Saturday, October 06, 2007
What GiveMeaning was built for
Saw new proposal on GiveMeaning today.
Click on the founder (Jen's) name on the left-hand side.
This kind of energy is what keeps us all motivated.
Click on the founder (Jen's) name on the left-hand side.
This kind of energy is what keeps us all motivated.
Labels: africa, development, givemeaning, inspiration, kenya
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Abandon all hope, you who enter here
A thirteen year-old stabs her best friend near fatally. My brother's high school three blocks from my childhood house is closed due to a man seen with ammunition. This was tonight's broadcast in Victoria, BC, Canada.
Anderson Cooper had tornado's and flooding in one part of the US and severe droughts in another part.
The Globe & Mail reported that despite massive gains in our economy, 1 in 8 children live in families under the povery line, and according to the same article, the instances of poor children are the same now in 2007 as they were in 1989, the year Canadians supposedly resolved to drastically reduce the number of poor children in Canada by 2000.
The likelihood of achieving anything close to the much-hyped Millennium Development Goals...
Meanwhile, somewhere in Africa, a white person takes pictures of little children, makes promises, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Say nothing of our culture, our priorities, what and who we worship, the pervasiveness of perverse and violent imagery that is truly warping our minds ...
Is all it futile? Probably. But it's my battle. I fight because it's what I consider worth dying for. The parts of Rilke that I read, I remember this (a horrible, bastardized paraphrasing): Writers write because they HAVE to write. They have no choice.
In answer to my earlier post tonight, there IS something wrong with mindless giving, with celebrity marketing, with all this complete and utter bullshit that has nothing to do with anything other than the marketing of a "feel good" effect.
If there's one group that shouldn't sell-out, it's those who are trying to save lives and change the world. Too bad. The path of least resistance is the road most traveled.
My pleasure, my inspiration comes from the crazies, the stupid, the irrational. They change the world. I will leave you with this.
Anderson Cooper had tornado's and flooding in one part of the US and severe droughts in another part.
The Globe & Mail reported that despite massive gains in our economy, 1 in 8 children live in families under the povery line, and according to the same article, the instances of poor children are the same now in 2007 as they were in 1989, the year Canadians supposedly resolved to drastically reduce the number of poor children in Canada by 2000.
The likelihood of achieving anything close to the much-hyped Millennium Development Goals...
Meanwhile, somewhere in Africa, a white person takes pictures of little children, makes promises, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Say nothing of our culture, our priorities, what and who we worship, the pervasiveness of perverse and violent imagery that is truly warping our minds ...
Is all it futile? Probably. But it's my battle. I fight because it's what I consider worth dying for. The parts of Rilke that I read, I remember this (a horrible, bastardized paraphrasing): Writers write because they HAVE to write. They have no choice.
In answer to my earlier post tonight, there IS something wrong with mindless giving, with celebrity marketing, with all this complete and utter bullshit that has nothing to do with anything other than the marketing of a "feel good" effect.
If there's one group that shouldn't sell-out, it's those who are trying to save lives and change the world. Too bad. The path of least resistance is the road most traveled.
My pleasure, my inspiration comes from the crazies, the stupid, the irrational. They change the world. I will leave you with this.
Labels: charity, ideas, inspiration, philanthropy
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
In Campbell River
I arrived into Campbell River this afternoon. I'm pretty sure that the pilot of our small plane forgot that there were people on board as he essentially dive bombed us onto the runway. An adventurous beginning to day.
I spoke at a secondary school here in town this afternoon and was saying to my friend Ryland that I never really know whether I made an impact or not. Though it sounds cheesy, I really do believe that inspiring just one person justifies the expense and time that these trips cost. I find that most students prefer to ask me questions one-on-one, not in the actual Q&A session but today, I had two great questions asked of me: 1) Do you have any pet projects? (Answer: My fundraiser for Victoria Women's Sexual Assault Centre and my Project to help raise funds for Yves) and 2) Who do I look up to?
That question really got me thinking. Though I admire parts of various high-profile people, there isn't one person I really get totally excited about. As I thought about the question more, I realized that the people that I really admire are a lot of the people that I find through GiveMeaning. Guys like Logan Cochrane, and Chris & Jeannie and so many other people all around the world doing amazing work and following their passions.
Just a few minutes before writing this blog entry, I noticed that one of the students who attended my talk this afternoon has already created a new proposal at the site. Click on her name on her proposal to read more about her. She is a great example of what I mean by being inspired by many of the people that use GiveMeaning.
The cynic in me says that this sounds like I'm pandering to GiveMeaning members but I promise I'm being entirely sincere when I talk about the inspiration and motivation I draw from our community.
Just finished speaking at a secondary school here in Campbell River. The last time I was here was in transit to Hollyhock on Cortez Island which is a quick water-taxi away from here. My hotel looks out on the docks where the water-taxi is and as the sun is starting to break, the urge to just jump over there is rising.
For those of you that don't know Hollyhock, click here. GiveMeaning is one of the sponsors for the upcoming Social Change Institute.
I jump at the opportunity to go to
I spoke at a secondary school here in town this afternoon and was saying to my friend Ryland that I never really know whether I made an impact or not. Though it sounds cheesy, I really do believe that inspiring just one person justifies the expense and time that these trips cost. I find that most students prefer to ask me questions one-on-one, not in the actual Q&A session but today, I had two great questions asked of me: 1) Do you have any pet projects? (Answer: My fundraiser for Victoria Women's Sexual Assault Centre and my Project to help raise funds for Yves) and 2) Who do I look up to?
That question really got me thinking. Though I admire parts of various high-profile people, there isn't one person I really get totally excited about. As I thought about the question more, I realized that the people that I really admire are a lot of the people that I find through GiveMeaning. Guys like Logan Cochrane, and Chris & Jeannie and so many other people all around the world doing amazing work and following their passions.
Just a few minutes before writing this blog entry, I noticed that one of the students who attended my talk this afternoon has already created a new proposal at the site. Click on her name on her proposal to read more about her. She is a great example of what I mean by being inspired by many of the people that use GiveMeaning.
The cynic in me says that this sounds like I'm pandering to GiveMeaning members but I promise I'm being entirely sincere when I talk about the inspiration and motivation I draw from our community.
Just finished speaking at a secondary school here in Campbell River. The last time I was here was in transit to Hollyhock on Cortez Island which is a quick water-taxi away from here. My hotel looks out on the docks where the water-taxi is and as the sun is starting to break, the urge to just jump over there is rising.
For those of you that don't know Hollyhock, click here. GiveMeaning is one of the sponsors for the upcoming Social Change Institute.
I jump at the opportunity to go to
Labels: campbellriver, charity, education, inspiration, school, youth
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