Archive for category charity
Dear Prudence
Posted by zoboxrox in charity, economy, health, human rights, international, science, tragedy on January 18th, 2010
Haiti, 2008
While the images coming out of Haiti since the January 12th earthquake are heartbreaking, images of Haiti before the massive devastation are nearly as appalling. For many, just one week ago, it was simply easier not to look.
Haiti has long been the pariah of the Western Hemisphere, deemed the poorest country, many Americans don’t even realize it shares an island, Hispaniola, with popular hot spot the Dominican Republic. With HIV rates unheard of on this side of the world, not to mention Malaria and a killer strain of drug resistant Tuberculosis, and levels of poverty we have only seen in Hollywood films, Americans have found it surprisingly easy to overlook Haiti’s hellish existence in the past, despite its close proximity and dire need for aide. And while there are those who have dedicated their lives to moving mountains in this forgotten place (Paul Farmer and his Partners in Health comes to mind most immediately, but there are certainly others as well, many with little to no recognition at all), there is no question that Haiti has been more or less abandoned by the rest of the world.
While the media provides us with day to day body counts and relays gruesome details of injuries and loss, forcing us to see what we’ve ignored for so long, racking up donations from the college student text messager to the saintly celebrity givers, I can only wonder, if this Disaster Relief had poured in years ago, would we be facing the situation we are facing today?
Jian Lin, a WHOI senior scientist in geology and geophysics, said that there were three factors that made the quake particularly devastating: First, it was centered just 10 miles southwest of the capital city, Port au Prince; second, the quake was shallow—only about 10-15 kilometers below the land’s surface; third, and more importantly, many homes and buildings in the economically poor country were not built to withstand such a force and collapsed or crumbled.
When there are no roads, no hospitals, no doctors, no reliable government, no one to really trust, how far can the money go? Perhaps the lesson here is of prudent giving — spending money earlier, before its too late.
Looking Good, Feeling Better
The following is an article I wrote for a local paper. Its a little off-subject for ZoboxPolitix, but interesting none-the-less (also contains foto of ZOBOXROX… can you spot me?):
At a time when people are gripping their wallets just a little bit tighter, The Bereavement Center of Westchester finds unique ways to make ends meet. With the help of local businesses and the enormous generosity of 109 Pondfield Salon owners, Nick and Mark DeVincenzo, BCW threw their sixth annual Evening of Bliss Friday, March 13th. While this is but one of many fundraising efforts for the center, it is special in the way it gives back to both its donors and its community at large.
The Bereavement Center opened its doors in 1995, through the efforts of Jansen Memorial Hospital and The Junior League of Bronxville. The Center offers a variety of programs to help individuals and families cope with the death of a significant person in their life, which include the Tree House program, dedicated to helping children and their parent or guardian process their feelings of grief, the School Outreach program offers both assistance and consultation to help school communities create safe, supportive environments for grieving children and teens. They also offer Adult Groups throughout the year and Individual Counseling for those adults and children who need personal guidance and attention.
While BCW caters to many groups, the eight-week long Tree House Program is the cornerstone of the Center, providing grief support specifically designed for children, ages 4-18, who have lost a parent or a sibling. Connie Moustakes, a 12-year veteran of the volunteer program and board member describes the Tree House as “a safe place [for kids] to tell their story without feeling the isolation of loss. The program gives them the tools and language to discuss their feelings with others.”
109 Pondfield Salon owner Nick DeVincenzo understands the struggle of dealing with grief at a young age. Growing up in war-torn Italy as the fourth of eight children, Nick experienced his first major loss when he was only eleven and his father died. While the next decade was filled with hardship, he found himself in Bronxville by his twenty-first birthday. This April, 109 Pondfield will celebrate its 48th year of operation, and what started as four chairs in a small store-front, has evolved into an elegant, yet refreshingly welcoming high end salon.
