Category Archives: Social Good

Apr29

The Running Of The (Roller)Bulls

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The Running Of The (Roller)Bulls

I saw the horned beast coming at me out of the corner of my eye, but was not quick enough to escape its wrath.  When I looked down to where I was hit I could see the viscous red liquid dripping down my arm and the red stain that blossomed on my white t-shirt. I’d been gored! Yes I had signed up for the Running of The Bulls with my team the Rhody Mamas, but we were not in Pamplona. This was right in downtown Providence, and it was not a bull who’d run amok that got me, but rather a Roller Derby queen on a mission.

Yes, I’d been gored! But, I’d been Gored For Good in the inaugural Get Gored For Good Running of The Bulls fundraiser and festival to benefit Amos House.  This consisted of Providence Roller Derby Team members called “Rollerbulls”, donning horns, and armed with paintbrushes of red paint chasing down the runners.

I have to say I have never laughed so hard during a run, which by the way, I learned takes way more lung capacity than usual.  Before the run even began Amos House announced that already over $115,000.00 had been raised to house the approximately 150 Men, Women and children who stay with Amos house each night, and to help feed the approximately 800 who come to them for meals each day. The funds will also be used towards their counseling and job programs following the Amos House Motto of “Helping people help themselves.”

The Mission Statement of Amos House Reads:

Amos House is a nonprofit social services agency that provides hospitality and direct services to the homeless and poor of Rhode Island. We work in collaboration with other agencies and groups to address issues of hunger, homelessness and poverty.

The family friendly event had us running through down city Providence for no more than two miles…maybe a bit less in fact…and included a lovely water/juice/snack stop where I was also able to have my own set of bull horns made for me by the balloon artist on hand. We ended with the  festival in Burnside Park where there was a band playing, and more funds were raised with food for purchase from local food trucks and vendors, SugarRush, Championship Melt, Plouf Plouf,and Friendship Cafe, as well as beverages for sale by sponsors Narragansett Beer, Revival Beer and Opici Sangria. There was also face painting and the balloon artist,but the highlight for me (other than the Sangria!) had to be the Mechanical bull.

A fellow Rhody Mama riding the bull!

This event was a total blast for a great cause! Now I can’t wait to go see the Providence Roller Derby in action from the sidelines, when I’m not running from them with faux terror.

 

Apr27

La Dolce Vita At Dolci Gelati

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La Dolce Vita At Dolci Gelati

The Author with the co-owner of Dolci Gelati Cafe, Anastasia Dellaccio

When visiting Washington, DC with my family last week, we visited the monuments, the Smithsonian, and the Zoo, but there was one place on our travel agenda that I was most looking forward to.  My friend Anastasia had recently opened an artisan Gelato shop in Takoma Park, MD with her husband, Chef Gianluigi Dellaccio (a former Italian champion water polo player!!), and business partner Marcello Minna.  I knew that my gelato loving family would be as enthusiastic as I was to celebrate our Dolce Vita with some Gelato at Dolci Gelati.  It also happened to be the start of  World Immunization Week, and the week of the United Nations Foundation Shot@Life campaign’s digital #BirthdayBash in honor of its first birthday. It seemed the perfect way to kick off the Shot@Life #BirthdayBash week since I had met Anastasia through The United Nations Foundation where she works. When Dolci Gelati decided to add a flavor called “Shot@Life”, where 50 cents per serving will be donated to the Shot@Life Campaign , she had asked us Shot@Life Champions for flavor ideas.  Vanilla/Pistachio Swirl had won out, and I was eager for a taste.

Photo Courtesy of Dolci Gelati

It is times like this that I am grateful to have a big family, in that way I was able try each of their Gelato flavors along with my own!  Don’t worry, although Gelato tastes as rich as ice cream, it only has 1/3 the fat and none of the artificial ingredients, so gelato is a guilt free indulgence.   Dolci Galati was founded in 2006 and is sold at Nationals’ Stadium, restaurants and markets throughout the Washington Metro area such as Whole Foods, Dean & Delluca, and Taylor Gourmet, but the couple was thrilled to open their first storefront this spring.

