Neighborhood clean-up picture wins Outstanding Photo

When people listen to the radio today it conjures up thoughts of music, shock jocks, and talk radio.  Imagine a radio show that inspires people to clean up their neighborhood.

PCI-Media Impact, a not-for-profit organization that produces social change television and radio programs around the world, was recently awarded Outstanding Photograph by InterAction for James Rodriguez’s snapshot of Guatemalan children participating in a clean-up of their neighborhood in San Pedro, Guatemala.

To address the unhealthy waste management practices in rural Mayan-Quiche speaking Guatemala, PCI-Media Impact partnered with local radio stations and local organization La Asociacion Juventud Kiche to produce the radio serial drama Jach b’al Re Loq’ b’al K’u'x (The Love Recycle). The drama featured two of PCI-Media Impact’s most recognizable character types: Chelly, an 18 year old woman who wants to improve the earning potential of her father’s farm, and Don Tavo, Chelly’s father who become ill after struggling to make the farm a success. The drama unfolds as the Tavo family attempts and fails in attempt after attempt to raise different crops. With no success, the family starts recycling inorganic materials and finally establishes a secure income for the family.

The program mobilized local youth, who listened to the program in school each day, to organize a clean up of their towns. The award-winning photograph captures one of those initiatives.

Source: CSR Wire, PCI-Media

First Pediatric HIV/AIDS Clinic in Tanzania

The Abbott Fund joined representatives from the U.S. government, Baylor College of Medicine, the government of Tanzania and other partners today at a U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in the construction of the first pediatric HIV/AIDS clinic in the country.  The clinic will be in the Mbeya region of Tanzania.

To date, the Abbott Fund has provided a total of more than $28 million in grants and donated products to support the treatment of children with HIV in the developing world.

“Building this clinic represents an important expansion in Abbott’s commitment to improving access to care for children in the developing world during the last decade,” said Catherine V. Babington, president, the Abbott Fund. “It fulfills a critical need in Tanzania, where we have been improving health systems not only for people with HIV, but also for those with other chronic health issues as well.” The new clinic will bring the first pediatricians trained in the special needs of children with HIV to Mbeya.

It is estimated that there are currently more than 150,000 (UNAIDS 2008) children in Tanzania living with HIV/AIDS and in need of treatment and care. Mbeya has the second highest rate of HIV in the country, with a prevalence rate of more than 13 percent among a population of more than two million. According to the National AIDS Control Project (NACP), last year only 2,280 children were registered to receive care with half receiving antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. In contrast, almost 16,000 adults in Mbeya are on ARV therapy.

“While we are making progress in enrolling adults into HIV care and treatment, our services for children have severely lagged behind due to lack of trained physicians and other necessary resources,” said Eleuter Samky, M.D., medical superintendent, Mbeya Referral Hospital. “We expect the new center of excellence to accelerate our ability to make progress against our national treatment goals for children with HIV.” The NACP goal is to have children comprise 20 percent of all people on treatment in Tanzania, 88,000 children, by 2010.

The Mbeya center of excellence represents a unique partnership between the government of Tanzania, Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI) and the U.S. government, supported by the Abbott Fund. The Abbott Fund is committing more than $2 million to the project, which will be run by BIPAI. The clinic will be staffed by physicians from BIPAI and the Pediatric AIDS Corps, while physicians and other health workers from the region will be trained in the special needs of caring for children with HIV. The U.S. government will provide funds for the ongoing operations of the clinic through the PEPFAR program.

“The Mbeya center of excellence will provide the foundation for pediatric HIV treatment for the foreseeable future, helping not only to save children’s lives but increase health care worker capacity in the country,” said Mark W. Kline, M.D., president, Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital. “We are confident that we will see the profound improvements in children’s health in Mbeya that we have seen across Africa when integrating pediatric HIV clinics into national AIDS programs.” Today, the BIPAI network clinics treat more than 26,000 children, representing the largest population of treated children with HIV in the developing world.

The Tanzania center is modeled after the pioneering work conducted by BIPAI and supported by the Abbott Fund at the Romanian-American Children’s Center, which opened in April of 2001 in Constanta, Romania. In this approach, children are not only provided antiretroviral medicine and other medical treatment, but are supported by a comprehensive program to address both the children’s and their family’s other daily needs. This program has reduced pediatric AIDS mortality by more than 90 percent in Constanta –– the epicenter of pediatric HIV in Europe.

In 2007, BIPAI opened the first pediatric HIV care clinic in Malawi, also supported by the Abbott Fund. This original clinic has now expanded to include satellite clinics in rural areas, treating nearly 2,300 children with HIV.

