Earth Day!

It’s Earth Day!! For those of us who had some trouble celebrating Earth Day because it was raining all day or for those who may have forgotten, here are some things we can do in the future to help:

•          Recycle: try to put more in the recycling bin than in the trash bin
•          Turn your lights off and unplug: when you aren’t in the room turn the lights off and unplug electronic devices (curling irons, toasters, cell phone chargers when not in use)
•          Plant a tree or tend a garden: I’m excited because we have a garden plot and are going to grow some food to eat. Try doing that yourself or if you can’t maybe plant a tree or get a house plant
•        Take a shorter shower: try to shorten your shower by one or two minutes
•        Enjoy mother nature: go for a walk, a run, or a bike ride

So in the next few weeks make sure to take some time and enjoy nature. Happy Earth Day!

Until next week,

Annie

Vote.Give.Grow

This week you all have the opportunity to help many different organizations. Starbucks has created a “community card: vote.give.grow” program in which everyone with a registered Starbucks card can vote weekly for local and national not-for-profits in the month of April. Starbucks is allowing its customers to decide where $4 million from the foundation will go. Every organization is getting anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 depending on the number of votes they get. You need a registered card in order to vote so Starbucks can stay in touch with those interested in joining their mission to helping others. If you do not have a registered card all you need to do is, get a gift card, put $5 on it, and then go online and register the card. So this week when you have a few minutes make sure to either acquire a gift card or use your already registered gift card and go online to vote for your not-for-profit of choice. Happy voting!

Until next week,

Annie

www.votegivegrow.com

Outnumber Hunger

This week we are going to help outnumber hunger with the help of General Mills! General Mills wants to help feed the 1 in 6 people who struggle with hunger and are doing that with our help. For every participating general mills product that is bought and then the code is entered online, the equivalent of five meals (or $0.65) is donated to Feeding America. They have a goal to raise enough for 15 million meals which is awesome! All you have to do is buy participating products, I’m including a link for the list at the bottom, and then enter the code online at the website, which as usual will also be at the bottom. By doing this you will be helping not 1 but 5 people! How cool is that! So this week when you are at the grocery store, think about grabbing some General Mill products so you can not only feed you and your family but also someone else’s family. Happy eating!

Until next week,

Annie

Participating products: http://www.outnumberhunger.com/products

Outnumber Hunger site: http://www.outnumberhunger.com/

Tasting Table

This week’s post brings some very tasty treats to you! Tasting Table is a daily e-mail that gives great places to eat out at (in five major cities in the US), new ideas for cooking at home, chefs to check out, and fun cocktail recipes. Even better though, they are not only helping their readers make sure they are full but are committed to helping everyone have access to food. They have partnered with Whole Foods’ 2012 Prosperity Campaign and have pledge to donate $1 to Whole Planet Foundation for every new member they get by March 31. I signed up for the e-mails a couple weeks ago and enjoy seeing what they have in store every day. So in the next couple of days take a look at tasting table and maybe sign up so you can be a part in helping those in developing communities worldwide. Happy eating!

Until next week,

Annie

http://www.tastingtable.com/lander/WholeFoods2012

Bully

My blog this week hopefully demonstrates what can happen when many people put their voices together. Everyone matters and can make a difference. I’m not sure if you have all heard of a new movie coming out called Bully. It is tackling the problem that still runs rampant throughout our schools today, bullying, and how we can help bring a stop to it. Currently, the MPAA has given Bully an R rating making it so many students, who need to see this, cannot see it as well as not being able to play it in schools nationwide. There is a petition on change.org right now that has over 400,000 signatures and they are hoping to get up to 500,000 signatures to help persuade the MPAA to change the rating to PG-13. You do have to enter some information but I just did my last initial for my name and did not put my whole address in. The fields do have to have something in them for your signature to go through. So when you are on your computer sometime this week think about helping to change the fact that over 13 million kids will be bullied this year and help make it possible for everyone to see the movie. Happy signing!

Until next week,

Annie

Petition site: http://www.change.org/petitions/mpaa-don-t-let-the-bullies-win-give-bully-a-pg-13-instead-of-an-r-rating

Movie site: http://thebullyproject.com/#

Milkshake

This week’s post is pretty cool because I am finding some of my posts through them. Milkshake is an organization that’s goal is to find the good in everything. They send out a daily e-mail and in the e-mail feature an organization, product, or cause that makes a difference. You can also check out their website that has tons you can look at. The e-mails are so useful and helpful in learning about different people, causes, and organizations because they make sure to explain why they are featuring them, what they do, and how you can help. I am not always one for getting daily e-mails but I am glad I signed up for this one. I look forward to it every day and wonder what new thing I am going to learn about and what new way I can help others. Happy searching!

Until next week,

Annie

http://www.getmilkshake.com/index.php

The World Needs More Love Letters

Hello all! My apologies for not posting last week. As I sit here watching the Oscars this week’s post actually seems quite fitting. There is an awesome woman who felt that the world needed more love letters so she created a non-profit that gives love letters to random people. Anyone can write letters and every month they send out a bundle of love letters to someone in need. In a year and a half they have sent out over 2,000 letters. Being someone who loves writing hand written letters and also getting them, I think this is an awesome idea. How cool would it be to write a letter to encourage someone that you don’t even know? So, if you have some free time in the next couple of weeks think about checking out The World Needs More Love Letters and possibly contributing by writing a letter. A few words of encouragement can go a long way. Happy Writing!

Until next week,

Annie

http://www.moreloveletters.com/