For Father’s Day

MLK2If you are looking for a last minute father’s day suggestion, consider a donation in honor of your dad to one of these organizations, whose missions feel especially important this weekend: Southern Poverty Law Center, dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society; Beyond Differences, dedicated to ending social isolation among students in middle school;  Americans for Responsible Solutions, founded by Gabby and Mark Giffords to seek commonsense protections from gun violence; the National Alliance on Mental Illness, dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

Beyond Differences

Lili Rachel Smith and her friend Bill

I’ve just joined California Attorney General Kamala Harris, Marin County Schools Superintendent of Public Schools Mary Jane Burke and 25 others on the newly formed Advisory Board of Beyond Differences, a nonprofit whose mission is to spark a national conversation and ultimately bring an end to social isolation in middle school. Beyond Differences was founded by the parents of Lili Rachel Smith, a 15 ½ year old high school freshman who died unexpectedly in her sleep in October 2009 due to medical complications from Apert Syndrome, a rare cranial-facial syndrome. It is a great honor to support this work in her memory.