Youth, teenagers, young people of today, tomorrow's leaders.
What are the needs of todays 10-20yr olds? Wow! Parents may say money, self worth, mentors, loving leadership, acceptance, education, resources. This list could go on forever.
I remember as a teenager growing up in suburban Australia we had so much time to hang out with our friends. We would play sport, work at our part time jobs, and get in to trouble testing the boundaries of society. Time wow, this is the thing most adults desire most. MORE of it!!!
From my experience as a secondary teacher, I believe that if kids had mentors or teachers to help them to set their own greater goals in life and to help them make a start on these and support them rather than just hanging out with mates they would utilize their teen years to pursue life goals and get into 'less' trouble.
Next Step is a new not for profit organization in the Central Coast, NSW, Australia which provides innovative, strength based programs that empower young people to take steps towards a BRIGHTER FUTURE.
How will they do this? Through fun bi monthly programs including: a FREE BBQ with live music performances and workshops on:
Break dancing workshops
Cultural Awareness programs
Mental Health Awareness
Living Skills
Next Step aim to to connect young people with positive role models and inform them about what local support services are needed if they need extra support.
By supporting our youth and helping them to achieve their dreams and goals through love, guidance and support our nations can only become GREAT nations of valued citizens.
Next Step's Board of Directors is a very talented and experienced group of people who aim to better youth services in the Central Coast Area.
We take our hat off to you for creating a resourceful, supportive and FUN service to young people in the Central Coast Region.
Other youth empowerment programs I highly endorse are:
Free Spirit Girl- a beautiful program by Katie Pitsis aimed at girls and teen girls to live fully, stand strong and shine brightly!
Empower You - By Tomorrows Youth (For Teenagers to develop the mindset and motivation to create a successful future)
It makes me so happy as a parent to know that such amazing, supportive programs exist for our children. Thank you to all of those motivated enough to really care.
Today I said 'Goodbye and happy travels' to a massive box of baby boy clothes.
This box of clothing had serviced my son Jude very well and is now on an adventure to clothe children of Uganda.
It gets even better than that!
The beautiful, wonderful, talented girls at Love Mercy Foundation- Caitlin Barrett and Australian Olympian Eloise Wellings working alongside Ugandan Olympic Athlete Julius Achon have achieved a milestone dream of building a health centre in Otuke County, Uganda.
The centre to be named Kristina Achuma Clinic in memory of Julius' mother who perished without adequate medical attention when shot by the Lord's Resistance Army in 2004- Now Better known as KONY's army of children.
Prior to the building of this centre the nearest medical centre was in Lira 42 miles from Otuke County. And the vast majority of Otuke residents cannot afford transportation to Lira or the care offered there. As a result many suffer of die needlessly due to a lack routine preventative healthcare or emergency medical treatment.
The Kristina Achuma clinic will officially open in August with a massive town celebration.
The Love Mercy Foundation have raised funds in Australia in excess of $150,000 to build, employ staff and cover the ongoing costs associated with running a health centre.
A large proportion of the fundraising has come from the annual Sutherland to Surf fun run of 11km. With kids, mum's, dad's and dogs gaining sponsorship from friends and family to participate in the run and raise money for the Love Mercy Foundation. (Eloise pictured centre of picture with participants from the 2011 Sutherland to Surf run)
Sutherland to Surf will be run Sunday the 22nd of July and Love Mercy have already surpassed their fundraising goal of $50,000. It is so fun to watch the fundraising meter click higher and higher. Participants running for the Love Mercy Foundation will be treated to a breakfast in Cronulla at the end of their run.
So Bye Bye baby clothes 'Hello' that ZING I was talking about in my last blog.
Picturing little Ugandan babies decked out in warm cuddly outfits Jude used to wear gives my heart a warm ZING!
You can jump on the bandwagon too
1. Participate in the Sutherland to surf. Create a fundraising page and raise funds for Love Mercy Foundation. There is always 2013 if it is to late for this year.
