My 8 Wishes
Saturday, December 30, 2006
posted by Kristen at 2:34 AM
0 comments
Beth's Cause: The Sharing Foundation
Thursday, December 28, 2006
I was fortunate enough to come across Beth's Blog tonight while doing some work with Paul on 8 Wishes. We shared our goals (wishes) for 2007, and in turn, she shared her Cause. She writes:
Many children in Cambodia do not go to school because their families lack the $10 for a uniform, required for school attendance, and other school supplies. Last year, The Sharing Foundation sewing school made over 1000 uniform sets and donated them to needy children in Roteang Village, to the Street Children's Assistance NGO, and to a poor government orphanage. The sewing girls, who are employed by the Sharing Foundation's vocational training program, earn from the first day of their training, so this is a win-win situation.
As you might know, Yahoo! is offering a $50,000 matching grant for the nonprofit which gets the largest number of donations before the end of the year using its new "charity badges." (see her blog) As Beth points out, "What is important is the number of donors, not the amount of dollars. " Only a couple days left, so go check it out and donate a dollar or two or ten!
Many children in Cambodia do not go to school because their families lack the $10 for a uniform, required for school attendance, and other school supplies. Last year, The Sharing Foundation sewing school made over 1000 uniform sets and donated them to needy children in Roteang Village, to the Street Children's Assistance NGO, and to a poor government orphanage. The sewing girls, who are employed by the Sharing Foundation's vocational training program, earn from the first day of their training, so this is a win-win situation.
As you might know, Yahoo! is offering a $50,000 matching grant for the nonprofit which gets the largest number of donations before the end of the year using its new "charity badges." (see her blog) As Beth points out, "What is important is the number of donors, not the amount of dollars. " Only a couple days left, so go check it out and donate a dollar or two or ten!
posted by Kristen at 10:34 PM
2 comments
The value of Water - how could I forget?
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Cause Four: Water for Waslala
While compiling my original list of 'causes' I knew I felt like I was forgetting something important. It hit me today when I recieved an email from a wonderful friend and member of the Board of Directors of Water for Waslala.
This is a project started with a group of Villanova students who visited Waslala, Nicaragua on a service trip. What the discovered was a bleak situation: all the communities of Waslala lack electricity, sanitation systems, telephones, school supplies, teachers, schools themselves, paved roads, hospitals, and many, many jobs.
Water for Waslala is the perfect example of what a grassroots organization is capable of achieving with knowledge, passion, and dedication. Aside from raising crucial funds for clean water in Waslala, it also works to create greater awareness of global poverty across the country, in an effort to form a bridge of understanding and solidarity between the community of Waslala and the greater American community.
How can you help?
1. Donate: 70 cents of every dollar donated will be directly wired to Waslala, Nicaragua, to be used for buying the materials necessary to install a community’s water system.
2. Help create awareness: Attend events, spread the word, and tell your friends about communities like Waslala.
While compiling my original list of 'causes' I knew I felt like I was forgetting something important. It hit me today when I recieved an email from a wonderful friend and member of the Board of Directors of Water for Waslala.
This is a project started with a group of Villanova students who visited Waslala, Nicaragua on a service trip. What the discovered was a bleak situation: all the communities of Waslala lack electricity, sanitation systems, telephones, school supplies, teachers, schools themselves, paved roads, hospitals, and many, many jobs.
Water for Waslala is the perfect example of what a grassroots organization is capable of achieving with knowledge, passion, and dedication. Aside from raising crucial funds for clean water in Waslala, it also works to create greater awareness of global poverty across the country, in an effort to form a bridge of understanding and solidarity between the community of Waslala and the greater American community.
How can you help?
1. Donate: 70 cents of every dollar donated will be directly wired to Waslala, Nicaragua, to be used for buying the materials necessary to install a community’s water system.
2. Help create awareness: Attend events, spread the word, and tell your friends about communities like Waslala.
posted by Kristen at 10:35 PM
0 comments
Who tops the Z-list?
