Peg Kerr's Journal

My sixteen Kiva Loan

Fri, 25 Oct 2013 22:21:06 GMT

Is in Mali. Read about it here.

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Bottle Lights - the inventor

Tue, 13 Aug 2013 23:48:58 GMT

I've posted about the invention of bottle lights before, the brilliant (literally!) idea that has really taken off in the developing world, particularly the Philippines. Here is an article about the inventor behind the concept. Congratulations, sir. Your humble idea is definitely making the world a better place.

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What a cool idea: Civilization Starter Kit

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 03:33:55 GMT

Here's a guy who has an immensely cool Decrease Worldsuck idea: the Civilization Starter Kit.

Marcin Jakubowski built a tractor in six days. Then he told the world how to do it: he made the designs, the budget and an instructional video available free online. A farmer and technologist and the founder of Open Source Ecology, Jakubowski has identified the 50 most important machines required for modern life—from the soil pulverizer to the oven—and is working to make a prototype of a low-cost DIY version of each so that anyone anywhere can build them. “If we can lower the barriers to farming, building and manufacturing,” he says, "then we can unleash massive amounts of human potential."

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Trying to figure out what is my Flying Elbow Drop

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 18:42:03 GMT

One thing about having one's father die, it sure makes you think about things.

Yesterday's soulcollage card, Hidden Passage, is really timely. I am ready to make a change, and I'm frustrated because I don't know what is on the other side of that bridge. It is hidden by fog. My Dad was experiencing the same restlessness at my age, and that's what led to his career change at the age of 55, when all of his kids were out of college.

I felt it so strongly after my week off for bereavement leave: when it came time to go back to work: I don't want to do this anymore.

I don't I don't I don't.

I've been obsessed with this comic lately. I like the cartoonist in general, but THIS one: I've cut it out and put it on the inside of my coat closet at work, so I see at the beginning and end of every work day. It's like an irritant, but perhaps a pearl will build up from that irritant.

I don't want to be a legal secretary anymore. I feel trapped by the necessity of providing the health insurance for my family (oh curses upon you, United State of America, for refusing to provide universal health insurance for your citizens). But what can I do that will provide for my family, that will make me feel alive?

I want to do something that makes me feel the way that Alternity feels. I want something to do with the social connections I make through social media, something to do with making the world a better place. But I can't write fast enough to make a living at writing.

Whose life do I want? Melissa Annelli's. She turned her burning interest in Harry Potter (which I share) into a career. She networks (which I like, too; I'm fascinated by social media). John and Hank Green are two more that I admire. They are connecting people.

What is my Flying Elbow Drop?

I have no idea. And the fog is driving me crazy. I have the burning desire to cross through it, but no idea where to go.

But I can't just stand here paralyzed on the brink anymore, either. That's driving me crazy, too.

I am interested in soulcollage. Perhaps I could go through the training to become a workshop facilitator? That might be moving me more in the direction of my interests. It would start out as an avocation, but perhaps it could develop into something? What, though? What could I do with that professionally? No clue.

I might need to hire a life coach.

Edited to add: 8 Signs You've Found Your Life's Work.

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My 12th Kiva loan

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:29:31 GMT

is to Alicia in Bolivia, who will use the money for seeds (corn, potato and onion) and fertilizer.

I have a ways to go to catch up with jbru, who just funded his 39th loan. (Well, I have also invited seven people who've accepted my invitations to join Kiva, and they've made a total of 53 loans. So that's something!)

Kiva is offering FREE $25 trials to new lenders. Click here to learn more.

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Caine's Arcade

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:41:46 GMT

This is a GREAT story. Watch this: it'll be the best ten minutes you'll spend today.

A 9-year-old boy spent the summer building a cardboard arcade in his dad’s small auto parts store in East L.A.

His first and only customer, who happened to be a filmmaker, decided to bring some more people to play.

9 year old Caine Monroy is about to have the best day of his life.

