Achievements and Challenges: A Personal Note from Michael

Dear Friend,

This has been a year full of great achievements and challenges.

On the achievement side, the Josephson Institute and CHARACTER COUNTS!  have expanded our impact on children and the nation through the introduction of CHARACTER COUNTS! 4.0 (a major upgrade in strategy and services). We have begun to restore the best of Puerto Rico’s ethical culture with Tus Valores Cuentan, our CC! program in more than 300 schools. We have created a highly promising program for juvenile offenders, introduced CC! to Nigeria, and undertaken a number of high-profile projects in Law Enforcement and Business that could have long-term and far-reaching impact.

If you supported us in the past, we hope you are pleased and proud to know we have used every penny of our resources to improve the ethics of society here and abroad.

On the challenge side, the bad economy has severely constricted our traditional funding sources: donations and speaking fees continue to lag far behind our budget, and the loss of our largest platform to promote our message due to the cancellation of my radio commentaries in Southern California has placed new burdens on us.

I hope you have noticed and approve of the ways that we have been responding to our challenges — especially our efforts to build a much larger and more engaged online community.

We have enhanced our use of social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds. We have posted more videos on YouTube, and expanded the content of our business, sports and character educator blogs.

Our biggest investment — some think our biggest gamble — has been to devote a huge amount of time and lots of money converting this newsletter and the underlying blog .  The blog centers on my continuing efforts to share with you a daily commentary in audio and written versions, but with many added features, including quotations, observations and other material such as videos, images, articles and links worthy of your time. I hope it becomes a place you visit often just to poke around and find new sources of ideas and inspiration to improve your life.

And, as of last week, you can now subscribe to the podcasts of my commentaries  for free on iTunes. We have also launched a new smart phone app for iPhones and Android phones so you can access all the resources on the blog wherever you are, whenever you want.

If you appreciate our efforts and have found value in our work please make a year-end contribution of whatever you can afford.

I sincerely hope we have earned the right to ask for your financial support. Your contribution is tax-deductible, but more importantly, it is a way for you to express your gratitude and do your share in helping us do our work. You may also want to supplement your donation by spreading our message to your friends and associates by giving them books or tapes.

I think you know my personal gratitude for the very fact that you receive and read this newsletter will remain strong whether or not you make a donation.

Please accept my very best wishes to you and those you love for an extraordinary holiday season.

Michael

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