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maryjane

7072 Posts


Posted - Mar 01 2017 :  3:37:24 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Author: Ted Buss

Name a famous major league baseball player and chances are someone can give you his lifetime batting average, ERA, brand of snuff he dips, gum he chews or sunflower shells he spits.

Beyond the glow of the spotlight, however, we all know someone with lifetime achievements who gain little notice, but would equal Hall of Fame recognition in any sport.
For example, if Dan West had played a dozen years for the Texas Rangers, he would have retired a .300-hitter, 90 RBIs per season and holder a lifetime Nike shoe endorsement.
He’d be a clubhouse favorite, a manager’s delight and a tireless community volunteer. By vintage track and field standards, Dan would have equaled Bob Hayes’ 1964 mark of 9.1 seconds in the 100 yard dash.

However, I’d never heard of Dan West until I was informally introduced to him by evangelist David Jeremiah one morning last week. Being curious, I checked out Dan’s biographical sketch online, plus a book review of his life.

Dan West, born in 1893, grew to become a champion of oppressed and hungry families worldwide. He was a simple Ohio farmer who went to the front lines during the Spanish Civil War in 1937.

His mission was not to wage war but to provide relief for the discouraged, innocent people caught in the middle of the conflict. West soon discovered that a single cup of milk rationed to a refugee once a day was obviously not enough. The dilemma plagued him. Thirsty and starving children burned in his mind.

As he considered the crisis, it dawned on him; “These children don’t need a cup, they need a cow.” How simple, he thought. Instead of a cup of milk, give needy families a cow.”
A cow can average giving six to eight gallons of milk or more per day. West shared an idea with church friends whereby a dairy cow could be given to a depressed village that would feed and care for it, thus delivering milk essential to the community’s daily existence.
A nonprofit committee called “Heifers for Relief” was formed in 1939. The charity was approved by the U. S. Department of Agriculture in 1942 and in 1944 the first shipment of 19 dairy cows was sent to Puerto Rico by friends of Dan West.

The first three cows were named “Faith,” “Hope,” and “Charity.” The success in Puerto Rico was greater than anyone expected.

Another initiative soon developed: Why not send pregnant cows—two cows for the price of one? This movement led to the cornerstone of the Heifer International model that remains in place today. It is called, “Passing on the Gift.”

The first family to receive a cow had to commit to giving the first female to another needy family. Thus, receivers became givers. As the program grew, one family would train another family in how to care for their cow and how to sell unused milk as a source of income.

Through a simple act of extending “faith,” “hope” and “love/charity,” to those in need, Dan West started a movement that, to date has reached 125 countries and more than 25 million families.

Dan West turned a simple, heartfelt notion into a Hall of Fame conclusion. A lifetime .300-hitter seems pale by comparison, doesn’t it?

From the Times Record News: http://bit.ly/2mGJx4s

txbikergirl

3197 Posts


Posted - Mar 01 2017 :  5:22:09 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
that is really sweet. we are familiar with heifers international, its a neat concept.

Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy")
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NellieBelle

11214 Posts


Posted - Mar 01 2017 :  6:38:13 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
What an uplifting story and remarkable man.

To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown
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