Tag Archives: The Global Fund

LOVEly Gifts for Valentine’s Day

LOVEly Gifts for Valentine’s Day

 

 

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Wine, Chocolate, Jewelry and heart! We’ve got you covered with this list of a few of our favorite Valentine’s Day gifts this year.

My absolute favorite Valentine’s Day gift pick is the Alex & Ani special edition Product (RED) bracelet where 20% of the proceeds go to the Global Fund to help fight AIDS. I also happen to also be obsessed with the arrow rings and bracelets the just came out with!!

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Olive & Cocoa is the place to find updated versions of Valentine’s Day flowers, chocolate and gifts.

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I love this “bundle of love” that FEED came up with for Valentine’s Day this year where each purchase provides 35 meals for school children around the world!

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Wine always makes a wonderful gift, especially the wines from One Hope because they each give back to a different cause. These wines are perfect for Valentine’s Day the purchase of the glittery pink bottle filled with Chardonnay goes to fight Breast Cancer and the glittery red bottle of Pinot Noir that  helps fight Heart Disease. There are also some fun for the holiday gift packages like the All You Need is Love Gift Box, the Baker Gift Crate or the Birthday Babe Gift Box.

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Heart of Haiti  Fair Trade products found in Macy’s Department stores are produced in collaboration with Full Circle Exchange and help Haitian Artisans to support their families with their beautiful hand-made crafts.

PicMonkey Collage6In my mind life is all about love.  Valentine’s Day is a perfect day to spread the LOVE, whether it be romantic, love between friends or the love of family. It is a great opportunity to let them know you care. Making someone feel special doesn’t have to be with a gift. The gifts above are fun suggestions, and some of them even give twice by contributing to a good cause, but sometimes a simple note or gesture can make someone feel just as special. I’m wishing you all days full of love, and a Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

 

 

Social Good Summit in NYC

Social Good Summit in NYC

The Author with colleagues from ONEMoms, World Moms Blog and Fundraise.com outside the Media Lounge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The Social Good Summit is a three-day conference where big ideas meet new media to create innovative solutions. Held during UN Week from September 22-24, the Social Good Summit unites a dynamic community of global leaders to discuss a big idea: the power of innovative thinking and technology to solve our greatest challenges. The most innovative technologists, influential minds and passionate activists will come together with one shared goal: to unlock the potential of new media and technology to make the world a better place, and then to translate that potential into action.” -Mashable.com/sgs

I was thrilled to be able to catch a glimpse of the Social Good Summit held in New York City this past week.   I  came away feeling hopeful and inspired by both the content being presented, and the amazing people so passionately involved in making the world a better place.  I only wished for more time to attend all of the fascinating panels and talks, but was happy to be there even briefly to soak in the collaborative energy that comes of so many people with common goals gathering in one spot. The summit was sponsored by Mashable, the U.N. Foundation, The Gates Foundation, Ericsson, UNDP and the 92nd street Y where it was held.  A range of global issues were highlighted along with the way in which social media can play a role.  The Social Good Summit ran concurrently with The Clinton Global Initiative and U.N. Week, bringing NYC even more than its usual buzz of  humanitarians, activists, media and diplomats.

My colleagues from World Moms Blog, founder Jennifer Burden and World Voice Editor Nicole Melancon had pre-registered for press passes into the Clinton Global Initiative as well where they were able to live tweet and blog about the speeches given by the entire Clinton family, Mitt Romney, and Barak Obama!  The first thing I did upon arrival was head to mid-town to try to get a walk on Documama press pass to the Clinton Global Initiative.  I was not granted access, and it totally felt like being denied at the velvet rope, but was so worth the try!  The Social Good Summit had a line-up of powerhouses in their own right, like Jane Goodall, Nick Kristof, Anthony Lake of UNICEF and Gabriel Jaramillo of the Global Fund, among many other great names.  Although I was unable to view all of the speakers,  they were all live streamed by Mashable.com so that anyone who wished to hear them could .  On site, such revolutionary speakers addressing the audience charged the rooms at the 92nd street Y with excitement and hope.

As a prelude to the upcoming ONEMoms trip to Ethiopia a group of  ONEMoms members and community partners in town for the summit got together for dinner at Red Rooster Harlem .   ONEMoms blogger, philanthropist and model, Maya Haile Samuelsson, will be traveling to Ethiopia with ONEMoms in October. Her husband Marcus Samuelsson is the Chef and Owner of Red Rooster, so it was a natural choice, but it also happens to be one of the hippest spots in the city. We dined on Red Rooster favorites such as Helga’s Meatballs, and dessert of decadent Sweet Potato Doughnuts. Our favorite cocktail was called the “Yes, Chef” and takes its’ name from Marcus Samuelssons’ recently released memoir titled “Yes, Chef”. (which I had read and loved!)

Next year I plan to make it a point to set aside time to attend the entire Social Good Summit, in the mean time I am filtering through the plethora of innovative ideas and exciting programs being executed by presenters and attendees of the conference.  A couple of cool programs that debuted this week were the Shot@Life  Moments Matter mobile App and the Half the Sky Facebook game.  The Shot @ Life Moments Matter Mobile App helps you track your childs’ milestones from ages 0-5 through your photos and entries, while building awareness about the Shot@Life campaign that helps to give children around the world a shot at a healthy life. The Half The Sky Facebook Game  is a compelling way to do global good by helping to empower women by unlocking real world donations while playing the game.  These are great examples of ways in which social media can be harnessed and put to good use.  The three way live global chat at the Social Good Summit between Nairobi, Beijing and New york highlighted how technology can bring the world together. We need to keep developing new ways to use social media to bring the world together for the greater good of mankind, and for me the 2012 Social Good Summit was a great place to start.

(RED)RUSH TO ZERO

(RED)RUSH TO ZERO

Photo by Elizabeth Atalay

1,000 babies are born every day with HIV.  By the year 2015 that number could come close to zero.  That is the goal of  (RED), and until June 10th you can take part in the (RED) RUSH TO ZERO campaign to help make that happen!  Check out the (RED) RUSH TO ZERO website to find out ten things you can do through June 10th to contribute. Two easy steps I am planning to take today to get started are to visit Starbucks  like I love to do, and check in on my foursquare account, which will then automatically donate a dollar to The Global Fund!  Then I am going do a little shopping on-line and pick a (RED) product to purchase, which will also donate to the (RED) RUSH TO ZERO campaign. Both actions are easy and fun for me to do, and it makes me feel good to know that the money I spend today on things I would buy anyway, will go towards such an important global cause.  If you need another good reason to take a look at how some of your favorite brands are getting involved, Father’s Day is coming up soon (I’m thinking the Dr. Dre headphones look pretty cool for dad)! 

 

 

You can track (RED) Money at work in Africa. To date, over $190 Million has been contributed to the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS (from (RED) partners and events). *100% goes to programs on the ground via the Global Fund-supported HIV/AIDS programs in 6 African countries: Ghana, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zambia. Over 14 Million people have been reached by programs (RED) supports.