Tommy Boyd’s “food bank” foyble as our Friday of the foyble of the week. We choose it because of Tommy’s spirit. We’re pretty sure that Tommy first showed up at this food bank because he had to- but he kept an open mind and he actually enjoys it now. We think this is inspirational and it is a challenge to you: what are you avoiding because you don’t think you will like it? Are you missing out on new experiences because you have some preconceived notion of how you think it will be? Who is missing out because of you moving in the same cycles you have always moved in? We also like Tommy’s post because he really did not go for the hard sell. Tommy’s message: “go do something you don’t think you want to do- you might like it after all”.
Tommy’s post reminds me of when my wife and I were dating- she wanted to spend an evening dishing food out at a food shelter in downtown Cincinnati in the Over the Rhine district. On a weekend. She would always talk about it in an abstract manner and I (of course) always said I WOULD go. Then she actually got a schedule and some contact information and scheduled us to go. I smiled and said I was excited but I wasn’t. The only reason I went to that food shelter is because I loved her and wanted her to keep dating me. I did NOT have an open mind about what that night would be.
That evening turned out to be really fun for us. We met some new people, had some of the most interesting conversations we can remember (the organizers of the event encouraged the volunteers to sit and eat with the patrons and not congregate amongst themselves). That night remains one of our favorite memories from when we were dating.
So what? The point is that sometimes when your natural instinct is to shy from something you might want to reconsider. Sometimes the best memories happen when you are doing something that is outside of your comfort zone. We suspect for a lot of people this happens when you are starting the GIVE.
We applaud Tommy for going to that food bank and being transparent about his experience. And we think that the next time someone offers to take you to somewhere to start the GIVE you should at least say maybe. You might “rather like it”.
Here’s your internet high five Tommy: boom.
Bon Weekend, foyblers!
Posted by Brian
Friday foyble of the week: Mentoring
Nov 19th
Note: the Friday foyble of the week (FFOTW) is a once per week post where we single out one of our favorite foybles from the many over at www.foyble.com. We don’t have any criteria for the foybles we pick and you don’t get anything but our gratitude and an internet high five. Check back every Friday for another installment. Email us at contact@foyble.com to nominate someone for the honor!
Today, foyble co-founder John Frazier is in Virginia on (gasp) un foyble-related business. While he is down there he is taking some time out to visit with Dr. Jack King, founder of the Northfolk Center for Servant Leadership (check them out here). They will be discussing how foyble and Dr. King’s social network, Leadership UpsideDown, might be able to work together.
So this week’s theme is mentoring. And Chad Sansing’s “Mentoring” foyble fits that theme perfectly. Chad has been mentoring a student and spent some time with his mentee for his foyble. It’s clear, even in Chad’s brief foyble, that he understands the importance of mentoring young people and that he is prepared to take on the challenges that being a mentor can present.
We applaud Chad for the important work he does. And we are looking forward to working with Leadership UpsideDown, and organizations like it, to provide tools to people to inspire and lead. Consider this Chad Sansing’s internet high five. Boom. While we are at it, let’s give one to Dr. Jack King too. Double boom.
Have a great weekend!
Posted by Brian
Friday Foyble of the Week: the 200th foyble
Oct 29th
Note: the Friday foyble of the week (FFOTW) is a once per week post where we single out one of our favorite foybles from the many over at www.foyble.com. We don’t have any criteria for the foybles we pick and you don’t get anything but our gratitude and an internet high five. Check back every Friday for another installment. Email us at contact@foyble.com to nominate someone for the honor!
Milestones are fun, no? This week’s FFOTW is a milestone. We now have 200 foybles logged on the site. That’s 200 stories that have the potential to make you smile, encourage you, or inspire you to do something remarkable. Some of these stories would have happened without us and foyble is simply a way for the people who committed the act to share with you about what they did. But some of the stories happened because of foyble. We love those stories. Not because we want to take credit for someone else’s inspiration, but because we have created this wonderful ecosystem on the internet that is having an impact in the real world.
Our 200th foyble, teen in need, was committed by Phyllis Haimov. Phyllis heard a story about a co-worker’s daughter’s friend whose family was having trouble making ends meet, so she gave her co-worker $100 to get to the girl for school clothes and whatnot. We really lucked out with this act being our 200th foyble- it is extremely generous, it was clearly altruistic, and a little risky. Click the link to the act, read Phyllis’ story, and see if you are inspired to do something similar. If you are, tell your story and connect your foyble to Phyllis’ on foyble.com!
We continue to be humbled by the stories that people share with us, the stories that inspire other stories, and the number of people using our little service. So here’s an internet high five to Phyllis. While we are at it, here is an internet high five to everyone who created the 199 other foybles out there as of this post. Boom and boom.
Thanks everyone! Happy foyble-ing!
Posted by Brian
Friday foyble of the week: the Tandana foundation
Oct 23rd
Note: the Friday foyble of the week (FFOTW) is a once per week post where we single out one of our favorite foybles from the many over at www.foyble.com. We don’t have any criteria for the foybles we pick and you don’t get anything but our gratitude and an internet high five. Check back every Friday for another installment. Email us at contact@foyble.com to nominate someone for the honor!
This week’s FFOTW is a blatant excuse to talk about our friend Anna’s Tandana Foundation. Anna’s act is a lot more than a simple foyble- she has started the kind of organization foyble loves to get behind. Check out Anna’s foyble here.
