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While Americans take clean water for granted, other countries struggle with polluted and unsafe drinking water every day.

On Nov. 1, a team of 23 Rotary International members - including four from southern New Jersey - headed to Guatemala for a 10-day mission to help residents there deal with the growing issue of water pollution.

Team leader Ted Lands, 51, of Brigantine, Anthony Pinto, 36, of Atlantic City, Cheryl McDonough, 45, of Petersburg, and Scott Brown, 46, of Ocean City, are assisting Heart to Heart International with efforts to reverse the effects of pollution on local water sources there.

"I have been really pushing Ted to get us involved in a hands-on project like this, and we are finally going," said Pinto, who went to India in 2005 with Brown to assist with polio vaccinations. "We will put filters in, help them with cooking and cleaning situations and hopefully help them live a little better when it's all over."

The trip will cost each of the Rotarians $2,500.

"Heart to Heart will put us in two-candle hotels, not two-star hotels," Pinto said with a laugh. "It's definitely a working vacation."

Every Breath Counts

Lois Shohen-Brown has a lot of fight in her.

Diagnosed with lung cancer 14 years ago, then again three years later, after which she had her left lung removed, Shohen-Brown thought she was over the hump.

"Then, about two years ago, it progressed into the only lung I have left," she said.

But Shohen-Brown isn't letting all of the chemotherapy get to her.

As the president of Every Breath Counts, which raises awareness and funds to battle lung cancer, the 67-year-old Ventnor resident is determined to help as many people as she can.

"I converse with those that have it and try to help them," she said. "One of our main goals is to develop better programs for early detection so that people get checked out before there is a killer in their body."

As for Shohen-Brown, who is one of the head organizers of Saturday's first Every Breath Counts Walk, Shop & Brunch for Lung Cancer Awareness fundraiser at The Pier Shops at Caesars in Atlantic City, she's living her life like she advises others to.

"I walk three or four times a week, do my pottery and travel a lot," Shohen-Brown said. "You just have to go along with the program and live your life."

Short Stories

Absegami High School Principal Jeri-Lynn Gatto, of Mays Landing, recognized Galloway Township's Anthony Librizzi of Wachovia Bank for the Wachovia Foundation's contributions to the Renaissance Program at Absegami. Renaissance is a group of teachers, staff members and administrators with the goal of increasing student morale and reinforcing positive behavior through planned activities, which will in turn increase students' academics and attendance. … Ann Jungels, of Northfield, wrote to tell us that the Dennis Foreman Mini-Golf Fundraiser to help the 13-year-old Northfield student with pediatric kidney cancer at Mack & Manco Pizza and Congo Falls Golf Course on the Ocean City Boardwalk went great, raising more than $2,200 for the Foreman family. Northfield Girl Scout Troop 14632 and the Northfield Community School National Junior Honor Society helped with the benefit.

Lyn Soper contributed to this column.

Everyone Has a Story appears Sundays and Wednesdays. To share your story, call Scott Cronick at 609-272-7017 or e-mail him at scronick@pressofac.com.

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