Brian Brian Kelley, NJ, Philadelphia, Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies, Sixers, sports, Twitter

Why I won’t be tweeting much until July

A couple of months ago, I realized I was going to send my 10,000th post to Twitter at some point this year. At the time, I thought the milestone would come no sooner than mid-July, but I just happened to check the other day and noticed I was only 25 tweets away. That’s probably due to an unexpectedly high number of tweets related to the craptacularness of the 2012 Philadelphia Phillies.

After tonight’s huge Sixers 79-78, playoff series-clinching win over the Bulls in Game 6, my tweet count stands at 9,983. Once this post is published, it will also go to Twitter and put me at 9,984.

I estimate that 98 percent of these 9,984 tweets were inconsequential and unimportant. So I have decided that I want my 10,000th tweet to mean something. I would hate to think I may casually use that milestone to tell the world for about the 1,000th time that Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick sucks or use it to retweet a funny quip by a fellow fan or beat writer.

Since my wife and I are expecting our first child in early July, I would like to use that 10,000th tweet to announce the birth of my son or daughter (it’s a surprise). Therefore, I’m going to refrain from doing a lot of tweeting until that day comes.

I’ll still be reading my timeline and chiming in every now and then…hopefully, after another Sixers playoff round win…or two…or three?! But once I hit 9,995 tweets, I’m going to stop tweeting entirely until my wife goes into labor. Fortunately, the Phillies being so bad is actually helping at this point, as I’ve entered that phase where I now feel they’re just not worth tweeting about.

So if you don’t see me on Twitter much over the next eight weeks or so, this post explains my absence.

And, if you missed it when I posted this here in late December 2011, here is the horror/sci-fi teaser trailer I made to tell my family and friends about our new addition…because I’m a huge geek…

Baby Kelley Teaser Trailer

Brian 76ers, Back On My Feet, homeless, Philadelphia, Philadelphia 76ers, running, Sixers

Helping the homeless get back on their feet

Back On My Feet logoI was home tonight watching the surprising Philadelphia 76ers throttle the Seatlle SuperSonics tonight…and the Sixers were honoring a Philly-based organization that I think is really neat.

The organization is called Back On My Feet and, as the Web site describes it…

…is “a strategic and unique program that uses running to teach critical work and life skills — such as discipline, respect, leadership, and goal-setting — to homeless individuals living within the city of Philadelphia. Our clients are homeless shelters and our members are residents within those shelters, all of whom must have a record of being clean and sober of 30 consecutive days before starting the program. Back on My Feet does not provide either food or shelter. While these are very important basic human needs, BOMF instead focuses on improving self-value by helping its members set, accomplish and sustain their personal goals. In addition, BOMF promotes partnerships and collaborations with individuals and organizations already working diligently to solve the many problems associated with homelessness.

Here is the short version of how it got started:

Anne Mahlum, Founder and President, would pass by a homeless shelter every morning on her daily run and began to develop a rapport with the men outside on the corner. What started out as waves and smiles from a distance became more intimate as they developed a comfort level with one another. And one morning a simple idea stopped her in her tracks….

With a call to the shelter and the astounding support from the community, Philadelphia Runner and the media, Philadelphia’s first Homeless Running Club was well, up and running. The first run took place on Tuesday, July 3rd at 6 am…and now seven months later, we are operating in three different shelters. It’s pretty amazing.

And here is BOMF’s Mission Statement:

Mission Statement: Back on My Feet is a non-profit organization that promotes the self-sufficiency of Philadelphia’s homeless population by engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem.

Here is video of an ABC News story on BOMF’s founder Anne Mahlum.

If you would like to learn more, please visit www.backonmyfeet.org for information.