"The fight for health as a human right, a fight with real promise, has so far been plagued by failures. Failure because we are chronically short of resources. Failure because we are too often at the mercy of those with the power and money to decide the fates of hundreds of millions. Failure because ill health, as we have learned again and again, is more often than not a symptom of poverty and violence and inequality." In a recent "This I believe" archive Dr. Paul Farmer one of the founders of Partners in Health spoke to the notion that, health care should be a human right. Paul is a man that has the potential to make millions of dollars a year, and yet he has chosen, a modest life traveling the world ensuring that people receive health care. He does all of this not for money but, simply because he is passionate about it.
This is what really drew me to Partners in Health, and through them, the FACE AIDS cause. Trying to make a positive contribution in the world seems overwhelming, yes the saying "one person can make a difference" is uplifting but how can we as students in Colorado help make that difference? I was talking to teacher Amanda Leahy today expressing how I felt that CRMS represented a world of its own, there is diversity in ethnicity, race, culture, and economic status, each person here has different strengths and weaknesses that they bring everyday. Through our experiences with school trips, work crew, and active we have the opportunity to discover our own strenghths and weaknesses. We learn to trust one another, and most importantly help one another. Wouldn't it be great to take the lessons we learn through helping and apply it to the world at large.
During the past week it has been really amazing to hear all the stories that have evolved from our Cake Walk fundraiser. Operation Smile not only raised money to help those less fortunate but, has also created many memorable moments with family's and friends at CRMS. Teacerh Kayo Ogilby shared his daughter's excitement while making a princess cake, and the Head of School Leahy house was filled with fun and memories as they made a cake together for this charitable cause. Experiences like these are what truly inspire us. I think often times we gain more then we ever imagined by simply giving what we can.
Find what you are passionate about and dedicate yourself to the cause. CRMS offers a wide range of ways to help and give back: Work crews, Face Aids, Operation Smile, Peace Jam, Random Acts of Kindness club. Possibly these organizations are not what inspire you. Sometimes what stirs your passion doesn't have a preexisting structure, sometimes you have to be the one to begin. When you find a cause that touches you it becomes easy to dedicate yourself to it. Dr. Paul Farmer does not do what he does for recognition, he simply does it because it is the right thing to do. By joining something bigger then yourself it gives you a sense of purpose, a sense that you can make a difference.
With the coming holiday season and the holiday spirit in the air, with a seemingly endless supply of food and gifts it can become easy to forget just how fortunate we are. It can be a time when we take our good fortune for granite or.... we can use the holiday spirit to appreciate what we have,..... and share it with others.
A Haitian proverb says "Beyond mountains there are mountains." In other words as you solve one problem another one often presents itself, one of the great things about CRMS is they shine a light on a lot of the world's problems and give us the tools to problem solve. Before we leave tonight I encourage all of us to take a couple of moments to reflect on a problem that you are passionate about, and think of ways that you can help that cause. -- Katie Grant, 11th grade, Colorado Rocky Mountain School presentation to the entire student body at an evening program
Buffalostyle's Christina Abt shows how Buffalonians not only made a difference in the lives of one family, but started to transform an entire Community on Buffalo's West Side...Buffalostyle's Christina Abt shows how Buffalonians not only made a difference in the... more
Just a week before millions of Americans across the country sit down for their Thanksgiving feasts, “Fair Food: Field to Table” launches to tell the story of the nation’s farm workers, growers and advocates of fair food in their own voices, and promoting realistic solutions for a more socially-just US food system.
*Approximately 2.5 million farm workers toil in harsh conditions to harvest the agricultural bounty of the United States, earning near starvation wages of $11,000 annually while risking their lives in one of the nation’s most hazardous occupations.
*The 20-minute piece, which was shot across the United States, is available in streaming multimedia format and can be viewed at: www.fairfoodproject.org
*‘Fair Food’ is one of the few comprehensive explanations of both the serious problems facing farm workers and innovative, workable solutions currently put into action by forward-thinking growers and food businesses.
*While most information about farm worker conditions focuses on the negative, Fair Food educates viewers about the growing movement for a more just food system and ways that farmworkers, growers, businesses, students and advocates and consumers are working to achieve that goal.
*“Fair Food: Field to Table” was created by The California Institute for Rural Studies (www.cirsinc.org) and photographer/writer Rick Nahmias (“The Migrant Project”).
