feedback friday

It's Friday...and you know what that means, don't you?  (*a million different answers most of which contain some type of libation.*) (okay, realistically, 15 different answers, but a girl can dream, can't she?)  It means it's feedback time, peeple! And that means I want to hear from you.

Are you reading?  Are you liking?  And, most importantly...

Are you donating?

I know already and am delighted that, at least in some small way, this is working.  I heard from my friend, Julie, that she and her husband are sending out electronic holiday cards this year and donating the money they would have spend instead to an animal rescue group.  My husband came home one day and showed me that he had texted PIZZA to 90999 to make a donation to St. Judes.  I've gotten handfuls of suggestions and questions about various charities and organizations.

Also, I would like to acknowledge that bunch of darling people who have re-posted my blog on their Facebag pages in support of this here little project o' mine. I couldn't be more grateful.

But my insatiable inner-Oprah wants more.  Please to leave a comment and tell me about things you are doing this holiday season to make the world a better place.  Tell me about charities or causes you want to see featured here.  Tell me about donations you've been inspired or plan to make this holiday season.  Tell me to shut up.  (That last one will make me a little mad, just so you know.)

I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say!  love, allison

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friends of maiti

Watch this video.  I cried.  CNN's Hero of the Year for 2010 is Anuradha Koirala, a woman in Nepal who rescues girls from human trafficking.  She’s rescued more than 12,000 girls from sex slavery and thanks to her recognition as a CNN hero, Koirala will receive $125,000 to continue her work with girls in Nepal. You can help her continue her work, too.

If you watched the video, you have already learned a little bit about the refuge that Koirala runs in Nepal for rescued girls.  Friends of Maiti Nepal is a non-profit all-volunteer organization dedicated to addressing the human rights crisis of girl sex-trafficking through prevention, interception, rescue and rehabilitation of victims; and criminal prosecution of perpetrators.  Get it.

Help her.  If karma exists, she deserves it.  And a Nobel Peace Prize.  You can at least make a donation.

As always, Facebook and Twitter it up, y'all.  Let's show this hero some love.

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no kid hungry

I had a very proud moment last week as a social worker watching the House of Representatives pass the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 - a bill that I had been advocating for since starting my internship at the United Way this September.  The bill provides more federal funding and changes the standards for nutrition to ensure children eat well at school. With childhood obesity skyrocketing and education performance backsliding, it could not have come at a better time.  The bill also provides free school lunch automatically for low-income children who qualify.  Nearly 17 million American children do not have enough to eat.

In another effort to fight hunger, I introduce to you the No Kid Hungry campaign run by Share Our Strength that is working hard to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry.  If you must buy kid's toys for Christmas, how about buying products that give a little back?  5% of proceeds from the sale of select gifts at The Land of Nod (groovy kids toys by Crate and Barrel) is donated to No Kid Hungry.

(I know that 5% doesn't seem like much, but anyone who does their shopping at Crate and Barrel knows that can add up pretty quickly.  And according to the campaign, just $1 can help connect a child to 10 healthy meals. So...)

And if you have no need for plastic fried eggs this year, you can also make a donation directly to No Kid Hungry.  And if you don't have need for a miniature toy shopping cart or cash to donate, you can always help raise awareness by checking out the campaign and spreading the good word on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, you decide.

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CAI

Ask me who some of my heroes are and I shall count among them Greg Mortensen.  Anyone who has read the book "Three Cups of Tea" or "Stones into Schools" will understand why.  He was one man who saw desperate need and thought "I can help."  Since wandering into the Baltistan during an attempt to climb K2 and later building one school in the nether-reaches of the world there, he has built 130 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan that teach balanced education, including to girls (who are usually excluded from education in this region) through the organization that he started, the Central Asia Institute.

If you trust me and want to support CAI, there are a couple of ways that you can help this little, amazing organization bridge the education gap in the middle east and - literally - make the world a safer for place for all the world's children.  (Also, if you want a further explanation what I mean but don't want to read the book, talk to me.  I will fill you in with what I know.)  First, you can make a donation directly to CAI.  I donate a little now and then and I get a newsletter every once in a while with these stories about the work CAI is doing that make me gasp, sigh, and my eyes fill with tears.  There is also the Pennies for Peace campaign that educates American children about the world beyond their experience and how they can make a positive impact on a global scale through and collects pennies to donate to building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan .  You can also read the books and spread the message.

Through this blog, I want to help Greg Mortenson spread his message of peace and show the amazing power of the human spirit and that one person can indeed change the world.

CAI also promotes The Girl Effect, which - if nothing else - is totally worth checking out.

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