Oh, and by the way – if you go to the Caine’s Arcade site they put together, you’ll see that people have chipped in over $137,000+ for him to go to college. There's also a Facebook page.

This decreased worksuck in a major way. Kudos to the loving dad. George Monroy, who found a way to foster his son's creativity while running his business. Here's an interview done by the local NBC affiliate, which includes a short interview with the dad, and it's hilarious: "We're in a junkyard and this is the front office. So he started taking up half the office. And then he had three-quarters of the office, and I just kept moving over and over as he kept building. He kept using bigger boxes. Then he tried to make a ticket thing with a leaf blower. He made me go buy a leaf blower so he could blow tickets around inside the box. So we bought a leaf blower, we plugged it in and tickets were flying everywhere."

Kudos also to filmaker Nirvan Mullick, who took the trouble to NOTICE.

A short film by Nirvan, produced by Interconnected.

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An interesting side note to The Hunger Games

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 02:25:09 GMT

The folks who brought us the Help for Haiti campaign, Andrew Slack of The Harry Potter Alliance and the rest of fannish folks he coordinated with to create the Imagine Better project, started dreaming big when news came that The Hunger Games was going to be made into a big movie. Why not harness that activist spirit to use the movie release to talk about hunger issues? And so they dreamed up a social media campaign called Hunger is Not a Game, which seeks to connect fans of the books (and movies) to the global food justice movement. See an article about it in the New York Times here.

Fans starting from the stories they love to make the world a better place. Sounds wonderful, right? But apparently not to Lionsgate, because on the very day of the movie release, Lionsgate sent a cease and desist letter, ordering Imagine Better to stop the campaign because it “is causing damage to Lionsgate and [their] marketing efforts.” See the cease and desist letter as reported here and here; the letter ends: "We are truly making an effort to work with you on this. We have the ability to take down your sites as a violation of our trademark and other intellectual property laws. We hope that will not be necessary as this is too serious a subject." Note the juxtaposition: "We want to work with you" with "We will Shut. You. Down."

Dumb move, Lionsgate. Very, very dumb. And the internet told them so. A change.org petition was set up and the response on social media has been swift. As the Leaky reporter puts it:

What is most startling about all of this, in my opinion, is how extremely aggressive Lionsgate is being, not even bothering to veil their threats of takedown and worse. Despite all of this, Mr. Slack has responded, cool as ever: “Fans have been changed by this story and have expressed a wish to change the world based on the message of this story. I would hope that Lionsgate would celebrate fans, not pick on them, for taking the message of their own movie seriously. It’s amazing that they’re working with two great partners already to fight hunger. But why get in the way of fans who are working with a third one?”

Do you see anything wrong with Andrew’s suggestion? No? Us neither. Finally, as Leakycon Lit-Day Organizer and Queen of the Internet Maureen Johnson puts it, “PR people and all relevant others: it’s shortsighted (and stupid) to try to protect your “brand” from positive fan involvement and charity. Also, if you (again PR and relevant types) think you can control the media narrative anymore-that kind of thinking will bite you in the ass.”

Lionsgate seems to have cottoned on. The LA Times now reports that Lionsgate is backing down.

As well they should.

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Here's a wonderful Decrease Worldsuck idea

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:04:10 GMT

Check out Emotional Bag Check. Here's an article about it in Wired magazine:

Life sucks, right? But music makes it better. That’s the worldview behind Emotional Bag Check — a site that lets you suggest songs to cheer people up.

It’s simple. Go to Emotional Bag Check, and choose whether you want to offload a problem or help out with someone else’s.

If you want to get something off your chest, all you need to do is type what the problem is, provide an e-mail address, and someone will read it and return a song they think is relevant along with (optionally) a message of support.

If everything’s going pretty well for you, and you just want to help other people out, then you’ll be confronted with someone’s problem and asked to pick a song that’ll make them feel better. Here, a sense of duty suddenly kicks in — you’ve got a direct line to someone’s heart, and you don’t want to waste it. You’ll find yourself taking a substantial amount of time to choose a song that’s just right for the situation, as if this person were a close friend.

