An Army of Normal Folks - Belinda Leto: Throwing Birthdays for 6,000 Kids! (Pt 2)

Episode Date: August 13, 2024

Belinda never dreamed of starting a birthday charity, until she was asked to provide a birthday party for a boy who wouldn’t otherwise have one. And only 5 years later, Celebrate Birthdays and their own Army of Normal Folks, have provided birthday celebrations to over 6,000 kids.Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey everybody, it's Bill Courtney with an Army of Normal folks, and we continue now with part two of our conversation with Belinda Leto right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors. Hi, I'm Molly Conger, host of Weird Little Guys, a new podcast from Cool Zone Media on iHeartRadio. I've spent almost a decade researching right-wing extremism, digging into the lives of people you wouldn't be wrong to call monsters.

But if Scooby-Doo taught us one thing, it's that there's a guy under that monster mask. I've collected the stories of hundreds of aspiring little Hitlers of the suburbs, from the Nazi cop who tried to join ISIS, to the National Guardsmen plotting to assassinate the Supreme Court, to the Satanist soldier who tried to get his own unit blown up in Turkey.

The monsters in our political closets aren't some unfathomable evil. They're just some weird guy. And you can laugh. Honestly, I think you have to. Seeing these guys for what they are doesn't mean they're not a threat. It's a survival strategy. So join me every Thursday for a look under the mask at the weird little guys trying to destroy America. Listen to Weird Little Guys on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Andrea Gunning, host of the all-new podcast There and Gone. It's a real-life story of two people who left a crowded Philadelphia bar, walked to their truck, and vanished. Nobody hears anything. Nobody sees anything. Did they run away? Was it an accident, or were they murdered? A truck and two people just don't disappear. The FBI called it murder for hire.

It was definitely murder for hire for Danielle, not for Richard. He's your son, and in your eyes he's innocent, but in my eyes he's just some guy my sister was with. In this series, I dig into my own investigation to find answers for the families and get justice for Richard and Danielle. -♪ All that I know... -♪ Listen to There and Gone South Street

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. -♪ As you come... Hello. From Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, host of Womanica, a daily podcast that introduces you to the fascinating lives of women history has forgotten. From Wunder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, host of Womanica, a daily podcast that introduces you to the fascinating lives of women history has forgotten.

This month, we're bringing you the stories of athletes. There's the Italian race car driver who courted danger and became the first woman to compete in Formula One. The sprinter who set a world record and protested racism and discrimination in the U.S. and around the world in the 1960s. The diver who was barred from swimming clubs due to her race and went on to become the first Asian-American woman to win an Olympic medal. She won gold twice.

The mountaineer known in the Chinese press as the tallest woman in the world. And the ancient Greek charioteer who exploited a loophole to become the first ever woman to compete at the Olympic Games. Listen to Wamanica on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm David Eagleman from the podcast Inner Cosmos, which recently hit the number one science podcast in America. I'm a neuroscientist at Stanford and I've spent my career exploring the three-pound universe in our heads. We're looking at a whole new series of episodes this

season to understand why and how our lives look the way they do. Why does your memory drift so much? Why is it so hard to keep a secret? When should you not trust your intuition? Why do brains so easily fall for magic tricks, and why do they love conspiracy theories? I'm hitting these questions and hundreds more, because the more we know about what's running under the hood, the better we can steer our lives. Join me weekly to explore the relationship between your brain and your life by digging into unexpected questions. Listen to Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

wherever you get your podcasts. Our iHeartRadio Music Festival presented by Capital One. Coming back to Las Vegas. September 20th and 21st, streaming live only on Hulu. Don't miss. Big Sean, Camila Cabello, Doja Cat, Gwen Stefani, Hozier, Keith Urban, New Kids on the Block, Paramore, Shaboosie, The Black Crows, Thomas Rhett, Victoria Monet.

And more. Get tickets to our 2024 iHeartRadio Music Festival, presented by Capital One right now, before they sell out. At AXS.com. So we went to this vehicle that was underneath like a bridge on the interstate kind of area where you go underneath and it was kind of parked there and I remember trying to get like an address like where am I supposed to go and who am I supposed to serve? Oh, it's my daughter and we're here and it was a husband a wife a daughter and a son

So it was a family of four and they had fallen on hard times What a timeout a what a daughter a son a mom and a dad in a car Under a bridge in Tampa. Yes Okay. Yes They were trying to get into a shelter and they were on a wait list to try and get in and so they didn't have anywhere else to go and they couldn't do a form online like to ask for something so they actually called us and I went out and I served them. When we have somebody in a vehicle or in a motel, we don't take like a cake mix and frosting.