I guess I'm officially a blogger when I make the z-list. Mack Collier (Viral Garden) started the list, Paul added me, and now Seth Godin has added the list to Squidoo for voting.
Go vote for your favorite blog (my vote obviously goes to 8wishes.com)
Go vote for your favorite blog (my vote obviously goes to 8wishes.com)
Strumpette
A VC
The Next Net
Successful Blog
Will Video for Food
Caffeine Marketing
Widgets Lab
Guerrilla Innovation.com
No Mans Blog
Viral Garden
MicroPersuasion
Viralmeister
Social Media Optimization
Coolz0r
SEO Black Hat
Creative Think
Movie Marketing Madness
Blog Till You Drop!
Get Shouty!
One Reader at a Time
Critical Fluff
The New PR
Own Your Brand!
OTOInsights
bizandbuzz
Work, in Plain English
Buzz Canuck
New Millenium PR
Pardon My French
Troy Worman's Blog
The Instigator Blog
AENDirect
Diva Marketing
Marketing Hipster
The Marketing Minute
Funny Business
The Frager Factor
Mindblob
Open The Dialogue
Word Sell
Note to CMO:
That's Great Marketing!
Shotgun Marketing Blog
BrandSizzle
bizsolutionsplus
Customers Rock!
Being Peter Kim
Pow! Right Between The Eyes! Andy Nulman’s Blog About Surprise
Billions With Zero Knowledge
Working at Home on the Internet
MapleLeaf 2.0
darrenbarefoot.com
Two Hat Marketing
The Engaging Brand
The Branding Blog
CrapHammer
Drew's Marketing Minute
Golden Practices
Viaspire
Tell Ten Friends
Flooring the Consumer
Kinetic Ideas
Unconventional Thinking
Buzzoodle
Conversation Agent
The Copywriting Maven
Hee-Haw Marketing
Scott Burkett's Pothole on the Infobahn
Multi-Cult Classics
Logic + Emotion
Branding & Marketing
Popcorn n Roses
On Influence & Automation
Bullshitobserver
Servant of Chaos
converstations
eSoup
Presentation Zen
Dmitry Linkov
aialone
John Wagner
Nick Rice
CKs Blog
Design Sojourn
Frozen Puck
The Sartorialist
Small Surfaces
Africa Unchained
Perspective
gDiapers
Marketing Nirvana
Bob Sutton
¡Hola! Oi! Hi!
Shut Up and Drink the Kool-Aid!
Women, Art, Life: Weaving It All Together
Community Guy
Social Media on the fly
Jeremy Latham’s Blog
SMogger Social Media Blog
Masey.com
From Mack: Ok if you are new to the game here's the deal: Simply cut and paste the ENTIRE list above to a post on your blog. That's it. You'll get a ton of happy bloggers suddenly coming to YOUR blog to thank you, you'll get a ton of great new blogs to read, you'll likely get a ton of links yourself, but most of all, you'll feel good about making a whole lot of other bloggers feel good about themselves.
posted by Kristen at 7:47 PM
0 comments
A Merry Christmas, Thanks to my Greatest Supporters
Once again, my family has stepped up to support all my causes (although I'm still waiting for my mom to check the email with the link that I sent her 2 weeks ago).
This year for Christmas, I have made the first donations in their names through ChipIn. I'll be collecting donations until Christmas Eve 2007, and distruting the donations between all my current causes as well as others as they accumulate over the next year.
A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO:
Kay and Tony Mayo
Mary Mayo
Craig Merz
Tim and Brigitte Forbriger
Bill Forbriger
Nancy Forbriger
Eric and Carol Forbriger
Jim Miller
Anthony and Barbara Mayo
This year for Christmas, I have made the first donations in their names through ChipIn. I'll be collecting donations until Christmas Eve 2007, and distruting the donations between all my current causes as well as others as they accumulate over the next year.