 “Gianluigi uses an authentic Italian recipe that has been in his family for generations but mixes in local ingredients and exotic flavors to create a modern twist to a traditional Italian favorite.”- Dolci Gelati

Eating my “Shot@Life” flavor Gelato to kick of the #BirthdayBash

It was so much fun to see Anastasia, get to meet  her family, and to hear her husband’s ideas for combining his skill as a trained Pastry Chef  to come up with creative flavors and treats to offer customers.  With Anastasia’s background working for humanitarian causes at the United Nations Foundation it is no surprise that the couple will offer a Social Good flavor each month as a way to support the causes they care about. Our stop at Dolci Gelati was the perfect sweet way to top off a fun visit with family in DC, and to launch into celebrating the first birthday of Shot@Life.

 

For more information about Dolci Gelati you can visit their website , follow Dolci Gelati on twitter and like them on facebook .
Better yet, go visit them in person!

Dolci Gelati is located at 7000 Carroll Avenue, Takoma Park, MD

Apr24

Happy Birthday Shot@Life! #BirthdayBash

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Happy Birthday Shot@Life! #BirthdayBash

Shot@Life’s #BirthdayBash starts today- a 3 day Social Media celebration of Shot@Life’s 1st year!  To celebrate along with us check out the Shot@Life Storify page, the Shot@Life Facebook page , and follow the celebration on Twitter @shotatlife #BirthdayBash!  This week as the world celebrates Global Immunization Week, the Global Vaccine Summit begins today in Abu Dhabi under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayes, the Crown prince of Abu Dhabi, and in partnership with the United nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and Bill gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda gates Foundation.  The Summit will endorse the critical role that vaccines and immunization play in saving lives, and protecting children for a life time.  In conjunction, the United Nations Foundation Shot@Life campaign celebrates its 1st birthday!  Shot@Life is a call to action for Americans towards a global cause, it educates and empowers Americans to advocate for and to donate towards vaccines. Immunization is one of the most cost-effective ways to save the lives of children in developing countries.  Shot@Life aims to decrease vaccine-preventable childhood deaths around the world, and to give every child a shot at a healthy life. I was thrilled to become a Shot@Life Champion this past year and to join this important initiative. Together we can save the lives of 1.5 million children a year, and see the erradication of deadly diseases such as Measles (WHO statistics show measles deaths dropped 71 % in the past decade)  and Polio (we are 99% there!) within our lifetimes.

A few ways that YOU can help to give all children a shot at a healthy life:

1. Global mom relay: http://www.unfoundation.org/globalmomrelay/ Every day from now until May 3rd there will be a new blog post in the Global Mom Relay, and each time you share it over email, FB, or Twitter, Shot@Life gets $5 from the Gates Foundation and Johnson & Johnson. It’s that easy!

2. Sign up for the free Charity Miles app on your mobile device. You select from a number of charities they doante to, and each mile you run, walk, or bike, gets sponsored and your charity gets a little money. Win/Win right?! For example, UN Foundation sponsors my dog walks/runs for Shot@Life, and every 4 miles = 1 polio vaccine!

3. Sign up to support vaccines for kids in developing nations! www.shotatlife.org

4. Follow Shot@Life on Facebook  or Twitter 

5. Donate to my Shot@Life TeamIMMUNITY donation page and help me reach my goal of providing 45 kids immunization against vaccine preventable diseases for life. Just $20 will provide a life worth of vaccines for one child.

6. WATCH The Global Vaccine Summit ONLINE in LIVE-TIME as it begins today in Abu Dhabi under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayes, the Crown prince of Abu Dhabi, and in partnership with the United nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and Bill gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda gates Foundation.  The Summit will endorse the critical role that vaccines and immunization play in saving lives, and protecting children for a life time.

Apr16

It Needs To Begin With The Mothers; Join The Global Mom Relay

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It Needs To Begin With The Mothers; Join The Global Mom Relay

Jennifer Lopez is seen in a Global Mom Relay video message on the Toshiba Vision Screen in Times Square, New York, April 11, 2013. (INSIDER IMAGES/Stuart Ramson for UN Foundation) — in New York, NY.