That goes in our birthday in a box but we actually take like a physical cake so they can have that opportunity. So we came out to them and I remember serving her and just the joy that she had. They were very thankful. They said that they hopefully within the next week or two, we're going to go into the shelter and we're going to be taken care of. And I said, well, I will pray for you. And I hope that this at least brings a little bit of joy to you.

And they were in the process of trying to, like I said, get in that shelter. So after I saw them that time, I never had the opportunity to go back or to see them again and their phone was turned off. So I'm not quite sure what happened, but I prayed for them, so I hope all worked out well. I'm not gonna do the long form of this, but there's a thing called, we call them a turkey person. And it's the people that go out on Christmas into desperate neighborhoods, and they give away

hams and gifts and turkeys and everybody in those neighborhoods will take them because they don't have any. But they leave and they never go back. The people in those communities, referred to folks like that as turkey people, the people that show up, give us stuff. We take it because we ain't got none, but then they leave and we never see them again. And it makes you wonder if they're doing that because they really care about those people or they're doing that to make themselves feel good and look good in their communities. It is so refreshing to hear that you know that Jocelyn is working at a fast food place.

It is so refreshing to know that you talked about how you continue to go back to these same homes and so you start to know these people and you can mentor them. On the face of this, it sounded like you showed up for people's birthday, gave them a cake and left. That's not at all what this is. No. The birthday celebrations, the hook, the work is after the birthday celebration. It's almost like a catalyst to kind of allow us to get to know these children. Talk about that. Yeah, it's it's truthfully, it's an entry way for us to get to know these children. Talk about that. Yeah, it's truthfully, it's an entryway for us to get to know these kids and their needs and what we can do to kind of help them.

Also, not just the kids, but the people serving the kids or doing the best serve the kids that are largely under-resourced. I mean, you're making their lives easier too. As I hear you, that's what's dawning on me. Well, sure. I mean, not only the foster families, they do a lot, right? They've got a lot going on and they've got different things.

They're juggling. Some of these kids have therapy appointments and this and that, and they're trying their best to provide them the safe home. And I'm sure they're very overwhelmed. Parents that are losing their children, I can't even fathom in a million years what that must feel like. And I never want to. And I'm grateful that I can't even fathom in a million years what that must feel like. And I never want to, and I'm grateful that I don't have to, but I wanna make sure that I can make it as easy as I can

for them to love on them in some capacity and let them know I'm here. Even if they just wanna talk, even as we get to know these children. So birthdays are an entryway for us to get into the lives of these children, to help them, to guide them, to just let them know again. I think it all revolves around that.

They matter. They matter. They just need a little bit of love and attention and guidance. Even the roughest and the toughest and the ones that have been through so much, they just need that extra touch of love that I think sometimes they don't feel they receive. So when I coached the Manassas, I coached some tough boys from the hood, tough kids. And. We often judge books by their cover, and that is so cliche, but we really do.

I can't tell you what it is like to look at a, I'm going to say a former gang member because kids that played for me were not allowed to be on gangs and I'm under no rose-colored glasses and some of them snuck off and did stuff. But by and large, we really worked hard to break some of that cycle. But whether they were active or inactive, based on where they came up and how they came up, a 16, 17 year old boy from the hood who's been out and about that is also playing football, we can just suffice to say they're pretty tough kids. And they've also developed, much like a turtle does, a very hard shell on the outside to be able to cope with their circumstances.

There is nothing in my experience like watching that shell literally melt away like melting wax. And you finally get to see the humanity and the sweetness in the child underneath all of it. Because even in these 16, 17, 18 year old very, very tough boys, it's still there. One of the reasons why I was, I don't even know if in today's world it would even be considered acceptable, although I'd still do it and would.

