bringing sexy back~

i've never been one for "fashion." in fact, i'd probably be a prime candidate for "what not to wear" since stacy and clinton cringe anytime they hear someone say she dresses for comfort.

well, guess who's a (comfortable) fashionista now?!

apparently, social issues, volunteering, and blogging about social issues and volunteering is the hip new thing. kenneth cole has begun the AWEARNESS blog, which is a blog that "provides daily updates under four socially-aware pillars of discussion: Social Rights, Well-Being, Political Landscape and Hard Times [and] hopes to raise awareness around the issues that fall under these four areas in a dynamic and engaging format."

The blog also features "Q&As, original content from Kenneth Cole himself and contributions from staff members of Kenneth Cole Productions."

you can also contribute to the AWEARNESS fund, which is a not-for-profit established by Kenneth Cole, by purchasing an AWEARNESS t-shirt. the non-profit currently helps fund amfAR, the Foundation for AIDs research, and Help USA, which provides homes, jobs, and services for america's homeless.

so, who knew you could look so good just by bettering the world around you?! what are you waiting for? fashion doesn't get any easier or more comfortable than this!

(of course, if you've met the rest of the oyfp crew, you already knew that caring is sexy!) ;)

after you're done perusing the awearness blog, make sure you scoot on over to the Best of Blogs site and vote for the Volunteer Boston Blog as the Best Hobby Blog.

Images taken from the Awearness blog and Awearness site.

BostonCares Corporate Volunteer Day on May 17

Swinging a sledgehammer felt good. Really good.

I wouldn't classify myself as a violent person - high spirited for sure, but far from violent. I didn't expect the sledgehammer to be quite so satisfying. When I woke up at 7:30 AM this past Saturday for BostonCares' Corporate Volunteer Day, I certainly didn't expect to be wielding such heavy hand machinery. Raking mulch, sure. Digging a hole, OK. But demolition? Now that I had no idea about.

Once a year, my employer sponsors a portion of Boston Cares' corporate volunteer day, and a group of dedicated employees shows up on a Saturday morning to complete their assigned project. This year, our project was the demolition of the rotten wooden bleachers at a playing field on the Stony Brook Reservation, hence the sledgehammers, pickaxes, and backhoes. We were part of the Park Serve Day going on across the Massachusetts state parks, and boy oh boy was it fun.

Hats off to BostonCares for organizing the event. OYFP gets frequent requests from local businesses with groups looking to volunteer, but many times non-profits organizations who need the help simply don't have the capacity or time to organize such an event. BostonCares convinces businesses to donate a fair chunk of change to support the project, and the employees of said businesses come out to help.

Perhaps OYFP should consider organizing a similar day for its partners. There certainly is the desire to help, though all too often it's on a limited basis. There is the hope, though, that a positive short term volunteer experience will lead to longer term, committed volunteering.

Let us know what you think - would you participate in a volunteer day event?

The bleachers, pre-demolition

I'm on the left, wielding the sledgehammer. Look out!

Related Posts: How you can help with a mullet; Global Volunteering; Doubts about Volunteering? Read about Fred; Hearts and Crafts; Volunteering - A generational mindset?

Photos courtesy of co-workers.

Food for Thought

As you may have heard from various media outlets recently, there is an escalating problem of food shortages for the world's population to consume. Haiti's poor population has been forced to find other ways of feeding their stomachs and have been eating cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country's central plateau.

So what can you do about it?

Reduce the amount of meat products you consume or if at all possible become vegetarian. I realize this it going to be a tough with grilling season almost upon us but it takes at least three times as much produce to feed livestock as it takes to feed us humans. According to the Worldwatch Institute, the total amount of soy and grain fed to livestock in the US each year could feed everyone on the planet, including enough food leftover to feed a population approximately five times as big!

Additionally the book, "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan talks about how the food we eat now a days are "edible food like substances -- no longer the products of nature but of food science."

Cows nowadays are much bigger than they were 100 years ago. They are bred to be bigger and are sometimes given steroids or antibiotics to optimize the amount of meat that is produced by that cow. This makes it cheaper to sell and easier to mass market the inexpensive, fatty, high-calorie food that has fueled epidemics of obesity and diabetes.

