Category Archives: Humanitarian

Sep26

Social Good Summit in NYC

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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.

Sep15

Dive In!

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Dive In!

Today on day 10, the Last Day of our campaign for Water.org through The Mission List, I want to say thank you to all of those who have read my blog, and to congratulate you. Together we have made a difference. 114 people, who did not have access to clean water before we began 10 days ago, now will. Thanks to you! All because of your re-posting, re-tweeting, donations and comments that helped to raise awareness, and funds to make this happen.  We have made a difference! If you would like to start your own Water.org campaign, to continue this good work,  Dive In!

Click on the photo below to watch the short water.org video.

Water.org Click on Image to watch video

Sep14

The Drops That Filled A Bucket

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The Drops That Filled A Bucket

……As single drops of water fill a bucket, so do small deeds of good.

– Buddha

Photo Courtesy of Water.org

A diverse group of bloggers was assembled by The mission List to join forces in a Water.org campaign 10 Days 10 Lives. Our goal over 10 days was to collectively raise enough money to provide 100 people clean water for life. This was a passion project for all of us. Some are mothers who cannot stand the thought of another mother having to lose her child from an easily preventable disease due to unclean water. Others have families who have been directly impacted by the lack of access to water, or they are travelers who have seen first hand the challenges of developing nations in water crisis. So for nine days we have blogged, tweeted, and posted in all our social media outlets, raising awareness and funds towards our goal. And we did it! By day 9 we have reached our goal of providing clean water to 100 people, and 13 more! Now with one day left we are inspired! We are inspired by what we were able to achieve together as a group. Now we want to see how far over that goal we can get by the end of our campaign tomorrow. $25.00 can provide clean water for life for one person, and there is still time to donate. Below is a shout out o all of the amazing bloggers who participated along side me in this campaign! It is truly amazing what can be achieved by small acts of good when pooled together.

Although we reached above and beyond our goal, there are so many others in need of water resources, and you can still help with us until tomorrow night, or as always with Water.org .
Below is a shout out to all of the bloggers who worked to reach our goal! Congratulations ladies!

Photo courtesy of Water.org

http://www.documama.org (and me of course!)
You can view all of our Water.org blog posts on Pinterest
Sep12

Party With A Purpose; Alex & Ani for Water.org

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Party With A Purpose; Alex & Ani for Water.org

 

Bloggers from The Mission LIst; Carla Molina of Petit Rhody, Laura Rossi of Mysocalledsensorylife & Elizabeth Atalay of Documama host the Alex & Ani Party with a Purpose for Water.org

A few of my own favorite charms

While working on the Water.org campaign for The Mission List  fellow bloggers Laura Rossi, Carla Molina and I realized we all lived in the same area.  We decided to get together and try to augment our social media fundraising efforts with an Alex & Ani Party With A Purpose.  Alex & Ani is a fabulous local company that we love to support not only for their amazing jewelry line, but their positive energy philosophy as well.  An entire division of the company is devoted to Charity By Design which supports various charities through the sales of specifically designed charm bangles for each group.

Their Parties With A Purpose are another way the company gives back.  Parties are hosted in the stores and provide a unique shopping experience that enables the Charity By Design department of Alex and Ani to raise funds and awareness for various charities.  Events are generally two hours long (6-8 p.m. or 7-9 p.m.), and the company donates 15% of event sales to the designated charity.  Co-branded evites are created by Alex and Ani for event promotion, and lite bites and positive energy punch are provided by the store.

 

 

We are thrilled with the results of our Party With A Purpose held at the Alex & Ani Chapel View Store at the company’s headquarters.  In just two hours of shopping and fun we were able raise over $500.00 to be donated directly to Water.org.

Every $25.00 donated provides clean water for life to someone.  That means we just provided 22 people clean water for life!

We are so grateful to all of those who turned out to support Water.org at our Party With A Purpose, and to those of you who have donated  on-line or helped to spread the word by re-tweeting and re-posting our social media efforts.  We have three days left to reach our goal of bringing 100 people clean water for life, and we are so close to being able to do just that.  If you missed our Party With A Purpose but would still like to help us reach that goal, you can still do so on The Mission List fundraising page.

 

Sep11

Fashion Week NYC; Moms On A Mission

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Fashion Week NYC; Moms On A Mission

Click on the photo to see Lisa Rinna dance down the runway and the end of the show.

Last night I got to live out my fantasy of attending a New York Fashion Week show that combined fashion with my passion for causes that benefit mothers and children.  The Strut,  Moms with a Mission fashion show showcased supermoms instead of supermodels. Women like Devi Thomas, the director of the United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life Campaign,  Chrysula Winegar of “When You Wake Up A Mother, You Wake Up The World”, Holly Pavlika of Momentum.bigfuel.com, and the founders of Strut Denise Albert and Melissa Gerstein all walked the runway with celebrity mom Lisa Rinna.  I joined World Moms Blog founder Jennifer Burden and fellow World Moms Blog Contributer Maman Aya to watch the show, and enjoy the electric atmosphere. We loved the fantastic people watching inside the tents at Lincoln Center, and a fabulous after party at the swanky Empire hotel.

I may not be walking down the catwalk this week but I am a Mom on a Mission myself, working with The Mission List  on our 10 Days 10 Lives campaign for Water.org.  We are working to raise awareness and bring clean drinking water and the dignity of sanitation to women and children around the world.

You can help by spreading the word , donating to our fundraiser ,  start your own fundraiser,  or just learning more about the water crisis. Together we can make a difference.

 Just $25 brings clean water for life to one person, and our goal by the end of our ten days is to provide clean water to at least ten people. I’d love for you to join me.

Now I need to track down the leather leggings one of the models walked down the runway in! I am obsessed!