Nick gushes when he tells me about his youngest daughter, who is in the middle of her residency at Yale University Hospital. “We try to give as much as we can back to Bronxville because it was very good to us,” he says, when I ask him about the past six years of hosting the Bliss event. “I look forward to it every year. Its our way to help serve the people – everybody,” which is exactly how Nick runs his business.
Just ask his son, Mark, who six years ago joined his father three days a week at 109, for the first time in his long and illustrious career, which began at an apprenticeship with Vidal Sassoon, and has more recently been spent as the creative director of the Frederic Fekkai salon on Fifth Avenue. Of his father he says, “Nick taught me to do business the way you should – honestly and humbly.” In turn they have found themselves, “fortunate enough to be able to give back to the community.”
On top of the absolutely fabulous hair styling from 109 Pondfield (and my own personal makeover from Mark himself!), this year’s Evening of Bliss also included mini neck massages from Peter Iocovello of the Village Day Spa, makeup by Maison Rouge, wine donated by Eddie Dowd, and delicious munchies provided by Steven Palm, followed by dinner at his restaurant Underhills Crossing, with 20% of the proceeds going to BCW. In addition, four local businesses, J. McLaughlin, Kensington Paper, Mano a Mano, and Toney, Toni and the Gang, joined in on the Bliss, donating 10% of their profits from Friday to the Center.
Laura, a donor and attendee of the Evening, despite never having used the Center herself raved about its positive effects on both the community and individuals she has known in the past. She described the event as, “a really special night of bonding for an incredibly good cause. I came back from out of town and shopped all day just to be a part of it.”
And I don’t blame her. When it comes to looking good and feeling good, An Evening of Bliss at 109 Pondfield worked perfectly to provide truly that.
My Stadium Can Beat Up Your Stadium
Posted by zoboxrox in charity, corporate america, crime, malfunction, politics on February 9th, 2009
Whats your favorite sports team? The Panthers? The Flyers? The Yanks? Chances are, you own a little piece of their stadium, whomever your team and assuming you pay your taxes (ie. you are not one of Obama’s Cabinet members). As a tax paying American you own a large portion of the financial institutions, approximately $150 billion of the banks alone (whether you like it or not) and as a shareholder, you own whatever investments the banks decide to make with your money… again… as if you’re not already giving all your money to your bank. So for instance:
Citigroup Inc., targeted by lawmakers for paying $400 million to put its name on the New York Mets’ new ballpark, is among eight banks that may face questioning by Congress for stadium sponsorships. The banks received a total of $153.4 billion from the $700 billion government bailout of financial firms and are spending a combined $845 million for naming rights.
The new Citi Field is replacing the old Shea Stadium, which was in better shape than the majority of American infrastructure; meanwhile, Citibank has cut 53,000 jobs in the past year. And they are not alone in their hypocrisy. Also involved in their own stadium deals are: Bank of America ($140 millions for Carolina Panthers Stadium), JP Morgan Chase ($66 million for Chase Field in Phoenix), Wells Fargo, PNC, Bank of New York, etc.
The advertising and promotional deals include insurance power AIG, which will receive 150 billion dollars in the federal bailout while spending 125 million dollars for its logo to appear on Manchester United football uniforms. ”They should put ‘US Treasury’ on the front of their uniforms,” said Steve Ellis, a member of US watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense.
Ohio Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich is the only person in Washington whom I’ve heard discuss this so far, but he certainly has a lot to say, and as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, he has at least somewhat of a right to say it and an audience to say it to:
Stop this aggressive advertising. We own you essentially and we don’t want you advertising, we want you to use the money to keep employees… how many people can you employ for $400 million
So while the government, essentially, has paid for approximately nine stadiums to bear the names of banks (under the Republican Bank Bailout TARP), it cannot decide on whether or not to invest in jobs and schools and health care and bridges and roads and green industry for our future generations. And I mean, COME ON, when was the last time you even noticed what stupid corporation your stadium was named after? Obviously bankers don’t go to football games, or else they might not bother advertising at all.
