Dear Friends & Family,
I am happy to present the Fitness Works Fundraiser to help raise funds for Jake Hodge's Medical Expenses. You get a 3-month membership for only $20.00 it's a bargin you don't want to miss out on. Plus we receive 50% of all the proceeds which will go toward Jake's Medical Expense Fund Raising Efforts. Invite your friends, co-workers, or even your spouse to join you!
You say you already have a membership? Well, don't miss the opportunity to save big this year. This is a 2 for 1 fundraiser! Take a look at the 75 attached coupons from Local Area Businesses valued at $500.00. From places like Bahama Bucks, Tropical Smoothie, Dairy Queen, Subway and more! The total fundraiser package is valued at over $750.00.ALL THIS FOR $20.00!
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Here's what you'll receive:
* 3-month full membership to any one of the 4 valley Fitness Works Athletic Club locations with no obligation to join.
* Includes 10-free Fitness works Club tans
* Includes 5-free Kidzone visits * 75 value saving coupons from Local Area Businesses. (click here to view the coupons included on your fundraiser pass, select the Higley coupon sheet)
http://fitnessplusfundraisers.com/yourcoupons.aspx
Your purchase will help Jake Hodge's Medical Expense Fundraiser Efforts receive:
* 50% of all proceeds from fundraiser sales.
* A residual income from Fitness Works Athletic Club from all new membership sign-ups from Jake Robinson Fundraiser Pass.
Fundraiser Info:
* All orders placed can be delievered immediately. 30 on hand, so hurry before they're gone.
* Please make all checks payable to Melanie Hodges
* Contact Melanie for question about fundraiser at 480-818-3021 or email melaniehodges@cox.net
Thank you for supporting the Fund Raising Efforts for Jake's Medical Expenses
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For all additional fundraiser questions and information, please contact our Fundraising Team Department at Fitness Works Athletic Club.
Your Fundraiser Representative
Joel Marsden
480-710-5783
fundraising@fitnessworks.com
4.09.2010
It is my pleasure to introduce Jake!!!
Share The Well is delighted to introduce a very special boy named Jake Dylan Hodges. Read Jake's story here.Jake's family is hosting a fundraiser on Friday, April 16th from 3:00pm to 7:30pm! It will be held at the home of Don and Melanie Hodges.
845 N Thunderbird Ave.
Gilbert, AZ 85234
This Fundraiser will have different vendors, all of whom have volunteered to donate a portion of their proceeds to help benefit my son’s fundraising goals! Please join us and bring your family and friends!!!!!
Please join us to raise money for my son Jake Hodges to have Cord Stem Cells. This would give him a chance to live a normal healthy life. This procedure is not covered by insurance.The vendors that will be attending:
- DCY Boutique ( Prom Jewelry, necklaces, bracelets, belts, and purses)
- Contagious Boutique ( Jeans)
- Gold Canyon Candles
- Tastefully Simple
Share The Well
934 W Campus Dr
Phoenix, AZ 85013
For questions please contact Melanie Hodges:
Phone: (480) 818-3021
Email: Melaniehodges@cox.net
4.29.2009
The Lending Closet
We are starting a new program designed to provide families with developmentally disabled children equipment, resources, and support. Share The Well is collecting donated walkers, crutches, wheelchairs, standers, books, and other equipment from a support network of health care companies, therapists, and individual donors. These resources are made available to families facing the challenge of raising children with special needs. We will store donated items at a rental facility in Chandler, AZ.
Anyone who has items to donate or would like find out how they can get involved, please contact me directly paul@sharethewell.org or Beth Maloney beth@sharethewell.org who will be the program director for the Lending Closet.
Thank you!
Anyone who has items to donate or would like find out how they can get involved, please contact me directly paul@sharethewell.org or Beth Maloney beth@sharethewell.org who will be the program director for the Lending Closet.
Thank you!
8.02.2008
My new friend TL.
I want to share a story about a man I met recently. I think it epitomizes everything I want to accomplish with Share The Well and why I want to devote my life to it.
