My sister-in-law, the mad daylily collector, was among 2000 who rocked our local Run for the Cure this past weekend, to help to raise funds for breast cancer research. She’s one good reason why DomestikGoddess.com goes Pink for October — well, even more pink than usual. She also comes from a long line of photographers, and that’s where this next bit comes in:

Yesterday, my friend Gui mentioned that Flickr’s gone over to the pink this month, too. Yahoo! will donate 1 euro for each pink photo added to the Pink 2008 Flickr group, up to 30,000 EUR for five charities in Europe that support breast cancer research and treatment. You can add up to 5 photographs each day until the end of October.

How cool is that? An easy way to support a good cause — easy as pinning on the pink ribbon, but way more creative — with the added benefit of getting much-needed funds to fight breast cancer. If you can’t manage the cash to donate to the cause right now, yourself, why not upload a couple of pics and let Yahoo! make a donation for you?

These are my favourite dwarf daylilies, by the way. Don’t ask the name, it’s Strawberry something-or-other, but I never can remember: to me, they’re just “those pretty bright pink ones”! I’m a lousy photographer, as we know, but couldn’t resist grabbing a shot of these daylilies just as their blooming season came to an end.

p.s. If you post a pink pic to Flickr’s Pink 2008, feel free to drop a link in the comments so we can all come over to your place and go ooh and ahh!

I’ve just been introduced to an interesting little company called Five Humans. Besides having a great name going for them, they’ve got a great mission statement, the “self appointed task of curing ignorance through hip, fashionable clothing.

Basically, Five Humans creates high-quality t-shirts that help you to raise awareness for a cause that’s important to you and your family — like the plight of autistic children, or cancer, diabetes, asthma, heart disease…

Cool Mom Picks says it best:

“When there’s a cause near and dear to my heart, I have no problems letting my child’s chest be a billboard for raising awareness.”

No kid? No worries — T-shirts from Five Humans come in adult sizes, so grown-up men and women can be useful and fashionable billboards for a good cause, too.

Autism, apparently, is the fastest growing developmental disorder in the US (and I’d suspect that there’s a similar stat for other first-world countries). Who knew?

Yet, most of us do know someone whose life is affected in some way by autism — or at the very least have heard news stories of low-income parents who can’t afford the special training and early intervention that’s needed for autistic children. There is no cure for autism, but that doesn’t mean there’s no hope: as cause-related t-shirts serve to remind us, ignorance is a curable disease.

DJ reminds me that one of his all-time favourite T-shirt dealers is teaming up with the Dewey Donation System — “Helping Books Find Libraries Since 2003″ — to help buy some much-needed books for public libraries.

He’s Dewey!
He’s a decimal!
He’s got book hair!

Here’s the deal:

Buy a fine jersey Dewey shirt from Glarkware, and they’ll donate 100% of the price to this year’s book drive charities — the Rockhouse Foundation and Children’s Institute.

This campaign ends at the end of February — so get in fast!

Because kids really need free access to lots and lots of books if they’re ever going to make their way in the world.

And empty libraries, apparently, make Dewey cry…

Do you know an adventurous teen who wants to do good in the world – and is keen to travel, to do that good work hands-on? The UNA-USA HERO campaign is looking for 20 Youth Ambassadors (ages 16-19) from across Canada and the United States.

Through the HERO Youth Ambassador program, teens travel to southern Africa each summer for a month-long service and education program. There, they help to build classrooms, construct fences, install kitchens and engage in classroom activities.

Teens interested in applying to be a 2008 HERO Youth Ambassador can visit beinggirl.com/hero until March 1, 2008.

Here’s why –

In developing countries, many girls miss out on a lot of education time (and may drop out of school altogether) when they hit puberty, just because of a lack of clean and private bathroom facilities and hygiene products. (Don’t squirm, guys, it’s a fact of life.) And no child should lose out on the chance for a life-changing basic education – certainly not for such a fixable problem!

“Girls will stay home rather than be embarrassed,” says Faith Macharia, National Director of FAWE Kenya. “In some areas of Africa, girls can miss up to four days of school each month because they lack the basic necessity of sanitary protection and other resources to help manage their periods while in school.”

The HERO campaign is funded in part by Protecting Futures, a program by beinggirl.com founding brands Tampax and Always, dedicated to helping keep girls in school in southern Africa by improving access to feminine hygiene products as well as education and health services.

In the summer of 2007, Protecting Futures supported school and water construction programs at a HERO school in Namibia. The program is now expanding to HERO schools in the KwaZulu Natal region of South Africa where Protecting Futures will provide sanitary protection to young girls at 9 regional schools to help them overcome the obstacles to attending school during menstruation.