I am a Boston girl, and aching today for the city I grew up in. I watched the Boston Marathon run through my town of Brookline each year, and my heart is breaking for those lives lost, and those injured by the terrible act of terrorism yesterday, for the city now in mourning, the runners in a daze, and all of us as global citizens who live in a world where this could possibly happen. I am hesitant to post this today as I mourn, but at the same time feel the need to come together for change in the world.  I feel strongly that that needs to begin with women working together to raise children not to hate,and  not to fear those different from themselves. Rather we need to teach love, tolerance, compassion and understanding. As women who may become mothers to the men of the world it needs to begin with us.   Motherhood bonds you to all other mothers. As mothers we share so much that supersedes geography, culture or language. We share the love of our children and the desire for them to grow up in a peaceful world, all of us navigating through the best we can. So I do feel strongly about still telling you about The Global Mom digital relay going on, because  The Global Mom Relay is a race we all can win.

The Relay was initiated on March 8th on International Women’s Day and will be running through May 8th, inspiring, and connecting us along the way.  This past week in Times Square the Global Mom Relay launched its video PSA featuring Jennifer Lopez on the Toshiba big screen! Times Square is one of the world’s most visited tourist attractions and it is estimated that up to 300,00o people may pass through  on any given day.    It is appropriate then that the Global mom Relay video should play in what is known as the “Crossroads of The World”, and it will run every ten minutes through May 8th. It will be exciting to see the social media impact as the message to join the virtual relay plays throughout each day for the next month.

Through daily posts by moms, experts, celebrities and advocates, the Global Mom Relay is mobilizing the conversation, awareness, and actions of participants to change the state of the startling statistics on women and children’s health in this world. Nearly 7 million children under the age of 5 will die from preventable diseases each year, and every two minutes a woman will die from complications due to pregnancy, unless we  act together to change things.

Each time a Global Mom Relay piece is shared on Facebook, Twitter, or by Email, or a donation of $5 or more is made by clicking on the share graphic on the post, a $5 donation (up to $62,500 per week or $125,000 every two weeks) will be donated by Johnson & Johnson and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Health(MAMA) through April 18th. From April 19th through May 2nd the donations will be going to Shot@Life. (Additional Partners Girl Up and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves benefited from the first month of the relay)

Co-chairs for the Global mom Relay Arianna Huffington, Jennifer Lopez, Lynda Lopez, Elizabeth Gore, and Sharon D’Agostino, are connecting moms everywhere through this virtual relay, and the power of social media in support of the United Nation’s Every Woman Every Child Movement. The Every Woman Every Child Movement was launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to save the lives of women and children in line with the Millenium Development goals to be reached by 2015.

The energy in the room overlooking the square in the Renaissance New York Times Square Hotel on the day of the launch was palpable as we counted down in New Years Eve fashion. 10, 9, 8….. and the button was pushed to light up the towering Toshiba screen visible through the panoramic windows with the premier of the Global Mom Relay video.  I was thrilled to be there for the launch event, to meet up with friends from the United nations Foundation,  Shot@Life, and some of the amazing partners and contributors taking part in the Global Mom Relay.   Jennifer Burden, founder of World Moms Blog , had two posts that ran in the Global Mom Relay just days after on April 13th on the Huffington Post and BabyCenter  pages.   The posts generated over 900 shares around the world from Asia, to Africa to Europe with type of collective energy that puts change in motion. Today writer Jennifer James, of Mom Bloggers For Social Good and Global Team of 200 has a post on Jill Sheffield, and the inspiration for her life’s work in Kenya. Each time a post is read we learn more about each other, and each time a post is shared we help others,we need to work together as mothers to make this world a better place for our children.

