Entries Tagged 'Charity' ↓

Amazing Cause: Falling Whistles

March 12th, 2010 — Charity

Watch the Video above for an Introduction into Falling Whistles Movement.

(Above, Falling Whistles Founder, Sean Carasso)

I seen first hand the creation, dedication and passion for Falling Whistles through my long time friend, Sean Carasso. Falling Whistles began as a small story exposing our world’s largest war. A little more than a year ago two Americans traveled into the Democratic Republic of the Congo on what was meant to be a short learning expedition. By the weeks end, they had discovered an illegal prison holding escaped child soldiers. There they heard of the whistle blowers; boys too small to carry a gun, sent to the front lines of war, armed with only a whistle. That night Sean wrote in his journal “With Falling whistles. they only chance is to feign death or face it”

A friend welcomed Sean home with a fierce embrace and an unusual gift – a whistle. Hanging just over his heart, everywhere they went the whistle would cause conversation and provide an opportunity to speak up for these children. And thus The Falling Whistles campaign was launched with a simple plan – make their weapon your voice and be a whistle blower for peace in Congo.

Falling Whistles has sold over 5,000 whistles and is continuing to rapidly expand. Proceeds go to restoring the lives of war affected children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while U.S. whistle blowers build a coalition to fight for their freedom.

The Problem:

1. Children displaced by the war.

2. Children forced to the front lines

Often traumatized, these children are rejected from their homes or return to find their communities disbursed and destroyed. Left with little recourse for action other than continued violence, their behavior often takes the form of street gangs or militia groups.

The Plan:

1. Provide income through whistle sales to support war affected children.

2. Creating a coalition of whistle blowers to advocate for peace.

Short Term: Children displaced by the war have fewer options for survival and are often pulled back into the cycle of war. We have partnered with Congolese community leaders to rehabilitate these children. This process develops local leadership and gives these children the tools to survive and thrive on their own through education, art, medical treatment and nutritional services. Each organization is working to give children the tools to be whistle blowers and stand for peace with the war -region.

Long Term: In order to help the children forced to the front lines, the war must end. Without an organized coalition demanding peace, there is little incentive for out leaders to act, and for those benefiting from the war to stop perpetrating it. To prevent further abuse of children and increase regional stability, our goal is to grow that coalition.

This war is largely funded by the illicit trading of conflict precious minerals. These minerals are mined in Congo and used to create consumer electronics like computers, gaming systems, and cell phones. We find them in our homes, schools and pockets. The lack of transparency in the corporate supply chain has created an environment where purveyors of chaos profit from tin, tantalum, and gold in Congo and are often use militant groups to re- arm. They forcefully control the mines and profit from the dollars of corporate buyers who fail to use fair sources for their minerals.

By buying a whistle (whistles start at 30.00 and 100% of the proceeds go to war affected children in Congo) you as the consumer are given the tools to understand and speak up for one another, and Falling Whistles will work alongside our political leaders toward peace in Congo and demand the products we buy are conflict free. – THE WIFE

www.FallingWhistles.Com

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Summit on the Summit

January 29th, 2010 — Charity

Every 15 seconds a child dies from a preventable water related disease, that is the equivalent of crashing a 747 jet filled with children, into a mountainside, every 2 hours, every day of the year. Water is at the core of every major issue deeply affecting; education, health (HIV/AIDS, malaria) women and children’s safety, access to food and even war. This IS a solvable problem, which is just why my dear friend, Kenna, created Summit on the Summit. Kenna and friends climbed the tallest peak in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, to shed light and speak out about the global clean water crisis.

The Problem:

Water related disease are the leading cause of death, taking the lives of 3.575 million people a year and are responsible for 80 percent of all sickness in the world. Unsafe water and lack of sanitation is now the single largest cause of illness worldwide.

Every 15 seconds a child dies from a preventable, water related disease.

Children in poor environments often carry 1,000 parasitic worms in their bodies at any time from unsafe water they consume to survive.

Approximately 443 million school days are lost each year due to water related illness.

Unless we act now, by 2025 the number of people without access to clean water could increase to 2.3 billion

Less then 1% of the world’s fresh water is readily accessible for direct human use

Currently, in the USA, over half of the 50 states are facing serious drought conditions.

Know Your Impact and Conservation:

Keep your shower under 5 minutes and save 1,000 gallons a month.

According to the Washington Post “Just one flush of a toilet in the west uses more water than most Africans have to preform an entire days washing, cleaning and drinking.”

Wash your laundry only when you have a full load and save 600 – 1000 gallons of water each month.

Use a water efficient shower head, they’re inexpensive, easy to install and can save up to 750 gallons a month.

Get a PUR pitcher, it removes 98% of contaminates in US drinking water and avoid the waste of plastic bottles.

Turn off the water while brushing your teeth and save up to 4 gallons a minute. That’s 200 gallons a week for a family of 4.

Fix a leaky faucet and save up 140 gallons a week.

Use a hose nozzle and turn off water while you wash your car and save more then a 100 gallons

Use a broom to clean sidewalks or driveway instead of a hose and save up to 80 gallons every time.

Please make a donation or purchase goods on SummitontheSummit.com and support projects and organizations like this one that bring clean water to those in need. If you don’t have the means to donate, spread the knowledge and start talking about the issue and share what you know and conserve your daily use of water.

www.SummitontheSummit.Com

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My Day at Inner City Arts

January 15th, 2009 — About Me, Charity

Inner-City Arts was founded in 1989 in response to funding cuts that eliminated arts instruction from Los Angeles public schools. Aware of the powerful role of the arts, Bob Bates, Artistic Director and Co-Founder, saw the need to offer at-risk children the opportunity to experience the power of creativity. Along with Irwin Jaeger, a local businessman and entrepreneur, Bob worked to restore arts education to the children in and around Los Angeles’ skid row area. From the beginning, a unique and on-going partnership was formed – Los Angeles Unified School District brings students to Inner-City Arts during their regular school day.

Inner-City Arts offers opportunities for children to build artistic self-expression, enhancing their ability to perform both creatively and academically in challenging environments. Our children learn to communicate feelings and ideas in the universal language of art, and are empowered to apply the skills they have learned to their regular academic programs. Most importantly, children are able to see themselves as valuable, worthy and capable of reaching goals.

We believe that the arts are vital for personal and cultural development and they connect the individual to their community and to the larger world. Our philosophy is that by validating the creative impulses and uniqueness of each student, we provide a bridge between the artistic experience and the development of the whole child and increased academic achievement.