Nov13

Giving Tuesday Helps To Balance Out Black Friday & Cyber Monday

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Giving Tuesday Helps To Balance Out Black Friday & Cyber Monday

 

With the National Movement of Giving Tuesday being created I now know for sure that I am not the only out there who feels like the commercialism and excess of the holiday season in this country has gotten a bit out of hand.  It is not even Thanksgiving and I am hearing Christmas music playing throughout the mall.  We seem to have lost a bit of the message in the madness of “the giving season”.   Everyone is just so busy trying to keep up with the expectations that we have created, and I’ll admit that I am as guilty as the rest.  We want to stir up excitement and memories for our family, sometimes giving extravagantly to show how much we love each other.  I fall into the same commercial frenzy despite the pit in my stomach telling me we don’t need more.  There are many people out there who do need more, and this year I feel hopeful, because there are some new tools in place to help us turn things around, and head in the right direction. The inaugural Giving Tuesday is a great place to start.

“On Tuesday, November 27, 2012, the collective power of charities, families, businesses and individuals will transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. #GivingTuesday will create a national movement around the holidays dedicated to giving, similar to how Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become days that are, today, synonymous with holiday shopping.”-www.givingtuesday.org

Giving Tuesday provides a way to harness all of the grateful energy amassed over Thanksgiving and transform it directly into the spirit of helping others.  Having lost both of my own parents before having my own children I know that nothing in life matters as much as your loved ones, and sitting around our Thanksgiving table I am always struck with deep gratitude for my family, our health, our safety and comfortable life.  These are not things that I take for granted.  Extensive travel through developing nations gave me an acute awareness of our good fortune to live in a place where food security, education and housing are the norm. There are still those even in this country to whom those basic needs do not come easily, and I feel that it is our basic human responsibility to extend a hand if we can.   There are so many positive ways to give to either family members or strangers in need, and this year, as always I will try to teach my kids the true meaning of “The Giving Season”.  I know I will still happily take part in picking out gifts for each of my family members, because there is true joy in finding something great to give someone you know they will love.  I will also try to be somewhat practical in my gift giving, and on Giving Tuesday make sure my family marks the day by giving back to others in need. Here are a few ideas:

There are still many on the East Coast who need supplies due to the storm, and we donated coats and canned goods to help fill three school buses that brought supplies from our town to the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Our local food bank has many collections this time of year and I make sure each of my four kids brings in contributions to donate to the Girl Scouts Food Drive or Student Council, or whichever one of their activities is collecting.

We have adopted a family in past years where we get a list of family members to purchase gifts for so they have something to give their children and receive for the holidays. I have my kids think about and pick out the gifts for kids closest to their ages.

This year I feel like there are so many gift-giving options that are gifts that give back. Tom’s shoes for example, where for each pair of shoes you buy one pair is donated to a child who needs them. I am going to try to give as many of those types of gifts possible to family and friends. Other companies that offer some great gifts that give back options are UNICEF, FashionABLE, FEED, Alex & Ani Charity by Design bracelets.

 

What are some other ways that you can think of to help celebrate Giving Tuesday?

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.

Follow along with us here on Tumblr, on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook for the latest Global Team of 200 news.

 

Nov10

I am Malala

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I am Malala

This past October the world was shocked and saddened by the Taliban assassination attempt on a 14 year old schoolgirl, Malala Yousafzai.  Malala had been a thorn in their side since the tender age of 11 when she wrote a blog about the oppression under Taliban rule in her town of Mingora, Pakistan.  She became an activist fighting for the right of girls to education in Pakistan, something the Taliban stands vehemently against. Instead of killing Malala as they had intended, by shooting her in October, they sparked an education movement that has gone globally viral. Instead of snuffing her one small voice, they have ignited a firestorm of education initiatives that span the globe.  The UN has designated November 10th as Malala Day, and United Nations Special Envoy on Global Education Gordon Brown has pledged to help Pakistan formulate a plan to provide education to all of Pakistan’s children by 2015.    Malala is on her way to recovery, reading, writing and walking again, and sure to be fighting for her cause again soon. She has unwittingly become an international symbol of girls right to education worldwide.  Today I stand with Malala to defend the right of girls everywhere to equal education, and signed the global petition to make my voice count.   You can stand with Malala today too.

CLICK ON THE PHOTO OF MALALA TO WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW 

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.

Follow along with us here on Tumblr, on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook for the latest Global Team of 200 news.

 

Nov8

Nordstrom Rack Sneak Peek Party & Grand Opening

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Nordstrom Rack Sneak Peek Party & Grand Opening

It turns out that not only does Nordstrom Rack know how to pick great fashion finds for it’s customers, but it also knows how to throw a great party! I had been invited as a blogger to the Sneak Peek event held at the store for the Warwick Nordstrom Rack last night before it’s Grand Opening today.

