This letter is a clarification I wrote regarding a reminder that I posted in the October 19, 2006 HERO e-mail update (that announcement is included below the letter for reference).

Letter to HERO Subscribers - October 21, 2006

Dear HERO Subscribers,

In my desire to be brief and address a situation that continues to be a growing problem, I have created another problem with my announcement a few days ago in HERO.

First, please know that my only desire is to serve and to be a blessing. I have nothing to gain personally from running HERO or serving on the AFHE board or running the Geography Bee or any of the other things I do. I do these things because I am passionate about home education and I want to encourage others in their journey as they teach their children themselves at home.

An internet-based community of over 1250 families is impossible to control or police. There is no way I can make sure that everyone on the list is homeschooling or planning to, nor can I insure that everyone on the list is going to act with integrity and treat others well (although that is my strong desire and expectation). I cannot guarantee that all information shared in HERO is going to be acceptable or safe for everyone. But, as the moderator of HERO, I am doing my level best to guide and manage what happens here in an upright, God-honoring manner.

My role is to act as a channel for disseminating information that so many of you send in to share with your fellow homeschoolers. I have a biblical worldview, my relationship with the Lord, His Word, and His Spirit to guide me in my decision-making. I do not have the wisdom of Solomon. I am human, fallible, imperfect, and I am going to make mistakes. But I am doing my very best to be fair, honest, just, and wise in all that I do.

I have been praying about this and seeking the Lord and this is the place I keep coming to ...

I am called to minister to the homeschool community. I am offering a place where homeschooling parents can share information with one another in a Christian atmosphere/environment.

Some of you feel that it isn't a big deal to allow HERO to be open to all parents or anyone who wants to participate. Many others feel that HERO should be a community of fellow homeschooling parents. There is no way for me to please all of you or to make HERO what each of you thinks it should be. All I can do is stay true to the vision the Lord gave me 5 years ago for HERO and do what I'm called to do ... that is to serve the homeschool community.

I'm not trying to cut people off. I love people, but I am not called to serve all people. I am certainly not able to please all people. What I know without a shadow of a doubt is that I am called to serve the homeschool community. There are lots of possibilities and opportunities to reach a greater community of people through HERO. I have no doubt about that. But that is not my vision or what I feel led to do. There is a great sacrifice involved in running something like this ... my time, my family's time, my physical and emotional energy, the affect that has on my family and my other responsibilities, our resources, and more. My husband, our daughters, and I have willingly offered these things to benefit and enrich the lives of other parents who are teaching their children at home. I have poured myself out for this purpose. I am giving all I have to give and I cannot give any more than I already am. For those of you that would ask more, all I can do is say that I am sorry I cannot give it.

For a very long time now I have hesitated to create firm boundaries for who can and who cannot participate in HERO primarily because there is not a clear boundary. There are people who are not currently homeschooling who are very involved in serving the homeschool community - parents who homeschooled their own children who are now grown and out on their own. Those parents are no longer homeschooling but very much part of the homeschool community still. That is the kind of person that should be on the HERO list if they desire to be. But if I set a hard and fast rule that you must be homeschooling at least one child, they could not participate. That is just one example of many scenarios. You can see that creating absolute boundaries does not work. However, the heart of this ministry is to enrich the lives of homeschooling families. That purpose and vision does dictate who may subscribe and participate.

One of the main issues that I am trying to deal with is the advertisements section. A number of people feel that when they are offering something for sale through HERO, they are pricing it for a fellow homeschooling parent. They want to bless another homeschooling family. If they just wanted to sell or give away their items, there are plenty of other avenues for that (Craig's list, freecycle, eBay, etc.). Also, many homeschooling families offering something for sale on HERO want to know that it is a fellow homeschooler coming into their home to pick something up. These are just a couple of the issues that have been communicated to me. I include an advertisements section in the HERO updates because I think the opportunity to buy and sell things from one another is valuable - especially curriculum, but other things as well.

When I stated on Thursday that HERO subscribers should not share the HERO updates with non-homeschooling friends and family, it was primarily to help deal with the issues and problems surrounding advertisements. Obviously, there are going to be lots of great events and activities that are open to the public in HERO that you can and should tell your friends about. We want to promote and attend these great family-friendly activities. And we want families to enjoy them. I am not trying to hinder that. The request not to share the HERO update (I should have said "in its entirety") is meant to protect the privacy and safety of individuals who submit announcements and ads for publication in HERO.

** If you want to share an individual announcement about an activity that is open to the public, share that, but do not forward the entire HERO update to a non-homeschooling family or individual.

** If you see an advertisement for an item that you think might meet the need of a non-homeschooling person you know, contact the person who submitted it and ask their permission before sharing the ad with someone outside the HERO community.

These are simple solutions, I believe, that will hopefully keep HERO running smoothly as a community of homeschooling parents and will not hinder us from reaching out to others as well.

Thank you for your continued prayers for me and my family. Thank you for reading this lengthy letter to try to understand where I'm coming from and why I make the decisions I make. I pray that you are each able to see that my heart is to help and bless, that I am called to serve a particular group of people, and that I am doing the very best that I can and to do so with grace and with excellence.

Praying God's abundant blessings upon each of your families!

Joyfully,
Nancy Manos

Here is the announcement that appeared in HERO on 10/19/06:

A REMINDER ABOUT THE HERO UPDATES
[Submitted by Nancy Manos]

A gentle reminder ... The HERO e-mail list and updates are intended for parents who are teaching their children at home or those planning to.

There is a concern about the HERO updates being shared with non-homeschooling parents. I can appreciate this concern and think it is worth addressing. When a homeschooling parent offers something for sale or shares an announcement through HERO, they are sharing it specifically with others in the homeschool community. If they wanted it to be shared with the general public, they would use another avenue that is geared for that purpose. So, to address this concern and to protect the unity and security of this internet-based community of homeschooling families, I have two requests:

* Please do not share HERO updates with non-homeschooling friends or family.
* Please unsubscribe from HERO if you are no longer homeschooling or never were.

It is not my intention to cause offense or hurt to anyone. I'm sure there is a lot of great information that non-homeschoolers could glean from the HERO updates. However, that is not the purpose of this network. HERO exists to connect homeschooling parents. That vision and purpose defines who may subscribe and utilize this free service. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this.