When a time of great crisis arises in the world we can all agree that food, shelter, clean water and medical attention are of the utmost importance and timing is critical. And, at the same time, who is there to attend to the inner needs and the spirit of the people? Who is there to attend to the emotional needs of a child who just lost a parent or a sibling? Who is there to talk with a child who is sick or has been injured?

During Hurricane Katrina a nurse practitioner was alone in a hospital because no other doctors and nurses came to work. She was the only one with over 100 patients. This nurse clutched onto a little book that was gifted to her by an I AM Foundation volunteer. This little book gave her the emotional and spiritual strength to lift her in this time of great crisis and get her through what she called “the worst nightmare of her life.”

The I AM Foundation, a 501c3 educational non-profit, founded in 1998 has gifted hundreds of thousands of books after some of the worlds greatest disasters in the last five years: Hurricane’s Katrina and Wilma, The Tsunami in Sri Lanka, The Typhoon’s in the Philippine’s, the after affects of the war in Croatia and the tribal wars in Kenya.

Today, we stand by ready to help the children of Haiti by gifting them copies of our pocket size I AM book to support them in this time of great crisis. For every $10.00 donation to The I AM Foundation, we will be placing four I AM books in the hands of children in Haiti. Click here to make a donation today or send a donation through paypal at iam@iamfoundation.org.

A very special thank you to Shamus Sayed and Sayed Ali of Interpreters Unlimited located in San Diego, CA. Interpreters Unlimited (IU) is the Official Translation Company of The I AM Foundation. We appreciate all the support of Interpreters Unlimited over the past year with the many different translations of The I AM! Affirmation Book. Currently, the book has 20 different translations and we are working toward having 35 translations in e-book form within the next few months, thanks to our partnership.

Shamus Sayed, V.P. of Sales & Marketing at Interpreters Unlimited, shares: “We are very glad to support The I AM Foundation with our translation services. We value the work of this foundation and we appreciate being able to serve the community and the children of the world through translating the books The I AM Foundation publishes.”

Steve Viglione, Founder of The I AM Foundation and author of The Love~Wisdom Series expresses his gratitude for Interpreters Unlimited: “We are so grateful for the support of Interpreters Unlimited. With their remarkable translation services our books can be gifted to children all over the world in English and the language of their culture. The books are gifted either through our book gifting missions or accessed right through the e-book section of our website for The I AM! Affirmation Book. We also want to recognize Shamus, Sayed and Interpreters Unlimited for being Points of Light Contributors to our program.

Shamus Sayed, I AM Foundation Advisory Board Member:

Shamus Sayed, V.P. of Sales & Marketing at Interpreters Unlimited, brings 40 years of language services experience through Interpreters Unlimited to The I AM Foundation.  Prime contractor to Fortune 500 companies, city and state municipalities, including the County of San Diego, Interpreters Unlimited provides language solutions in 130+ languages through over 7,000 independently contracted interpreters and translators.  Established in 1970, Interpreters Unlimited has grown to be one of the largest language services providers in California, though offering services nationwide.  Prior to Interpreters Unlimited, Shamus was in the biotech industry for nearly 10 years with a degree from University of California, San Diego.

Interpreters Unlimited Company Profile:

Established in 1970 Interpreters Unlimited has been providing multilingual solutions to business and government agencies for 39 years. We work with over 130 languages, utilizing more than 7000 language experts nationwide. We have a proven track record with nearly 40 years with various state agencies and continually pass state annual audits. We continually cater to our clients’ dynamic needs.

We are based in 7000 square feet with multiple office locations, located in San Diego, California and Little Rock, Arkansas. We are a certified small business and minority owned available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A multimillion-dollar company, financially strong, and well managed: able to carry sizable accounts receivable. We are insured for Errors & Omissions and Professional Liability, with no claims in 39 years of service. Our professional memberships include California Court Interpreters Association, American Translators Association, National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators, Health Care Interpreting Association, Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, to name a few.