A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO:
Kay and Tony Mayo
Mary Mayo
Craig Merz
Tim and Brigitte Forbriger
Bill Forbriger
Nancy Forbriger
Eric and Carol Forbriger
Jim Miller
Anthony and Barbara Mayo
Mike Mayo
Helen Mayo
Rick and Sara Mayo
posted by Kristen at 11:20 AM
0 comments
Thank You Doug!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
I have my first official supporter! Thanks to Doug and Gregory FCA, I'm going to be able to get some design work done on this page and MySpace! Also, their support has helped me make holiday donations to all my causes, including my donation match to 8 Wishes. I made an offer to match the donations of my friends and family, and as usual, they stepped up and made me shell over a sizable donation.
So, thank you everyone, especially Doug-- the first official sponsor of All My Causes!
So, thank you everyone, especially Doug-- the first official sponsor of All My Causes!
posted by Kristen at 5:10 AM
0 comments
YourCauseIsMyCause
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Any minute now, this url will officially be www.yourcauseismycause.comI think this address epitomizes what All My Causes is about. It's not just about me and what I care about most. It's about what YOU care about, too. I care about kids with learning differences, but Paul cares a lot more than I do.
We can all help each other a little more, and maybe we can change the world. If nothing else, it feels good to help. So take 2 minutes and share this video with all your friends. You never know whose hands it might fall in because of you email.
posted by Kristen at 4:13 PM
0 comments
Give and give, and it keeps giving
If you haven't heard of St. Jude Children Research Hospital, you're living under a rock. They have a ton of support and corporate sponsors, so they don't exactly fit the criteria of "my causes," but I've basically already thrown those criteria out the door. 
I can't help it, I love this place. Discoveries and made, leading researchers achieve more, diseases are cured, and most importantly, lives are saved. This organization is changing the world like none before it.
The most amazing aspect is its ability to transcend the political and greedy mobocracy known as our nation's healthcare system. St. Jude knows no financial boundaries when it comes to patient acceptance, and you won't hear the term 'proprietary' within its walls. Medical discoveries and treatments are only as strong as the people they save; St. Jude shares its research and diagnoses with hospitals around the world.
My senior year at Villanova, I was a member of an amazing group of students known as the Up til Dawn exec board. This nationwide fundraising program has given the hospital hundreds of thousands, and in true Villanova form, we finished at the top of the list. I'm not sure if the program will continue at 'Nova, or if it will always be as successful, but I do know that hundreds of students leave the University with a lasting dedication to St. Jude's children.
How can you help?
1. Just go to St Jude's Ways To Help. There are dozens of ways you can donate money or time.
2. Buy gifts. I recommend checking out ThanksandGiving. You can also see celebrity and patient videos here.
I can't help it, I love this place. Discoveries and made, leading researchers achieve more, diseases are cured, and most importantly, lives are saved. This organization is changing the world like none before it.
The most amazing aspect is its ability to transcend the political and greedy mobocracy known as our nation's healthcare system. St. Jude knows no financial boundaries when it comes to patient acceptance, and you won't hear the term 'proprietary' within its walls. Medical discoveries and treatments are only as strong as the people they save; St. Jude shares its research and diagnoses with hospitals around the world.
My senior year at Villanova, I was a member of an amazing group of students known as the Up til Dawn exec board. This nationwide fundraising program has given the hospital hundreds of thousands, and in true Villanova form, we finished at the top of the list. I'm not sure if the program will continue at 'Nova, or if it will always be as successful, but I do know that hundreds of students leave the University with a lasting dedication to St. Jude's children.
How can you help?
1. Just go to St Jude's Ways To Help. There are dozens of ways you can donate money or time.
2. Buy gifts. I recommend checking out ThanksandGiving. You can also see celebrity and patient videos here.
posted by Kristen at 5:23 AM
0 comments
A mother's dying wish realized
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Cause Three: Mommy's Light
Growing up with single mom, I am in constant awe of the sacrifice and commitment of mothers. Their love is more powerful and meaningful than any other force in a child's life. In my experience, a child's years without both parents are always somehow incomplete.
