Family Potluck - Operation Family

The Pencil Project

"The Pencil Project was born from a simple idea. On a trip to Africa in 1998, my mother snapped a photo of a lively group of second graders...102 to be exact...with only one teacher. One little boy in particular stood out. He was clutching a small broken pencil. It was all he had and was his most prized possession.

As a writer and someone who lived in Africa as a child, something struck me about that photo. It symbolized everything about the value of education and how important it is that all the world's children have access to the tools they need.

For less than a soft drink, a pack of one dozen pencils can be purchased which would in turn help 12 children. It seemed too easy!

With your support, we can make a mighty difference in the world...one pencil at a time.

Whether you are a group that wants to take on a fantastic service project or a school that desperately needs our help, we are here to help you meet your goals!"

Source: The Pencil Project

Autism Speaks - It's Time to Listen

This badge was created by Ali Edwards...please help her with this cause. 

   "Autism Speaks' multi-year Ad Council public service advertising campaign stresses the importance of recognizing the early signs of autism and seeking early intervention services. Research now suggests that children as young as 1 year old can show signs of autism. The most important thing you can do as a parent or caregiver is to learn the early signs of autism and understand the typical developmental milestones your child should be reaching at different ages.

Please look over the following list. If you have any concerns about your child's development, don't wait. Speak to your doctor about screening your child for autism. While validated screening for autism starts only as young as 16 months, the best bet for younger children is to have their development screened at every well visit with a highly validated developmental screening tool. If your child does have autism, early intervention may be his or her best hope."

Buy (Less) Crap

I guess the (Red) campaign isn't doing all that well...Ad Age has reported that the campaign has cost $100M+ but has only raised $18M to date, but those figures are being disputed.  I have a hunch this has less to do with our willingness to give and more to do with people being tired of feeling "guilted" into buying products in order to "make a difference".  I rarely make these types of purchases.  I generally give directly to my charity of choice.

Check this out...a nice rebuttal from a group of San Francisco non-profits.  It's a parody of the Gap's (RED) campaign called Buy(LESS)Crap.

It's up to us as parents to teach our children that "shopping is not a reasonable response to human suffering".