This is the heart of our management. All facets of one-client services are fully automated and computerized. Every part of the process of administrating the company is done by our proprietary software such as quality assurance tasking, multilevel interpreter tracking, scheduling, billing, personalized client records/history, interpreter certification/evaluation monitoring just to name a few.

To contact Shamus Sayed and Interpreters Unlimited, please visit www.interpretersunlimited.com

Our new Love~Wisdom Series Logo designed by our graphic designer and webmaster Terri Wright. www.wrightvisions.com

About  The Love~Wisdom Series; Building Life Skills for Life…

The I AM Foundation is excited to announce the launching of our new Love~Wisdom Series.  We are creating this series for kids which will address the following areas so children can be positively supported from the beginning of their lives:

~ Self-Esteem, Self-Value and Vision for Life with The I AM! Affirmation Book: Discovering The Value of Who You Are (Over 157,000 copies in print, translated in 17 languages)
~ Creating a Greener Planet with I Am The Earth: Positive Affirmations for Loving Our Planet
~ Finance and Wealth with I AM Wealthy! Building Your Friendship With Money
~  Creativity with I Am Creative! Expressing Your Talents and Gifts for the Good of All (Due out 2011)       ~ Health and Well being with I Am Healthy! Making Wise Choices for Well Being (Due out 2011)

Here are the next two books being published in The Love~Wisdom Series in 2010:

I Am The Earth: Positive Affirmations for Loving Our Planet

“I Am The Earth inspires children to be the keys for a sustainable future. We are depending on them just as they are depending on us.” –Dr. Marilyn Powers

I Am The Earth: Positive Affirmations for Loving Our Planet is dedicated to our children and future generations to become great stewards of the planet.  This book builds an awareness of valuing, appreciating and taking care of our beautiful world.

Each of the 32 affirmations and illustrations depict a place from around the globe so various cultures and geographical areas are honored and represented in the book.

This book affirms our positive oneness with all creation.  It is an affirmative prayer that brings people and the earth into harmony and balance. Both children and adults will feel enlightened and empowered by building a conscious relationship of unity with the planet.

I Am Wealthy! Building Your Friendship with Money

I Am Wealthy! Building Your Friendship with Money supports children and adults in building a positive relationship with their finances.  This book speaks about their inner and outer wealth and how each compliments the other. I Am Wealthy! empowers children and adults to build an intelligent relationship with financial institutions so they feel confident in actively participating with them.

The 32 affirmations and illustrations create a positive picture for how to develop a consciousness of wealth that empowers the individual and serves the community.The book teaches the importance of having a balance between giving and receiving.

“I Am Wealthy! is an essential bridge between financial institutions and their global communities.  This book gives them an opportunity to support financial literacy in children and families.” - Jim Price, Chairman and CEO, Aero Financial

“I Am Wealthy! Building Your Friendship with Money is truly the beginning of collective prosperity on Planet Earth, the seeds of abundance that will bring forth a mighty harvest.  And the children will lead us to that promised land.” – John Randolph Price, author of The Abundance Book and Chairman of the Quartus Foundation

“I Am Wealthy! Building Your Friendship with Money teaches children about the importance of (both) inner and outer wealth. It gives them a necessary start for a financial foundation that will serve them for the rest of their lives.” -Greg S. Reid, Millionaire Mentor and co-author of Think and Grow Rich, Three Feet from Gold

” Imagine a world where children learn to value themselves, and where financial lack and limitation are replaced by flow and creativity. I Am Wealthy! enables children at a very early age to build a positive, empowering relationship with money.” - Ernest D. Chu, author, Soul Currency: Investing Your Inner Wealth in Fulfillment and Abundance, and former investment banker and Wall St. Journal financial columnist

“The power of the spoken word is vital to financial health and wellbeing.  I Am Wealthy!  Building Your Friendship with Money helps children practice affirmations that create a consciousness of abundance that manifests prosperity.” - Dr. Catherine Ponder, author of The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity

“Money is our friend and is the flow of spirit in our lives. I Am Wealthy builds a positive, loving relationship with money from the start.” -Dr. Marilyn Powers, Life Coach

For more information about The Love~Wisdom Series, please visit www.iamfoundation.org

Marilyn and Steve Meet with Jermaine Jackson and gift him with a copy of The I AM! Affirmation Book for his family.