3. Watch Love Mercy's fundometer tick over and share this story and your excitement with a friend
4. Contact the girls at Love Mercy and see if you can volunteer in their health centre if you are traveling to Uganda. (they may not be able to answer this until it opens)
Whatever you decide to do. Just jump on the Doing Good bandwagon because it feels GREAT!!!!
Have a super week finding your ZING!
This bog post is about GOOD people doing good things for communities.
Shop GOOD for communities HERE Australia or HERE Hong Kong.
You can help disadvantaged women who have been trapped in a cycle of poverty to financially provide for their families and pave the way to a BRIGHTER future by purchasing these gorgeous handmade gift cards by Bebas cards.
It takes guts to move to another country, see an opportunity for others to live a better life. Commit to and carry out a project that empowers others.
Bianca Zietsch at Bebas cards has done just that!
Moved to Bali, fallen in LOVE with the people, seen their every day financial struggles, witnessed the unfair labor of women sewing beads on garments tirelessly all day to be paid $1 for their labour, while the garment is sold overseas for over $100 and decided to DEDICATE her efforts to helping women like Ibu Komang.
Ibu, her husband and daughter Dia lived in a koskosan( a small building housing many poor families). She has recently had to return to her village to help her sick and blind elderly parents. There is little work in the village and her husband makes a measley $70 a month. Ibu is very grateful to make some extra much needed funds through the Bebas card project to help look after her parents and start a small business raising ducks on her village.
Stella Adler once said 'Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one'
'An artist cannot fail, it is a success to be one' - Charles Horton Cooley
Bebas cards are helping hundreds of people affected by poverty find meaningful well paid work which helps entire communities.
Help yourself by purchasing a pack of 5 cards for $22aud or one for only $4.50aud
Know that this card is made from recycled cardstock and has made a massive difference in the artists life.
I bought a stack of Bebas cards for myself. When you touch and feel them you get a tingle inside. So sending them with a special message to someone you love that feeling of giving is multiplied a million times!!!
These beauties hit ALL of our DO GOOD CRITERIA
GOOD for Women
GOOD for the Earth
GOOD for Communities
GOOD for Cultural preservation
GOOD for Giving
Buy a pack of 5 today for $22aud or $176hkd to give you peace of mind knowing you have gorgeous gift cards handy.
Or buy one for your EXTRA SPECIAL person for only $4.50aud or $36hkd
All this with a BIG vision for Sydney to be the KINDNESS CAPITAL of the world.
I recently heard about this new Tribe through a friend of the founder and was invited to a film night to see 'Finding Joe'.
My whole experience with Wake Up Sydney has been amazing!
From booking my ticket and subscribing to be a member of the Tribe.
I received free Kindness cards in the mail with a personal handwritten note by Jono
The show was SOLD OUT with 800 seats within about 7 days
We meditated as a group of 800 for 10-15 minutes and thanked the world for our gifts before the film started- in a beautiful large cinema in Randwick, Sydney. Everyone clapped at the end of the film.
Finding Joe was a documentary/fairytale story told by world leaders about being the HERO in your your own life by finding your BLISS.
Jono explains how kindness cards came about:
This is a great inspiring group to be a part of!
If you are looking to be a part of a positive, inspired group of people who are leading acts of kindness around the world then
Join the tribe today to hear about when great films and events are on or when FREE inspirational videos are uploaded to to the Wake UP Sydney site
Anyone can join the WAKE UP Festival in the Rocky Mountains in Canada Aug 22-26, 2012( Hosted by Sounds True- the promo video is amazing! See Below)
Perform a random act of kindness and feel amazing E.g. Drop a movie voucher in your neighbors letter box, bake a cake and leave it at work, pay for someone's meal, arrange a yoga pass for a friend, buy an eco or fair trade present, leave groceries on someone's doorstep
It doesn't really matter where you live. Anyone can receive the gift of this movement simply by joining the tribe and being part of creating a POSITIVE world!
Wishing you much love and kindness for the coming week.