Spike TV helps 140,000 Dads stay connected to kids

Spike TV has spent the past year helping encourage dads to take an active role in their kids lives through the True Dads Take Action initiative. Now, the network that celebrates men of action is reaching out to the dads in our armed forces to help them stay connected with their families while deployed abroad through True Dads in Uniform.

True Dads In Uniform is a partnership between Spike TV, the USO and United Through Reading that seeks to connect military fathers with their families by providing our servicemen with the means to videotape themselves reading stories and send these personal video messages on DVD to their families at home.

Our goal is to help connect over 140,000 servicemen and their families across all branches of the armed forces through direct network contribution, sponsor contributions and the help of viewers like you. Visit the links below to find out more about how you can help. They are the fathers of our armed forces.

They are True Dads in Uniform.

After the Storm to come out on DVD

Due to come out this month is an incredible video called After the Storm - The Project Joy Story.

Healthy Lunches Help Kids’ Concentration in School

Healthy foods should be included on the list of back-to-school supplies for your children, says a University of Michigan Health System expert.

Dietitian Catherine Kraus explained that a healthy, balanced diet enables neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the brain) to function more efficiently, resulting in improved concentration and memory.

“Childhood is a crucial time when bodies are growing and brains are developing. Its so important to fuel the body with good nutrition, and teaching children smart eating habits at a young age is a great idea. It starts with the parents serving as the role model,” Kraus said in a university news release.

She suggested a number of ways for parents to provide well-balanced meals and snacks to give children the energy and nutrition they need to perform well at school.

Make sure children eat breakfast. Research has shown that children who skip breakfast don’t do as well in school as students who eat breakfast. A healthy breakfast includes a whole grain cereal, oatmeal or bread with a protein such as peanut butter or a hard-boiled egg. Including whole fruit instead of fruit juice adds more vitamins, minerals and fiber into the diet. Dairy products are acceptable as long as they’re in the form of fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt or cheese.

While many schools are striving to include healthier items on their lunch menus, there are still plenty of unhealthy items such as pizza, nachos, and sweetened drinks.

“When children consume a high-fat, high-sugar meal, their bodies will crash, and they will become very tired and lethargic — which is not going to help them perform at their best level in school,” Kraus said.

If you’re concerned about the cafeteria choices at school, give your child packed lunches that include a type of whole grain, such as bread or tortillas, with a lean protein, such as tuna, turkey or chicken. Include assortments of fruits and vegetables in various colors and sizes. Healthy beverage choices include water, fat-free or low-fat milk, or 100-percent fruit juice.

At dinner, half of your child’s plate should include vegetables and fruit, one-quarter should consist of a lean protein, and one-quarter should contain whole grains, such as brown rice or whole wheat pasta.

“A smart dinner will help your child’s brain function. If they are satisfied after dinnertime, then they will sleep through the night, and a child needs at least eight to nine hours of sleep a night in order to function while in the school the next day,” Kraus said.

Source: NLM News

Ten-Year-Old Boy makes compelling environment video

When you were 10-years-old, what were you doing? I know it may be harder for some of us to remember than others, but let me ask you another question. Did you consider yourself an organizer?  For many us, our work as organizers did not begin until much later in life, but for Nikos Spiridakis it is already in full swing.

During a family road trip from Denver to Los Angeles when Nikos was 8 in the summer of 2007, Nikos experienced countless forest fires along the way–helping to open his eyes to the severity of global warming and the need for urgent action to tackle this climate crisis. Like many of us who care about this issue, the nagging question of “what can I do to stop global warming” lingered in his mind throughout the trip.

While sitting in the car at a gas station more recently, watching the digits on the gas pump escalate, Nikos was inspired to make a powerful global warming video. His film is currently one of the sample videos for the 1Sky and Brighter Planet national video contest: Climate Matters–Inspire Your Next President!

The metronomic beeping of the pump reminded him of a heart rate monitor–metaphorically monitoring the health of our planet. With each beep, images of forest fires, crumbling ice caps, crowded freeways, pollution, and unsustainable drilling practices flashed through his mind. With the help of his family, Nikos wrote and directed a chillingly powerful climate PSA–overcoming his extreme dyslexia and turning his idea into a powerful message.

Source: CSR Wire

Sportsmanship on full display at the Olympics

As many parents will tell you teaching good sportsmanship to young athletes faces many challenges in this SportsCenter driven culture.  The attention give to selfish, and immature athletes such as Many Ramirez, Barry Bonds, Ron Artest, and Chris Henry fall far short of showcasing role model behavior.