We are grateful for the opportunity to meet with Jermaine Jackson at a Humanity Unites Brilliance Event in Los Angeles, CA.  Charlie Gay, Founder of Humanity Unites Brilliance and the former business manager of Cher, introduced Steve and Marilyn to Jermaine Jackson.

“We’ve met our share of celebrities along the way and Jermaine is one of the nicest, most gracious people we have ever met. He was present for what we had to share and showed a genuine interest in our mission and The I AM! Affirmation Book. We gifted him one for his family and he said he thought it was beautiful.” shares I AM Foundation Founder, Steve Viglione.  Jermaine invited us to talk with him further after that day about a children’s book he was writing.  Of course with Jermaine’s celebrity, he doesn’t need any help from The I AM Foundation. However, we can help him reach the world’s most impoverished children with his book. The I AM Foundation works with over 1,500 schools and organizations around The United States and the world. We’d be honored to support him in this way.

We will be sending Jermaine The I Am The Earth: Positive Affirmations for Loving Our Planet as part of our follow up.

Spryte Loriano of Humanity Unites Brilliance gifting Liberian Children with The I AM! Affirmation Book

The I AM Foundation would like to thank Spryte Loriano and Charlie Gay of Humanity Unites Brilliance (HUB) and The HUB Membership  for making this book gifting event possible in Liberia. Spryte and Charlie took 600 I AM! Affirmation Books to Liberia with them in July of 2009. In addition to all the work HUB does in the field, the book gifting of our signature book was part of their touching the lives of the Liberian People.

We also want to thank Jerry and Jessica Conti of Compassion Happens, and all our Points of Light Donors who support our work and make these events possible.

The Unstoppable Cynthia Kersey Reads The I AM! Affirmation Book to a child in Liberia

Children read their new books to take home.

Dr. Marilyn Powers and AJM Truck Driver Pablo Anaya seeing the shipment off to Los Angeles.

On Thursday, December 10th, 2009, The I AM Foundation shipped over 550 books and products as gifts to serve the temporarily court challenged youth of Los Angeles. This is a follow up to our previous blog story about The Los Angeles Public Defender’s Office asking The I AM Foundation for support of their Christmas and Holiday Event for the teenagers currently learning life lessons in their system. With the help of our long term partners, PuddleDancer Press, the publisher of Nonviolent Communication Books, and, Lori and Rick Lite of Stress Free Kids as well as all of our 2009 Points of Light Donors, we were able to donate about $10,000.00 worth of product for the support of these teens.

Dr. Marilyn Powers, Co-Founder of The I AM Foundation said of this donation: “If one life is turned around because of these donations, then our efforts will have been worth it.”

The donation included 500 copies of Peaceful Living by Mary Mackenzie, a daily meditation guide based on Nonviolent Communication. Thank you to Meiji Stewart and Neill Gibson of PuddleDancer Press, the publisher of Nonviolent Communication Books for making this donation possible. Since 2004, PuddleDancer Press has gifted over 50,000 Nonviolent Communication books to The I AM Foundation’s Programs.

There were also I Am! Affirmation Books for the youngest kids in the juvenile program and CD’s which reduced the stress levels in kids donated by Lori and Rick Lite of Stress Free Kids.  Lori and Rick Lite have been generous supporters of The I AM Foundation’s programs for years.

The I AM Foundation would also like to thank all of our 2009 Points of Light Donors whom without their support our program would not be able to make a difference in the lives of so many young adults and children around the world.

“I AM” Affirmations

for Self-Esteem

By Dr. Marilyn Powers and Steve Viglione

(Photo above: Children at The Galilee School in Nairobi, Kenya receive books during The I AM Foundation’s visit in 2008.)

