So really… what is this and what are you doing again?

It seems like I have been asked that question more in the last couple of day.  Not since I tried to explain the Bacon Explosion to a vegetarian have I answered that question so much.  So, what is this and what are we doing?  Let’s try to explain this again.

I have no idea, but I’m working on it!

That’s right.  We don’t know what we are doing.  We have never done anything like this before, and don’t really know what the final outcome will be.  But that is going to be part of the beauty of this journey;  Learning, living, and giving back along the way.

One of my good friends asked, “So, you are doing a triathlon…I’m not gonna run but I’ll be there to support you.  But is that it?”  That’s a part of it, but that is not IT at all…

Another friend said “That is a very touching tribute site to your dad… is it a one shot deal or will you be keeping at it?”  Again, that’s part of it, but that is not IT at all…

Someone else chimed in “What?  I don’t understand.  What do you want me to do?”

And that is IT.  I want you TO DO. I hope that I, along with the folks that I hope will gather at this blog, will inspire and work together TO DO. Whether that doing is volunteering, raising funds for great causes, banding together to offer some inspiration on a down day, or just being a little nicer to that guy at the office you don’t care for, DOING is what my vision is for Wrays of Hope.  Just a few people doing a little bit more than they have ever done before or they ever thought they could do.

So, that’s what we are DOing.  We will DO lots and try to give back a little at the same time.

This Saturday is the first ever Wrays of Hope group event and we hope that at least one of you join us.  Please share this blog and invite with your friends, your co-workers, random people that you haven’t spoken to in a while but need to reconnect with to join in this big event:

What: Loaves and Fishes Food Bank Volunteering
Where:  Fishes and Loaves Warehouse
When:   Saturday Sept 19th 9AM

My plan is to update the blog with pictures of Saturday’s event and post something every single day.  So subscribe, share with your friends, come back, and contribute as much as you can to the blog and to the cause.  What ever you decide, DO me a favor and shine a Wray of Hope on somebody today.

A note from the man himself!

Not everyone reads thru the comments, so I wanted post what I thought were some very poignant thoughts from Wray.  Take a read, then go out and “get rid of your cold!”…

Wray Thomas Says:
September 16, 2009 at 10:28 pm

Let me start by saying this is my first response to any blog ever. Allow me to introduce myself…I’m the “Wray” in the Wray of Hope, and I have to let you know up front that I protested when my parents gave me this name but, due to the language barrier, they wouldn’t listen to me. I was liking Bill or George. I even threw in Wilbur just to get a reaction. Didn’t happen so here I am “Wray”! And I’m old but I’m glad I’m still here.

First and foremost let me say that this tribute has caught me totally by surprise…certainly there are those more deserving. My first thoughts are the Dr’s and staff at the Duke Heart Center and the ambulance crew from the Parkwood Volunteer Fire Department from Lewisville, North Carolina who worked so hard to keep me alive. My wife Linda who performed CPR until the paramedics arrived. They didn’t give up and I think that’s the real message.

Everyone has their story good or bad. I’m no exception. I look at life like the common cold…you feel miserable and can’t do a thing about it. In time you get over it, feel better, and life is good again.

I am proud to lend my name to a worthwhile cause and even more proud of Mike and Leigh to willingly give up their time to give back to their community. My hats off to you both. Thank you for thinking of me. To those reading this take a little advise from an old guy – “I should have” never gets it done. Get over the cold and feel good again. Life is short so sacrifice of yourself a little to do more for others than you ever thought possible.