This is in stark contrast to the refreshing scenes coming from the Beijing Olympics where sportsmanship can be readily seen from both the winners and those suffering “the agony of defeat.”

Amid great applause, Dara Torres demonstrated tremendous class when she asked an official to hold up her heat when Therese Alshammar needed to change out suits after a rip happened right before the 50m semifinal event.  Torres was very quick to congratulate Britta Steffen of Germany when Torres fell just short of gold by one hundredth of a second in the 50m Freestyle.

Dana Torres is 41 and should be mature enough to show sportsmanship, you say.  Then look at Shawn Johnson (age 16) and Nastia Liukin (age 18) openly cheering for each other when a strong performance from one would knock the other from gold medal status.

“I am really happy for her,” Liukin said of Johnson.

They are teammates you might argue and should cheer each other on.   Then also take note of Cheng Fei of China, along with the Chinese coaches, warmly congratulating Johnson and Liukin after their strong performances on the balance beam.

In track and field, Lolo Jones was in anguish after seeing her gold medal run evaporate when she clipped the second to last hurdle and finished seventh.  As she was explaining her mishap she stopped the interview to hug and congratulate silver medalist Sally Mclellan of Australia.

“Good job, sweetie,” was Jones’ message to Mclellan.

What other great examples of sportsmanship have you seen at this year’s Olympics?  Please tell us by commenting below or submit a story of your own.

Play a Game, Save the Rainforest

Going green can be entertaining and educational, thanks to the launch of Treewala(TM), a free, online vocabulary game that generates revenue to plant trees in South American rainforests. Treewala is the flagship initiative of Greenwala Inc., a “green” social media company in development where people can learn to be environmentally responsible, brag about being green and share their actions with their friends, family and community.

“We love our planet and want to make sure we all have clean air to breathe,” said Rajeev Kapur, founder and Chief Wala. “We created the Treewala vocabulary game as an educational tool to help increase the number of trees planted in the rainforest. By playing Treewala, you help us do some serious work to fight deforestation.”

Treewala tests a player’s vocabulary skills and adapts the level of difficulty based on the number of correct answers. Players earn one leaf for every word they define correctly. Every leaf generates revenue, which Greenwala uses to buy trees to plant as part of the Marion Institute Los Gaviotas project. The tropical rainforest of the eco-village known as Los Gaviotas is a special model for addressing climate change. Rainforests are a vital component in helping to keep the Earth healthy by regulating temperature and fighting air pollution. Mighty rainforest trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) and produce clean air.

“The more leaves earned by Treewala players, the more trees we can plant,” Kapur said. “We call that a breath of fresh air. As you can tell by our first initiative, Greenwala takes a seriously light-hearted approach to going green. We believe we can reach more people and inspire them to shift their attitudes and behaviors through our social community model. People want to know how they can help and they do not have to live off the grid in order to make a difference!”

Disheartened by the negativity that surrounds environmental issues, Kapur conceived Greenwala in early 2008. With the support of seasoned entrepreneurs Carl Zeiger and John Kernan, Kapur was able to bring on a core group of co-founders in April of 2008 — Justine Burt, Jonathan Good and Parina Muni. Expected to launch this fall, the Greenwala experience also will focus on helping organizations increase their own brand awareness as it relates to their earth-friendly endeavors. Today, www.greenwala.com houses educational blogs and chronicles the founders’ journey toward “greenness.”

Play Treewala, get educated and contribute, and sign up to become a Wala or follow company activities on Twitter or on Facebook.

Students to Develop Solutions to Global Water Crisis

Are you feeling ambitious and would like to develop design solutions that explore new ways of understanding, communicating and responding to the global water crisis?

The Aspen Design Challenge is a joint project developed by AIGA and INDEX:, a global nonprofit design network, to engage the millennial generation in solving global issues. The challenge is issued as part of the Aspen Design Summit, an international conference organized for leaders from business, the public sector and nonprofit organizations.

“Designing Water’s Future” grew out of discussions at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, led by Brian Collins, chairman of Collins:, a New York-based transformation design firm, and journalist J. Carl Ganter, co-founder of Circle of Blue, the international network of leading journalists, scientists and communications designers connecting humanity to the global water crisis.

The rules and guidelines for the challenge were distributed to thousands of faculty and students at more than 250 universities from Beijing to Boston, and are available to all with the launch of the Aspen Design Challenge website. Winners will have the opportunity to refine and develop their concepts with world leaders and policy makers at the Aspen Environment Forum, and their solutions will be discussed at the World Economic Forum, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, and the World Business Summit on Climate Change.

