Sciortino - Love is action: how to change the world with love

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LOVE IS ACTION

Text Copyright 2019 Rhonda Sciortino

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN: 978-1-57826-864-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

C OVER AND I NTERIOR D ESIGN BY C AROLYN K ASPER

Printed in the United States
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This book is dedicated to the people who loved me into wholeness.

To the foster parents whose names I do not know, who changed my life by showing me that there were people who lived in clean houses who didnt hit one another. To the 14-year-old girl, Janet Ford Reid, who believed that there was good in me, and helped me see it for myself. To my high school teacher, Barbara Naylor, who taught me work ethic and office skills that made me employable. To Chuck Wheeler, who gave me a job in his Farmers Insurance office that launched a 40 year career in insurance and risk management. To the judge who granted my emancipation when I was 16 years old. To Corky Kindsvater, MSW, CEO of Hillview Acres Childrens Home, who suggested that I start my own business. And to Nick Sciortino, the man who believed in me enough to give me his heart, his name, and his big, beautiful, Italian family.

Because of all these people and many more, I am able to help others. I hope to give them a good return on their investment in me.

T his book was written for everyone who could benefit from more love in their lives. Isnt that all of us? When we turn on the news, we hear about anger, hate, and division. The drama and pain that accompanies it is all around us. The good news is that there is an answer.

It may sound simplistic and clich to say that love is the answer, but real, authentic, unconditional love is the answer to alleviating the pressure of vitriol and lessening the weight of depression. Even if you doubt loves extraordinary power to make things better, I hope that we can all agree that love wont make things worse.

It is because of this convictionthat we can all benefit from lovethat the Love Is Action Community Initiative was created. Love Is Actions mission is to connect community stakeholders, including businesses, the faith community, government services, non-profit social service organizations, justice and law enforcement, education, mental health, civic groups and clubs, and concerned individuals, to help prevent child sex trafficking, child abuse, suicide, substance abuse, homelessness, and other societal ills. This is a grassroots effort that we hope will grow into a groundswell of community stakeholders reducing the societal ills in their neighborhoods by putting their love into action.

With or without the structure of a community initiative, each one of us can do things that are no big deal to us, but which can make an enormous difference in the lives of others. This book will show you how and why this is important to you and to everyone around you.

I challenge you to put your love into action for thirty days and to see what happens. The quickest way to begin is to put down the electronics and give the simple respect and dignity of eye contact and authentic human connection. This first step, followed by the suggestions included at the end of each chapter, will enrich your life in ways you may never have thought possible. Id love to hear your story on the Love Is Action Community Initiative Facebook page. Look us up and join the conversation.