Deadline for applications for the 2008 program is March 1, 2008.

If you’re at all into the game of Bunco, here’s a little something:

Proctor & Gamble’s Prilosec OTC has teamed up with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation® to raise money for breast cancer through a Charity Challenge.

Players can register online at Buncocentral.com and the group that raises the most cash will win a trip to Vegas to compete in the 3rd Annual Prilosec OTC and meet Naomi Judd, the country singer.

About Bunco
While it is a new and growing trend in the United States, Bunco is almost 200 years old. It’s gaining in popularity – in fact, more than 17 million women in the United States have played Bunco and more than 7 million play regularly. Per rules, players take turns trying to make three dice turn up as the “key number,” or ones in the first round of play, twos in the second and so on. Rolling three of a kind is a “Bunco.”

(Sounds like good clean fun, actually… and the history of Bunco, as given by the World Bunco Association, is nothing short of fascinating!)

P&G will donate 100% of donations from the Bunco Charity Challenge, and 100% of the proceeds of the Championship t-shirt sales to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® to support the nonprofit’s goal of preventing breast cancer and finding a cure in our lifetime by funding clinical and genetic research worldwide.

In this season of boots and giving, some intnernational celebrities have climbed on board with Art & Sole, UGG Australia’s annual auction in support of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

It’s fascinating to see actors and musicians explore their visual-artistic sides… even more so when the canvas on which they’re painting a message of hope is a pair of suede Classic UGG Mini Boots.

Beyond question, the hands-down prize is this henna-inspired design by Liv Tyler.

Cindy Crawford‘s done a ducks-egg-blue flowered pair that’s worth a look, too — but with an auction price that’s standing at $1700 as I write, with three days left to go, I’m afraid that looking is all I’m going to do! And Miley Cyrus’s rainbow boots have a top bid of $2400 — that’s a lot of moola to help the sick kids.

Celebs who have pitched in a paintbrush for the cause include Eva Longoria, Martha Stewart, Matthew McConaughey, John Travolta, the cast of Friday Night Lights and Las Vegas, Whoopi Goldberg, Sharon Stone, and Ashlee and Jessica Simpson among others.

[via SheFinds]

Hint, hint!

Saturday and Sunday, December 1 and December 2, would be a wonderful time to jumpstart your holiday shopping…

On those first two days of December, 50% of all proceeds from www.worldofgood.com will fund health and education projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

www.worldofgood.com works with 142 artisan cooperatives in 34 countries to help women gain access to the US consumer market so they can build a sustainable life and their children can thrive. Every single product at www.worldofgood.com is fair trade which means that the person who made it was paid a fair wage and treated with dignity.

Their 2006 fundraiser made it possible to provide medical equipment to a lab in India, build a fresh water system in Guatemala, and build a computer lab in South Africa — let’s see what small miracles we can help to make happen this year!

Blame the UPS delivery guy. I had every intention of eating a nice nutritious lunch today, something green and lo-cal and full of vitamins… but then a sample package of Ferrero chocolates showed up at the door. What’s a girl to do?

And they were the new Rondnoir rich dark chocolates, too. Made in Germany where — I think you’ll agree — they do know a thing or two about rich dark chocolate.

Now, it is a fact that all good chocolate is tasty.

But consider the concept of a tiny hazelnut-sized nugget of semi-sweet dark chocolate, nestled in a creamy dark chocolate enough to make you weak at the knees, and the whole thing wrapped up in a delicate wafer shell — how on earth do they do that? — all covered with nummy chocolate sprinkle-things like some kind of over-achieving truffle. (I did share with He Who Hogs The Power Tools… truly… one. )

Here’s why I’m telling you all this:

If you’re quick, you might be able to snag your own free samples of Ferrero Rondnoir, just by filling in a quick survey over at iVillage (ends 11/30/07).

And should you think of these foil-wrapped nuggets of joy as a brilliant stocking-stuffer… don’t forget that Ferrero is giving a portion of its Rondnoir sales to fight childhood hunger in those far more deserving and needy.

The folks who spread the good word about Ferrero chocolates (a traditional stocking-stuffer in our family) dropped a note the other day about a new way to help fight childhood hunger in this no-holds-barred season of holiday treats. And how appropriate…

Send a virtual snowglobe to a friend by email, and Ferrero makes a donation to Share Our Strength.

