Long overdue thanks to the 2 fat ladies for their charitable idea!
I don’t know who they were. I’ll probably never see them again. But it was the summer of 2009 when I took a Recess from my work (my friend Russ Schoen would call it an excursion); went to a beach in Rhode Island and got my idea to start a nonprofit fighting hunger – One Less Meal, Inc.
For well over two hours I sat in my beach chair and watched two “larger” women eat chips and cookies and a host of other junk food. As the noon hour approached one leaned over to the other, chair bending, and said “It’s almost time for us to have lunch.”
“You could both do with one less meal” is what I muttered to myself. (And having been a fat boy; close to 40 pounds heavier at one point in my life I say that with confidence; and not in a mean-spirited way at all!)
Hmm…..The mind raced.
What if we could get people to consume one less meal and donate that meal to help fight hunger in the US? Imagine the impact we could have. And then I started thinking and imagining what this could look like. I spoke to close friends about my ideas. Some were crazy. Some seemed impossible. Some even seemed dangerous. And then with the great brainpower of my good friend Michelle Gotay, One Less Meal, Inc, (operator of the Double D Diner; The World’s Only Virtual Diner Fighting Hunger) was launched.
All because of 2 fat ladies.
So many people have great ideas. But that’s where it stops – with the idea. They don’t pursue them. They don’t share them. They don’t reach out for collaboration, help, and guidance. Instead, they go back to the world as they know it; to jobs that disappoint and don’t fulfill; to business models that don’t inspire. Employers bring employees together ask for ideas and then nothing. People return from the land of dreams and possibilities (or brainstorming sessions) and do nothing.
What’s your great idea? And perhaps this former fat boy can make it happen for you or your team?.
And to those two ladies in Rhode Island, if you happen to come across this blog entry…….Thanks! You’ve made a difference.
