CoastViews
Stone Soup - A Folktale
Stone Soup: Building a better World
June, 2001
There was once a man who had been traveling for a long time. Having run out of food,
he was weary and hungry from his journey. When he came upon a small village, he thought,
"Maybe someone could share some food."
When the man knocked at the first house, he asked the woman who answered, "Could you
spare a bit of food I've traveled a long way and am very hungry." "I'm sorry, but I
have nothing to give you," the woman replied.
So the traveler went to the next door and asked again. The answer was the same.
He went from door to door and each time he was turned away
But then one villager said, "All I have is some water." "Thank you," the traveler
said smiling gratefully, "We can make some soup from that water. We can make stone
soup."
He asked the man for a cooking pot and started building a small fire. As the water
started to boil, a passing villager stopped and asked him what he was doing. "I'm
making stone soup," the traveler replied. "Would you like to join me?" The curious
villager agreed.
"First, we must add a special stone," said the traveler. "One with magic in it. He
reached into his knapsack and carefully unwrapped a special stone he'd
been carrying with him for many years. Then he put it in the simmering pot.
Soon people from the village heard about this strange man who was making soup from
a stone. They started gathering around the fire, asking questions. "What does your
stone soup taste like?" asked one of the villagers. "Well, it would be better with
a few onions," the traveler admitted. "Oh, I have some onions," he replied.
Another villager said, "I could bring a few carrots." Someone else offered, "We still
have some potatoes in our garden. I'll go get them."
One by one, each villager brought something to add to the pot. What had started as
just some water and a magic stone, had now become a delicious soup, enough to feed the whole village.
The traveler and the villagers sat down together to enjoy their feast, and the miracle
they'd help to create.
Creating an educated constituency of Americans is the most critical issue of our time.
Our country needs people who are prepared to address the challenges facing us and our
world. People want to hear about these kinds of ordinary heroes in the book, Stone
Soup for the World, who overcame obstacles in their lives and are helping to make
the world a better place. Walter Cronkite
We all know that we need each
other more than ever before in our fast paced society. Here on the Coastside, we
have many role models- people who reinforce healthy values and inspire the rest of
us to action to help our community. But for those of us who need a renewed vision
of where they can make a difference in the community or a little inspiration to
rekindle the human spirit in business, Marianne Lamed has a few ideas- and has created
a convenient and practical guide.
Stone Soup for the World: Life- Changing Stories of Kindness and Courageous Acts of
Service is a book with a mission and vision: to help young people become leaders of
the new millennium. More than just a "feel good" book, Stone Soup offers
a pro-active approach through stories of how one person or group can make a difference.
Called a "hand- book for humanitarians, " it shows us what is working in the world and
what it takes to build a healtheir tomorrow. It challenges all people to think what each one of us can do to make the
world a better place.
Since its historic launch during National Volunteer Week in 1998,
this book has inspired people across the country to get involved in their communities.
It has been featured by several Book of the Month Clubs, best-seller lists, Scholastic
book fairs, in numerous catalogues, and Starbucks Coffee chose it as their spiritual
renewal book for 1999.
This is a small book telling big stories of accomplishments of people- ordinary and
famous- all over the world who have seen a need and have done what they could to make
a difference. It is inspirational reading and gives a person a 'shot-in-the- arm' when
feeling discouraged about all that needs to be done in our communities. Chapters include such titles as:
What One Person Can Do, Cultural Healing, Community Cooperation, Growing Nationally,
Global Village, The Healing Power of Doing Good, and Doing Well By Doing Good.
It tells stories about Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter,
and other famous people. But most importantly, it shares stories about ordinary people
who overcame obstacles and went on to help change the world. Isis Johnson was four
years old when she asked her grandmother, "Can we send the chicken we have left to the
children in Ethiopia? God didn't mean for them to be hungry." Her grandmother
explained that the chicken would spoil before it got there. Isis asked, "Well, are
there any hungry girls and boys in New Orleans?" Her grandmother told her the sad
truth that there were. "Then let's send our chicken to them," Isis replied.
Isis went door-to-door asking her neighbors to donate food for hungry children.
She and her grandmother drove around town, gathering even more. Isis put a sign in
the window of their home asking people to feed the hungry. Their home became a small
warehouse of donated food and supplies. Just before Christmas they told the Salvation
Army they would be giving the food away on a Saturday and that first year, four-year
old Isis gave out over 1000 items to hundreds of people. Soon stories about her effort
flooded the media and calls of support came from all over New Orleans.
The next year the Salvation Army agreed to distribute and had to send seven men to
load the donations into a truck. Each year the contributions grow. Isis, who turned
16 this year, wants to continue helping people when she grows up. "No matter who you
are or where you come from, you can make a difference. You
don't have to be old to make things better, you only have to care."
A wonderful aspect of the book is the call to action at the end of each story and
quotes from famous people. At the end of Isis' story, Aristotle is quoted, "Good
habits formed at youth make all the difference." The call to action is,
"Organize a food or clothing drive for those in need in your community. If you want
to help Isis in her war on hunger, write to her grandmother, Claudette Jones, at the
Isis T. Johnson Foundation."
Stone Soup for the World has attracted the support of some big names: Walter Cronkite
and retired General Colin Powell, to name just two. Walter Cronkite wants to leave
his legacy for the new millennium by creating an educational television series based
on the book in Celebration of Heroes, a powerfully inspiring ten-minute video
narrated by Cronkite has been produced by award winning Galen Films. Cronkite says,
"Somewhere on this planet, there well may be someone who has a solution to each of
the world's problems... and Stone Soup for the World is asking all of us to
take that first step. It's a time to share our stories and teach our children that
they can be heroes. It's time to take action and chart the course for our future.