I was on my way home from a guitar lesson a few weeks ago (my wife got me lessons for my birthday, best present ever). I stopped at a gas station strategically located next to a McDonalds so that I could grab milkshakes for my wife and I after filling up. As I got out of my car, a man came towards me with a squeegee. "I'm TL, would it be alright if I washed your windows?" He had a long dirty beard, dirty hands, dirty clothes, a dirty ball cap, and a huge smile on his face. I was taken aback by his friendly demeanor which struck me from the very beginning as being refreshingly genuine.
I asked him if he was hungry. He was, so I told him that he didn't have to wash my windshield (I had recently washed my car), but that I would be glad to grab him some food from McDonalds. He said that he appreciated that but would prefer to earn it, so he proceeded to wash my windshield vigorously, smiling. As the gas began to flow I felt a strong desire to find out more about this happy stranger and what he was doing here.
I asked him where he lived. He told me that he sleeps on an old mattress next to a dumpster in an alley a few blocks away. He used to live in the shell of an abandoned house on that property until it was torn down awhile back. He also told me that he has an agreement with the gas station manager. He doesn't harass the customers or beg for money, he offers to provide a service and accepts tips whenever the customer has the inclination. He also cleans the place up every night, picks up garbage, etc. in exchange for use of the rest room and water.
I told him that he seemed like a happy person with principles and a good work ethic, so why was he here, where was he from, and what happened that led him to his current predicament? He started off by saying that God had always provided for him and that he's never wanted for anything.
WHAT?!? This man was happy. The first thing that came into my head was a meeting that I had with another man a few weeks earlier. He was wealthy. I have no idea what he was worth, but I have been told that it is closer to a billion than a million. I thought of him, because he struck me as being completely miserable. The current state of the economy had him so stressed out that he no longer slept. But TL was happy.
TL proceeded to tell me his story. He spoke in a quiet tone and had a deep southern accent. He was from Arkansas originally but had spent most of his adult life in Nashville. He was a professional musician and songwriter. A flicker of doubt came into my mind and I reminded myself that I was speaking with a homeless man. I had no idea if he was even mentally stable let alone honest. As he proceeded to tell me about how he had toured with Hank Williams Jr. and a few other country artists that I had actually heard of, I started to believe him completely and couldn't explain exactly why.
He said that he had written thousands of songs and had hundreds published. I asked him who his record label was (the skeptic in me wanted validation) and he quickly answered BMI. Good answer. If he was making this up, it was one of the greatest and most detailed back stories from a homeless man in grifting history. He told me that he has music flowing through his head at all times. He said he would wake up in the morning and have a new song in his head but no longer had any way of saving it. He also said that he was one of the first people to write songs about sports, and that he was one of the people that brought that type of music into the mainstream. Songs about coaches and teams, primarily college football. (I'm a college football junkie, so I knew now that we had a strong foundation for a good friendship). He told me that he had made hundreds of thousands of dollars in his career and at one point was living on top of the world.
I asked him to share with me how he got from that point to where he is today. He said that it all started when he started doing hard drugs. He had always been a drinker and he had partied with the crowd he worked and toured with for many years, but there was one point when they all started doing harder drugs. He said that it consumed his life completely. There were many of his friends in the music world who were able to handle the drugs and still work and function. He could not. He became completely consumed to the point where he did nothing else but get high and figure out how he was going to get high again.
He couldn't work, he and his wife lost everything they owned and moved to Arizona to get away from the shame they felt. I asked why he didn't contact any of the successful people he used to work with for help? He said that he could have, but that he left Nashville with his pride intact. Nobody knew what had happened to him. Nobody knew that drugs had taken over, that he had lost everything, and that he had been homeless now for over 12 years. He worked for awhile after moving to Arizona. Then his wife passed away. Shortly after that he had been struck by a car and severely hurt his back. He lost his job and has been homeless ever since. I pointed out that he didn't seem too upset. Once again he reiterated how lucky he felt to have had such a wonderful wife and had all the experiences he had. He said once again that he has never wanted for anything. I asked him if he was happy with the situation he was in... truly happy. Of course he wasn't. He has always tried to stay positive, but was also thoroughly beaten down and ashamed.
