The Journey On my thirteen trips through Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, I discovered there are many people all around the country who are suffering in poverty. I saw many people sleeping in cardboard boxes, Indian Reservations with oil running through their water source, housing that should be abandoned where people are still living and young children approaching me asking me for money for their families. Our trucks and trailers were covered with quotes from Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Gandhi and the message that displaced people in New Orleans still need help. On the road and in traffic jams, there were so many concerned citizens who talked to us, gave us money and repeatedly said, “There should be more Americans doing this work”. On the way, we would drive into communities and “hang out” with locals. It struck me how the rest of the world seemed to be driving by, intensely stare at us and then move on unconcerned. After sitting and listening to the stories of no jobs, no opportunities, fixed incomes and health problems, the question repeatedly came up…“What can we do?” This became one of the dominate conversations of the drivers and volunteers on our journey. From these heartfelt talks, I decided to create an organization to serve America, an organization that would get individuals involved in service to each other instead of depending on the government. At the same time, it seemed important to send out the message – to awaken people. To tell them how US citizens who are uneducated, down on their luck, elderly on fixed incomes, teenagers and young adults who don’t feel heard and dress differently and people of color are being treated. That is how Follow Your Heart Action Network came to be.