The developer, Robyn, answers FAQ questions here. Also on Twitter at emobagcheck.

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Follow up from Charity Water

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 19:54:41 GMT

For those of you who were around when I celebrated my fiftieth birthday, you may remember I did a campaign to raise money for Charity:Water (with your help, I raised approximately $2000, which was 2/5 of what's needed to install a well). Charity:Water promised to report back to let me know exactly how my money would be used in eighteen months. I have received the following message from them:

Hi Peg,

By now you’ve heard from us about Dollars to Projects, and that we’re sending you proof of the water projects you funded through mycharity: water. It’s been about 15 months since we sent your money to the field, and you’ve been so patient.

We need just a little more time.

We’re sorry to say it, but we need some more time to report on the individual water projects that you helped to fund. Your projects were due this December, but things are moving a bit slower than expected. We plan to send your Dollars to Projects data in mid-2012 so you can see how every dollar you raised helped fund projects for people in need.

( For now, we’d like to share some info about the country, region, and partner putting your funds to work in the field )

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Another video

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 03:08:24 GMT

about one of my favorite decrease worldsuck ideas: solar water bottles.

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Proposal entered for the Splashlife/Harry Potter Alliance Imagine Better contest

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 20:40:30 GMT

This was sort of impulsive, but...

I just submitted a proposal to the Imagine Better contest presented by the Harry Potter Alliance and Splashlife, suggesting that they award a $1000 grant to A Liter of Light to promote solar bottle lights.

I suggested calling it the Patronus Light Project, as the lights have always reminded me of a patronus. And hey, I like the idea of bringing light to dark places.

The solar lights cost $3.50 to make and install, so if it wins, that'd be 285 lights installed in homes in the Phillipines. Their goal is to install a million lights by 2012.

( What I did today to make the world a better place )

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Here's a great corporate response to disaster

Wed, 25 May 2011 20:19:43 GMT

Follow Tide Loads of Hope on Twitter at tideloadsofhope and on Facebook here.

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Love Drop

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 19:28:11 GMT

You may remember the indefatigable Nate St. Pierre, who started the internet projects ItStartsWith.Us and Love Bomb (you may also remember that I called upon the help of the latter project when I was attempting to get help for jemyl...and isn't it time to check back with jemyl's website to buy some of her lovely jewelry?)

Anyway, Nate is starting out the new year with yet a new project: Love Drop. Love Bomb encourages people to send supportive blog messages to someone having a difficult time, but maybe my suggestion of jemyl for the project started Nate thinking along new lines, that some people could really use some practical and financial assistance during a hard time, too.

Each month, Love Drop will promote one individual or family and spend the month trying to find ways to help meet their needs. You can join the network with a very low monthly buy in, as low as $1 a month via Paypal. The network will give the families financial help, but it will also be focused on giving them practical assistance, too, the way that we hooked Ellen up with a local church and found people to help cut her lawn.

( From the FAQ section of the website )

The website also partners with sponsors.

The first month's designated recipient is a single mother who lost her job, then her daughter, and then all of her possessions in a fire:

So if you think you might be interested, check out Love Drop. Again, caveat: it isn't a 501(c)(3) charity, and there are administrative costs, but it is a way you can connect with someone in need and make a difference, for a very small buy in cost. Check out Love Drop at Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Thanks.

( What I did today to make the world a better place )

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My word of the day: Microphilanthropist

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:55:56 GMT

An interesting article on a guy who is doing something similar to my Decrease Worldsuck project: he is trying to donate something, even if just a small amount, to someone each day. Here's his blog. On Twitter as deusexrockina and on Facebook here.

I love blogs like these. Betty Londergan's blog What Gives 365 is another one I've really enjoyed.