*Additional information resources launching with the project include a dedicated website (http://www.fairfoodproject.org) with links to dozens of farm worker related organizations and advocacy sites, plus an educators’ tool kit.
(This is an excerpt from a blog written by Chris Jarvis)
Many argue that volunteer rates are falling. They complain that people today (usually young people) won’t make commitments to a cause. The problem, people tell me, is that volunteers want to know what’s in it for them. Yep, it’s true. But self-interest isn’t the problem. It’s the solution.
Why we do what we do
People volunteer for every imaginable reason.
“I have so much, I just want to give back.” or, “We wanted to be part of the solution.” or, “There are people out there who need our help.” Or so on. And so forth.
Some are prompted by an advertisement on the subway. Others are invited to volunteer by friends or family. It may be that they were urged to get more active in the community by our religious leaders. Or possibly, someone took President Obama’s message of activism to heart.
All good reasons. Just not good enough.
The best reason for volunteering is always self-interest.
I know, I know. You think I am drunk-blogging. Hold on, I’ll explain.
“Self-interested volunteering” seems generally at odds with everything we’ve come to believe about volunteering. Right? “Self-interested volunteers.” Isn’t that an oxy-moron? What about altruism and the greater good?
In Realized Worth training sessions we raise this controversial point and discuss two reasons why self-interest is an essential aspect of an outstanding volunteer experience. Both reasons have to do with motivation.
First, as my partner Angela Parker will tell you with great conviction, “We all do what we want.” Meaning, there is always some kind of motivation and pay-off for the choices we make. When it comes to motivation, the discussion can get pretty complicated. Very rarely (if at all) will someone make a choice with singular motivation. Usually there are multiple motivators, each compelling the other. (Test this by evaluating why you chose the particulars of your lunch yesterday.)
The Ins and Outs of Motivation
For simplicity’s sake, I would suggest that we experience two kinds of motivation: one; extrinsic and two; intrinsic. When people volunteer for the first time, they are usually motivated extrinsically. (Such as a desire to “give back.”) Extrinsic motivators exist outside of an individual. They are not intimate. And while extrinsic motivations are important, they are not deeply rooted in our personality. More precisely, they are not essential factors in our journey to become who we are.
This short documentary uncovers the place of mental illnesses, such as Bipolar Disorder, within modern religion and the Church of England. Showing the audience where mental illness can fit in and how.
We follow the story of Sandwich, Kent local Priest Philip Clements as he shows us his work within the local Parish and shares opinions on his work, how he copes with his illness and how mental illness can (and should) have a place within modern Christianity.
Taken from a larger documentary project entitled "Mental Health in the Community", this is a must for any Christian, person with a diagnosis of mental illness or simply anyone interested by engaging social topics.This short documentary uncovers the place of mental illnesses, such as Bipolar... more
Join Farron Levy, president of True Impact -- a leading provider of web-based tools and support services for measuring corporate citizenship programs -- to learn simple measurement techniques for measuring the social, financial, and environmental value of cause marketing programs to prove value, promote continuous improvement, and guide program investment and budgeting.
The traditional approach to volunteering and our veterans has been to encourage Americans to get involved at local organizations as a way to support the troops. By partnering with organizations that deliver services and programs to vets, active military personnel, or military families, Americans can do their part to salute the men and women who protect and defend our nation.
But there's another way volunteering can help troops: by providing our active and veteran forces with ways to find meaning and purpose in our local communities after they return home.
Target and VolunteerMatch Respond to Help Returning Servicemen and Women Find Service Opportunities
On Veterans Day, VolunteerMatch and Target Corporation announced a new partnership to make it easier for veterans to find service opportunities, for citizens to support the military through community service, and for service organizations to more effectively recruit volunteers in local communities.
The partnership is a response to a new report written by Civic Enterprises and underwritten by Target and the Case Foundation that found that veterans who had participated in service opportunities since arriving home from Iraq and Afghanistan had smoother transitions than those who had not.
To make it easy for visitors to find military-related volunteer offerings, VolunteerMatch has added a new Interest Area, "Military Families & Veterans," to the VolunteerMatch system.
By choosing "Veterans & Military Families" for their listings, organizations make it possible for visitors to the VolunteerMatch Advanced Search page or any of our hundreds of network partner sites will be able to quickly find ways to get involved at thousands of local organizations.
Military service and community service are both strong in our nation, and volunteering at local organizations is a great way for these traditions to come together to strengthen local communities. We salute the men and women who defend our nation and we're proud to do our part to help ease their transition home.