Sympathy for the Devil
Posted by zoboxrox in charity, environment, health, human rights, international, politics on January 21st, 2009
Pinch me. Am I dreaming? I knew this day would come, but I never knew how good it would actually feel. For as long as I can remember, there’s either been a dick or a Bush in the White House, but now, as cliche as it sounds, it really does seem like things are starting to change. Despite the darkness of the past twenty-five eight years, however, there have been some moments of light. It took me a while to composite this list, but here is my Top 5 best things George Walker Bush did while in office.
- PEPFAR (Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief): Established
in 2003, PEPFAR (which really is the dumbest acronym I’ve ever heard… “Emergency Plan”? Sounds like something my seven year old cousin would say) was a 5 year commitment of $15 billion to those countries in Africa and the Caribbean that are the most devastated by HIV/AIDS, which include South Africa, Rwanda, Namibia, Botswana, and Haiti, to name a few. In 2008, PEPFAR was renewed and expanded to $48 Billion through 2013. US Foreign Aid is now three times what it was when Clinton left office. And despite criticism for its abstinence-only programs, etc., Joe Biden himself has called PEPFAR “the single most significant thing the president has ever done.” When you consider how Bush Sr. handled the domestic AIDS epidemic during his own presidency, it is remarkable how much his son has done. To read more about the program go here, here, or here. - Protection of Oceans: Days before leaving office, President Bush made environmental history as the number one conservator of marine wilderness. President Bush, perhaps aware of his otherwise dismal record of environmentalism, took it upon himself to build his legacy as the greatest protector of oceans in the history of conservation, creating the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument. Since 2006 the Bush admin has preserved nearly 200,000 sq miles of Pacific Ocean, adding three new “marine monuments” on January 6, 2008. Under the Antiquities Act (signed into law under Theodore Roosevelt, often cited for his role in the creation of the National Park) the President can designate an area restricted or protected by executive order.
- Diversified Cabinet: During the eight years he was in office, Bush appointed the most diverse cabinet in history, up until now. Colin Powell, followed by Condoleeza Rice, was our country’s first African American Secretary of State; Alberto Gonzales, our first Hispanic Attorney General. Former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, who was born in Taiwan, is the first Asian American woman ever appointed to the cabinet. In a bizarre moment during the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Kanye West famously blurted out on live television, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” I beg to differ! It seems pretty clear to me that, while Bush may not care about poor people, in his own special Texan country way, he really isn’t a racist.
- Signs Gay Rights Law: I can barely believe it myself, but on December 23 Bush signed into law the the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008, which makes it mandatory for businesses to roll over retirement benefits to a same-sex partner in the event of the employee’s death. I imagine Dick Cheney was out having his annual cardiac arrest that day, because somehow this relative victory for gay rights passed without much controversy or discussion. The website GayPatriot.com, which describes itself as the Internet home for the gay conservative, goes as far as to suggest “by signing this into law, President George W. Bush has, by law, done more for gays than any other President in history.”
- …: Well, five things was actually fairly hard to come up with. I could be cynical and say the greatest thing, perhaps, that Bush has done is temporarily cripple the Republican Party, contributing to the Democratic success in the 2008 election. I could say, he’s done so much damage to this country the only direction we have left to go is upward. I could say that he created an atmosphere of political discourse unlike any other time in my generation. I guess, as far as 80% of the country is concerned, the best thing Former President George Bush ever did was wave goodbye, one final time.
Whole World Blind
Posted by zoboxrox in charity, crime, human rights, international, malfunction, politics on January 17th, 2009
All two of you who read this blog may have noticed I’ve remained pretty mum about the Gaza conflict these past few weeks. It wasn’t an accident; in such a messy and horrible situation, I just didn’t want to take sides. I have friends who live in Israel, friends who I love, friends who I don’t want to die. I also have Jewish blood running through my veins, I have an ingrained sense of our history, I share the deep pain of loss and devastation over the horrific trials we have faced. And as an American and part Gentile, I also have a feeling of guilt over the mistreatment, neglect, and genocide, throughout time, of the Jews.