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The HP Allance: The Second Patronus

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:35:31 GMT

I love the HP Alliance. Have I mentioned that I love the HP Alliance?

You may remember the post I did last month about their Deathly Hallows Campaign. The Horcrux last month was the Starvation Horcrux, and the campaign was a push to get Warner Brothers to use Fair Trade chocolate in all of their products.

Now they have announced the next Horcrux, and this campaign is near and dear to my heart:

All of us know the "dementor horcrux" first hand: that awful voice within that tells us that we suck. Mean and predictable, this "dementor horcrux" will always try to convince us that we’re horrible for the way we look, think, feel, act, etc. Like Harry, who was sensitive to dementor attacks, many of us may feel debilitated by the dementor-like experiences of anxiety, depression, low body image, and lots of feelings, thoughts, and behaviors that knock us off balance.

Though the Dementor tries to make us feel alone so that we’ll stay within its grip, the reality is that we are surrounded by people going through similar challenges to us as well as those who have gone through dark and difficult times, feelings, and experiences. Together we can go beyond the Muggle Mindset and tap into the magic of our power and creativity. And so the HPA is working together as a community to cast Patronuses. Each of us was with Harry and members of Dumbledore’s Army when they cast a glowing corporeal Patronus of such light, such beauty, and such fierce power that it sent the dementors running, and each of us has the same breathtaking power within.

How to Participate
In partnership with Reachout.com, we’re asking you to create individual Patronuses in the form of writing, photos, drawings, paintings, videos, songs- basically any piece of art that expresses an element of your Patronus. You can submit you Patronus through the submissions page on our tumblr or by emailing it to us at deathlyhallows@thehpalliance.org Check out Tumblr every day for more updates.

We want as many Patronuses created as possible. Once they are all made, we’ll be taking many of them to create a collective Patronus that we will send as a message of our community’s hope and inner-power to a group who needs that message (the specific group is to be determined).

Please make sure to follow our ground rules and also PLEASE keep in mind that:

- No one here is a substitute for a professional mental health counselor.
- Internal emotional/mental change normally happens slowly. A month long campaign is here to lay positive seeds but is by no means a solution for everything.
- The Internet is a public space and please respect yourself and remember that.
- This is a sensitive issue for most of us and we ask that people are positive and supportive as we focus less on the Dementors that bother us and more on the Patronuses.
- Please read more here

Thank you all and Expecto Patronum!

I have submitted my own patronus, which I created a couple years ago as part of my soul collage deck. I will also send them an email about my Decrease Worldsuck project.

Expecto Patronum - Council Suit

Expecto Patronum - Council Suit
am the One created from the magic that springs from the happiest memory, who shines in the darkness and protects against that which would destroy the soul. I am a shining silver shield of hope against encroaching darkness, despair and evil, and I can communicate with the souls of others. My form is beautiful, a reflection of the true self within. I am the embodiment of Light in dark places.

( What I did today to make the world a better place )

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It gets better

Sun, 17 Oct 2010 20:40:39 GMT

Broadway stars rock out in a celebration of life, in the wake of LGBT suicides across the nation. Please SHARE this original song and video to help send a message of hope and support. Available October 19th on iTunes, with all download proceeds benefiting The Trevor Project. www.thetrevorprojec.org (c) 2010 Jay Kuo & Blair Shepard. Inquiries: jay@singoutlouiseproductions.com.

( What I did today to make the world a better place )

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I love this

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 21:22:44 GMT

This is a great story, and wonderful example of Decrease Worldsuck.

Quick — what’s your worst memory from high school?

Try to narrow it down to just one. Does it involve being bullied? Made fun of for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender? Does it involve getting called names, laughed at, ostracized, reviled, and demeaned?

We all, in the LGBT community, have some of those memories. Whether they happened when we were five or 14 or in college or even later, those moments scarred us, they bred fear, they held us back. They damaged our lives. And for all too many of us, they may even have convinced us that life as an LGBT person was not worth living, and caused us to attempt suicide.