The recent string of layoffs have me wondering what exactly is the master plan here, and how will that plan affect the future of Current Media. Was this just another necessary cost cutting strategy to weather the economic storm? Or is Current slowly changing into a corporate machine. How much can be cut before the river goes dry?
There needs to be more Current, not less.
I wish the best to all the talented, creative, and now jobless ex-staffers. We will notice your absence.The recent string of layoffs have me wondering what exactly is the master plan here,... more
The University of Connecticut’s School of Business today announced it has joined the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), a major initiative that helps rebuild the lives and economic potential of the country’s veterans with disabilities.
UConn becomes the sixth member of a consortium of business schools offering the program, and the first in New England. Each school annually hosts up to 25 veterans with disabilities who participate in cutting-edge training in entrepreneurship and small business management.
“The University of Connecticut is honored to share in the efforts of the EBV consortium to enrich the lives of veterans with service-connected disabilities,” said Michael J. Hogan, UConn president. “A close-knit university community like UConn’s can provide a nurturing environment in which these distinguished veterans can further develop their professional skills after serving our country. It goes without saying that we owe a great debt to these individuals who sacrificed so much. It’s our privilege to use our resources and the expertise of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other supporters to do what we can to improve the lives of these veterans and their families.”
When Phoebe Russell set out to tackle her preschool teacher's assignment to perform a community service project, she set herself a goal she called "really big." It was so big, in fact, that Kathleen Albert, her teacher at With Care Preschool, had to explain that raising $1,000 for the San Francisco Food Bank by collecting and redeeming cans "might be a bit ambitious for a five-year-old."
But Phoebe — in the way that awesome kids do — plowed ahead with her plans. She was determined to help people who needed food. When she called the food bank to ask whether her idea could work, they told her that $1,000 could help feed thousands.
Read the full story and see photos of Phoebe's project over on Tonic:
Micro-lending website Kiva.org recently hit a major milestone. Since launching four years ago, the organization has facilitated $100 million in microloan transactions between individual lenders and low income entrepreneurs all around the world. Lots of charities target the poor, you may ask, so what makes this organization unique? It’s the approach.
In order to achieve its mission of connecting people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty, Kiva employs a strategy of inclusion. It turns what was once an opaque process in both lending and charitable giving on its head, creating greater levels of personal involvement and future commitment.
A few weeks ago Kiva founder Premal Shah described this process to an audience of thousands at the 2009 Women’s Conference, saying: “When you give to big organizations, you don’t know where your money is going. Here you do. There are short feedback loops and direct transparency. When you browse entrepreneurs’ profiles on Kiva, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you know exactly where your money is going. You can see that you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence. Because of the technology we enable, you get an e-mail from that person and establish a connection. That makes it personal.”
What Shah describes also encourages the experience of web-based world change to go viral. People excited about a new process tend to spread the word, and Shah says Kiva has benefited tremendously from this natural momentum: “We don’t even have a marketing person at Kiva, it all just spreads from word of mouth. For every dollar we spend at Kiva, we raise $10 online.”
Are Black People Less Intelligent Than Other Races?
Can genetics (race) can be used explicitly to measure capacity for intelligence?
I bet that got your attention, now didn't it?
I wonder how this never ended up being posted here at Current...
This is related to recent show on NBC Oct 27, 2009:
"Race and Intelligence – Science’s Last Taboo"
"In 2007, Nobel Prize winning US scientist James Watson was quoted referring to research suggesting that black people were less intelligent than other races. His comments caused a storm of controversy, Watson was condemned."
"In this documentary, part of the season Race: Science's Last Taboo, Rageh Omaar sets out to find out the truth...."
Or does he?
My four (4) questions to you are:
1) What are your thoughts on how the film is being bashed?
2) What are your thoughts on modern science's use of IQ as a litmus test for intelligence?
3) Do you think only science holds the key to higher understanding?
4) What is the answer to racism in the face of so-called "science"?
And help us out here, many like myself have missed it and are unable to view the film on the net.
And if my questions fall short, please pose some better ones.
===================================================
##KEY ISSUES##
So I hear about this video, and how this presumably liberal fellow is portending to take on this subject in an open but comprehensive manner, while striking most reviewers (I could find) as actually being bias, and only furthering partisanism (not to mention ignorance)...