Under this premise, Mommy's Light was founded in 1997 by Mary Murphy, a single mother with a ten year old son and a terminal illness. The idea was simple: to bring joy and comfort to children and teens by helping them keep alive traditions or simple pleasures they shared with their mothers, and to support young people in adapting to their mothers’ deaths.
Today, the organization serves hundreds of families throughout the Delaware Valley, but its services are in demand across the nation. This will take careful planning, time and resources.
I recently signed on to help design Mommy's Light's website, one of the cornerstones of the organization's planned national expansion. A couple of my friends are volunteering with me, in both direct service to the children and administrative tasks for the organization.
How can you help?
1. Join us: Mommy's Light is always looking for volunteers.
2. Support: Make a PayPal donation
3. Share this resource with your friends and family. Odds are, you know someone who could use the help Mommy's Light provides.
Growing up with single mom, I am in constant awe of the sacrifice and commitment of mothers. Their love is more powerful and meaningful than any other force in a child's life. In my experience, a child's years without both parents are always somehow incomplete.
Under this premise, Mommy's Light was founded in 1997 by Mary Murphy, a single mother with a ten year old son and a terminal illness. The idea was simple: to bring joy and comfort to children and teens by helping them keep alive traditions or simple pleasures they shared with their mothers, and to support young people in adapting to their mothers’ deaths.
Today, the organization serves hundreds of families throughout the Delaware Valley, but its services are in demand across the nation. This will take careful planning, time and resources.
I recently signed on to help design Mommy's Light's website, one of the cornerstones of the organization's planned national expansion. A couple of my friends are volunteering with me, in both direct service to the children and administrative tasks for the organization.
How can you help?
1. Join us: Mommy's Light is always looking for volunteers.
2. Support: Make a PayPal donation
3. Share this resource with your friends and family. Odds are, you know someone who could use the help Mommy's Light provides.
posted by Kristen at 11:03 PM
0 comments
We'll walk for you
Cause Two: Spastic Paraplegia Foundation (SPF)
Quoting myself here:
My family and I have been personally affected ever since my uncle, Mike Mayo, was diagnosed with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP). The SPF is the only organization devoted to understanding the causes and discovering the cures for this condition.
There is currently no treatment to prevent, stop or reverse the degenerative process of this disease. As a hereditary disease, most members of my maternal family and I are still at risk as the age of onset is typically between 35 and 66. Most forms of HSP are autosomal dominant. Since there is 50% chance a child will receive the dominant HSP gene mutation from the affected parent, there is a 50% chance the child will inherit the gene and the disorder. This is the risk for my cousins, and a threat my family will deal with forever. There is also a chance that my mother is a carrier for the disease, putting my brother and me at risk of developing the disease as well.
By supporting this foundation and raising awareness among our friends, we are taking steps toward a cure and finding a way to prevent these diseases from crippling future generations.
How can you help?
1. SUPPORT SPF: You can donate online through PayPal or print out the Sponsorship Form and mail it in with your donation.
2. Just spread the word: Tell your friends and family about HSP. This disease needs to raise its visibility so researchers can generate the funds they need to find a cure.
Quoting myself here:
My family and I have been personally affected ever since my uncle, Mike Mayo, was diagnosed with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP). The SPF is the only organization devoted to understanding the causes and discovering the cures for this condition.
There is currently no treatment to prevent, stop or reverse the degenerative process of this disease. As a hereditary disease, most members of my maternal family and I are still at risk as the age of onset is typically between 35 and 66. Most forms of HSP are autosomal dominant. Since there is 50% chance a child will receive the dominant HSP gene mutation from the affected parent, there is a 50% chance the child will inherit the gene and the disorder. This is the risk for my cousins, and a threat my family will deal with forever. There is also a chance that my mother is a carrier for the disease, putting my brother and me at risk of developing the disease as well.