Even in this era when the LGBT community is more visible and more positively regarded than ever before in the U.S. — when the federal courts are beginning to rule in favor of equality, the vast majority of the population supports our right to serve openly in the military, and an increasing number of states and cities have found ways to legally recognize our unions and our families — the suicide rate among LGBT youth is still many times that of the general population. Among transgender youth, the rate of attempted suicide may be as high as 50 percent. Of all kids in the U.S. who actually do kill themselves, fully 30 percent are estimated to be gay, lesbian, or transgender.

Thirty percent. Nearly one-third of people between the ages of five and 24 who kill themselves identify as LGBT. When we comprise only 10 percent at most of the total population. Those numbers are huge, and horrifying.

But of course, as all of us who have survived know very well, it gets better. And that is the point of a new project begun by columnist and author Dan Savage on YouTube. Dan and his husband Terry were moved by the recent story of Billy Lucas, a gay teen in Indiana who hanged himself after ongoing bullying. They realized that what kids like Billy need is to hear from adult gays and lesbians who have lived through the misery they’re experiencing, and who have come through it to discover a great life on the other side.

Of course, as Dan points out, gay adults are not invited into schools and churches to offer encouragement to gay youth. But why wait for permission when there’s the Internet?

Dan and Terry launched a channel on YouTube. They made its first video together, telling stories about their struggles as teenagers and, much more important, how happy their lives are now, as adults, partners, and parents. They are soliciting more videos from all of us who have good stories to tell.

Growing up gay often continues to be horrible, even as our community’s situation overall is getting steadily better. Being an outcast, being different, means you’re going to be abused in school. To be gay in a society where issues of gender and sexuality are as incendiary as they are in the US means you’re a magnet for every cruelty your peers have ready to spew out. Those of us who have made it through have a responsibility to share our stories, to tell LGBT youth that life does get better, and to let them know that there is an entire community out here ready and eager to welcome them.

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The murders in Afghanistan

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 01:57:51 GMT

Sometimes things happen that just seem so wrong, so cruel.

Here are ten people who were working to decrease worldsuck. They didn't just do a little something every day. They were devoting their lives to it.

On Thursday, August 5, in the Hindu Kush mountains of northern Afghanistan in Badakhshan province, 10 aid workers were ambushed and killed by Taliban gunmen for being “spies and Christian missionaries.” This group of unpaid volunteer doctors, nurses and technicians comprised the Nuristan Eye Camp and were returning from a 100-mile trek with pack horses to offer eye, dental and medical care to some of the poorest and most remote communities in Afghanistan as part of International Assistance Mission, a Christian aid group that has operated in Afghanistan since 1966. Here are a few facts on each person we lost (clockwise from top left):

Glen Lapp, 40, of Pennsylvania, was an intensive-care nurse who came to Afghanistan in 2008 and was working with NOOR (the National Organization for Opthalmic Rehabilitation) to organize mobile eye camps to serve communities in remote Afghanistan.

Dr. Tom Little, 61, of New York, was an Optometrist, Manager of the NOOR Eye Care Program in Afghanistan, and leader of the expedition. He came to Afghanistan with his wife Libby and three daughters in 1976, and set up numerous clinics, eye camps, training workshops and hospitals to serve the Afghan people over the past 35 years.

Dan Terry, 63, of Wisconsin, has been doing aid work in Afghanistan since 1971, bringing health and development services to remote communities. Although he just completed knee surgery, he was eager to make the 100 mile walk into the roadless Parun Valley. He is survived by a wife, three daughters and one granddaughter.

Dr. Tom Grams, 51, of Colorado was a personal friend of Dr. Little and a dentist from Durango whose passion to serve remote communities included a trek halfway up Mt. Everest, and practice in the etiquette of the burka, so he could offer Afghan women essential dental care.