I would hug my players a lot. I wanted my guys to know that it's okay for a man to hug a young man in a mentoring, loving way. And you wouldn't believe how they thought of fought it first, if you can just imagine. But over time, it was one of the most rewarding experiences of everything I did is because to watch the shell melt away and to get to that little boy inside there that just was dying for love and care and concern. Through these birthday things, have you seen those shells melt? Oh, a thousand percent, yes. I always like to quote Dr. Seuss. It's my very favorite

quote in the whole world. And it says, you never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory. And so for me, I hope that these moments that I can give them, that I can spend with these children, that I can watch their shells kind of disappear through time, I hope that for these children they become memories that they'll carry around with them for a lifetime. And remember, somebody loved me. Even our cards, we accept that that's what we use,

handmade birthday cards from people they don't even know. That's what we ask for. Because to me that just signifies that somebody they don't know know. That's what we ask for. Because to me, that just signifies that somebody they don't know made them that they care about them. And if we can just impart that into these children that have been through these difficult times to let them know you're loved, I'm telling you a million times

that that's what we're meant to do. So here's another quote, a staff member at an afterschool center. We will never forget the day that one of the little girls in our center who barely speaks because she's so shy, taught more than she ever has and was so excited to have a special day to call her own, which had never happened before. That's the show. That's what I'm talking about.

A kid that won't even speak because they're shy. A lot of that is a defense mechanism. And to have a day of her own to come out just because someone took the time to celebrate her birthday. Something as simple as that. Jamiah Holder, this year was really difficult. I ended up losing my job, so I'm home with my mother, taking her back and forth to chemo.

This year wasn't going to be a good birthday for Wisdom. Wisdom, I assume, was her daughter. It was really overwhelming for me just to see her face when they came up with a birthday prize for her just to make her day special. From Wisdom, seven years old, they made me feel so happy because they in my heart and they've made me so special on my birthday. You are some of my favorite people because you all gave me a better birthday. Seven year old out of the miles of babes. And we stayed in touch with that family. I was just about to say, tell me about wisdom. I gotta believe you know who they are. Wisdom and Heaven are two little girls.

Wisdom and Heaven are the children's names? Yes. Okay, go ahead. That's great. Unfortunately, Jamiah just lost her mother about three months ago. She was taking care of her with chemo, taking her back and forth to doctor's appointments, couldn't find a job just because her mom was so sick, had the girls there. Her niece got dropped off by her sister and her sister just left. And so then she inherited her niece and she was really just trying to do her best by everybody. And so Jamiah has just been a loving, beautiful person that we've gotten to know just because we served her daughter wisdom and they're doing okay. They're a little behind in school and so kind of working on it. But

that's just a prime example of investing in our families and loving on them just not with the birthday, but after the fact. Hi, I'm Molly Conger, host of Weird Little Guys, a new podcast from Cool Zone Media on iHeartRadio. I've spent almost a decade researching right-wing extremism, digging into the lives of people you wouldn't be wrong to call monsters. But if Scooby-Doo taught us one thing, it's that there's a guy under that monster mask. I've collected the stories of hundreds of aspiring little Hitlers of the suburbs,

from the Nazi cop who tried to join ISIS, to the National Guardsmen plotting to assassinate the Supreme Court, to the Satanist soldier who tried to get his own unit blown up in Turkey. The monsters in our political closets aren't some unfathomable evil. They're just some weird guy. And you can laugh. Honestly, I think you have to. Seeing these guys for what they are doesn't mean they're not a threat.

It's a survival strategy. So join me every Thursday for a look under the mask at the Weird Little Guys Trying to Destroy America. Listen to Weird Little Guys on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Andrea Gunning, host of the all new podcast, There and Gone. It's a real life story of two people who left a crowded Philadelphia bar, walked to their truck and vanished.

Nobody hears anything. Nobody sees anything. Did they run away? Was it an accident or were they murdered? A truck and two people just don't disappear. The FBI called it murder for hire. It was definitely murder for hire for Danielle, not for Richard. He's your son. And in your eyes, he's innocent.

But in my eyes, he's just some guy my sister was with. In this series, I dig into my own investigation to find answers for the families and get justice for Richard and Danielle. Listen to There and Gone South Street on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenni Kaplan, host of Womanica,

a daily podcast that introduces you to the fascinating lives of women history has forgotten. This month, we're bringing you the stories of athletes. There's the Italian race car driver who courted danger and became the first woman to compete in Formula One. The sprinter who set a world record and protested racism and discrimination in the U.S. and around the world in the 1960s. The diver, who was barred from swimming clubs due to her race and went on to become the first Asian-American woman to win an Olympic medal. She won gold twice. The mountaineer, known in the Chinese press as the tallest woman in the world.