Also with the addition of bio-fuels to help alleviate the high oil prices, much of the corn and grain that would be used to feed us or our livestock are going to create ethanol for our cars. Again this cuts down on the resources available to feed the world. So instead of using your car try reducing your amount of driving by riding a bike.

So take your bike to have a vegetarian meal, and donate money to help feed the poor in Haiti.

Related posts: Food Crisis - Get on the Seoul Train, Biking to Work in Boston: My first time, Bananas: Not just a funnily shaped fruit, Global Volunteering

Photo Courtesy of USA Today

Chinese Earthquake: How to Help

I'm an avid NPR listener.

This past week when I heard news on the BBC of the earthquake in Chengdu in the Sichuan province I thought, "Isn't that where the NPR people were going to report on the massive changes in China?" Before traveling there, they described the wonderful cuisine of the region, the burgeoning population, and the economic upheaval, and I was quite interested to hear their reports from the area.

I'm sure these NPR reporters were not expecting to experience an earthquake firsthand. However, they have been working diligently to get the story of the thousands of people impacted by the quake out to the rest of the world. It's heart wrenching to hear a parent's sobs when they talk about their missing children, describe collapsed homes, and tell of trapped family members. I only hope that their reporting helps inspire people to give, or to travel to the area and help.

The Chinese government's response to the situation contrasts sharply with the response of Myanmar to the cyclones. Once upon a time in a not too recent past, China would have prevented reporters from traveling to the epicenter of the disaster.

However, this time they are being much more open, perhaps having realized that being open will get them more aid. In addition, like I mentioned before, the upcoming Olympics are likely playing a role in this. The country is under increased scrutiny and don't want additional criticism for their humanitarian mistakes.

If you are interested in volunteering to help the earthquake victims in China, consider the following:

International Organizations

• Red Cross - Provides disaster relief
• Mercy Corps - Works within "disasters, conflicts, chronic poverty and instability to unleash the potential of people who can win against nearly impossible odds"
• Feed the Children - Provides food to children and families around the world
  
• Peace Corps - Places volunteers in two year positions to serve the USA in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries
• ORBIS International - Works to build local capacity and develop long-term, sustainable solutions to the tragedy of unnecessary blindness
  

China-Specific Non-Profits

• Empowerment and Rights Institute - Works to protect the human rights of disadvantaged groups including farmers, laborers (esp. female and child labor), migrant workers, complainants and petitioners, and victims of forced-relocation
  
• Dream Corps International - Volunteers work to better the learning environment for students in disadvantaged communities in rural and urban China
  
• Global Volunteer Network in China - Educates children in rural China
  

Do-It-Yourself

• Organize a small fundraising event. With a few friends, contact a local bar or restaurant. Convince the owners to give you deals on food and or beverages, charge a $10 cover fee, and promote the heck out of it to your friends and family, reminding them of the people impacted by the event. Donate the funds to a larger organization.
  
• If your employer has a dress code, organize a "$5 for China so you can wear jeans to work" day. Donate the funds.
• Follow Fred's example - collect donations to do something ridiculous, like cutting your hair into a mullet, fasting for a week, or eating 20 chili peppers.
  

Don't forget to vote daily for the Volunteer Boston Blog as the "Best Hobby Blog"!

Related Posts: Earthquake in China Volunteer Opportunities; Earthquake in China; Global Volunteering; How you can help - with a mullet; Tornadoes, Cyclones, and Disaster Relief - Oh My!; Myanmar cyclones and what you can do to help; Food Crisis - Get on the Seoul Train

First photo courtesy of a Chinese message board: http://bbs.cdqss.com/viewthread.php?tid=344374

Second photo courtesy of the NPR blog on the reporters' Chengdu journey

The Greenest Generation

I know this dog. I don't know her name. I call her The Recycling Dog.

The Recycling Dog lives on my street, somewhere. The Recycling Dog is a German Shorthaired Pointer, I think. The Recycling Dog recycles, it’s awesome.

Every few days I see The Recycling Dog heading out for a walk. When I see The Recycling Dog returning from a walk, with a plastic bottle in her mouth, it’s a real prize.

I know it’s her natural instinct to retrieve but sometimes I imagine, if only for a second, that she knows what she’s doing. As she trots along, with a bottle in her mouth and her tail in full wag, I imagine her saying: “Hey, look at me. If I can do it, you can too.”