Cheryl Beckett, 32, of Tennessee had worked in Afghanistan since 2005 on nutrition, gardening, and mother/child health. She was on the mission to provide translation for women patients, and is survived by her parents and 3 siblings.

Ahmed Jawed, 24, of Afghanistan was the cook at NOOR who often accompanied the team on Eye Camp trips. He was beloved for his good nature and sense of humor and is survived by a wife and three small children.

Mahram Ali, 51, of Afghanistan was a watchman at NOOR since 2007, who was on the mission to provide security for the vehicles while the group was trekking. He is survived by a wife and 3 children, two of them disabled.

Daniela Beyer, 35, of Germany was a linguist and translator who was fluent in Dari and had worked for IAM from 2007-9. She had joined the Eye Camp to translate for women patients and is survived by her parents and three siblings.

Dr. Karen Woo, 36, of England was a dancer, performer and General Surgeon who had moved to Afghanistan two years ago. She joined the Eye Camp as team doctor and to bring maternal health care to the Nuristan communities. She was to be married in a few weeks.

Brian Carderelli, 25, of Pennsylvania, was an Eagle Scout, professional videographer and PR manager for the International School in Kabul. Since he moved to Kabul in September, he’d volunteered with a number of humanitarian and development organizations.

Look at the devotion these people displayed. Look at the education, the selflessness, the family ties, the heart. All laid waste by monsters who murdered them and then told lies about them. Everyone who knows them vehemently denies that any of these aid workers were proselytizing. Some of them had worked in Afghanistan for decades, showing boundless respect for the people they worked with. No, they were only doing good, helping the poorest of the poor. And they were murdered for it. Because the thugs who attacked them don't want anyone from the West to be seen as kind or selfless or merciful.

There can be no excuse that could ever possibly justify this.

Sometimes evil seems to be just too much to bear. It's so sickeningly cruel, so infuriating. I am just irate that these shining people, who only wanted to help others, were cut down like this. I've tried to set an example in my journal of making the world a better place. And I feel so small next to these saints. They put my puny efforts to shame.

And their reward was the spilling of their blood into the dust of the country that they had worked so hard to help.

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BP: Very helpful list

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 03:30:51 GMT

A very helpful list from Cherie Priest, Things You Can Do About the Oil Spill.

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Global Soap Project

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:15:00 GMT

Here's a breathtakingly simple yet powerful Decrease Worldsuck idea I heard about on Betty Londergan's excellent What Gives blog: The Global Soap Project. (On Twitter at globalsoap and Facebook here.) (Betty really has a knack for finding cool organizations to support.)

Every day, in millions of hotel rooms in America, something weird happens. The housekeeping staff makes the bed, cleans the room, and replaces the soap, removing the used bar and leaving a fresh bar in its place. This simple American habit of throwing away 800 million bars of hotel soap a year completely befuddled Derreck Kayongo when he first experienced it fifteen years ago, in a hotel in Philadelphia.

As a child, Kayongo’s family had fled Uganda for Kenya during the Idi Amin regime, and he was all too familiar with the desperation of refugees who have little or no access to clean water and soap. Kayongo was educated in Kenya, came to America to earn his Bachelors and Masters degrees, and continued to rise to his position as a senior level humanitarian relief expert working for CARE in Atlanta– but he never forgot the extravagant waste of hotel soap that first struck him. “I kept thinking, what if we took some of this soap back home, recycled it and made brand new soap to give to people who don’t have any?”

Not having soap is a clear and present danger in refugee camps all across Africa. Hand-washing is the first line of defense in the prevention of acute respiratory and diarrhea diseases that ravage camps, particularly afflicting children under the age of 5. In Uganda alone, 200,000 children a year die from preventable diseases. Studies indicate that hand-washing with soap can reduce the risk of these diseases by 42-65% — which makes every bar of soap we throw away a tragic missed opportunity.