And the ancient Greek charioteer, who exploited a loophole to become the first-ever woman to compete at the Olympic Games. Listen to Wamanica on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm David Eagleman from the podcast Inner Cosmos, which recently hit the number one science podcast in America. I'm a neuroscientist at Stanford and I've spent my career exploring the three-pound universe in our heads. We're looking at a whole new series of episodes this season to understand why and how our lives look the way they do. Why does your

memory drift so much? Why is it so hard to keep a secret? When should you not trust your intuition? Why do brains so easily fall for magic tricks? And why do they love conspiracy theories? I'm hitting these questions and hundreds more because the more we know about what's running under the hood, the better we can steer our lives. Join me weekly to explore the relationship between your brain and your life by digging into unexpected questions.

Listen to Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Our iHeartRadio Music Festival, presented by Capital One. Coming back to Las Vegas. September 20th and 21st, streaming live only on Hulu. Don't miss. Big Sean, Camila Cabello, Doja Cat, Gwen Stefani, Hozier, Keith Urban, New Kids on the Block, Paramore, Shaboosie, The Black Crows, Thomas Rhett, Victoria Monet and more. Get tickets to our 2024 iHeart Radio

Music Festival presented by Capital One right now before they sell out at AXS.com. by Capital One right now before they sell out at AXS.com. You had such a bright smile then you started crying. I'm sorry. I'm still happy. It brings me such emotion because I never expected any of this. And I'm so... It's where passion meets opportunity and the passion oozes out of you. It's where passion meets opportunity and the passion loses out of you. I think oftentimes we make a really poor value judgment when we see poor people. And what I mean by that is I'm thinking, I can't get over the story of a mother and a father and two children in a car under a bridge. And I think it's easy societally to say, those are bad parents.

Anybody who's got two kids in a car under a bridge, I mean, there's gotta be something they can do to go make a living, right? I mean, how about, I just, you know, and then you talk about your first experience, the poor grandmother with the three kids, but their mother's in jail. Why wasn't she doing something to keep herself out of jail and put those three kids in front of whatever it was she was doing to get in jail?

I mean, we can start passing these value judgments all day every day. But there's two things. One, that you said the children did not ask to be put in this position. So make your value judgments all you want, but don't judge a child. They didn't choose the zip code or situations at the at the moment of their conception and birth. So whatever societal ills you think their parents are bringing upon us, they're tenfold for the children because they're living and experiencing it every day. So let's be careful about the value judgments,

especially as it pertains to the kids of the folks who are in these situations. The second thing is that maybe it's more profound to me. And I would love for you to comment on what I'm about to say. Sure. Is yeah, they're in a car under a bridge with two kids. And I am certain there have been some bad decisions

that led to having two cars, two kids, and a husband and wife in a car under a bridge. And God only knows if they're really husband and wife or just common law folks. Right. But they called. They called you to come and try to give their child some happiness so clearly they have love,

they have a consciousness of their children's needs and a want and a desire to try to do something for them. And at the very basics of it, they have mirrors. And I can only imagine the pain that they feel when they're looking at themselves in the mirrors knowing they have two children in a car living under a bridge. So for whatever circumstances got them there in the first place, one, the children didn't ask for it. And two, the mere fact that the parents are asking for help means there is some slimmer

of hope in there and there is something inside them that say, yeah, we're broke, and I'm broken, and I messed up, but I still love my child, and I want something for them help. Right. Is there not some kind of societal thing going on there that is at play here, and that you have to juggle? You know, I try my best never to judge any situation

because couldn't we all just be one step away from homelessness? I mean, couldn't we lose a job tomorrow? Couldn't something happen to one of us? Somebody get FMLA or be out sick or your husband? I mean, we're all really just one step away. Anything could happen in our lives. So who am I to judge anyone else? That's the first thing and that's how I feel about it. I remember one time a volunteer approached

me because she served a home that was really in a very nice subdivision. Now I knew the story behind the home but the volunteer didn't and we do try and kind of tell them but I remember her coming back to me. She says, wow, that lady that I served with that child, she lived in a really nice house. And I said, yeah, she did. But did you know that she just lost her husband nine weeks ago, and she's alone with four children now trying to make it in that nice house?

