One of my most favorite people in the world is Dave Lakhani, a man with integrity and a heart and an ability to train and teach others to be successful. He is one of my mentors.

A few months ago, Dave implemented a movement called KickStart America, an initiative to raise up and support the people who have found themselves homeless in our fallen economy.  Until Dave began speaking about it, I hadn’t paid much attention to the fact that so many families are homeless. In my small town in East Tennessee, we have few – that I know of at least – and often wave at them as they have become a part of our familiar environment.

As part of Kickstart America, I offered to write an Eating Healthy of a Budget book, as a gift to the project.  I thought the book would be easy to write. I imagined I would simply suggest healthier fast food choices, the best picks at the grocery store, better ways in which to cook.  And yes, that part was easy.

Then, I began envisioning myself homeless.  What good is a free book, if I had no money in which to buy food? Why know the healthiest frozen dinners, if I had no microwave, no heating source in which to cook them? How do I choose healthy, if I’m at the mercy of the kitchen in which I must eat?

As I sat there envisioning, it became clear to me the importance of what Dave is doing. In my beautiful home, with my beautiful family and my fully functioning kitchen, it is easy to not see the challenges facing others.  But the challenges are there, whether we see them or not.

So…I continue to write this book, with new eyes and new awareness. And, as I write this book, I’m going to continue to look for ways in which I can make a difference in the lives of other human beings. I’m going to pay more attention to Dave’s updates and step in where I can.  Will you?

Could you donate healthy foods to your local food kitchen? A recent article highlighted how unhealthy the foods are that our homeless are served. I know each donor is appreciated and I’m sure they weren’t considering the nutritional quality of the food they are donating, perhaps Kickstart America will raise an awareness of the importance of donating healthier foods.

As Dave mentions in his latest post, this is a bigger initiative than he ever imagined and it will take more resources than he had first believed to Kickstart America again.  If you can, see how you can help. You can follow Dave on Twitter to  ask how you can help.