So last year, Kayongo and his wife Sarah started the The Global Soap Project to recover and recycle soap from American hotels: sanitizing, melting and remodeling it into new bars that can be distributed to refugee camps in Africa. To the Kayongos’ great amazement, hotels like the InterContinental, the Ritz, and hundreds of others enthusiastically embraced his idea. Volunteers lined up to help. And today, just months later, he has tons of soap accumulated in warehouses and a brand new machine to recycle the old into fresh new bars of soap that will be shipped as extra cargo on ships already making the trip to Africa.

The Global Soap Project from Global Soap Project on Vimeo.

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The Uniform Project again

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:12:22 GMT

The Uniform Project is shortly going to be coming to a close (last day is April 30). Take a look at this extremely cute video she's produced showing the looks she's put together over the past year. It does a good job of showing the fun and whimsicality of the project.

Tomorrow is going to be another Little Black Dress Day: wear your black dress, accessorize it, and post the pictures to the Uniform Project's Facebook page (here's the link to the last time I did so. One of the dress pictures isn't displaying properly, so try this link.)

I managed to snag one of the limited edition Little Black dresses she sold (there are only going to be 365 produced) as a birthday present to myself, for the day April 27. I wanted to get April 28, my actual 50th birthday, but that day was sold already. But hey, April 27 is the anniversary of my Livejournal, so it's all cool.

Uniform Project Picture Book from The Uniform Project on Vimeo.

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Man with the golden arm

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:54:19 GMT

Here's an amazing story about a man who has a rare blood type that has saved over 2 million babies.

An Australian man who has been donating his extremely rare kind of blood for 56 years has saved the lives of more than two million babies.

James Harrison, 74, has an antibody in his plasma that stops babies dying from Rhesus disease, a form of severe anaemia.

He has enabled countless mothers to give birth to healthy babies, including his own daughter, Tracey, who had a healthy son thanks to her father's blood.

Mr Harrison has been giving blood every few weeks since he was 18 years old and has now racked up a total of 984 donations.

When he started donating, his blood was deemed so special his life was insured for one million Australian dollars.

He was also nicknamed the 'man with the golden arm' or the 'man in two million'.

His blood has since led to the development of a vaccine called Anti-D.

He said: 'I've never thought about stopping. Never.' He made a pledge to be a donor aged 14 after undergoing major chest surgery in which he needed 13 litres of blood.

'I was in hospital for three months,' he said. 'The blood I received saved my life so I made a pledge to give blood when I was 18.'

Just after he started donating he was found to have the rare and life-saving antibody in his blood.

At the time, thousands of babies in Australia were dying each year of Rhesus disease. Other newborns suffered permanent brain damage because of the condition.

The disease creates an incompatibility between the mother's blood and her unborn baby's blood. It stems from one having Rh-positive blood and the other Rh-negative.

After his blood type was discovered, Mr Harrison volunteered to undergo a series of tests to help develop the Anti-D vaccine.

'They insured me for a million dollars so I knew my wife Barbara would be taken care of,' he said.

'I wasn't scared. I was glad to help. I had to sign every form going and basically sign my life away.'

Read more.

Wow. Talk about decreasing worldsuck. Not many people can look back at making such a vast contribution to humankind. Bravo, James Harrison.

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Another inspiring giving project

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 14:35:41 GMT

I've found another blog rather like Betty Londergan's project that I mentioned previously, What Gives 365. This one's called Year of Giving, by Reed Sandridge (reedsandridge on Twitter.) Reed Sandridge was laid off last year as a director of a nonprofit group in Washington, D.C. The 36-year-old came up with a pet project to keep him busy while he looked for work. He calls it the "Year of Giving."

Every day, Sandridge walks up to a stranger and gives away $10. So far, he's handed out close to $1,200. He also interviews the recipients about their lives and posts their stories on his blog. Think of it as Studs Terkel meets Santa Claus. Listen to an NPR story about this project here.