Did you know that? She looked at me and she says, no, I didn't know that. And I said, so we never judge situations, and we never ask about if they're reaching out to us, the object is they most likely have a need, right? Why else call? They care, there are some things missing there. And so it's not for me to judge.

I'll leave it to the Lord to judge. I'm just gonna make sure that these innocent children, as you described, are taken care of. I kind of expected you to say that. And I think it's a great lesson, as you described are taken care of. I kind of expected you to say that. And I think it's a great lesson, which is if someone's reaching out, it's not to rig a system, they're not con artists, there may be one in 7,000, there might be,

but is it worth the one in 7,000 of being guarded for to actually help the other 6,999 that legitimately need help, regardless of what you think about their circumstances, where they come from, and ultimately children who never asked to be in this position in the first place. And the opportunity to end the depths of lots of despair and trauma and God knows what else is going on in their lives to make one joyous, happy day for a child is gold. So true, so true. You know, throughout these children, I remember,

and it came about again, very organically, because I feel like everything has with celebrate birthdays. My sister's birthday a year ago was on July the 7th and she just had it again. And I remember her saying to me, Belinda, is there a child on my birthday that maybe I could give something to you? Is there a child that shares my birthday with me? And I looked through my records and I found a kiddo named Jose and I said, yes, Milani, there's this little boy. She said, well, can I donate specifically to him? And I said, sure. So I went out to the house and met the single mom and the brother and the sister and I delivered to Jose and my sister had donated some money to me to be able to do that, to celebrate. And I went out and I took a picture and I sent it back to my sister. About an hour later, maybe hour and a half, my sister calls me crying.

And she said, I feel so good. Thank you for sending me this. Like I loved it. This made me feel good on my birthday to be able to do this for him. And I said, no, thank you, Melani, because you've made a difference. And so my mom's birthday is August the fifth. So as soon as she saw that Melani had done this, she was like, Oh, I want to get a kid for my birthday. Is there a kiddo that I can share my birthday with? And so sadly enough, it didn't used to be this way. But now we have more than one child every single day of the year.

There's not a day that goes by, not Christmas, not New Year's, that we don't have children's names that need to be celebrated. And so my mom did the same thing. And I was able to get a picture for my mom and send it to her and The very similar response like I love this and so we created a birthday twin program where for your birthday You can celebrate this child. It's on our website

You can if I can get pictures believe me I try and do it as best as I can and as much as I can doesn't know what's happened But I certainly try and so it's just a way for everybody in the world to kind of help these kids be able to be celebrated. And so now you've gone to the other end of the spectrum and you take care of really old folks in nursing homes that don't have part-tice. Is that right? I'm a nurse! I'm a nurse! It's what I do! So many of these of these, you know, seniors, they're, they're alone, they maybe lost children along the way, or they're, you know, especially during COVID, they were under

restriction and facilities were locked and people couldn't get in to see them and they just need love too. And so we try our best to love on our seniors, we go out Mother's Day, Father's Day, we take them little, you know, goodie bags, and they're so happy with a little child size pack of tissues and you would have just thought you gave them everything in the world. It's just, it's that interaction, it's that attention again, that love that just kind of simple act of kindness. It just goes such a long, long way.

I get that you're reaching in your pocketbook and helping out with the first kid and the grandmother and the people and the thing. But in four or five years, you've now served over 6,000 people and you've got 50 active volunteers and 200 something active. And now I think you've quit your job as a nurse and become the executive director. That's true. How does this work? I mean, this costs money.

Yeah, it was scary at first. I wasn't sure. And I still do PRN nursing just to keep my license active and because I've done it for so very long, but it was a very scary jump. But because of the volume now of what we do, I had to make the jump. And so I truly could not think of a better thing that I would want to do every single day.

No matter how it gets hard, it cost a ton of money. At the beginning, we were buying all the cakes ourselves. Literally, we put a lot into making sure that this happened. But no matter where we're at in our bank account, no matter what happens, I will never stop. I hear me so clear on that, celebrating these children. And I hope that everybody sees the worth and the value behind why we're doing it. And I know it's not a necessity, right? It's not housing. It's not shelter. It's not food, you know, but for the emotional well-being of a child, it means everything. So where do you get the funds? Are you raising money? I mean, what do you do? No.

