As an avid runner, I was thrilled when I first heard of a new app called Charity Miles. Charity Miles has partnered with a lot of fantastic non-profit organizations and allows you to donate your miles after a run, walk or bike ride to one of their partner charities. All you have to do is download the free app, hit start, and you are on your way to doing good while you work out. Brilliant isn’t it?
This month, Charity Miles has partnered with the UN Foundation who I am honored to work with as an advocate and volunteer. Together the UN Foundation and Charity Miles is running a #VDay10k Campaignwhere people can exercise for a good cause using the Charity Miles app. How does it work? Simple.
2013 Shot@Life Champions after a day of advocating on Capital Hill.
The last four days have been absolutely amazing. I was one of 100 men and women who went to our nation’s capital to learn about and advocate for global vaccines as part of the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life Campaign. It was my second time participating in the Shot@Life Summit and was such an honor to represent the people across the United States who believe strongly in the importance of providing global vaccines for children around the world.
“It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to where we are today, but we have just begun. Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today.” – Barack Obama
One of my favorite organizations to work with is Save the Children. Save the Children is one of the leading organizations of helping children worldwide. Their vision is “a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation.”
Perhaps because I’m a mom, I feel this innate need to protect children from harm. For children are so innocent and are the future of our world. That is why I use my voice to advocate for children worldwide whether it by through writing and educating people about children’s issues on my blog, using social media to tweet and share facts and statistics about children or conducting face to face meetings with my members of Congress either here in Minnesota or on Capital Hill.
Photo credit: Save the Children.
However, you don’t need to do all that to be an advocate for children. In fact, you can help out by signing this petition below for the creation of a National Commission on Children. Here are the details:
Petition for a National Commission on Children
1) The Situation:
Every child deserves a happy and safe childhood and an opportunity for a bright future. But for too many—including the 20 young lives lost in Newtown, CT and the 16 million who live in poverty—that isn’t a reality.
The challenges for this generation of America’s children are unlike any we’ve seen before. We cannot stand by and let fear, violence and poverty become pervasive parts of childhood in America.
While Save the Children endorses the President’s proposal to curb gun violence, as well as measures to expand mental health services, these are just the first steps toward addressing a very complex issue: the safety and well-being of all children in a country where nearly 1 in 4 lives in poverty.
2) The Solution:
Proactive policy initiatives that protect our nation’s children are critical not only to a child’s development, but to the health and stability of our country.
In the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., Save the Children, together with Children’s Health Fund, Every Child Matters, First Focus, Harlem Children’s Zone and Share Our Strength, has launched a petition urging the Obama Administration and Congress to establish a National Commission on Children. The partner organizations will send their signed call for action to the White House prior to the President’s State of the Union address on Feb. 12.
The new Commission should be tasked with creating a national policy on children and setting goals for reducing childhood poverty, obesity, illiteracy, and violence.
The support for the petition continues to grow, with more and more prominent organizations joining the cause every day, including the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, Catholic Charities USA , Child Care Aware® of America, Girls Inc., KaBOOM!, National Association of School Nurses and the YMCA of the USA.
The first National Commission on Children was formed by President Reagan and Congress in 1987 and ultimately led to the enactment of the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit and the creation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, among other important initiatives. Twenty-five years later, it’s time for another Commission to develop bold, new ideas to tackle today’s challenges.
Child protection has been a top priority for Save the Children throughout its nearly 100-year history. The organization’s programs in the United States and across the globe focus on the needs of the most vulnerable children, while aiming to keep all children free from abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence.
Immediately following the Dec. 14 tragedy in Newtown, Conn., Save the Children—headquartered in nearby Westport, Conn.—deployed staff to provide emotional support to the children and parents in the affected community.
3) Call to action and what you can do to help:
Now, the entire country must come together to find bold, new ideas to ensure all of America’s children are safe and protected. We can do more, and we must do more. We’re asking everyone to join our urgent call for a National Commission by signing this petition today.
Last January I attended the United Nation’s Foundation Shot@Life Champion Summit in Washington DC and became a global health advocate. Along with 45 women and men across the country, I was trained in all areas of advocacy, social media and fundraising in order to become a grassroots advocate for providing life-saving vaccines to children around the world.