I told him that he impressed me. I told him that I can see his kindness and that I think he had principles and a strong work ethic. I told him that I would be surprised if he didn't have a plan on how to pick himself up and get his life back together. He did. He said that there was an apartment house a few blocks away that rents a room by the week for $82. He said that he can make more than enough for that at this gas station, but that he would need to get identification. He also said that he knows all of the places within a 20 block radius that people and companies throw away scrap metal. He said that if he had a truck he could pick it all up and sell it for enough to sustain a decent living. Long term, he said that he wants to get new teeth (he is ashamed that his are all wrotted out) and walk back into Nashville with his pride intact to reconnect with some of his old friends.
I asked him what's holding him back from carrying out this plan. He got a completely bewildered look on his face and stared into the sky for a few moments. He had no idea. He just didn't know how to do it. I asked him if he spends the money he makes on drugs, and he insisted that he does not. He did regretfully admit that he does spend money on cigarettes, but repeatedly insisted that he doesn't do drugs anymore.
"TL, what would you say if I told you that I could help you carry out this plan?" I asked him
He looked at me with a smile and said, "I would say that you're an angel, and that God told me you would be coming."
I broke down a bit.
By this time, TL was beaming. I told him about the non-profit organization that I had started, Share The Well, and that helping him back was exactly the type of thing we wanted to do. TL said that he had a tingling feeling all over his body and that he hadn't felt this way in many many years. He started to tell me that he has never wanted anything so bad in his life and that deep down inside all he really needed was somebody who believed in him again. He said he just couldn't do it by himself, but that if we would only give him a chance he knows that he can "fly again!" Then his tune changed completely. He started to tell me all the things he is going to do for Share The Well once he gets back on his feet. He wants to help other people like him. He wants to teach music. He wants to help raise money. He said his business will donate money.
I told him to take it one step at a time, and that we wouldn't expect anything in return. He said that he knew, but that he was going to do great things for our organization. I was sitting in a gas station parking lot with a homeless man who was telling me that HE was going to take ME to greater heights than I could imagine. The skeptic in me says that this could never happen... but part of me actually believes him. Part of me thinks he is already doing it.
So I drive through at McDonalds and drive back over to TL at the gas station. As I drive up, he spots my guitar in the backseat and his eyes light up. "You have a guitar!" I tell him that I was on my way home from a lesson, and admit that I'm terrible. Then I have an idea. I ask him if he'd like to play my guitar. In all honesty, I thought to myself that this would be a great way of finding out if his story was true. His eyes got wide again as he said that he would love to play it.
I took the guitar out and handed it to him. He held it awkwardly and for a moment I began to panic when I realized how awkward this would be if he didn't know how to play. I would have called him out on his lie and this amazing story that I was already beginning to play out in my mind might be in jeopardy before it ever began.
Then he started to play. No. That does it no justice whatsoever. He started to wail on my guitar unlike anything that I had ever seen before. He had a funky blues/country style, and his fingers (that he would admit to me later hadn't touched a guitar in over a decade) remembered exactly what to do. Before I could object, he started tuning my guitar in some crazy way that I didn't understand, sat down on the curb in the parking lot of a gas station in South Phoenix, and laid the guitar across his lap. He proceeded to slap the strings and the body of the guitar with his right hand while picking the strings with his left. It was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen.
When it was time to go, I didn't really know how to leave? I couldn't exchange numbers, I faced the fact that I truly might not see TL ever again. He just looked at me and said that he would be here at 10pm pretty much every night and that he knew he would see me again.
I am glad to report that I have seen TL twice since that night and we are actively working on the plan.
I'm certain that this is going to be a long and difficult process. But I also know that I am going to help TL get back on his feet. I believe that this is what I am supposed to do. He might be on drugs, he might have serious health problems, I have no idea what obstacles lie ahead... but I know that I am going to help TL and make a difference in his life. It's only fair because he has already made a difference in mine.
When I got home, I went to the BMI records website. TL has about 180 songs currently published with BMI where he is credited as being the songwriter.
If you're interested in following how this story progresses, just register at http://www.sharethewell.org/ and you will automatically receive updates.
I was on my way home from a guitar lesson a few weeks ago (my wife got me lessons for my birthday, best present ever). I stopped at a gas station strategically located next to a McDonalds so that I could grab milkshakes for my wife and I after filling up. As I got out of my car, a man came towards me with a squeegee. "I'm TL, would it be alright if I washed your windows?" He had a long dirty beard, dirty hands, dirty clothes, a dirty ball cap, and a huge smile on his face. I was taken aback by his friendly demeanor which struck me from the very beginning as being refreshingly genuine.
