Message from the ACA Foundation Chair

By Jane Goodman
Spring 2007

Greetings:

In the dedication of his 1973 book, In One Era and Out the Other, Sam Levinson wrote to his new granddaughter, ?We leave you a tradition with a future. The tender loving care of human beings will never become obsolete. People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed and redeemed and redeemed. Never throw out anybody. ? As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself and the other for helping others.? This I believe aptly describes the role of the American Counseling Association Foundation.

The Foundation exists to facilitate the use of both hands: to help counseling and counselors and to help the people we serve. We do that through the donations of counselors and others interested in supporting our activities. (So if, you are one of those people, use the button on this website and donate now.)

The Foundation has three major programs. We support the ?Counselors Care? Fund. This fund was originally developed to assist those harmed by the Gulf hurricanes Katrina and Rita, or those helping the harmed. We support the ?Growing Happy and Confident Kids? project designed to put books in the hands of elementary school counselors and other counselors who work with elementary aged children. These books deal with a range of emotional literacy topics such as diversity, grief, and self esteem.

Our third program is to support activities of ACA, its leaders and members, particularly counseling students. This includes activities such as sponsoring students to attend the annual convention, the annual student essay contest, and the weekly columns for ?Counseling Corner.?

Neil DeGrasse Tyson, writing in the magazine Natural History, describes how having a cosmic perspective is necessary to expand understanding, assess our place in the universe, and be humble and even spiritual as a result. But it also reminds us not to lose sight of the fact that, ?uncounted people walk this Earth without food or shelter, ? every day ? people kill and get killed, ? and that powerful people rarely do all they can to help those who cannot help themselves.?

The ACA Foundation mission is to ?support counselors and the American Counseling Association by developing programs that promote human dignity and diversity.? We are serious about this mission and welcome your support in carrying it out.

I look forward to your input, thoughts, and suggestions. Please contact me via e-mail at: Goodman@oakland.edu, or by sending a note to: Jane Goodman, Chair, American Counseling Association Foundation, 5999 Stevenson Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia 22304.