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Category community service

Blog Action Day for Climate Change: just do one thing.

4 comments By Deb Filed in Environment, blogs, community, community service, participation, poverty October 15th, 2009 @ 12:48 am

Last year I was lucky enough to participate in Blog Action Day. It’s pretty impressive to see the numbers- 7,883 blogs, from 140 countries with over 11 million readers are reaching out to educate people about Climate Change. Posts are from bloggers like Vincent Abry from France whose un monde du geek I enjoy. Ritsuko’s ゴハンBlog in Japan. (ゴハン = food.) Whose tweets about camping I’ve enjoyed. And, The Gamelian World out of Ghana who recently reported the first iPhone game likely to come out of Africa.

You get the idea- all these folks on the same day reaching out for the same goal. Pretty amazing.

My contribution is a small one. I used to work in the environmental movement and what I noticed is that most people felt guilty about not doing enough. I think they felt that if they couldn’t do something on a grand scale, like have a completely solar home, that their was nothing they could do to contribute to protecting the environment. When, in fact, if you asked them, they did something- turned off the lights after they left a room, conserved water, drove a smaller car, etc. Once they thought about it, they decided they could add one more thing into their lives, such as:

  • Writing to an elected official once a year to let them know their opinion.
  • Figured out how to recycle in their neighborhood.
  • Watered their garden before 8 a.m. (less evaporation)
  • Wore a sweater and turned the heat down. (Thank you President Carter!)
  • Bought grass-fed beef when they could afford it.
  • Supported a local CSA buy purchasing their vegetables through one.
  • Volunteered at community organizations committed to protecting the environment while serving the community. Denver’s Same Cafe is a great example!
  • Giving props to a climate-friendly business on review site tuggl.com.

Again, I am not suggesting you do all of these, just saying maybe you can try out one of these occasionally. Then you can work on getting your home off the grid. jk.

Thanks again to the folks at Blog Action Day for making this happen!

Send Some Love to Ike Evacuees: help raise $5K for FoodBank- in 5 days

0 comments By Germaine Filed in community service September 19th, 2008 @ 1:04 pm
Donation Deadline: September 22

A group of dedicated bloggers in Austin, Texas are digging deep into their pockets and asking their friends to do the same. Why Austin? According to the Capital Area Foodbank over 6,500 evacuees are housed in local shelters and thousands more are staying with friends and family. The Capital Area Foodbank, which supplies food to shelters and 25 lb. food boxes to families, is running out of chow and needs help!

A web site has been set up for individuals to make a donation through  ChipIn.com‘s secure donation site. Or through the widget at the top left of my page.

Your money can initiate a match:

  • a $5 donation provides $20 in food
  • a $25 donation  provides $100 in food

Anyway, you can do the math.

Also, you can give further assistance by putting a ChipIn widget on your blog or web site. See the one I have added at the top left of my page.

Kudos to Connie Reece of EveryDotConnects, the Social Media Club Austin and the Austin 501 Tech for making this happen

IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION: WORDPRESS SERVICES
The individual or company that makes the largest donation through this ChipIn widget will have access to two hours of time for a WordPress installation, customization or training by Chel Wolverton, the very capable administrative assistant for Social Media Club. Upon completion of the ChipIn campaign, Chel will contact the winner to find out which of these services is preferred. The amount of your contribution will not be disclosed.

Note: your gift through this ChipIn page is not tax-deductible. If you need a receipt for income tax purposes, you must donate directly to CAFB by check or major credit card. (They are not set up to receive donations via Paypal.)

Community Service: Eliminating the Digital Divide

0 comments By Germaine Filed in access, community service, digital divide, social media, video May 2nd, 2008 @ 8:14 am

One man lives to eliminate the Digital Divide. Last night I watched a Ted* video of Hector Ruiz’ presentation on the 50×15 Initiative’s goal to provide affordable internet access to 50% of the world’s population by 2015. Currently only 20% of the world’s population has access to the Internet.

I was both moved and intrigued by the complexity of the project. Ruiz views the initiative as a way to develop sustainable economies that improve the lives of people around the globe. And, he is of the opinion that it is not up to large corporations to manufacture and “parachute” equipment into these areas, but that the infrastructure needs to be developed locally.

Ruiz cited the 18 dialects in South Africa as a perfect example of why the work needs to be done locally – only local, cultural and technical knowledge can develop the necessary solutions. Responding to the challenge helps to develop educational systems, technological resources and the marketplace in these communities.

One of his personal passions is making technology useful, affordable and accessible. Based on his experience, access to technology can be life-changing and he feels responsible for helping others change their lives.

While his passion is quite moving, it is his rise from humble circumstances in Mexico, obtaining a Ph.D. and now serving as Chairman and CEO of AMD that demonstrates his ability to lead this formidable effort. His father’s repeated message, “it is really important for you to understand that in order for civilization to make progress, each generation has to do better than the last one,” guides him to this day.

*”TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.” Ted is a great example of Ruiz’ point that access to technology can be life-changing. The speakers’ presentations, available online, certainly have that impact. Most presentations are quite short, ranging from 15 – 20 minutes.

Happy Friday -I Can’t Keep Up

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