I asked him if he was hungry. He was, so I told him that he didn't have to wash my windshield (I had recently washed my car), but that I would be glad to grab him some food from McDonalds. He said that he appreciated that but would prefer to earn it, so he proceeded to wash my windshield vigorously, smiling. As the gas began to flow I felt a strong desire to find out more about this happy stranger and what he was doing here.
I asked him where he lived. He told me that he sleeps on an old mattress next to a dumpster in an alley a few blocks away. He used to live in the shell of an abandoned house on that property until it was torn down awhile back. He also told me that he has an agreement with the gas station manager. He doesn't harass the customers or beg for money, he offers to provide a service and accepts tips whenever the customer has the inclination. He also cleans the place up every night, picks up garbage, etc. in exchange for use of the rest room and water.
I told him that he seemed like a happy person with principles and a good work ethic, so why was he here, where was he from, and what happened that led him to his current predicament? He started off by saying that God had always provided for him and that he's never wanted for anything.
WHAT?!? This man was happy. The first thing that came into my head was a meeting that I had with another man a few weeks earlier. He was wealthy. I have no idea what he was worth, but I have been told that it is closer to a billion than a million. I thought of him, because he struck me as being completely miserable. The current state of the economy had him so stressed out that he no longer slept. But TL was happy.
TL proceeded to tell me his story. He spoke in a quiet tone and had a deep southern accent. He was from Arkansas originally but had spent most of his adult life in Nashville. He was a professional musician and songwriter. A flicker of doubt came into my mind and I reminded myself that I was speaking with a homeless man. I had no idea if he was even mentally stable let alone honest. As he proceeded to tell me about how he had toured with Hank Williams Jr. and a few other country artists that I had actually heard of, I started to believe him completely and couldn't explain exactly why.
He said that he had written thousands of songs and had hundreds published. I asked him who his record label was (the skeptic in me wanted validation) and he quickly answered BMI. Good answer. If he was making this up, it was one of the greatest and most detailed back stories from a homeless man in grifting history. He told me that he has music flowing through his head at all times. He said he would wake up in the morning and have a new song in his head but no longer had any way of saving it. He also said that he was one of the first people to write songs about sports, and that he was one of the people that brought that type of music into the mainstream. Songs about coaches and teams, primarily college football. (I'm a college football junkie, so I knew now that we had a strong foundation for a good friendship). He told me that he had made hundreds of thousands of dollars in his career and at one point was living on top of the world.
I asked him to share with me how he got from that point to where he is today. He said that it all started when he started doing hard drugs. He had always been a drinker and he had partied with the crowd he worked and toured with for many years, but there was one point when they all started doing harder drugs. He said that it consumed his life completely. There were many of his friends in the music world who were able to handle the drugs and still work and function. He could not. He became completely consumed to the point where he did nothing else but get high and figure out how he was going to get high again.
He couldn't work, he and his wife lost everything they owned and moved to Arizona to get away from the shame they felt. I asked why he didn't contact any of the successful people he used to work with for help? He said that he could have, but that he left Nashville with his pride intact. Nobody knew what had happened to him. Nobody knew that drugs had taken over, that he had lost everything, and that he had been homeless now for over 12 years. He worked for awhile after moving to Arizona. Then his wife passed away. Shortly after that he had been struck by a car and severely hurt his back. He lost his job and has been homeless ever since. I pointed out that he didn't seem too upset. Once again he reiterated how lucky he felt to have had such a wonderful wife and had all the experiences he had. He said once again that he has never wanted for anything. I asked him if he was happy with the situation he was in... truly happy. Of course he wasn't. He has always tried to stay positive, but was also thoroughly beaten down and ashamed.
I told him that he impressed me. I told him that I can see his kindness and that I think he had principles and a strong work ethic. I told him that I would be surprised if he didn't have a plan on how to pick himself up and get his life back together. He did. He said that there was an apartment house a few blocks away that rents a room by the week for $82. He said that he can make more than enough for that at this gas station, but that he would need to get identification. He also said that he knows all of the places within a 20 block radius that people and companies throw away scrap metal. He said that if he had a truck he could pick it all up and sell it for enough to sustain a decent living. Long term, he said that he wants to get new teeth (he is ashamed that his are all wrotted out) and walk back into Nashville with his pride intact to reconnect with some of his old friends.