Share Our Strength is a national nonprofit that inspires and organizes individuals and businesses to share their strengths to help end hunger. We raise funds in innovative ways–from holding volunteer-led special events across the country, such as the Great America Bake Sale® and Taste of the Nation, to developing cause-related marketing ventures and corporate partnerships.

I’m not usually a huge fan of electronic greeting cards (although saving a tree is always good), just because I’m a bit of a traditionalist here… but when you can combine a bit of festive cheer with a bit of festive charity, why not?

Pick from the selection of seasonal photographs for your snowglobe scene — or upload your own photo, for a truly personal greeting.

Technorati Tags: e-greeting cards, charity

There’s something about the comfort of a handmade quilt that’s a natural match for a good cause. And since October is Breast Cancer Awareness (Pink Ribbon) month, it’s a perfect time for making a quilt in pink.

Rosie’s Calico Cupboard gives us a free pattern for her Ribbon of Concern Quilt, with pieced blocks that look like pink fabric ribbons, to signify support for those with breast cancer.

(You could easily adapt this quilt pattern for other causes that are associated with different coloured ribbons, of course — yellow ribbons to support the troops, for example, or the white ribbon campaign to end violence against women.)

If you’re looking for something a little more traditional, Quilt Pink offers a nice selection of free quilt block patterns (PDF file) to suit any quilter’s skill level.

Or you might simply adapt a favourite quilt pattern to use fabrics in the colour of the cause.

Don’t forget the possibilities of embroidery and embellishment, too — what about incorportating a fabric-printed photograph or pieces of clothing with a special personal meaning into a memory quilt?

For more inspiration, see the Quilt Pink gallery for photographs of a gorgeous variety of Breast Cancer Quilts pieced by more than 1,000 quilt shops across the United States. American Patchwork & Quilting magazine is selling them off in an online quilt auction to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure is running now on eBay.

Technorati Tags: pink ribbon, quilts, free patterns, charity

What could be more appropriate for a piece of art work created from found objects or recycled materials, than the figure of an caretaking angel?

Some of these angels will help to feed a hungry family in a developing country.

Some will help to care for helpless animals.

Some will bring a smile, or inspire an afternoon of laughter and family crafts.

And all of these angels make good and beautiful use of materials that would otherwise be wasted.

 
 
With each lovely blue Recycled Glass Angel purchased, The Animal Rescue Site will fund 14 bowls of food for animals living in shelters. Each angel is unique, created by a recycled glass cooperative and fair-trade imported from Guatemala.

Arncraft projects from Creative Kids at Home give ideas and instructions to challenge you to create new items from recycled materials, like this CD angel, created from an unwanted compact disc.

Disabled artisans at theBombolulu Workshop near Mombasa, Kenya, are employed, housed, and educated for their work in making jewelry, like this cheerful angel pin, from recycled materials.

“Each year we dedicate a week in December to Christmas crafts and baking, says Cheri, the TNfarmgirl. “This is a time for the boys to express themselves in a variety of ways, create handcrafted presents for family and friends and learn new cooking skills.”

Through the year, the family will collects items with crafty recycling potential, then pull them out for a big family craft bash. One year, they made lightbulb angels like this little cutie. You can leave her without the self-standing feet and hook her halo onto the Christmas tree, if you prefer a hanging ornament.

Recycled metal and wood pieces, together with found objects, take a turn as the hippest of folk art in these mixed-media angels. On the left, Angel Red Lace is by Tricia Courtney of Lemon Oak Studio. On the right is Tattoo, one of Elzabeth Frank’s Tin Can Angels series in carved wood, recycled tin, acrylic, and wax.

In my travels, I’ve seen some remarkable garden-art angels made from rusty angle-iron pieces that you’d never think could look so lovely… and a mosiac stepping stone with an angel motif, made from broken bits of patterned china… and years ago, the nursery school did something with toilet paper rolls and the coloured comic pages from the newspaper…

What recycled angels have you seen and admired — or made yourself?
Tell us about it in the comments, and do feel free to leave a link if you want to share a picture!

What’s a pirate without a song?

It originally be a quick joke, but now Pirate Day in this sceptr’d isle now be raisin’ thousands o’pounds fer charity, as well as bein’ more entertainin’ than a barrel full o’mice. We be proud t’carry on the tradition, an’ t’be gettin’ as many folks round Britain as we can t’be talkin’ like pirates!

The single of Jay Foreman’s song On A Pirate Ship is available at www.yarr.org.uk/single, with the proceeds — every doubloon — going to support the Marie Curie Cancer Care… an’ it be costin’ less than a mug o’grog!