By supporting this foundation and raising awareness among our friends, we are taking steps toward a cure and finding a way to prevent these diseases from crippling future generations.
How can you help?
1. SUPPORT SPF: You can donate online through PayPal or print out the Sponsorship Form and mail it in with your donation.
2. Just spread the word: Tell your friends and family about HSP. This disease needs to raise its visibility so researchers can generate the funds they need to find a cure.
posted by Kristen at 10:29 PM
0 comments
Help me grant one wish
Cause One: 8 Wishes
Not because I believe it's any more worthy than another one of my causes (no offense, Paul), but largely because we're working with a VERY short timeframe on this one.
The goal: To raise 1 Million dollars for children with learning disabilities and dyslexia. ChipIn will give Dyslexia Awareness Resource Center the payments collected. Over a 5 year period of time D.A.R.C will award $10,000 scholarships to 100 kids across the United States. $3000 will go towards testing if they choose or they could use the whole amount at the college of their choice.
How can you help?
1. Donate- Paul prefers donations to help him reach his goal of $1,000,000 for children with learning disabilities and dyslexia over donations to his rent and bills.
2. Do you (or do you know someone) who has the power to make another wish come true?
2) 100 million views of his YouTube video
3) Be interviewed by Oprah
4) Interview Paul Orfelea
5) Interview Sir. Richard Branson
6) Interview Charles Schwab
7) Be on top 21 talk shows
So, we have to do it all in 30 days (DEADLINE 1/9/07).
Let me know what you think or just GO DO.
Not because I believe it's any more worthy than another one of my causes (no offense, Paul), but largely because we're working with a VERY short timeframe on this one.
The goal: To raise 1 Million dollars for children with learning disabilities and dyslexia. ChipIn will give Dyslexia Awareness Resource Center the payments collected. Over a 5 year period of time D.A.R.C will award $10,000 scholarships to 100 kids across the United States. $3000 will go towards testing if they choose or they could use the whole amount at the college of their choice.
How can you help?
1. Donate- Paul prefers donations to help him reach his goal of $1,000,000 for children with learning disabilities and dyslexia over donations to his rent and bills.
2. Do you (or do you know someone) who has the power to make another wish come true?
2) 100 million views of his YouTube video
3) Be interviewed by Oprah
4) Interview Paul Orfelea
5) Interview Sir. Richard Branson
6) Interview Charles Schwab
7) Be on top 21 talk shows
So, we have to do it all in 30 days (DEADLINE 1/9/07).
Let me know what you think or just GO DO.
posted by Kristen at 8:15 PM
0 comments
"Stop asking me for money!"
I'm not saying I won't give my money away (because you know I do, quite frequently). I'm actually quoting my friends who jokingly, kindly ask me to stop spamming them with emails about causes worthy of a small donation.
In the last year, I've sent out at least a half dozen of these requests, and my friends and family have been very generous. I'm not sure if I just pick the right causes or if they do it just to support me, but either way, I love them for it.
So, out of my love, I've grown this home for all my causes. No more blast emails, my friends. Just subscribe to my blog in your RSS, or visit it every once in a while for my pleas and ramblings on fundraisers, foundations, children, charities, bikers, Bono, and all my other favorite causes.
In the last year, I've sent out at least a half dozen of these requests, and my friends and family have been very generous. I'm not sure if I just pick the right causes or if they do it just to support me, but either way, I love them for it.
So, out of my love, I've grown this home for all my causes. No more blast emails, my friends. Just subscribe to my blog in your RSS, or visit it every once in a while for my pleas and ramblings on fundraisers, foundations, children, charities, bikers, Bono, and all my other favorite causes.
posted by Kristen at 2:15 PM
0 comments
Contact me
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Kristen Forbrigerkforbriger@gmail.com
AIM:KristenForbriger
MySpace:AllMyCauses
Skype: kristenforbriger
posted by Kristen at 9:12 AM
0 comments