I asked him what's holding him back from carrying out this plan. He got a completely bewildered look on his face and stared into the sky for a few moments. He had no idea. He just didn't know how to do it. I asked him if he spends the money he makes on drugs, and he insisted that he does not. He did regretfully admit that he does spend money on cigarettes, but repeatedly insisted that he doesn't do drugs anymore.
"TL, what would you say if I told you that I could help you carry out this plan?" I asked him
He looked at me with a smile and said, "I would say that you're an angel, and that God told me you would be coming."
I broke down a bit.
By this time, TL was beaming. I told him about the non-profit organization that I had started, Share The Well, and that helping him back was exactly the type of thing we wanted to do. TL said that he had a tingling feeling all over his body and that he hadn't felt this way in many many years. He started to tell me that he has never wanted anything so bad in his life and that deep down inside all he really needed was somebody who believed in him again. He said he just couldn't do it by himself, but that if we would only give him a chance he knows that he can "fly again!" Then his tune changed completely. He started to tell me all the things he is going to do for Share The Well once he gets back on his feet. He wants to help other people like him. He wants to teach music. He wants to help raise money. He said his business will donate money.
I told him to take it one step at a time, and that we wouldn't expect anything in return. He said that he knew, but that he was going to do great things for our organization. I was sitting in a gas station parking lot with a homeless man who was telling me that HE was going to take ME to greater heights than I could imagine. The skeptic in me says that this could never happen... but part of me actually believes him. Part of me thinks he is already doing it.
So I drive through at McDonalds and drive back over to TL at the gas station. As I drive up, he spots my guitar in the backseat and his eyes light up. "You have a guitar!" I tell him that I was on my way home from a lesson, and admit that I'm terrible. Then I have an idea. I ask him if he'd like to play my guitar. In all honesty, I thought to myself that this would be a great way of finding out if his story was true. His eyes got wide again as he said that he would love to play it.
I took the guitar out and handed it to him. He held it awkwardly and for a moment I began to panic when I realized how awkward this would be if he didn't know how to play. I would have called him out on his lie and this amazing story that I was already beginning to play out in my mind might be in jeopardy before it ever began.
Then he started to play. No. That does it no justice whatsoever. He started to wail on my guitar unlike anything that I had ever seen before. He had a funky blues/country style, and his fingers (that he would admit to me later hadn't touched a guitar in over a decade) remembered exactly what to do. Before I could object, he started tuning my guitar in some crazy way that I didn't understand, sat down on the curb in the parking lot of a gas station in South Phoenix, and laid the guitar across his lap. He proceeded to slap the strings and the body of the guitar with his right hand while picking the strings with his left. It was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen.
When it was time to go, I didn't really know how to leave? I couldn't exchange numbers, I faced the fact that I truly might not see TL ever again. He just looked at me and said that he would be here at 10pm pretty much every night and that he knew he would see me again.
I am glad to report that I have seen TL twice since that night and we are actively working on the plan.
I'm certain that this is going to be a long and difficult process. But I also know that I am going to help TL get back on his feet. I believe that this is what I am supposed to do. He might be on drugs, he might have serious health problems, I have no idea what obstacles lie ahead... but I know that I am going to help TL and make a difference in his life. It's only fair because he has already made a difference in mine.
When I got home, I went to the BMI records website. TL has about 180 songs currently published with BMI where he is credited as being the songwriter.
If you're interested in following how this story progresses, just register at http://www.sharethewell.org/ and you will automatically receive updates.
7.08.2008
Share The Well
In January of 2008 I formed a non-profit organization called Share The Well and applied for 501(c)(3) status. I am certain that starting and growing this organization is going to be the most challenging and rewarding thing I will ever do in my professional career. The purpose of this blog is to tell the story of Share The Well, and to communicate the obstacles and triumphs that we will face as we strive to realize our vision for this organization. I want to thank you in advance for your support, we couldn't do it without you.
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