See these 2 examples (and by all means post some of your own)-->>
-------------------
A REVIEW HERE -- but its the **COMMENTS SECTION** you Need to check out http://channelhopping.onthebox.com/2009/10/25/race-and-intelligence-sciences-last-taboo-review/
"According to the research in question, the East Asian race comes out on top in the IQ stakes, followed by white Europeans and finally black Americans and Africans"
(Note that almost all literature reports that Jews measure highest in IQ scores across the board)
"In 2007, Nobel Prize winning US scientist James Watson was quoted referring to research suggesting that black people were less intelligent than other races. His comments caused a storm of controversy, Watson was condemned."
"Although he apologised for the offence he caused, his public engagements were cancelled and he left his British speaking tour in disgrace.
Meanwhile, right wing websites hailed him as the new Galileo - a martyr to political correctness that was concealing the fact that there is indeed evidence that shows different races score differently in IQ tests. But are the tests biased? Is race really a scientific category at all?
In this documentary, part of the season Race: Science's Last Taboo, Rageh Omaar sets out to find out the truth, meeting scientists who believe the research supports the view that races can be differentiated as well as those who vehemently oppose this view. By daring to ask the difficult questions, Omaar is able to explode the myths about race and IQ and reveal what he thinks are important lessons for society."
=========================================================
I/we would love to hear your reflections on that video.Are Black People Less Intelligent Than Other Races?
Can genetics (race) can be used... more
Roots and Branches is a youth-led community-building collective. We improve exposure to cultural events in our neighborhoods by bringing art, music and food to street level with block parties and other free community celebrations.
From 2006-2008 we operated a retired ambulance, which was painted with a fresh mural for each event. We have featured nearly twenty-five different performers on our stage in the past four years. Our performances are photographed, video documented, & audio recorded. All media is made available at www.rootsandbranches.info.
Beyond our free public events, Roots and Branches provide technical and creative support for individuals and organizations in our community. Support services include: sound system, DJ, and hosting of events, grant writing, graphic design, art production and more.
Moving into our fifth year of programming in 2010 we have established Roots and Branches as a collective of artists, based mostly but not exclusively in Oakland, producing innovative works in multiple mediums, that hold youth development, community building and social responsibility as our highest priority along with peace, love, unity and having fun.
We have a big fundraiser coming up in partnership with D-Structure SF, the first of a series of quarterly events, called “Up From The Underground.” D-Structure SF is a storefront venue located in the Lower Haight neighborhood in San Francisco, CA. For our first event with D-Structure we have produced a 15-track compilation album, featuring music from Oakland youth artists and other advocates of Roots and Branches. We will also feature our new book, which documents our first three years of programming, as well as hand screen-printed t-shirts, hooded sweatshirts and tote bags.
To purchase a copy of Roots and Branches Sound System Vol.3 http://rootsandbranches.bandcamp.comRoots and Branches is a youth-led community-building collective. We improve exposure... more
Over the next few days, you may slowly bump into stories that are featured as "Developing Stories" on Current. We're trying something new out, and would like your help. Read all of the details about this new community challenge over on the Current blog:
My dad sent this out to me. I really appreciated the article, thought you might, too.
Updated, the one I originally posted was modified. I think this is the full version.
Quote: "It has become my personal endeavor to make the nurses and young enlisted medics aware of these amazing individuals when I encounter them in our Emergency Dept. Their response to these particular citizens has made me think that perhaps all is not lost in the next generation."Where is my mind ...Veteran's day coming up...
My dad sent this out to me. I... more
Sandy Fernandez, Relationship Manager, Global Community Relations, Citi, at the Business for Social Responsibility Conference, San Francisco, October 21-23
We get questions about our featuring and editorial practices on a regular basis. So, it felt like the right time to open the doors, spell out our policies, and make sure everyone understands what goes on behind closed doors with regards to editorial decisions. Here's a snippet from the blog post:
"Our editorial team is relatively small on Current.com, especially in comparison with some of the more editorially driven sites out there. We see Current.com as a joint partnership between our internal team, and the community that frequents the site. While we produce content for TV, the amount of content we produce for the web is fairly small in comparison with what our community produces on a daily basis."
To read the details behind our processes and guidelines, please make the jump over to the blog post.
![Featuring on Current: What do we look for? — [Editorial Guidelines]](http://i2.crtcdn.net/images/asset/900/821/85/gD3181_60x45.jpg)