Reed recently included a link to this study:

In findings sure to gladden the heart of anyone who’s ever wondered whether tiny acts of kindness have larger consequences, researchers have shown that generosity is contagious.

Goodness spurs goodness, they found: A single act can influence dozens more.

Read more at the link. I had striking proof of that yesterday that sure made my day! I received an email from lavendersleeves, who reads my blog and she told me that she and her sister, who have birthdays in May, have decided to devote their birthdays to my MyCharity:Water campaign. They're going to hold a fundraiser in Japan, where they live, and send me the money to help meet my goal for the well. Isn't that great? Thank you so much to lavendersleeves and her sister!

MyCharityWater Campaign Report:

$5,000 CAMPAIGN GOAL
$766 RAISED SO FAR
38 people served
22 donations
72 days left

( What I did today to make the world a better place )

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Pink Shirt Day coming up April 14

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 03:33:42 GMT

I'd never heard of Pink Shirt Day (pinkshirtday on Twitter and here on Facebook) until today. Hat tip to Here Construction Company (theherocc on Twitter) for this.

This is a great story. From a news service that picked the story up in 2007:

Two Nova Scotia students are being praised across North America for the way they turned the tide against the bullies who picked on a fellow student for wearing pink.

The victim — a Grade 9 boy at Central Kings Rural High School in the small community of Cambridge — wore a pink polo shirt on his first day of school.

Bullies harassed the boy, called him a homosexual for wearing pink and threatened to beat him up, students said.

Two Grade 12 students — David Shepherd and Travis Price — heard the news and decided to take action.

"I just figured enough was enough," said Shepherd.

They went to a nearby discount store and bought 50 pink shirts, including tank tops, to wear to school the next day. Then the two went online to e-mail classmates to get them on board with their anti-bullying cause that they dubbed a "sea of pink."

But a tsunami of support poured in the next day.

Not only were dozens of students outfitted with the discount tees, but hundreds of students showed up wearing their own pink clothes, some head-to-toe.

When the bullied student, who has never been identified, walked into school to see his fellow students decked out in pink, some of his classmates said it was a powerful moment. He may have even blushed a little.

"Definitely it looked like there was a big weight lifted off his shoulders. He went from looking right depressed to being as happy as can be," said Shepherd.

And there's been nary a peep from the bullies since, which Shepherd says just goes to show what a little activism will do.

"If you can get more people against them … to show that we're not going to put up with it and support each other, then they're not as big as a group as they think are," he says.

Apparently, their idea has picked up steam, and people around the world are joining in, wearing pink on World Pink Shirt day, to spread the word that bullying can be stopped if bystanders speak up and refuse to participate.

David and Travis, good on you for your part in decreasing worldsuck. As someone who suffered badly from bullying in elementary school, I really admire this idea. I just might dig a pink shirt out of my closet to wear on April 14. Thanks.

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Another Kiva loan

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:11:59 GMT

I like reading the blog and following the Twitter feed for Afrigadget (The Twitter feed is afrigadget). It has great stories of scrappy people using their ingenuity to make their lives better. Today's story was about a woman named Jane who dreamed of being a surgeon, but she was too poor. But using a sewing machine she obtained through microcredit lending, she's managed to provide a decent life for herself and her children. Read Jane's story here.

It made me think about checking my Kiva portfolio to see whether I had enough money accumulated to make another loan. Sure enough, with just a few dollars added, I could make another loan. So, in honor of Jane from Nairobi, I made a loan to another woman, Elizabeth James, this time in Nigeria, who has a business selling fruits and vegetables in her local market.

What have you done today to make the world a better place?

Thanks so much to those of you who responded to my appeal and donated to my MyCharityWater campaign yesterday! I've reached 10% of my goal. I'm running a little behind, though, as we're 16% through the length of the fundraising campaign.

MyCharityWater Campaign Report:

$5,000 CAMPAIGN GOAL
$560 RAISED SO FAR
28 people served
17 donations
78 days left

( What I did today to make the world a better place )

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