Joe Miller

Don't miss this year's SPOTLIGHT event -- next Monday, May 10th -- in Indianapolis' Clowes Memorial Hall.  You'll have a great time watching fantastic performances by nearly every performing arts group in Indianapolis while simultaneously contributing much needed funding to the Indiana AIDS Fund.

See your friends there, buy truly unique items in this year's incredible silent auction (I've been informed that they'll have some special items this year), and watch some amazing performances -- all for only $15! (See the evening's complete list of performances, here.)

Of course, I'd rather you buy the $115 tickets, since they make an even greater impact on the evening's fundraising -- all of which goes to the Indiana AIDS Fund for their efforts to fund HIV/AIDS prevention and services around the state of Indiana. But, you could also buy a $15 ticket, and then budget $100 (or more) for purchases at the fabulous silent auction!!!

Have a great time May 10th!!

Complete details, and ability to buy tickets, can be found here.

Also, you don't want to miss "SPOTLIGHT ART", a stunning art exhibition related to HIV/AIDS. "SPOTLIGHT ART" will intersperse sculpture with 2-D paintings, digitalized photography and mixed-media works. The exhibition includes new work created exclusively for the exhibition by six multi-cultural artists as well as previously created work that illustrates the theme “courage and hope” in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Collectively, the exhibition will challenge Hoosiers to look at HIV disease through a different lens.  Full details here.

Back in January I blogged about Room to Read, while reading the highly-acclaimed book "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World", written by Room to Read founder, John Wood. Yesterday, Room to Read celebrated opening its 10,000th library!

Founded in 2000, Room to Read is the unlikely success story of social entrepreneur John Wood, a former Microsoft executive who left the corporate world after a vacation in Nepal allowed him to witness first-hand the country’s dearth of educational resources. Motivated to help, Wood launched a book drive for one school and, together with co-founders Erin Ganju and Dinesh Shrestha, turned that one-time act of kindness into the basis of inspiration for a global education movement led by Room to Read.

“It’s a momentous occasion for us when you consider that just ten years ago we began our work with a simple desire to bring books to the children of Nepal,” said John Wood. “It gives me great pleasure to return to Nepal to open our 10,000th library and watch hundreds of children enter it and be surrounded by brand new local language children’s books that Room to Read has published. It gives me even more pleasure realizing that our strong global team is now opening, on average, six new Reading Rooms per day in the nine countries where we now operate. This means that over 3,000 children gain access to new libraries every day.”

Congratulations  to John, and Room to Read!

To celebrate this milestone, John Wood and supporters returned to trek the Himalayan highlands of Nepal on a journey that begins at the very first Room to Read library and ends at the celebratory opening of their 10,000th. You can follow the trek here.