Live Peace with One Day Without Shoes

Every Saturday, we like to highlight an organization or movement that is making Good Happen! This week we are highlighting One Day Without Shoes, an awareness event sponsored by TOMS Shoes. Each year, ODWS asks people to go barefoot for one day to raise awareness of the impact something as small as a pair of shoes can make. This year’s is coming up on Tuesday, April 16th!

So why Peace + Shoes? Why are we going barefoot?

Peace takes many forms. Aside from the common definition of peace as the absence of war, it also can encompass a feeling of contentment within yourself or ensuring that people have access to the tools and resources they need to live life to the fullest. Shoes may be one specific issue area, but they affect many aspects of life including health, education, and future economic opportunities.

Check out highlights from last year’s event in the following video:

Join us at the Center for Living Peace on April 16th, 2013 from 10am-4pm as we celebrate One Day Without Shoes! Throughout the day, there will be various fun activities for all ages:

Style your Sole (canvas shoe painting) /// 11am-3pm

Bring a pair of canvas shoes to decorate during the Style Your Sole party! Order a pair of TOMS online, or find in store at places like Nordstrom. Any canvas shoes will work, whether TOMS, Vans, or Keds! Don’t have a pair of shoes to bring? We’ll give you a canvas flag to decorate!

Raffles on the hour /// 12pm until 3pm

Free Prizes with drawings throughout the day.

Barefoot Walk /// 3pm

Experience the world around you without shoes.

Plus music, refreshments, and interactive displays throughout the day!

We’re looking forward to a great day. Hope to see you there! Not in the area? Find events near you!

Good Happens.

Pay it Forward!

Compliment Someone You Care About!

Some of us don’t often make it a practice to tell our loved ones how we really feel about them. This video by SoulPancake is an inspiring reminder of how a few thoughtful words of praise and appreciation can make an impact on someone’s day.

You can do good simply by reminding someone why you appreciate them! Check out more creative and inspirational videos on SoulPancake’s website.

Good Happens.

Pay it Forward!

Joy In Service

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”

~ Rabindranath Tagore

Good Happens.

Pay It Forward!

A Guide for Life From Gandhi

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

Good Happens.

Pay it Forward!

Letter Writing in the Age of Technology

Hannah Brencher, founder of a global initiative, The World Needs More Love Letters, shares how the art of writing letters can help someone who might be suffering from depression or loneliness. Writing letters to her mother was a way of finding solace in Hannah’s own time of hardship and depression. When she moved to New York City, she began tucking letters for strangers – just like the kinds that her mother used to write to her – all over the city in cafes, libraries, and even the U.N. She began blogging about her letters and soon received responses from readers, some of whom were going through rough times, requesting that she write them letters as well. This was the beginning of her organization, The World Needs More Love Letters.

“These are the kinds of stories that convinced me that letter-writing will never again need to flip back her hair and talk about efficiency, because she is an art form now, all the parts of her, the signing, the scripting, the mailing, the doodles in the margins.”

Be inspired by this video and take the time to write a letter to a loved one today!

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

The Little Things

“A little consideration, a little thought for others makes all the difference.”

- Eeyore (Winnie the Pooh)

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

Make One Person Happy

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
― Marcel Proust

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

Live Peace with Team Kids

The mission of Team Kids is to inspire and empower young people to become resilient and responsible citizens with a passion for community service. Young people crave the opportunity to participate and to feel they truly matter in their school and community. Ultimately, the Team Kids’ mission is to inspire today’s youth to become compassionate leaders and philanthropists of tomorrow. Team Kids helps kids, and adults, realize the power and capacity young people have to improve conditions and the lives of others in their community. Since 2001, over 21,000 Team Kids participants in Orange County public schools have contributed over $200,000 in value to local youth-serving charities. A pre-post evaluation conducted by WestEd, a leading educational research firm, has demonstrated this program’s effectiveness for promoting positive identity, community engagement, and prevention of high-risk behaviors, such as alcohol/drug use, early pregnancy, and violent behavior.

To learn more about Team Kids or to donate, visit their website . Volunteers are always welcome. Email Jtapp@teamkids.org or call 949•861•4887 to volunteer!

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

8 Ways to Promote Literacy and Protect the Environment

In honor of National Literacy Month, help to spread world literacy and protect the environment. The following list will give you some ideas on what to do with used books laying around the house. Also remember to be mindful about where you purchase your books to find cheaper and environmentally conscious options.

1. Donate used books to a local library or daycare center.

2. Give a sick child the chance to escape to other worlds by donating children’s books to a children’s hospital, such as Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC).

3. Better World Books collects and sells books to raise funds for literacy non-profits such as the National Center for Family Literacy and Room to Read. Buy books, sell textbooks, or donate to help out!

4. Help lift our troop’s spirits by donating to Books for Soldiers or Operation Paperback.

5. Empower children in need by donating to Books for Africa or the African Library Project.

6. Donate to the Children and Families Commission of Orange County’s Early Literacy Program

7. Exchange books on Paperbackswap by earning credits for every book that you send another paperbackswap member. Membership is free! There are many more online book swapping services such as Book Crossing, BookMooch, and BooksFreeSwap.

8. Purchase used books instead of new books, to support local book stores or online used book retailers as an eco-friendly alternative. College students, this is a must for buying and selling back textbooks.

Literacy and imagination are invaluable tools to instill hope in securing a peaceful and sustainable future. Spread stories, love ,and happy reading!

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

Live Peace with Red Cross

The American Red Cross, founded by Clara Barton, has offered emergency relief and health services in the U.S. since 1881. The Red Cross’s work ranges from international domestic disaster relief, community services for the needy, support for military members and their families, educational healthy and safety programs, and of course blood donation collection and distribution. Red Cross is the largest supplier of blood in the United States.

Red Cross has expressed that there is an emergency need for blood donations. Their supply of readily available blood is half of what is was this time last year!

Here are some of Red Cross’s facts on Blood donation:

• Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. There are four types of transfusable products that can be derived from blood: red cells, platelets, plasma and cryoprecipitate. Typically, two or three of these are produced from a pint of donated whole blood – hence each donation can help save up to three lives.
• Share of the U.S. population eligible to give blood: Less than 38 percent.
• Type O-negative blood (red cells) can be transfused to patients of all blood types. It is always in great demand and often in short supply. Only 7 percent of people in the U.S. have O-negative blood type. O-negative blood type donors are universal donors as their blood can be given to people of all blood types.
• The average adult has about 10 pints of blood in his body. Roughly 1 pint is given during a donation.

When you donate blood, you will notified of your blood type on your blood donor card! Make sure that you are able to donate blood by checking Red Cross’s eligibility requirements.

To donate blood, find a donation opportunity near you and make an appointment. If you’re in the Irvine area, you can donate at UCI’s Blood Donor Center. If you unable to donate, you can still volunteer to help out or help host a blood drive. Find a volunteer opportunity near you. You can also encourage your family and friends to donate using these ecards or make a financial donation to Red Cross.

To find out more about Red Cross and blood donation visit their website!

Live peace, give blood, and give life!

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!