As an invited guest I received a Nordstrom’s Rack canvas tote goody bag as I walked in the door, turns out it was perfect foreshadowing in which for me to carry home my haul at the end of the night.  Not even the wind and snow of a Nor’easter could keep Nordstrom Rack fans away, and it was worth braving the storm.  There were servers with trays of amazing appetizers, drinks and desserts provided by Blackstone Catering of Newport, RI who roamed the store all night bringing out a non-stop flow of delectable treat after delectable treat.  D.J. John Grammatis who is out of Chicago, but brought in by Nordstrom to its special events, kept the tunes pulsing throughout the store. Pretty cranberry martinis and glasses of white wine flowed, and the not yet opened to the public store was packed with high-end fashion at discounted prices, and an energetic vibe.  I can not tell you how much I have missed having a Nordstrom Rack nearby, I am incredibly excited to have one open up here.

 I‘ll never forget the day I called up my friend to tell her that I had just bought 3 pairs of shoes at Payless for $30.00.  It took a few moments for her to stop laughing because back then I was not exactly known to be a bargain shopper.  Times had changed for me though, I was no longer the single working girl living in New York City whose stores of choice were my neighborhood boutiques in SoHo or Barney’s New York.  In those days I would not have blinked an eye at buying myself a pair of $300.00 shoes that I loved, so 3 for $30.00 was quite a change for me. The Payless day was while we were living on my husband’s meager training salary and I was a stay at home mother to our three children.  Needless to say I had to learn to change my shopping habits big time!  I began clipping coupons for groceries and thankfully discovered Nordstrom Rack where I could still find the clothes I loved, at prices I could afford.   I learned so much during that time period that even after my husband’s salary began to increase, I could never go back to my free spending ways.

My love for good quality fashion never waned, but by the time I was through with investing more often in Maternity wear and clothes that could get spit up on than chic dresses, we had moved to a new area without a Nordstrom Rack.   Any city with a Nordstrom Rack that I have visited, I’ve made a point to go, now finally nine years later a Nordstrom Rack has come to me!  (Oh, and those $300.00 dollar shoes from Barney’s, I have to say were so worth it , 18 years and a few new soles later, and they still look good.)

Nov6

Vote Today!!!!! (and the day I was paid to put whipped cream on Joe Perry’s Body)

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Vote Today!!!!! (and the day I was paid to put whipped cream on Joe Perry’s Body)

When I was in my early twenties, and worked in film production, I had the great pleasure of smearing whipped cream onto Joe Perry’s body.  (We may have ended up having to use shaving cream because whipped cream melts and drips off too fast with body heat, but my memories on the details of that part are vague.)  I was an assistant prop girl on one of the inaugural Rock The Vote Videos and despite the fact that they ended up using the version where the model is covered in shaving cream instead of licking it off him, the point is that I got to put  whipped cream on Joe Perry  AND meet Steven Tyler all in a days work!!! It was a really fun job!!  Ever since then I have been a passionate supporter of Rock The Vote, (go figure!) an awesome campaign that starting that year in 1992 began a reversal of a 20-year cycle of declining participation of youth voters. Rock the Vote inspired a 20 percent increase  just that year in youth turnout compared to the previous Presidential election.  The PSA’s aired on the then wildly popular cable networks of MTV and VH-1, among others. The Rock The Vote campaign still encourages young people to get out and vote, and yes, every election year I think of that video!   Twenty years later (has it really been that long?!) I still feel passionate about everyone getting out to vote.  Today, I ask you to make sure to get to the polls. Cherish the freedom we have to vote and to have a say in who our next president will be!  We are so fortunate to have this opportunity, to have our voices heard not just for the future of our country, but in a decision that could impact the future of this world.  Not everyone has that ability. But you do.  No matter which candidate you are voting for, don’t take this privilege for granted. Rock your vote!

Nov5

Fashion Flash: Don’t Miss Narciso Rodriguez at kohl’s!

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Fashion Flash: Don’t Miss Narciso Rodriguez at kohl’s!

This Wednesday November 11th, Kohl’s launches their collaborative collection with Narciso Rodriguez, one of the hottest designers out there, for their Design Nation line.  Stores debut the collection nationally at 7am, and since this is a limited edition line, on sale for a limited time, if you are a fan, I suggest you find your nearest Kohl’s. If the quick selling Target lines by Missoni and Jason Wu could be any indication, price conscious fashionistas could wipe out the supply in no time. From the Kohl’s website it looks like some great color block pieces, hot patterned pants, and sleek dresses are part of this affordable collection. I had to let you know!! Just don’t push me out of the way when we are stampeding in at 7am, I may not have had my coffee yet!