Welcome to our read-aloud column for parents and kids based on The I AM! Affirmation Book: Discovering The Value of Who You Are. We believe that when we discover our true value, we bring that value to our families, communities, and world.  There are over 157,000 copies of The I AM! Affirmation Book in print;  it has been gifted to children in 40 countries and over 900,000 other books have been gifted to children and adults across the world. You can gift books also!

I AM QUOTE OF THE MONTH:

“This book [The I AM! Affirmation Book]  is commendable in how it leads the mind of the child to refreshingly welcome vision, using animals characters that populate the dreams of childhood, to build good resolutions.  We are fortunate that this work has been translated into Sinhalese, Tamil, and English and gifted to our children.

I convey my most sincere thanks to you for this work done especially for children, to help them become architects of a good society in the future.”

Shiranthi Rajapaksa, First Lady of Sri Lanka

I AM AFFIRMATION OF THE MONTH:

I Am Patience!

And even if I think things go wrong,

I know inside me very well,

They’ll turn around before too long.

I Am Brave!

And I allow myself to feel,

Each feeling that I have.

It’s part of being real.

An affirmation is a true statement, and the truth is that you are a loving intelligent caring being full of potential and worthy of love, respect and appreciation.  Whatever we choose to say after the words “I am” affect our feelings, moods, and even how we see the world. When they’re positive, these beliefs support us in feeling more confident and capable at school, at home, wherever we are.

Some days, nothing seems to go right.  You feel like you’ve woken up on the wrong side of the bed.  You stub your toe, you walk into the bathroom door, your eggs are cold instead of hot, and your Mom is impatient and snaps at you for being slow to get ready for school.  The way you begin your day can set the tone for what follows.  When you think nothing is going right, even before you’ve left the house, it can be very discouraging.  That’s the moment to affirm and remember, “I Am Patience! And even if I think things go wrong, I know inside me very well, they’ll turn around before too long.”  An affirmation spoken out loud can change your focus, lift your spirit, and help you think up instead of down.  When things are going wrong, it’s important to affirm, “I Am Brave! And I allow myself to feel, each feeling that I have. It’s part of being real.”

When Michelle got her reading test back and scored a D, she felt scared and mad.  She was scared about what her Mom would say and she was mad at herself for getting such a low grade.  She burst into tears, tears of anger and frustration.  Her teacher came over to her desk and acknowledged her feelings.  She understood Michelle’s frustration and heartache.  She asked Michelle to see her at recess that morning so she could help her improve her grade.  She reminded Michelle to be patient with herself and to read The I AM Patience Affirmation in her I AM! Affirmation Book: “I Am Patience! And even if I think things go wrong, I know inside me very well, they’ll turn around before too long.”  Later that morning the teacher reassured her that she could turn this grade around.  She discovered that when Michelle studied she was also on the computer, and the noise distracted Michelle from concentrating so she could remember what she was reading.  The teacher invited her to shut off the computer when she prepared for a test, and that would support her remembering the material.  Michelle went home and told her Mom about her grade and her teacher’s advice.  That night, her Mom made sure the computer was off when Michelle studied.  The next day, Michelle got a B instead of a D.  Michelle had been patient with herself.  Her teacher had validated her feelings and offered her a better study habit.  Yes, things turned around for Michelle when her feelings of helplessness and frustration were turned around into hope and using a new study habit.

The fact that things can go wrong, the fact that we need to accept our feelings of disappointment, frustration and fear, are all part of our growth.  What’s important when things go wrong is to first acknowledge the feelings, and then to have the patience to discover a way for making them right.  When we speak an affirmation out loud, it helps us both to validate our feelings as well as to open up our mind to a creative solution.  The experience of things sometimes going wrong isn’t wrong.  It just is what is.  However, our reaction to things going wrong is what makes the difference.  And speaking an I AM! Affirmation can make the difference between feeling hopeless and shutting down, or feeling acknowledged and moving forward.