Do you have somebody donating the cakes and the gifts? I mean, how is this working? Yeah, we've been so blessed to be able to find bakers that help us. They bring cupcakes and different things to our parties now so we don't have to buy them all out of pocket. We run- People donate that? Yeah.

That's beautiful. Sometimes we have bakers and stuff that donate our cupcakes and our different cakes for us. We often run low on the same things and they're items for toddlers and items for teens. For a teen, sometimes what we'll do is we'll give like a low increment gift card, especially for our foster teens. So they feel like they're empowered. So if their friends say, hey, you want to go to the movies or hey, you want to go to McDonald's, they're not like, oh, I can't afford to.

Well, no, I've got a McDonald's gift card I can go I've got so we do like a small increment gift card and we do like bath and body sets things like axe deodorants and sprays like it goes a long way for a teen and that's the area that we always seem to kind of struggle with because you know as they get older it kind of gets harder versus the smaller ones that we get toys. But we rely on our community. We rely on individuals. We have monthly party partners that we ask to come alongside with us and give a small amount every month to kind of help us be able to continue the volume of what we do. Wow.

So you're developing relationships in the community that are just, yeah, small businesses trying to reach out to, you know, it's been so hard because I've worked full time as a nurse and so I haven't had time to be able to network any of these companies. And I'm so involved right now, even in the programming, and the day to day and making sure that all these kids are getting their boxes and that everything is done that I don't have the time to go knocking on the doors of businesses. So I try my very best to get out there, but it's hard. We'll be right back. Hi, I'm Molly Conger, host of Weird Little Guys, a new podcast from Cool Zone Media on iHeartRadio. I spent almost a decade researching right-wing extremism, digging into the lives of people you wouldn't be wrong to call monsters. But if Scooby-Doo taught us one thing, it's that there's a guy under that monster mask. I've collected the stories of hundreds of aspiring

little Hitlers of the suburbs, from the Nazi cop who tried to join ISIS, to the National Guardsmen plotting to assassinate the Supreme Court, to the Satanist soldier who tried to get his own unit blown up in Turkey. The monsters in our political closets aren't some unfathomable evil. They're just some weird guy. And you can laugh. Honestly, I think you have to. Seeing these guys for what they are doesn't mean they're not a threat.

It's a survival strategy. So join me every Thursday for a look under the mask at the weird little guys trying to destroy America. Listen to Weird Little Guys on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Andrea Gunning, host of the all new podcast There and Gone. It's a real life story of two people who left a crowded Philadelphia bar, walked to their truck and vanished. Nobody hears anything. Nobody sees anything. Did they run away? Was it an accident or were they murdered?

A truck and two people just don't disappear. The FBI called it murder for hire. It was definitely murder for hire for Danielle, not for Richard. He's your son and in your eyes he's innocent, but in my eyes he's just some guy my sister was with. In this series, I dig into my own investigation to find answers for the families and get justice for Richard and Danielle. All that they know.

Listen to There and Gone South Street on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenni Kaplan, host of Womanica, a daily podcast that introduces you to the fascinating lives of women history has forgotten. This month we're bringing you the stories of athletes. There's the Italian race car driver who courted danger and became the first woman to compete in Formula One. The sprinter who set a world record and protested racism and discrimination in the U.S. and

around the world in the 1960s. The diver who was barred from swimming clubs due to her race and went on to become the first Asian-American woman to win an Olympic medal. She won gold twice. The mountaineer, known in the Chinese press as the tallest woman in the world. And the ancient Greek charioteer, who exploited a loophole to become the first-ever woman to compete at the Olympic Games. Listen to Wamanica on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, I'm David Eagleman from the podcast Inner Cosmos, which recently hit the number one science podcast in America. I'm a neuroscientist at Stanford and I've spent my career exploring the three pound universe in our heads. We're looking at a whole new series of episodes this season to understand why and how our lives look the way they do. Why does your memory drift so much? Why is it so hard to keep a secret?