Water crisis
More than five million people die each year due to a lack of safe drinking water, and the UN estimates that 5.5 billion people will lack adequate access to freshwater in the next 20 years. Water scarcity has emerged as a serious threat to peoples across the world. Called “the new oil” for the 21st century, water affects everything.

“The global water crisis is a universally threatening and immensely complex problem,” said J. Carl Ganter, director and co-founder of Circle of Blue. “The causes are many —climate change, population growth, over-use — and the ramifications are felt in all areas from environment to security to economic development. This is where we need design students to step in. Design is the intermediary between information and understanding. Young people have the fresh perspective we need, and it is their future which is most at stake.”

“We cannot continue to take water for granted,” said Richard Grefé, executive director of AIGA. “The idea behind the Aspen Design Challenge is that creative design can change the way people think and behave. We have every confidence that these students will devise the types of solutions we need to reframe how we think about water, how we manage it and how we save it—inventive solutions that are simple, powerful and actionable.”

About the Challenge
Students and faculty from around the world will develop ideas this fall and submit proposals by December 2008. Already there are commitments from schools in Australia, China, Denmark, Qatar and the United States. An international jury of accomplished leaders in the design and environmental fields will select contest finalists in February 2009.

Students behind the finalist proposals will have the opportunity to workshop their ideas in Aspen, improving their concepts with feedback from top designers, scientists, journalists and business and NGO leaders. Further, their ideas will be presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (January 28– February 1, 2009); the Aspen Environment Forum (March 25–28, 2009) and to participants of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (November 30–December 11, 2009. The most promising project will receive The INDEX:|AIGA Aspen Design Challenge Prize in August in Copenhagen.

There are no restrictions on the type of solutions that students may submit. Print design, web applications, environment design, physical devices, data presentation tools and other approaches are all encouraged, as are proposals for the conceptual framework or method of dissemination that may propel these designs into public consciousness. Design students are encouraged to lead cross-disciplinary teams of engineers, artists, ethnographers, anthropologists and scientists, and to consider the social, cultural and scientific significance of water.

“The water crisis needs creativity, attention and care—and it needs it now,” said Brian Collins. “Designers can inspire audiences to take action and inform people who may be separated by geography, education or immediate need. So our goal is to enlist a new generation of design thinkers to find better ways to communicate this problem, and drive local action and solutions.”

For more information on the initiative and its developments throughout the fall, visit: www.aspendesignchallenge.org.

Source: CSR Wire, Aspen Design Challenge (image)

Group RCI Gifts $100,000 to Christel House

Over 900 employees and families of Group RCI, a world leader in leisure real estate and one of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN), gathered recently for the emotional reunion of RCI co-founder Christel DeHaan and many of her former RCI employees. The scene was a carnival-style block party at the Carmel-area campus of the world’s largest timeshare exchange company to raise funds for Christel House International, Group RCI’s global charity of choice. At the close of the event, DeHaan was presented with the unexpectedly sizeable donation of $100,000.

The 5-hour block party marked the celebratory conclusion of the ‘Summer of Christel House’, a six-week-long fundraising campaign created by RCI employees to raise both consciousness and cash for Christel House International which operates learning centers for impoverished children in Mexico, Venezuela, South Africa, India, and Indianapolis. Founded by DeHaan in 1998, the charitable organization seeks to break the cycle of poverty for children around the world and help them become contributing members of society.

“The passion demonstrated by the associates of RCI to help provide the 2,700 children of Christel House a better quality of life is both amazing and unprecedented,” marveled Geoff Ballotti, president and CEO of Group RCI. “Christel DeHaan created an incredibly caring culture at RCI many years ago based on honesty, integrity, sincerity and community service. It’s a culture which is alive and well nearly 35 years later. And it’s a culture I’m both honored and humbled to be associated with.”

Attendees of the celebration were treated to a musical performance by visiting Christel House South Africa students Angelique Blaauw, Nontando Bonga, and Kyle Daniels, led by Luis-Miguel Delgado, a business development account executive with Group RCI. Blaauw 16, talked about teamwork, shared goals, and the power of “we” — a message fitting the occasion.

Congratulating the crowd on their creativity and caring, DeHaan was preparing to accept the donation of monies raised by local RCI employees when it was revealed that those had been combined not only with contributions from global colleagues as well as block party proceeds but also a match from the company’s corporate office, a sum totaling $100,000.00. “There are not enough words to describe how I’m feeling,” choked an emotional DeHaan in response to the unexpected generosity. “From day one, RCI has distinguished itself through its people. This is a gift of love for which I am humbled and grateful.”

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