I AM! Affirmations help build our confidence, support us taking action, and encourage us to share our feelings and have them validated.  The outcome is our experience or feeling successful when we have persisted and practiced.

We hope you enjoyed our column and remember to send us a quote on how the I AM affirmations helped you or your child this month.  We will be running one in every issue.  Send yours to IAM@NorthStarFamilyMatters.com.  It is our joy to support you and your child.  We look forward to seeing you next month.

Steve Viglione is the founder and CEO of The I AM Foundation and author of The I AM! Affirmation Book: Discovering The Value of Who You Are, Dr. Marilyn Powers, Ph.D., is the Co Founder of The I AM Foundation and married to Steve.  They live in California. www.iamfoundation.org.

The I AM Foundation recently received a request for books to help turn the lives of some of troubled youth in Los Angeles around. The 1st Annual Children’s Holiday Celebration is sponsored by the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Probation Department. This event seeks to lift the collective spirits of the detained children of Los Angeles County. It is designed to instill hope and empowerment in them during this holiday season. This holiday event takes place on Saturday December 19, 2009 from 10a.m. to 3p.m. at the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall, located at 16350 Filbert Street, Sylmar, California 91342. The day will be filled with inspiring speakers such as internationally renowned author Luis Rodriguez, Grammy nominated artist John Forte, and a host of other well known individuals. The Holiday event will also feature music, and children’s art and poetry. Each child will be given a gift bag consisting of a book and a dictionary. A holiday lunch will also be provided. We hope to get some or all of the books from The I AM Foundation.   Steve Viglione, The I AM Foundation’s Founder and CEO states: “Some people may look at these kids and say ‘throw them away.’ We look at them and say, they need our help to turn their lives around. One kind act of giving them a gift could make the difference and be the turning point in their lives. Why would we not take that chance to help these kids who have such great potential? All kids have that potential.” The age levels are from 4th grade level to 9th grade. The Children are detained in Juvenile Hall and the ages range from 12 to 19. There will be 500 children attending this event. Do you have a gift that can impact their lives and help them turn their lives around? Do you have some gift you can give to them that would build their self-esteem and make a difference in their lives? The theme of this event is HOPE and EMPOWERMENT and we expect radio and television press coverage. It is my earnest wish that you participate in this happy holiday event because of the extraordinary need of these disadvantaged incarcerated children. Please contact The I AM Foundation and let us know if you can gift 500 books or products this holiday season. Thank you.

In 2005 I was visiting my friend Bruce Descoteaux in San Diego.  I noticed the I Am Book on his coffee table and picked it up to see what it was.  Needless to say, I couldn’t put it down.  I read every word and found myself a little emotional.  The words in that book were the words I’ve believed and lived by my whole life.  It was as if Steve Viglione wrote down my thoughts.  I found myself filled with excitement – as if someone else got it, but took that next step and did something about it.  Later that evening, I phoned my Mother and read the entire book to her.  She too got very emotional and agreed that the words in the book were exactly the words I’ve lived by my whole life.  From that moment, I was hooked.  Since then, I’ve given 10% of my income to the I Am Foundation every year – - even in tough times.  I believe with all my heart that these books can change a child’s life forever.  Still today, I carry 50 or more books with me in my car and hand them out to every child I see.  The feedback I get warms my heart.  This organization allows me to feel a part of changing the world one child at a time.  I’m proud to be a supporter of the I Am Foundation.

