Hi folks, thanks to Laurie for letting us know about Post Foods “Bowls of Hope” program. Post Foods, in partnership with Feeding America, will donate up to 15 million balanced breakfasts to struggling Americans. For each purchase of a specially-marked cereal — including Post Shredded Wheat Original, Post Shredded Wheat Spoon Size Original, Post Shredded Wheat and Bran, Post Shredded Wheat Lightly Frosted, and Post Shredded Wheat Honey Nut — Post Foods will donate one balanced breakfast.

Get more info at the Post Shredded Wheat website (turn off pop-up blockers).

For the past five years the Zurich Classic Golf Tournament has been raising money for children’s charities, $18 million to date. This year, Zurich Financial Services is contributing $95,000 to two kids’ charities, Fore!Kids Foundation and Practical Action via an online golf relay game at HelpPoint for Kids.

Go to the HelpPoint for Kids site and create a golfer. Tee off a message to up to five friends, and each one can, in turn, tee off messages to their friends. Every time players tee off a round of 18 the two charities will receive donations from Zurich. Sounds like alot of fun, I’m heading off to create my own golfer now!

Image courtesy of www.malariafreefuture.org

Hi Everyone, tomorrow (April 25th) is World Malaria Day. Lots of organizations are taking part this year and you can help too.

Check out Voices For A Malaria-Free Future for some great information on the fight against malaria in Rwanda, as well as other advocacy projects VOICES does in Ghana, Kenya, Mail, and Mozambique. They have some great information available, including the following:

Along with basic information and how to take action, you’ll also find included at the site:

- Background on the successful Rwandan program via insecticide-treated bed nets, treatment guidelines, training community health workers and improving health facility care

- World Malaria Day PSA featuring PSI Global Ambassador and board member Ashley Judd

- Picture of Success: The Rwanda Fight Against Malaria, a short YouTube documentary on Rwandan efforts

- Photo Galley to experience Rwanda malaria control at work -

- Podcasts conducted for World Malaria Day with various experts including the Rwandan Minister of Health, Dr. Richard Sezibera and Dr. Corine Karema, Coordinator of Rwanda’s National Malaria Control Program

Malaria is how this blog got started, it’s really easy to get involved by purchasing insecticide treated bed nets, promoting education and awareness, and funding research. To donate to the American Red Cross’s effort against malaria, visit this page.

We’ve been featured in a list of “100 Best Blogs for Those Who Want to Change the World“ on the www.bestuniversities.com blog. We’re #14 in the “General” list, yay! Hopefully our idea on making small “lunch-money” sacrifices to change the world is being heard, adopted, and done by folks like you and me. Thanks for the continued support!

Stunning photos from around the world from this past Saturday’s Earth Hour, click on the images to see them fade (took me only 15 minutes to figure that out!) ….

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/03/earth_hour_2009.html

At 8:30 PM local time on Saturday the 28th of March, Vote Earth by turning off your lights for one hour… Earth Hour.

What is Earth Hour?

Earth Hour is a global WWF climate change initiative. The campaign invites individuals, businesses, governments and communities to turn out their lights for one hour on one day of the year to show their support for action on climate change. The event began in Sydney in 2007, when 2 million people switched off their lights. In 2008, more than 50 million people around the globe participated. In 2009, Earth Hour aims to reach out to 1 billion people in 1,000 cities.

More info at http://www.earthhour.org/

Monica Goldenberg on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind contacted me this morning with some exciting news on a U.S. Mint coin with readable braille. Very cool stuff. From Monica:

An astounding 90 percent of blind people today are Braille illiterate. This would be viewed as a national outrage if the same crisis faced sighted individuals, and yet blind people continue to be deprived of the Braille education and resources they need to obtain jobs, pursue stimulating careers, and enjoy the same opportunities as sighted individuals. Further, Braille illiteracy is the leading contributor to a shocking 70 percent unemployment rate among 1.3 million blind Americans and it’s only going to get worse – 70,000 people are losing their sight each year.

To help fund Braille literacy programs, the NFB has teamed with the U.S. Mint to issue the first coin ever to feature readable Braille. The Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar will be launched this Thursday, March 26, 2009 at the NFB’s headquarters in Baltimore, MD, after which the coin will be available for purchase. Every coin sold will support Braille education nationwide and ensure that every blind American enjoys the same opportunities for success as sighted individuals. Note, only 400,000 coins will be minted and available for order at www.usmint.gov until December 31, 2009.

The National Federation of the Blind is also publishing a report to the nation, titled “THE BRAILLE LITERACY CRISIS IN AMERICA: Facing the Truth, Reversing the Trend, Empowering the Blind”. The report, a comprehensive overview of the crisis and proposed solutions to reverse it, is currently under embargo until the launch day on March 26, when it will be posted online at www.nfb.org and www.braille.org.

Monica also shared this information:

Why should I care about the coin, especially if I am not blind or don’t know anyone who is blind?

Each of us has a right to literacy. Every purchase of this one-of-a-kind commemorative coin will help reverse Braille illiteracy and ensure that every blind American enjoys the same opportunities for success as sighted individuals. When the blind can read, the blind can achieve so much more. 

 

Connect with the National Federation of the Blind online:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Federation-of-the-Blind/54344454247

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BrailleLiteracy

Twitter: http://twitter.com/NFB_voice

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/NationsBlind

DonorsChoose sent me a link to photos from the classroom we sponsored. We bought headsets for use in their science class and it looks like they’re having a blast using them, yay! Check it out here.

We got some photos and a thank you note from the Build a Library Project we funded a few months back. Always nice to get these, yay!

 http://www.donorschoose.org/photos/199808