MISSIONBE

Everything is interconnected and we are all one, one wave effects the other and so it goes. To understand the ripple effect that Virgin Unite has made on my life I would like first explain the magic that led me to intersect with your beautiful path ...  Carin Winter

One day, while meditating in the temple at Yogananda Ashram in Palo Alto, while repeating the mantra, “How may I serve,” I had an inspirational download to, “Throw Dan Kottke a Birthday Party”. At the time, this spiritual epiphany didn't make much sense on how throwing Daniel a birthday party would serve the greater good but, I was certain it would cheer him up and who is to say that impacting a friend’s life in the simplest doesn’t change the world! At the party, I met a fella named Patrick Furlotti, the founder of YouRip. We were speaking about interesting events in the world, mindfulness and climate issues. I mentioned that I was recently invited to Ox Ranch for a philanthropic event to speak on behalf of the charity Mission Be and he then offered to pay for my attendance to represent Mission Be. 

At the Ox Ranch event I met Jim Anderson, the founder of Legacy Ventures in Palo Alto, who now supports our mindful education program at Stanford Children’s Hospital at the Ronald Mc Donald House on Sandhill Road for children with cancer and their siblings. Jim has been supporting the program the last two years and from there, we found more funding from other foundations to support our work!  I also met the lovely Toni von dem Hagen at Ox Ranch, she has become a dear friend and donor. She has been the main sponsor for our Grace Cathedral event in San Fransico where we awarded spiritual leaders such as Ram Dass and Thich Nhat Hahn. Toni also invited me as her guest to the Ocean Gala, where I met Glenn and April Bucksbaum who have funded our Mindful Music and Sound Healing program! Toni also joined the Mission Be advisory board and has supported us in many ways! Toni also introduced me to the founder of the LaureL Foundation who has generously given to Mission Be to support our bookkeeper and my assistant year-round! At Ox Ranch I also met Senada Adzem who invited me to Tiger 21 event in Boca Raton where I helped her host an amazing party and I met Elena Moseng who became a main sponsor at my Gala in New York and a member of the Mission Be Board and who I also invited to attend your Virgin Unite on Necker! 

Most importantly, I became close with Cathey Cotten who works at KI Social, Cathey has become a Mission Be advisory member who has been a guiding light of wisdom in my life and a dear friend and one thing I learned from all of this, is that the greatest riches come from deep and meaningful friendships and that when we value our friends, we truly do “change the world”.