Cakeypies began to be conceptualized in early 2003 in my home kitchen.  For the next 5 years, I ran test after test to find a creative and delicious way to combine my favorite cakes with my favorite pies and turn them into one extraordinary dessert.  Finally, in 2008, I did it.  Cakeypies were born, and exceeded all of my taste expectations.  They were not only delicious, but got better as the days went by versus drying out or turning syrupy like most cakes and pies.  Then it was a matter of finding a national company to license my product in the retail grocery stores.  I was told this was next to impossible and would take years of sales figures, a large network of distribution, and a whole lot of luck.  But, in 2009, it happened.  And so began the process of perfecting my dessert on a large scale, creating packaging, labeling, getting nutritionals, and working out distribution channels.  Which brings me to today.  What I am now searching for is a national television show like Oprah, Rachel Ray, Martha Stewart, Bonnie Hunt, or even the morning news shows to feature my product.  Once we are scheduled for appearance, we will begin our launch and make sure the product is available immediately for the consumer.  Once launched, we will be excited to have The I Am Foundation as our official charity of choice.  A portion of the proceeds from every Cakeypie sold will be given to the I AM Foundation to help change the lives of children all over the world.  I have been a proud supporter of this great charity for many years and plan to be for a long time to come.  Here’s to our future – one child at a time!

Kenn Cross

Owner, Cakeypies

(619) 952-5207

Marti Hare

Martin Hare is a Wealth Manager with the Merrill Lynch La Jolla, CA office. Martin has joined The I AM Foundation’s advisory board and we welcome his expertise in finance as well as in Charitable Lead Trusts.  A charitable lead trust (CLT) can provide a payment stream to the charity for a specified period. At the end of the trust term, the CLT transfers the remaining assets to individuals named by the grantor-or any remaining assets return to the grantor. For more information on how you can work with Martin Hare and The I AM Foundation on a CLT, please contact Martin Hare at 1.858.456.3640.

Marti frequently asks groups of supporters of various non-profit organizations these questions:

1. Why do you financially support this organization?

2. What is the number one reason why people don’t give more to the organizations they love and care about?

Marti answers: “The number one reason is that people want their wealth to go to their family members.”

The Charitable Lead Trust is a strategy that helps family members receive their wealth by significantly reducing estate taxes while leaving a legacy through their favorite charity. So everybody wins.

Download Charitable Lead Trust document, for more information.

Mr. Hare also assists a select group of affluent clients in investment management, tax, estate and wealth transfer planning. Martin Hare develops personalized, strategic solutions to address the complex needs of individuals with substantial wealth. Together with specialists in different areas of expertise, they offer clients a comprehensive range of services, including: discretionary portfolio management; stock option analysis and sophisticated retirement planning; hedging and monetization of concentrated equity positions; life insurance analysis and funding; and a full complement of wealth preservation and transfer services. Martin Hare also provides access to Business Finance Specialists that help businesses improve cash flow through lending solutions. Business Financial Services include specialties in corporate financing, currency hedging and conversion, corporate cash management, business succession planning, company valuations, corporate divestiture, sale of business’ (M&A), and commercial lines of credit.

His team takes an institutional approach towards investing, and focuses on risk managemet. They strive to deliver superior consistent investment results through the positioning their clients’ portfolios similar to those of the largest and most successful Endowment Funds.

To make sure that the financial needs of the clients are covered in all aspects, the team also communicates regularly with the client, their CPA, and their Attorney.

Mr. Martin Hare started his career in the investment industry in 1981 as a runner at the Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange as a runner with C&D Commodities. Over the years Mr. Hare worked in many capacities learning the business from the trading floor to the office. His path of Runner, Pit Broker Assistant, Trader, Market Maker and Registered Representative has given him a base platform that creates a very unique outlook on how global equity and commodity markets interact. During his tenure on the trading floor, Mr. Hare earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Elmhurst College attending night school. In 1991 Mr. Hare entered the Wealth Management industry to bring what he learned from the trading floor to private investors and institutions. He has worked with the top investment firms in the industry and joined Merrill Lynch in 2004. Mr. Hare specializes in the philanthropic and advanced estate design and management arena for the team.

Mrs. Marcia Vance started working in the financial industry for E F Hutton in 1989. The names changed on the doors and Mrs. Vance ended up working for Smith Barney until 1999. Mrs. Vance joined Merrill Lynch in 2005. Her total emphasis is on the Client servicing side, processing any and all client requests.