Friday, October 23, 2009

Best Mentors in the World!


Dick is admittedly not a "techie". He lives in Pittsburgh, is an accomplished professional, has an active life in his church, community and with his far-flung family. Each week, Dick turns on his computer, navigates to Infinite Family's Ezomndeni Net, logs in with his password, adjust his webcam, and chats with Comfort, who lives in an orphanage in South Africa.

Dick is one of almost 125 volunteer "video mentors" with Infinite Family. He has been having video conversations with Comfort, a 13 year old boy living outside of Johannesburg, for 2 years now. They meet face-to-face, using Infinite Family's secure internet platform, to share their lives and plan for Comfort's future using the magic of technology.

Here is what Dick has to say about his experience as a Video Mentor with Infinite Family:

"IF gave me an opportunity to have a positive influence, however small, on a young person living in a country full of pain and sorrow. It helps overcome my sense of despair about the many difficulties faced by people living in poverty everywhere. Comfort is a bright spirit, both mischievous and shy, who is as unpredictable as any teenager anywhere. He wants to be a pilot, loves playing rugby and is discovering girls and vice versa. I strive to be attentive to his moods, accept that he won’t always show up on time or have much to say. In these and many other ways he has taught me that “it’s not about me” or in one word, humility. It’s all about him, and that’s the way it should be.

For those contemplating becoming a Net Buddy Mentor, I would stress the importance of making this commitment a priority for it is our being there each week that counts as much or more than what we say in our video conversations."

He concludes by saying:

"Infinite Family is expanding so it needs more trained mentors. There is a long waiting list of children eager to have a caring adult available to them on a regular basis, someone who listens, who consoles and who encourages them. If you think you might be interested, you can do several things. One is to check the IF web site, www.infinitefamily.org. Finally, Dana Gold would be glad to discuss IF with you at dana.gold@infinitefamily.org.

A child in South Africa would love to meet you."

Couldn't have said it any better, Dick!

Infinite Family. Where the Gift is You!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Want to tour the Ezomndeni Net?

We'd love to show you around!

Every month Infinite Family holds an "open house" of sorts. We open our virtual doors and show you around the Ezomndeni Net, the social networking platform where our video mentors and Net Buddies meet. You get to glimpse Infinite Family's little corner of the internet, where kids growing up alone in South Africa connect to caring adults from around the world.

During these free webinars, you can see proud children sitting at computers and changing their lives with a keyboard, webcam and a mentor who cares enough to guide them through the tough teen years made harder by poverty & HIV/AIDS.

Give us 30 minutes and we'll introduce you to the world of Infinite Family. You will log on to the Ezomndeni Net where all our mentors and Net Buddies meet each week to talk, laugh and share their lives.

This month, our virtual open house will be held on:
October 15th at 7pm EST
or
October 16th at 11am EST

RSVP to dana.gold@infinitefamily.org for the log in information.

We can't wait to show you around!

Infinite Family, Infinite Possibilities!