When should you not trust your intuition? Why do brains so easily fall for magic tricks? And why do they love conspiracy theories? I'm hitting these questions and hundreds more because the more we know about what's running under the hood, the better we can steer our lives. Join me weekly to explore the relationship between your brain and your life by digging into unexpected questions. Listen to Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or live only on Hulu. Don't miss. Big Sean, Camila Cabello, Doja Cat, Gwen Stefani, Pozier, Keith Urban, New Kids on the Block, Paramore, Shaboosie, The Black Crows, Thomas Rhett, Victoria Monet. And more. Get tickets to our 2024 iHeartRadio Music Festival, presented by Capital One right now, before they sell out. At AXS.com.

before they sell out at AXS.com. We have interviewed just the widest range of people and some have massive organizations now with thousands of people and big, big budgets. Some operate cafes where people can just come in and pay what they can afford to pay, and it's just all over the place. You are a shining example of exactly what we're talking about when we began this whole thing of an army of normal folks, in that no one tagged you, no one, you didn't join, you just saw a need and filled it. And little by little over the course of time, you've built a kind of for lack of a better term, just a mom and pop shop and did a little social media

and got a few people to help here and there. And here you are now, you've got an organization serving kids and putting a smile on their face and using it as you said as a conduit to be able to get into people's life and mint warm and everything else. And nobody trains you to do this. No. You just saw an Eden Felted. So what does that say to the rest of the people around our country that know there are issues in their communities, have the ability, and don't?

And I mean this only in the best of ways. What is your encouragement to people through your experience? Yeah. This has been the most humbling? Yeah. Through your experience. Yeah, this has been the most humbling and the most gratifying experience I could have ever asked for in my whole life. As I said earlier, it's given back so much more to me than I've given out.

And so if there's a need or you're wondering, what can I do or how do I do it, I urge you to just sit down and it will fall into place, but you've got to take that first step, you know? Start with something small. And I never thought, I never dreamed. I still don't even feel like I'm worthy of sitting here today having this interview with you.

Honestly, like I'm nothing special at all. I just want these kids to feel loved. And so if they have something they see in their community that they gravitate towards to whether it's pets or food or there's so many needs all around you just start with one small step and watch and see if that doesn't grow. Good for me. That is a similar response that almost everybody gives. Just take the first step. Understand that the government

has proven woefully inadequate. All the smart people on CNN and Fox, using all the big words, they're not fixing anything. It's just people like you and me having the temerity to take the first step on something they're passionate about that they have a small ability to help them stay consistent and watch it grow and you're a shining example of that.

It's scary. I won't say it's not scary to do it and you often feel like you're ill-equipped and not able, what do I do now? But I assure you all the answers will come as long as you are committed to the cause that you're passionate about. If people are listening to us and want to find out more about Celebrate Birthdays, where do they find you? Yeah, they can go to our website at celebratebirthdays.org.

That's the best place to find information about us and see some of the videos and the pictures, even if some of the kiddos that we've talked about today. If somebody says, I wanna do that in my neighborhood, how do they talk to you? Yeah. Can they email you somewhere? Oh, please, I encourage them to email me. I encourage them to call me.

I will gladly speak to them and guide them through the best way that I can. How do they email you? Where? Yes, they can email me at info at celebratebirthdays.org. Why couldn't this be in every city in America? I hope that one day it is. I think that it deserves to be. And I certainly think that people need to know the worth of the self-esteem and the

uplifting enhancement that a birthday can give for a child. It seems so very simple and it seems like some things it's not even important. But I assure you from watching kiddos cry to grab my leg that it is one of the most valuable things out there. It really truly is. Okay. It's not fair to ask you a favorite because there's probably a lot of favorites. Okay. Beyond the ones you've told us, leave us with something that's going to inspire somebody. A story of celebrating a birthday that you'll never forget or that really sums up. So many.

I literally, like my brain is flooded as you're asking me that. Okay, give me the most recent one. How about that? Okay. The most recent one that you know that impacted a kid's life. Okay.

There was a little girl named Skylar and Skylar was turning four years old. Skylar had just been taken out of her home where she had been kept in a dog cage. A what? You heard me. She'd been kept in a dog cage. A four year old. Yes. She was still in diapers. She'd been kept in a dog cage. A four-year-old?