Traditionally, German Shorthaired Pointers are hunting dogs, they are bred to retrieve game. It's easy to understand how a dog with such a strong natural instinct adapts this instinct to focus on retrieving other things. Adapting her desire for retrieval fulfills an internal need and coincidentally, it helps the environment. It just happens that her desire involves retrieving the plastic bottles that litter the streets of Brookline and Allston.

When I see The Recycling Dog in action the one thing that stands out in my mind is the idea that adapting to a changing environment can be a win-win situation. More importantly, adapting the way we view energy efficiency can be a win-win situation too. The Green Movement isn’t an idea that we can afford to brush off as something only liberals or tree huggers support, not anymore. Reducing our dependence on oil will make our country stronger in the long run, not to mention reduce the transfer of our wealth to the Middle East.

Thomas Friedman, in his essay The Power of Green, notes: “Being green, focusing the nation on greater energy efficiency and conservation, is actually the most tough-minded, geostrategic, pro-growth and patriotic thing we can do.”

As gas prices climb to all-time highs people are changing many things including the ways they commute. In an effort to offset transportation costs some people are deciding to ride their bike to work. The benefits are twofold; it’s a win-win situation. The first benefit is the decreased carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and the second is a healthier lifestyle for the biker.

Driving less and biking more can make you live longer. Recycling makes the world more sustainable. Thinking green is patriotic. And, even retrieving bottles can be rewarding. What does this all mean? It means green is the new red, white and blue.

Look, I know everyone can’t ride their bike to work and I know that a dog isn’t going reverse global warming. But, as the world becomes Hot, Flat, and Crowded we need to encourage new, renewable energy technologies not support backwards thinking ideas like a gas tax holiday. We need to renew the Clean Energy Tax Stimulus Act that is set to expire in December 2008, to stimulate investment in solar energy and the production of wind energy.

We need to adapt to a changing environment, just like The Recycling Dog, we need to start thinking differently. Once we set in motion these small changes we can become the change that we want to encourage. When future generations look back on this era they will judge us for how we responded to this crisis. I hope they judge us The Greenest Generation.

A few Related Posts: Biking to work in Boston - My first time; Get green by knowing your green; Make Boston Greener; Invite, Plant, Grow, Enjoy; Earth Hour: Keeping us in the dark

Picture: Ian Davenport.

How You Can Help - with a mullet?

Sometimes, the world's needs seem overwhelming.

There are so many starving people, sick people, abused people, lost kids, and hurt animals, that it is easier just to block it out. Our mind is occupied enough with the basics - go to work, pay bills, buy food, talk with friends, hang out with family, etc.

But we shouldn't forget. We shouldn't block it out. OYFP tries to give you easy ways to donate time and/or money, but we can't help everyone. Or come up with some of the awesome ideas you all do.

One of my co-workers, Fred, who was profiled on this blog for his volunteer work, decided he wanted to raise money for the Lupus Foundation of New England. As he told us, Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack normal tissue, resulting in inflammation in various parts of the body - particularly the skin, joints, blood system and kidneys.

Fred went further than walking 20 miles, running 5 miles, or getting some beer and a bar donated for an evening event. He sent an email around to our company pledging to cut his hair into a certifiable mullet if he raised $500+ for the Lupus Foundation of New England by Friday. He was willing to put his personal fashion reputation on the line for a cause.

Well, Fred did more than raise $500. Our co-workers chipped in a total of $750, and got the pleasure of seeing him wear a fine mullet (and matching fung chu 'stache) for a few days (see below for photographic evidence).

Fred believed in an organization. He came up with a creative way to get people to pledge money. He followed through. We got to laugh at/with Fred's nice 'do, and feel happy that some of our beer money went to research to end a painful disease. We were all winners.

The point is this: You too can help those less fortunate, whether it's cutting your hair into a mohawk, attending an OYFP fundraiser, or cheering on MSPCA Walk for Animal participants, you can contribute to those less fortunate. It's not hard. It might even be fun. Like a mullet, say. :-)

Fred with the bowl used to determine his bang length. 100% professional.

The final result: A real mullet.

Related Posts: Doubts about Volunteering? Read about Fred; Global Volunteering; Empowerment, Education, and Self Sufficiency; Volunteer Profile: Elizabeth and NEDA


Image of the Mullet book courtesy of Amazon.com
Photos of Fred C. courtesy of Fred C.