Feel Good Friday - Touch*A*Life

We spent last Feel Good Friday in San Francisco, California. So, in an effort to provide variety, today we go to Siem Reap, Cambodia!

Touch*A*Life is, as stated on their website, "an international humanitarian organization that embodies the principle of loving kindness to serve the world's poor and displaced." The organization was started in 2004 by Mavis Ching after being inspired by a man in Indonesia who had been feeding the poor for over 30 years. You can read more about her and TAL's beginnings here.

While Touch*A*Life keeps some basic medical supplies on hand to distribute and connects people with other aid organizations, the main program of TAL is their Free Meal Program. From the first batch of 52 egg sandwiches, they now serve almost 6000 vegetarian meals a month to people living in and around Siem Reap. The program is "driven by the belief that people in need deserve, and would welcome, a helping hand that also lifts their spirit."

In this 3:24 minute video, Mavis explains the origins of TAL and you can see many of the children and volunteers involved with the program. If you are planning a trip to Cambodia, you too can be a volunteer! If Angkor Wat is not in your future, you can support the children of the area with a donation.

There are lots of photos posted on the website and you'll find the most current ones by liking the Touch*A*Life Facebook page.

Feel Good Friday - San Francisco Symphony

I had a feel good Thursday at the San Francisco Symphony last night and that got me wondering if there were any programs that would make them a good subject for Feel Good Friday. The answer? Yes!

The San Francisco Symphony has been a part of city life since their first concerts in 1911 and they've been a part of San Francisco classrooms since 1988.

As explained on their website, the Adventures in Music (AIM) program "includes in-school presentations by music ensembles, specially designed classroom curriculum, classroom materials and a visit to Davies Symphony Hall for a private concert by the San Francisco Symphony." There are two programs targeted to students in different grades and together they reach every student in grades 1-5 in the SF Unified School District. That's more than 25,000 children in 95 schools! You can watch a 2:20 min video of the program, and see adorable kids playing triangles, here.

In addition, students from kindergarten to grade 9 can attend special concerts which help introduce them to musical concepts and ideas. Materials are sent to the classroom ahead of the concert and teachers can also request a visit by an education docent to help prepare the students. Students from grades 9-12 are invited to attend open rehearsals of the symphony and teachers can find many helpful resources at this link.

For kids who want to continue to learn more about music there is a separate website, SFS Kids, where you can read about and try to play a variety of instruments, conduct an orchestra of animals and compose your own music!

If you want more SF Symphony in your life, you can buy tickets to a performance, watch their extensive collection of videos and stay in the social media loop by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter @SFSymphony.

Feel Good Friday - La Tortuga Feliz

Today Feel Good Friday is going to Costa Rica for a little Sentries Bien Viernes!

La Tortuga Feliz (the happy turtle) is a volunteer-run organization in Costa Rica focused on turtle conservation. Poaching, fishing nets and pollution have taken their toll on the turtle population and La Tortuga Feliz (LTF) has been working to reverse that decline since 2006.

Volunteers work with people in the local community to patrol the beaches looking for eggs before the poachers find them. As explained in more detail on their website, "These local inhabitants guard/patrol the beach (Caribbean coast of Costa Rica) together with volunteers, collect the turtle eggs and bring these eggs to a hatchery which is manned by volunteers on a 24 hours basis. Volunteers also participate in the care for and study of recuperating adult turtles in the turtle reduce and rehabilitation centre."

This turtle conservation work provides income for the locals, which the people at LTF hope will take away the necessity for locals to poach the turtles and their eggs. Many of the people working for LTF are former poachers who are happy to earn money saving, rather than killing the turtles.

Volunteers pay $35/day for room and board, which seems like a pretty sweet deal. While you're spending time learning about, and saving turtles, you can also take Spanish lessons and bond with volunteers from around the world! Not convinced yet? Check out the videos on their home page and view their photo gallery, which both give you a great idea of the work being done.

If you can't book your plane tickets to Costa Rica just yet, you can follow the work of La Tortuga Feliz by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter @latortugafeliz1.