P.S "The World can only Change from within" Eckhart Tolle
P.P.S If you are looking for a meaningful holiday and not sure where to go the Wake UP Festival would ROCK!
The Blog post is about GOOD People Doing GOOD things.
Click HERE to share the goods and spread the giving! in Australia
Click HERE to share the goods and spread the giving! in Hong Kong
"The problem is that we are not eating food any more we are eating FOOD 'LIKE" PRODUCTS and they are made to look better and smell better so that people are ATTRACTED to them"
The only problem with these FOOD LIKE products is they make you LESS ATTRACTIVE. "The marketing essentially LIES to you, because it presents you with the promise 'You are going to be sexy and popular and cool but in reality you're going to be OBESE and MISERABLE and SICK"
Care about your health?
Care about your well being not only now but the for the future?
Want to maintain your ZING?
It might be my age, that mid thirty bracket where you have a couple of kids and life is busy, or crazy sometimes. With little mini me's demanding more more more attention and love every second of your day. And you notice that your ZING isnt quite the zing it used to be. Everything is done quick these days, just to stop the crying or "Mummy can I have?' You are already sleep deprived with little ones waking you up at night anyway and you just relate it to being a parent. You tell yourself "This is what it must be like for ALL parents?"
UNTIL you hit the wall! Or in my case are brought right back to reality of what life is meant to be about by watching FOOD MATTERS.
It is FREE to view until March 31st! Get instant access to watch it on the FOOD MATTERS website.
For me this movement has been life-changing, a slap to wake up and really LOOK AFTER myself.
In terms of :
Food
Sleep!!!! In bed by 10.30pm latest!
Nutrient Supplements
Outdoor activity/exercise
Healthy habits : Tea and Coffee is now herbal teas or an occasional brewed Chai tea
We have bought the Food Mattters Cookbook by Mark Bittman and cook or prepare raw food from it religiously. Preparing nutritious food is now FUN and EASY!
The kids temperaments have made a change for the better.
We have implemented many healthy snack rituals including:
parsley and coriander in the kids morning fresh juices
broccoli Tuesdays - as my daughter Chloe calls it- we just tell her it is Tuesday at least 3-4 nights a week
This 2nd Food Matters Film turns to the people and their personal stories with experts including Jamie Oliver who is seen pouring a WHEELBARROW OF SUGAR onto the stage at a TED TALK to indicate how much sugar children are consuming drinking flavored milk each day.
"We might as well be rolling up the kids sleeve and putting in heroin because it is the same"
says best selling women's health author, Dr Christiane Northrup.
I love the controversial issues surrounding our nutrition, there is constantly more and more great information linking ALL of today's modern diseases back to our food. And the best bit is, the CHOICE is completely up to you to take on board or to dismiss it.
To me it is a bit like saving for the future. If you do something now you will never have a drought. If you choose not to you will wish you had.
Steps to Better ZING!
WATCH the NEW FOOD MATTERS Film NOW while it's FREE! And make changes NOW Before you are really SICK!
Buy a copy for someone you think will benefit greatly from it, you might just SAVE THEIR LIFE!
Organize a RAW food dinner party with friends you love. Try serving freshly squeezed almond milk instead of beer....it is super tasty!
Thank yourself for taking the time to actually CARE about yourself and your health
Wishing you loads of ZING, health and vigor!
This post is about GOOD people doing good things for communities and giving
Not a simple challenge like giving up coffee for a day or a week.
But a real physical, psychological challenge to stretch your own limited ideas about the necessities in life AND raise funds and awareness for a cause FAR bigger than yourself.
Would you choose to cycle 500kms in 7 days across undulating terrain in Cambodia to raise funding and awareness to stop the human Trafficking of women and children into sexual slavery?
Two extremely motivated and passionate women, Alison Price and Sue Beer, have joined forces with Project Futures Global- the company organizing the cycle to raise funds for the Somaly Mam Foundation.