With Olivia Culpo, Miss Universe 2012 from Rhode Island

 

Pictured L to R, Elizabeth Atalay, Documama, Holly Pavlika, Momentum Nation, Nana Meriwether, Miss USA 2012, Lynda Lopez, Lopez Family Foundation, Elizabeth Gore, UN Foundation, Jennifer Burden, World Moms Blog, Olivia Culpo, Miss Universe 2012, Sharon D’Agostino, Johnson & Johnson, Chrysula Winegar, Million Moms Challenge, Yoshi Uchiyama, Toshiba America Inc, and Jill Nystul, One Good Thing by Jillee, at the launch of the Global Mom Relay video messages on the Toshiba Vision Screen in Times Square, New York, April 11, 2013. (INSIDER IMAGES/Stuart Ramson for UN Foundation) — in New York, NY.

For more information, visit www.unfoundation.org/globalmomrelay.

Watch the video below that plays in Times Square and prepare to be INSPIRED! If you are in New York, be sure to check it out in person!

Apr10

The Upcoming Global Newborn Health Conference #Newborn2013

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The Upcoming Global Newborn Health Conference #Newborn2013

It had been a while since I had cradled a newborn in my arms, and as I held a friend’s new baby the other day I felt the world fall away. I just sat in awe staring at his sweet face and marveling at the tiny hand wrapped around my finger. I remembered holding each of my newborn babies and getting lost in their innocence. There is nothing so precious or miraculous in my mind than a new baby. It reminded me of how different life is in those early days, as a mother, your focus is just so intent on sustaining the new life that you somehow wondrously brought into this world. I was able to be so child-centric at that time in our lives, virtually unaware of the outside universe.  Now with older children venturing out each day, it is impossible not to look outward from our home, at the world my kids are growing up in.

It is a world where not all mothers get to see their newborn thrive and grow. There is another moment I clearly remember from each of my birthing experiences, and that is the moment right before the baby came, an acute clear panic that something might go wrong, an awareness that one, or two of our lives were at stake. Then, luckily, thankfully, the relief when we both made it through, our baby took its first breath, and was placed in my arms.  It is that neonatal period of the first 28 days of life when a baby is most vulnerable.   Because of this fact there are many cultures in the world where  babies are not even given a name  , in some cases they can remain nameless for up to two months after they are born.  It does not need to be that way, and in this day and age should not be.  Many mothers could be spared the loss of their newborn with simple precautions and shared knowledge that should be commonly available.  We have the resources to ensure that newborn babies do not die unnecessarily, and we need to strive to get awareness and access to all women giving birth.

My Newborns, Four Of The Important Reasons Why I Care About Newborn Health

Saving Newborn Lives is the goal of The Gates Foundation’s Director of Family Health, Dr. Gary Darmstadt, and for 28 days until April 15th, a period that represents the critical neonatal period in a newborn life, he is inspiring an ongoing conversation regarding newborn health to help generate action to prevent the unnecessary loss of newborn lives. The Global Team of 200 has joined up with him for the 28 days leading up to the Global Newborn Health Conference that will be held between April 15 – 18 in South Africa, to engage in conversations and spread the word about global newborn health through social media.

As countries make their final push toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals and beyond, progress in reducing neonatal mortality is essential to meeting the child survival MDG. While progress has been made in addressing childhood illnesses, newborn deaths now account for 43 percent of deaths of children under age 5. Globally, nearly 3 million newborns die each year and 2.6 million babies are stillborn. Four out of five newborn deaths result from three preventable and treatable conditions: prematurity, intrapartum-related complications (“birth asphyxia”) and infections. USAID’s flagship Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP), Save the Children’s Saving Newborn Lives (SNL) program, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), with additional support from John Snow, Inc., the Laerdal Foundation, and Jhpiego, will host a four-day conference focused on accelerating the scale-up of high-impact interventions that address these three major causes of newborn mortality. – Global Newborn Health Conference

Dr. Gary Darmstadt is tweeting “Did You Know” facts about newborn health leading up to the conference, and you can join us in the conversation too at #newborn2013.

 

 

 

 

I wrote this post as part of The Global Team of 200, a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health.

Our Motto: Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.

Want to share the #Newborn2013 conversation on Facebook? It’s easy. Click the link below to easily share.

Join the Conversation About Newborn Health