Meet Cansu Olce, Mathematician and Tutor

Cansu Olce is a mathematician who has been tutoring for seven years. She is preparing a mathematics competition for high school students in Brisbane, Australia in April of 2016. The profit will be donated to Australian cancer research foundation. Learn more by visiting her website at www.astarmaths.com.au.

1. How did you first come to feel a strong interest in mathematics?

I was always attracted to the challenge of thinking and the process of logic since primary school. I enjoy mathematics a lot. It can be used to define the symmetry in nature or manage global companies. I feel that the elegance and logic of the subject is the reason for my desire to study it at a more advanced level.

2. What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands?

Every parent wants to learn the answer of this question. I ask students if they understand. If so, I give them a practice question and give them some time to attempt it. If they can do it, I move on to slightly more advanced questions. If they cannot solve the question, I do it together with them, and explain again along the way.

3. Would you tell us more about the mathematics competition you're organizing for April of 2016?

The mathematics competition will be for high school students in Brisbane. There are two categories, junior and senior. There are 25 multiple choice questions in the booklets. The top three students in each category will be awarded with cups. A participation certificate will be given to every student in the competition. This is an opportunity for students to discover their talents in maths and also to help cancer patients. All the profit will be donated to Cancer Council Australia.

4. How did you decide on the charity to receive the profits from the competition?

My dad is fighting colon cancer. I know how hard to deal with this illness. Every donation makes a vital difference to researchers' ability to speed up discoveries in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and cure.

5. What is your best advice for students of all ages who are struggling with math?

We are only human, and we can make mistakes. Don't be ashamed! When you are feeling unsure about a problem, ask questions. In mathematics you need a lot of practice. Practice makes perfect. You can't improve your maths skills without practicing. Take advantage of the resources around you. Stay positive. You can't get high marks with a negative attitude.

Thanks, Cansu!

Introducing CharityCarWash.org, A Unique Fundraising Opportunity

Are you in the greater Seattle area? Do you want to raise money for a nonprofit organization? Are you looking for a project that requires minimal time and effort in arranging? We all love car washes to support charitable organizations, but here's a cool twist on that classic fundraiser: CharityCarWash.org lets you raise money for your group by selling tickets for professional car washes.

So instead of spending hours signing up volunteers and washing cars, you can simply sell these vouchers to your family, friends, coworkers, and anyone else who wants to get their car professionally washed, save money, and support a local nonprofit at the same time.

And even better, you're promoting an environmentally friendly way for people to wash their cars, so in addition to supporting nonprofits, you're helping to protect the Puget Sound, too, as the water from the car washes (with all the dirty residue from your car, including oil, wax, etc!) is piped to treatment centers rather than being washed down storm drains.

When you order a block of tickets, they are customized with two lines of text with the name and a brief amount of information about your charity. There are tickets for attended car washes and tickets for self-serve car washes in the greater Seattle/Tacoma area; see a list of participating car washes here.

Basically, the way that your nonprofit group makes money with these tickets is that you're able to purchase the tickets for less than half of their recommended resale value. The CharityCarWash.org website includes a lot of good hints for having a successful fundraiser, including doing a ticket pre-sale, making a video about your sale to share on social media, and selling your tickets at high-traffic sites like grocery stores.

Remember, this is what happens if you wash your car in your driveway:

For a unique and green fundraiser, check out CharityCarWash.org, a project of the Puget Sound Car Wash Association.

Meet Steve Austin, Author of Grace Is Messy

Steve Austin is an author, motivational speaker, worship leader, full-time sign language interpreter. He's been a husband for the past seven years, and is the father of Ben (2 1/2) and Caroline (3 months).

Learn more about Steve on his website, and by checking out the Go Fund Me campaign to publish his book, Grace Is Messy, which will help support The WellHouse, an organization combating sex trafficking in Birmingham, Alabama.

1. What motivated you to write your book, Grace Is Messy?

2. In writing the book, what resources did you draw on: your own experiences, the experiences of others, reflections on the Bible...?

Mandy, thanks so much for the interview. I'm honored to share with you and hope that my story and this new project will inspire others to seek honesty with themselves and the Hope that comes when they give themselves and others a second chance. An encounter with radical grace can truly change the course of one's life.

Growing up, I was molested as a four-year-old, I lived through the experience of my Mom's sister killing herself when I was a young teen and watching my two teenage cousins live through this grief, and lived through my own father's affair when I was in my early twenties. I watched my mother hurt so bad, but I also watched her show my dad grace like I had never experienced before, even though I had grown up as an active church member.

I began to realize that there is much more to life than being a "Sunday morning Christian" and that I wanted to experience this radical, freeing grace.

3. What is The WellHouse, and how will your book help support this organization?

The WellHouse is a faith-based and Christ-centered nonprofit organization offering immediate shelter and transitional housing to women who have been trafficked, are prostituting, or otherwise sexually exploited. Food, clothing, spiritual guidance, Christian counseling, and other necessities are provided, along with assisting with referrals for substance abuse treatment, if needed. Life skills classes, GED preparation, and other enrichment services are part of the experience to help these women become self-sufficient and give them a sense of self-worth. The goal is for women to go on to live full and productive lives.

Few shelters exist for sexually exploited women.

The WellHouse is the only 24-hour shelter offering immediate housing assistance to women being prostituted in the Southeast. Other shelters have entry requirements undermining a woman's access to an immediate, safe environment, such as requiring state identification, proof of homelessness, and other prerequisites, which this population of women may not have. The WellHouse does not require qualifying information. While in the program, residents receive assistance in obtaining the identification and documentation they need to rebuild their lives.

Safety is an ongoing concern. Exploited women cannot experience personal progress and future success, if their safety is in question or jeopardized. The length of time in the program is guided by safety and individual needs, since most residents have no other resources available than those provided by the WellHouse.

50% of the proceeds from each book will go directly to support the mission of The WellHouse, in fighting sex trafficking on the I-20 corridor, from Texas to Atlanta.

4. I think many people hear about sex trafficking but might not realize why it's still so pervasive today. Could you tell us a little bit about why combating sex trafficking is so important?

When you consider that 27 million are trafficked each year, that 80% of those are women and 50% of those are children, it is a crushing statistic. My heart aches for those exploited ones, and I want to see us come together and do something about it. I wanted this book to do more than just sit on a shelf and collect dust.

5. Why did you choose to pursue funding for Grace Is Messy via crowdfunding, and would you tell us a little more about your Go Fund Me campaign?

I wanted to give everyone the opportunity to give back. In this country, we are so blessed. Blessed more than we could ever possibly imagine. I wanted people to be able to to join the fight against human trafficking, whether it's donating $5 or $500, and the GoFundMe Campaign allows people to do just that. My friend Susan said, "With this campaign, a handful of people can change the world." I couldn't have said it better myself.

If anyone wants to join the fight, please go to http://www.gofundme.com/93lbf8 and donate. Every single dollar counts towards our goal of $10,000.

You can also follow updates at www.graceismessy.com, facebook.com/iamsteveaustin, and twitter.com/iamsteveaustin.

Mandy, again, thanks for your time and for spreading this awareness to more people.

God bless you!

Thanks, Steve!