I wanted to share a great post today on World Mom’s Blog, where I’m a writer and contributing editor, on a fantastic organization founded by Kristyn Zalota called Clean Birth. We all know that in developing countries having a safe birth for mother and child is not a given. In fact about 800 women die around the world every day due to complications during and after childbirth.
Photo credit: Wikipedia Free Commons.
Here are some facts from the World Health Organization that demonstrate how unacceptably high the numbers are:
99% of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries.
Maternal mortality is higher in women living in rural areas and among poorer communities.
Young adolescents face a higher risk of complications and death as a result of pregnancy than older women.
Skilled care before, during and after childbirth can save the lives of women and newborn babies.
Between 1990 and 2010, maternal mortality worldwide dropped by almost 50%.
However, In 2010, 287 000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth.
Almost all of these deaths occurred in low-resource settings, and most could have been prevented.
Please stop by and check out the post today, “$5 Saves 2 Lives” as well as our mission to raise enough money to fund 1000 clean birth kits. Let’s give all women the chance for a healthy and safe birth!
Every so often a famous singer is moved by the problems they see around the world and use their talent and celebrity status to try to make the world a better place. On my blog, I’ve introduced you to the latest songs for charity by such famous singers as Beyoncé (“I was here” sung for the UN World Humanitarian Day) and the “Every Beat Matters” campaign with rocker group OneRepublic and Save the Children. Now I’d like to introduce you to another song for social good, “Say the Word – I’ll Be There” recorded by Andras Fixler, a pop entertainer from Budapest.
Following is a press release with the details about the song and the cause close to Andras Fixler’s heart.
“Hungarian Singer Andras Fixler Unites With War Child, To Donate All Profits From Selling A Song “Say The Word – I’ll Be There” To The Charity”
(Budapest, Hungary) War, conflict and natural disaster have far-reaching consequences across the Earth, with people of all backgrounds suffering even in scientific times as these. Across the world, violent events, both human-made and natural, have their greatest and most catastrophic effects upon the most vulnerable among us: children.
This fact has never been more depressing, more gruelling to Hungarian singer Andras Fixler, a man with a passion for music. After years of witnessing shocking images of children impacted by war and natural disasters, from child soldiers in the Congo to starving children still living with the consequences of the 2004 Indonesian Tsunami, Andras knew he had to do something. His philosophy combines the beautiful idealism that even one human being can make a difference through philanthropy and empathy.
With his cause came his inspiration. With his inspiration, Andras could see the world in a new light. Ever since its 1991 release, Kylie Minogue’s Say the Word – I’ll Be There had left an impression on Andras as a great song, but he found the lyrics particularly relevant to the plight of disadvantaged children across the world.
And to do his part in supporting unfortunate children across the world, Andras Fixler teams up with War Child North America to release his own charity single, offering it for sale for $4.99. It may seem like it’s not too much, but just $2.50 can provide a street child with transport to visit their family in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, $5 can buy a school uniform for the dry season in Uganda, $15 can purchase one toiletry and hygiene kit for one girl in prison in Afghanistan. By purchasing this single, you help Andras making a real difference in the lives of these children.
“I had to discover after listening to it from time to time that it is not exactly about love. Or at least it can be interpreted to be about CARE. I like the meaning of the lyrics that there are always so many bad things happening all around the World and we ought to do something to help. I discovered that this song can be understood as care for children, protecting them, doing everything to save them. They are the future and it is very important to recognize that. And all should join us in helping and saving them!
“War Child is a charity that dares to dream, and to create, a world that is better for children whose lives are affected by decisions that are not their own.”
That’s what inspires Andras every day: daring to make a difference, one song at a time.
You can download Andras Fixler’s version of Say the Word – I’ll Be There via http://act.andrasfixler.com/saytheword . All profits he generates will go to War Child North America.
War Child is an international charity that protects children from the brutal effects of war and its consequences. To learn more about War Child, click here.
Andras Fixler is a Hungarian singer who performs Hi-NRG / retro hits from 80s and 90s. To visit his website click here. You can also check his project out on Facebook.
