Dee Jay Doc and the Art of Scary Caring

It's nerve wracking and a little scary when you sincerely put your beliefs out there--even when (or especially when?) you do it with great love in your heart. All of it goes right on the line (gulp, gulp) and your cares and concerns are hanging for all to see.

And when it's done with an absolute absence of pretense, cover-up, ironic distance or concern for keeping the  walls between ourselves and our true nature in place--wow. You may as well run naked down Euclid Avenue singing the theme song to Gilligan's Island. Because you're going to attract attention when you are so authentic. My friend Dee Jay Doc is a great example of someone who puts his beliefs into action, and instead of running down Euclid Avenue, he runs a place of Grace called Fresh Camp.

Fresh Camp is a summer camp where kids learn to define themselves, their neighborhood and, really, their lives. They are growing up with less advantages and more stressors. In some cases they don't have great access to fundamental goodies like healthcare, fresh food, safety and support.

They live in the Glenville neighborhood of Cleveland, and there's some hard times that have moved in and stayed for awhile now. Of course not all is dim in these kids' environment, Doc being one of the shining lights, but the need is real and the effort sacred.

Doc is working with his heartbeat to pump good energy into the neighborhood where he lives and makes a life for his family. And he is trying to raise money, through an Indiegogo fundraising campaign to keep Fresh Camp possible and reach its potential. Here's the link to the Campaign Home, [LINK NO LONGER ACTIVE, GO TO REFRESH COLLECTIVE]where Doc speaks his piece much better than I ever could. What I will tell you is that I have been beside Doc when he passionately shared about his neighborhood (see Doc rapping about Glenville here from a PBS piece we worked on together) and he is the real deal.

So what do you say? Are you going to help make a difference by kicking in a little bit? Or are you going to pass your bucks to someplace else? Consider taking a chance to be true, and join Dee Jay Doc in his dream.