A non profit organization set up by former child prostitute Somaly Mam. This is a woman with real courage and LOVE to make a difference in the world she sadly grew up in. Mam deserved to be voted Hero of the Year by CNN in 2006 and one of Time Magazines most influential people in 2009.
Alison PriceSue Beer and Somaly Mam uniting women globally!
The ride will visit the AFESIP Shelters set up by Somali Mam to support victims of human trafficking. And will coincide with International Women's Day- This year theme: 'Connecting Girls and Inspiring Futures'
A few disturbing facts about Sexual Slavery
Third largest criminal industry in the world. 1. Arms 2. Drug Dealing 3. Human Trafficking for slavery
Estimated revenue U.S. 9.5billion dollars.
Girls as young as 3 are sold into sex slavery for as little as $50US
Men are raping 5 and 6 year olds. Pimps are stitching them up and re-selling them as 'virgins'.
1-2 million children will be sold into prostitution in the next 12 months
Today Mam has rescued over 6000 girls, she continues to raise funds to build more shelters, buy food, pay for rescue operations and to reintegrate victims into society with enough economic and emotional strength to face the future with hope. Sue's and Allison's fundraising efforts of $11,000 will be donated to this foundation.
Spots are limited with 20 places available for this ride.
Sue and Alison are community leaders in their own right as an International PreSchool supervisor and founder of 'Women in Charge' - an online business promoting women business owners. Both training hard to take on a challenge beyond their current experience level to raise awareness and funds to unite the plight of women globally.
HELP to bring an END to Human Sex trafficking by:
Leaving a motivating comment for Sue Beer and Alison Price and donating a couple of dollars toward their campaign.
Register to do the Futures Global Ride for next year
Share Sue and Allison's campaign pages with friends and relatives to raise awareness for this brutal human activity.
Isn't surfing all about absorbing the beauty, the sound of the crashing waves, the negative ions and getting fully recharged. Isn't it ALL about receiving not giving?
Saltmotion based in Manly, Australia LOVE the ocean and surfing SO MUCH they want to share it with the local people of the Solomon Islands by hosting an appeal for people to donate ALL old surfboards taking up room in their garages, gardens, apartments, houses. Boards that were once loved but have been upgraded or are no longer used.
(by saltmotion)
All boards donated will be shipped to the Solomon Islands to help the local people, 'natural water people' who 'have an amazing ability to take to the waves' learn how to surf which will create new opportunities of surf based tourism for the local people .
Saltmotion star photographer and founder Joel Coleman says "in 2011 a group of friends from Saltmotion went on a surf trip to the Solomons. The trip turned out to be the most amazing, eye-opening, experiences of our lives(we also scored perfect surf)."
Coleman believes that the 'wave rich' Solomon's' 'has the potential to become the perfect example of properly managed surf tourism where locals benefit from traveling surfers'. He writes a detailed article of the local culture and local laws for development which explains WHY surfing tourism would be empowering and well managed for the local people.
Saltmotion will be screening the EPIC SURF FILM 180degrees South on a date to be confirmed at the old theatre in St. Matt's on the Corso, Manly to help raise the $5000 shipping costs for the surf boards and some much needed stationary and school books for the local people.
You can HELP by:
Clearing your space and DONATING unused surf boards (Dates : 10th to 18th of Feb at Saltmotion Gallery and Patagonia Manly) Board collection and film DETAILS
Coming to an UNFORGETTABLE FILM night with raffles, prizes, live music and great cheer ( Place: St. Matt's on the Corso- Manly. Time: 7pm for a 7.15 start, 27th of March) minimum $10 donation.
In 2008 a group of Saltmotion friends donated a collection of surfboards to the people of PNG- this was a HUGE SUCCESS so here it is again- this time for the people of the Solomons.
P.S. If you have any interest in the beach or surfing whatsoever- DO your yourself a favor and subscribe to the saltmotion newsletter. Joel personally captures amazing photographs of local and international waves, surfers, beaches, people on a daily basis. Very invigorating to welcome you to your computer each morning!
