Too often, mainstream media as well as blog focus on the ills and evils of the world. It is a nice change of pace to see someone attempting to do something nice for others.

Breanna McGowan is a senior at Centerville High School (a small suburb outside of Dayton, OH) with plans to study nursing at Sinclair Community College after graduation. Recently, she volunteered with Projects Abroad. Projects Abroad is an organization which sends students to other countries to work with others and exchange knowledge about each others cultures. McGowan was sent to Ghana and what she discovered there made her want to get more involved and help others.

When Breanna McGowan arrived in Ghana last summer as a volunteer with “Projects Abroad,” she never anticipated that she would become so attached to the students at the orphanage that she visited daily.

After returning home, the 17-year-old asked her mother, Laura McGowan, to help her start a charity aimed at providing shoes, school supplies and information for Ghanian students interested in studying in colleges in the United States.

This noble girl saw need in the world and decided to try to help. While many simply turn a blind eye or mutter "there but for the grace of God..." and have a moment of thanks that their plight isn't as bad...Breanna McGowan decided to do something. To engage.

McGowan is raising money at school with the help of her teacher, Sharon England, and fellow students in the Business Medical Tech Prep program. McGowan also has obtained corporate backing from the owners of Bill’s Donuts in Centerville.

Breanna said she and her friend, Brittany Combs, plan to travel to the Ghanian orphanage next summer to deliver the shoes and school supplies.

On the Projects Abroad website, McGowan goes in more depth about her story and what she plans to do for others.

I came back with a goal. I want to make a tangible difference. Those children don't have very much materially and I didn't want to just come home with fantastic pictures, sleep in my cushy bed and forget. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to change these kids’ lives more than just by spending some time with them for a couple of weeks. If they could be given more opportunities and resources to help them to be the best that they could be, what could that possibly do for their futures?

I decided to start an organisation called "All God's Children Got Shoes." This organisation will try to get new shoes and other supplies that the children need for each school year. So far my teachers, friends, acquaintances, and my church have joined me to help meet these goals. Additionally, we’d like to give the orphans in their last year of school information to help them possibly attend college in the US on student visas if they meet the requirements.

I am planning to go back to Ghana next summer. This time, I will take a friend along with me. She will get to meet my friends at the Outreach Orphanage and Evangelical International Mission and see for herself the beauty of Ghana and its people who have impacted my life forever.

I truly do believe that for every self-centered angry teabagger in the world, there are at least three Breanna McGowans. The problem is that too often people feel powerless to help others. But it isn't terribly difficult. Lend a hand when you see someone needs it. Listen when someone clearly needs to talk.

You can be more active in your community. If time doesn't permit, try opening your wallet to help others in need.

We have a sister blog entitled Give For Today which is a resource for finding charities and charitable organizations in your community, nationally, or internationally.

If you have the means, please think about following Breanna McGowan's example and helping others.