Retired General Colin Powell, Founding Chairman of America's Promise the Alliance
for Youth says, "Stone Soup for the World gives you 100 wonderful stories
to share with the children in your life. These heartwarming, action-oriented stories
will show them a different world-real heroes who had the courage to overcome
obstacles in their lives and the determination to work hard and build a better world."
The energy created by Stone Soup for the World continues to expand as it
takes on new forms with a Leader's Guide and Leadership Institute. Diane Troy, a
teacher at St. Francis Xavier Prep School in Hyannis, Massachusetts wrote a letter
to Larned suggesting she and Larned collaborate on a teacher's guide to accompany
the book for use in schools. And thus the Stone Soup for the World educational
curriculum was created. It is being used in 120 communities around the country
including after school programs, AmeriCorps, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Conservation
Corps, YMCAs, as well as many schools and community organizations.
Leadership and action were the sole focus of the Stone Soup Leadership Training
Program, held in July 1999 on Martha's Vineyard. From all over the country and
from all walks of life people cam to learn how to make their world better for the
young people in their lives. Educators, business people, former gang members
turned community leaders, students and guidance counselors all answer the call.
Then, for two inspiring and information-packed days, they worked side-by-side
putting plans into practice. What started out as a group of strangers who shared
little more than a similar interest in service, ended with a community of dedicated,
impassioned and prepared leaders who were ready to take their schools and communities
off of a diet of apathy and cynicism and nourish them with action and hope the main
ingredients in any good batch of Stone Soup.
Anyone searching for tools to build healtheir communities and ways to involve young
people in the process are finding a program that is a hands-on curriculum for service
learning. Marianne explains, "The Leader's Guide is designed to help people use the
book to teach young people values and character-building lessons, develop their
critical thinking skills and inspire them towards community action. It is a powerful
educational tool offering people 100 stories- one a week for two years- to share with
young people. A self-paced, flexible guide it provides educators step-by-step
instructions for enhancing language arts, social studies, citizenship education and
community service programs. The Guide offers mentors a framework to teach social
skills, provide cultural experiences, discuss job-related skills, business principles
and career development options as well as practical classroom and field trip
activities so students learn how to make the world a better place."
Larned helps people look at what our gifts are and how we can work together.
It's about sharing and being part of a team. "The challenge," she says, "is
learning that we really need each other and have to work together. It's not
just about the knowledge of what to do about problems but rather how do we
mobilize ourselves and each other- what does it take to make a good idea actually
happen?"
The Stone Soup Leadership Institute has created partnerships with numerous
organizations such as Rotary International and others involved with America's
Promise. Larned spoke to the Hilo, Hawaii Rotary Club, about community cooperation
and mentoring youth and the Martha's Vineyard Rotary Club- in support for the Stone
Soup Leadership Institutes's Celebration of Heroes with Walter Cronkite.
Hilo Rotarian Phil Wilson said, "Stone Soup for the World is a hand-book
for mentors, giving business people an easy, powerful tool for teaching young
people key values and important character-building lessons. By sharing these stories
about real heroes- about the challenges they've faced and the gifts they've given to
our country, youngsters will learn how to become good citizens and future leaders of the world."
The Leadership Institute has received tremendous response from dictators across the
country who are hungry for educational tools to inspire their middle, high school
and even college students. Schools in Austin, Texas, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Bronx,
New York and Chatham Massachusetts,are already integrating these stories into their
education curriculum. The Stone Soup Leader's Guide is a remarkable textbook which
personalizes history for young people while teaching them character, courage and
consideration for others- key ingredients for building community." says Linda Forsyth,
Former Director, California Commission on Improving Life Through Service.
Opportunity for Local Youth
Larned has recently moved to Half Moon Bay to work with her agent, Linda Mead, and
write her next book Stone Soup for the Teenage world, a collection of 100 stories
about young people from every culture and religion, and from many countries around
the world who are tackling issues in their schools, communities and world.
The Stone Soup Leadership Institute, in collaboration with the Volunteer Center of
San Mateo County's Youth Service Program, has created a summer volunteer opportunity
for teenagers. They are inviting teens in Half Moon Bay and San Mateo County to join
an international Youth Advisory Council for the upcoming book.
Stone Soup for the Teenage World will touch teenagers hearts and inspire
many more of them to discover how they, too, can become a hero by helping others.
Statistics show that teens who help others, feel better about themselves. Those
who taste the jay and experience the meaningfulness of volunteering are far less
likely to drink, do drugs, get pregnant, drop out or act out. They are more motivated
to stay in school, get food grades, graduate, go onto college, get jobs, and contribute
to the world.
"What we saw among the volunteers who worked together on the Vineyard in the
initial leadership training and the subsequent programs for youth was a real
shaping of their lives," said Lernad. "Some of the kids we worked with are now
in major jobs with big agencies and corporations it not only motivated them in
service to their community but helped them focus on the individual potential."
To learn about volunteering of the Stone Soup Leadership Institute's international
Youth Advisory Council and for a listing of other summer volunteer opportunities in
San Mateo County, please call Jenny Girard at the Volunteer Center of San Mateo at
650-348-4319, or email jgirard@vcsmco.org.
The Ritz Carlton is featuring special hardback copies of the book, Stone Soup
for the World. Copies can also be purchased on the web site
http://www.soup4world.com Publication date for Stone Soup for the Teenage World
is 2002.
Marianne Larned will be speaking at functions on the Coastside and in San Mateo
County throughout the next several months as she opens a West Coast branch of the
Stone Soup Leadership Institute. "The spirit of community here has been inspiring,"
she says. "I'm grateful to all those who have welcomed me so warmly."
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