Yes. She was still in diapers. She had never had a birthday before. She was fed in the cage and kept in the cage. What animal does that? I don't ask questions. I just am glad that Skylar's in a safe home now. We were able to go out and we were able to visit Skylar and take her

a cake and the family she was placed with was working on trying to acclimate her you know to come out of the corner and out of the kind of cage and she came and I remember her like you know seeing pictures my volunteer Billy Joe delivered to her and I remember just her joy watching Skylar and she said she cried just kind of you know looking at her she was still in diapers having trouble speaking But they she was in a safe place now and so just she came out of the corner because she had a birthday Yes, we have a picture of her and everything yeah, like I said she was still in diapers in a onesie And they were trying to really work with her

She was obviously very very delayed from where she should be as a four-year-old But yes, I have a picture of her. Billy Joe said she smiled and it was just such joy, such joy for her. So I don't think I'll ever forget that. Yeah. So, I mean, honestly, this can be done really in any city in the country. Um, as we said, but I also, I can't help, but think this would be awesome to be, this could be picked up by things like the Rotary Club, the Optimist Club, churches.

I mean, why is what you're doing not something that could be easily folded into organizations that already exist with a number of built-in volunteers ready to act. And truthfully, I think that it's something that if people knew about the need, they could. As I told you, I have lived in Tampa for 40 something years and didn't know about this as a need. It's something you don't often think about, right? It's not in the forefront. If I hadn't found it, I probably would have never done anything about it because I didn't

know that it existed. But now that we know that it's an issue, and I'm sure it's a widespread issue because we get people writing us from different states asking for help from Colorado, from all over, which is difficult for us to try and do that. And we're looking at it, but it's a difficult process. So if our church has stepped up as a community, just our own backyards, our community, we work with rotary clubs back home, Kiwanis clubs help us. So I just think it's an awesome opportunity for all over the world to kind of get on board and, and help. So all these people that I hear say, man, I have a heart

to help. I just don't know how. Yeah, start with a simple birthday. Here it is. I love it. I love it. And it is a little bit of a call to action because anybody who's listening to us now that's a member of a church, a synagogue, a rotary club, a Qantas club, an optimist club, the excuse is over because you know the need exists and you know how simple it is. And all you got to do is call you and email you. I'll do it simple at this what it starts with first

step. I love it. So if you hear celebrate birthdays and you think this is just about dropping off balloons and cakes to kids and then leaving, it's a much deeper It's investing in their lives. Yeah. I don't know that sitting in a car with four of my buddies eating popcorn and watching a drive-in back when I was in fifth grade was the best thing in my life, but I can tell you this. Had I been in a cage, maybe it would have been. And you really can change lives through celebrating a birthday, and I think you're proving that.

Thank you so much. I feel like we make a difference for these children. I hope so anyways. You're a phenomenal person. Thank you. So are you. I love your passion. I love your story, and I can't wait for people to hear it. And I can't tell you how much I appreciate you

coming to Memphis and, you know, maybe next time you can fly. I'm gonna miss you when I leave. I'm gonna keep in touch with all of you. Y'all don't think you've seen the last of me. Somehow I believe that. Somehow I believe that. Yeah.

Somehow I believe all of that. Thank you so much. It has been my absolute honor to meet you and pleasure and I just can't wait to see where you take it from here and I hope somebody reaches out and says, you know, this isn't that hard now that Belinda has shown us how. Maybe somebody will do this in Memphis or Birmingham or Jacksonville or somewhere else and all I got to do is reach out and you'll tell them how. Promise.

That is what an Army of Normal Folks is all about. I really appreciate you being here. Thank you. And thank you for joining us this week. If Belinda Leto or other guests have inspired you in general or better yet inspired you to take action by volunteering with Celebrate Birthdays, by donating to them or by starting something similar like it in your own community or something else entirely, please I'm begging you let me know. I want to hear about it. You can write me anytime at bill at normal

folks dot us and I guarantee you this, I will respond to you. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with friends and on social. Subscribe to the podcast, rate and review it. Join the army at normal folks dotus. Consider becoming a premium member there. All of these things that will help us grow. An Army of Normal Folks. Thanks to our producer, Iron Light Labs. I'm Bill Courtney. I'll see you next week. Hi, I'm Molly Conger, host of Weird Little Guys, a new podcast from Cool Zone Media

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