And yet, it seems, the human side of me has overwhelmed these factors and I can no longer sit in silence, while my fellow people, our fellow world citizens, demonstrate a complete lack of humanity in their fight against the people of the state of Palestine. So here are my Top 5 facts, unbiased, cold, straight and without my input. I figure let them speak for themselves:
- Roughly 1200 Palestinians killed in Gaza over the past three weeks; 13 Israelis killed. (BBC)
- Of the 1200 Palestinians killed, 346 are children, over half are civilians; of the 13 Israelis, 3-4 are civilians, two have been killed by “friendly fire” (MSNBC)
- The area known as Gaza is a small strip of land on the Western edge of Israel that borders Egypt to the south. It has a population of nearly 1,500,000 and an area of approximately 139 sq miles or 360 sq km. This gives it a population density of 10,665 people per sq mile, which is equivalent to the fifth most densely populated country in the world; The country of Israel is roughly the size of New Jersey. It has a population of 7,282,000 and covers and area of around 8,500 sq miles or 22,000 sq km. This gives it a population density of 839 people per sq mile. (Wiki, Wiki)
- Nearly 1 million of the 1.5 million people living in Gaza are considered refugees by the UN. The refugee camps in the Gaza Strip have one of the highest population densities in the world. For example, over 80,688 refugees live in Beach camp whose area is less than one square kilometer. (UNRWA)
- Israel received $2.4 billion in “aid” from the US in 2008, virtually all of which went to defense. UNRWA (U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) received approximately $200 million. (America Gov)
This guy knows whats up. And says it much better than I.
‘Why I Blog’ or ‘Why Christmas is Sometimes Cool’
I saw this little non-news news item today and it really made me feel hopeful. Of course, I wanted to share it with you, my favorite people.
This is a happier story of one family whose financial ruin was averted by the actions of a friend, the compassion of strangers, the networking power of the Internet and the holiday spirit of giving.
“This is our Christmas story,” said Ebony Sampson. “It’s going to be told for generations and generations to come.”
Sampson, lives in Aberdeen, Maryland, with her husband, Daniel, and their two young children…
In June, Daniel got sick… he was suffering from salmonella. As a new employee of Bank of America, he had not accrued enough paid time off to keep his job…
Suddenly, the sole breadwinner in the Sampson household was out of work. Though the Sampsons received unemployment checks from the government, the money wasn’t enough to make ends meet…
First came the shut-off notices from the electric company. Then one of their cars broke down. One morning, Daniel woke up and looked out his bedroom window and saw his truck was missing. It had been repossessed.
With no job, no car and no income, the Sampsons got another surprise: Ebony Sampson learned she was eight weeks pregnant….
The Sampsons were notified that they were facing foreclosure unless they could come up with $10,000 in the next two weeks to bring their mortgage up to date….
Ebony Sampson called one of her oldest friends, Jaki Grier, and jokingly asked her if she had $10,000… A self-described geek, Grier started blogging years ago…she published Ebony and Daniel’s story, along with a link where people could make a donation….
Donations started pouring in. Within 24 hours, Grier’s blog had raised $1,000, far exceeding her expectations. People started linking to Grier’s blog from sites across the Internet and around the country.
Attorneys posted legal advice. Others in similar situations offered sympathy…
Four days after Grier’s blog post, she… was stunned to find the balance had ballooned to $10,900.
In the time it took Grier to take the donation link down from her blog, the balance had reached $11,032. In just five days, she had raised enough money to save her friend’s home. A Baltimore TV station, WBAL, caught wind of the story and put it on the air. Someone contacted Daniel Sampson and offered him a job interview.
“It’s a personal blessing. It’s a personal miracle. It makes you understand what the season is all about.”
Have I mentioned I need a new computer?!?
Here are some good options if you feel like giving back even just a little this season:
Happy Holidays.
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