I always like to follow the news on places I’ve visited before. It just so happens that China has been in the news big time recently and not in a good way. Apparently Beijing has been impacted by some of the most dangerous levels of pollution in history and it isn’t going away anytime soon. The pollution is at such hazardous levels that the Communist Governement has declared emergency measures to try to decrease the horrendous black soot in the air that is unhealthy for people to inhale. The air quality is so incredibly bad that people are advised not to venture outdoors.
Per today’s New York Times article titled Smog Blankets China’s Capital, “In the past three decades, China has adopted a growth-at-any-cost attitude to build its economy, and the resulting environmental damage is now widespread and severe”.
I was in Beijing a little over a year ago and had been shocked by the thick layer of pollution and smog blanketing and strangling the city like a murderer. Every single picture I shot while in Beijing was a huge disappointment given the pesky pollution that wouldn’t budge. It was slightly better in Shanghai yet still worrisome.
As more Chinese move up the ranks into the middle class and buy more cars, there is bound to be more problems with pollution and the damage to the environment will be unbearable. It points again to the need for all governments to come together and agree on how they should address climate change and the impact that over 7 billion people are making on this earth. Of course, Americans with their big, gas-guzzling cars need to help out too. We all do. But I hope something is done before it is too late.
I’m leaving you with a few photos I took while in Beijing last year and processed them with a new filter app called PhotoForge which I love. I’ve also been experimenting more with Instagram as well. If you are interested in checking me out there, I am under Thirdeyemom.
It must have been a sign of fate that I happened to be paging through the resort brochure the last night of my stay at the lovely Barefoot Cay and saw the two-page spread on Clinica Esperanza. Instantly I was taken by the story and by a stroke of luck the next morning, thirty minutes before my departure to the United States I found myself interviewing the very doctor who has dedicated the last several years of his life to helping build the clinic.
All photos credited to WaterAid and used with permission.
Can you imagine living a life without access to clean water or sanitation? Something as basic yet critical as clean water and access to a toilet is a luxury that many people around the world in developing nations simply don’t have.
“Weeping is not the same thing as crying, It takes your whole body to weep, and when it`s over, you feel like you don`t have any bones left to hold you up.” ― Sarah Ockler, Twenty Boy Summer
Remember the victims and their shining smiles. 26 are pictured above. Yet there are 27 victims of the massacre if you include the killer’s mother who was shot before he entered the school. Photo credit: Time Magazine
Like most people around the world I was mortified and heartbroken by the horrific events that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary in the small, close-knit community of Newtown, Connecticut. As a mother of two children ages 6 and 8, the unimaginable tragedy struck even closer to my heart and soul and made me think in ways I didn’t want to. How on earth a young lost soul could do the most horrific thing imaginable is beyond any reasonable thinking. I have thought about it for a long time and still the pain and fear remain and the questions unanswered. Perhaps we will never know.
Human trafficking is perhaps one of the most unimaginable practices in existence in today’s world. However, it is real and it is happening even outside my very own doorstep in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Just this morning when I picked up the newspaper, I read the startling news that the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul has been ranked the 13th largest center for child prostitution in the country. Thankfully much is being done to combat sex and human trafficking in Minnesota thanks to the newly signed piece of legislation called the Minnesota Safe Harbors Law.* Yet much more needs to be done in this combined metro area of close to 3 million people, and even a larger battle remains on a global scale.
Nearly no place in the world is untouched by human trafficking. Furthermore human trafficking can occur within and outside of international borders occurring in a variety of industries ranging from sex trade, to forced child labor and child soldiers. Oftentimes the victims are kidnapped against their will or inadvertently taken from their families who believe their children are going away to get an eduction where in reality they are being sold into a life of servitude and slavery inside a brothel.
Sunset over West Bay Beach on the island of Roatan is always a magical treat.
Sunday night I arrived home utterly exhausted and unfortunately sick from Honduras. I tend to be prone to stomach bugs when I travel to developing countries and thankfully I always carry an antibiotic which has already began to help. Nevertheless, I lost six pounds in a week and came back to a sick child again as well. We just can’t seem to get healthy in our house.
The tropical island of Roatan. Worlds apart from the mainland of Honduras where 80% of the people live in poverty.