This blog post is about Good for Giving and Good for Communities
I love subscribing to the Food Matters newsletter, because I find out about the LATEST and GREATEST health studies and research.
My question is Will today's affluent societies KILL ourselves through our eating habits?
"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food" -Hypocrates
Degenerative diseases in which the brain shrinks are becoming more and more common some of these include MS, Huntington's, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Why? Diet. A refined, processed diet leads for a convenient, unhealthy lifestyle.
Dr Terry Wahls, M.D., diagnosed with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis cured herself by changing her diet within one year.
In this AMAZING TED talk Dr Terry Wahls stresses the importance of:
3 cups of fresh greens a day- rich in B,A,C and K vitamins
3 cups of sulphur rich vegetables a day- these include cabbages, broccoli, onions, mushrooms
3 cups of colourful vegetables/fruits a day - these contain antioxidants and help with toxin removal.
High quality protein rich in omega 3 fatty acids, wild seafood, grass fed meat and organ meats.
All I can say is ENJOY! And TAKE NOTES!
Watch it, share it, and take action today!
The hunter gatherers sure knew a thing or two more about nutrition than we do.
Thank Goodness for Doctor's who choose to use their knowledge, expertise and resourcefulness for the future health of EVERYONE!
This blog post is about people doing GOOD things for Communities and for Giving
"Children are great imitators so give them something great to imitate" (Anonymous) AND teach them to be responsible through their actions.
Kids4kids is a non profit organization founded in Hong Kong who inspire and empower kids of all ages to make positive changes in the world through their meaningful actions both in their local community and globally.
They host competitions like
Art for a Cause - partnering with G.O.D to produce 6 unique designs for 'My Hong Kong' placemats
Writing for a Cause- to engage kids with their writing skills to produce published books.
Products produced from these competitions are are sold to raise funds for children's charities.
Kids4kids community outreach program includes a:
Reading Program in which volunteer children read to younger children at kindergartens and childcare centers, to instill the love of reading in the children being read to.
What great ROLE MODELS for the younger children!
Play Program- Volunteer children go to the Princess Margaret Hospital to play with sick children and children with special needs.
Kids4kids have many great events which you can be a part of.
In April 2011 following China's devastating earthquakes they organized a group of young people to travel to Yunnan Province in China to help make a difference at Long Bin Primary School. See below.
You can support this great program or get involved by:
Can you believe January is already more than half way through?
STOP and be PRESENT or your entire life will be a series of events that you can recall....sometimes called a BLURRRR; rather than cellular experiences that reinstate the amazing feeling of the moment.
Ok so anyone remember the devastating earthquake of 7.1 magnitude in Yushu in Qinghai provence in the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of China on April 14th, 2010?
It is easier to forget when we are not immediately impacted by it.
Unfortunately it doesn't JUST STOP BEING NEWS for the people affected by it.
Saint like organization UNICEF has not forgotten they continue to support and fundraise for the children of Yushu. The reports were 2700 people died in the earthquake but locals estimate the number closer to 20,000 of a total population of 275, 000 people.
Local authorities estimate that 80% of primary schools and 50% of secondary schools were severely damaged.
Little Artists Big Dreams drawing competition hosted by UNICEF will raise funds for the Children of Yushu on:
11th of February (Saturday)
Central Lawn, Victoria Park, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
From 2-5pm
with the theme: My Dream Hometown.
Application to participate must be made before the 31st of January and the enrollment donation is $100hkd.
OR you can DONATE toward this great cause if you are sadly over 12 years old.
If you have kids and live in Hong Kong you know the best education is by doing and participating while having FUN!!!!
Make sure you enrol and make it to this event!
Another way you can donate is through Change for Good- the foreign coins you no longer need placed into a little envelope when flying somewhere; actually ADD up.
Cathay Pacific dedicated a month of collections to the UNICEF emergency relief work in Yushu in Qinghai. The Swire Group Charitable Trust matched the collection to a total of $5 million hkd. This helped to address some of the needs of 10 000 children in Yushu. Every COIN helps!
