Poverty Bridge

Last Wednesday, I had the chance to hear Dr. Donna Beegle speak about her new non-profit called Poverty Bridge, who's mission is providing opportunities for moving out of poverty. It was a very powerful experience for me, because I tend to get so focused on helping eliminate poverty "over there" in third world countries that I completely ignore the poverty right under my own nose in my neighborhood, my workplace, Oregon, and the U.S. as a whole. While I am privileaged and blessed and live in a wealthy country I think it is easy to become so unaware of issues that my fellow Oregonians face.

Since Poverty Bridge is just launching there are focused on five programs and services right now:
1. Opportunity Conference - which is designed for people currently living in poverty. This conference addresses issues of shame and isolation, while offering ways to empower and build hope and connections with Navigators, people who are available to help those in need get out of poverty.
2. Navigator Connections - a program designed to recruit and educate people who want to make a difference and help others out of poverty. Navigators agree to make a weekly phone call to Opportunity Conference participates for six months after the conference.
3. Research - focused on capturing what works for people who move out of poverty.
4. Authentic Voices Leadership Institute - a month-month curriculum for educating epople who have experienced poverty and who have succedded in breaking poverty barriers.
5. Making a Real Difference Website - a networking tool to help both Navigators and Opportunity Conference participants to connect with others involved to overcome issues and serve as a general database.

Sound like something you're interested in? Ask about being a Navigator or maybe make a donation. The Opportunity Conference is looking for items that can't be bought with food stamps, like soap and toothpaste, as well as fun prizes to be raffled off at the next Opportunity Conference on March 7, 2009!

Where have you seen poverty lately? Please comment!

Not getting political but...

Got this amusing email, just thought I would share it:

Dear Red States:

We've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. It may even include Florida and Ohio, they are seriously considering it. We've given them until Nov. 4th to decide. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country. Since we're dropping the middle states we're
calling it United America, or simply the U.A.

To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood. You can take Ted Nugent. We're keeping Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. You get WorldCom. We get Intel and Microsoft.
You get Ole' Miss. We get Harvard and 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama. We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms, and the highest concentration of pregnant unwed teenagers. Please be aware that the U.A. will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMDs turn up, really we do, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire. We'd rather spend it on taking care of sick people, and educating our children.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines, 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT. With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia. We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you crazy Redies believe you are people with higher morals then we Bluies..

Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico.

Peace out,
Blue States

Any thoughts? Or have the actual statistics for this?

Winter is Officially Here

"Adventure is the invitation to common people to become uncommon." - Warren Miller

Last night, my mother, brother, brother's roommate, 3/4 of the Quinn family and I went to see the newest Warren Miller movie downtown. It felt great being back in Oregon, hanging out with old ski buddies and reliving the days of being in middle school and running around the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall like manics.

After a bit of technical difficulty. Mom bought tickets for Saturday night instead of Friday night. So we had to buy tickets from people around us to get in so we were all spread out. The night began. For those of you who don't ski and don't have a clue who Warren Miller is. This was his 59th annual ski movie and each year he launches his newest movie tour in Portland, OR. His movies are the unofficial start of the ski/snowboard season. So last night at 8PM was the official start of winter.

I have to honest and say the movies have changed a bit, Warren Miller, with his comedic quotes like “If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your thing,” haven't been in the last couple of movies (granted I've miss a couple due to being in college) but I missed the last night. Last night they showed a whole section on a band and another section on moutain biking. Both were awesome but had little to do with skiing. The highlights of the movie include a fishing boat with a heli on the back, skiing in Iceland, and this sick jump over a highway with a fire truck in it. Can't get much better than that!

Skiing is one of the things I'm passionate about? What are you passionate about?

Little More on the Life Update

Got a couple of minutes to kill before heading to Bible Study. Which I don't think I've mentioned before. I joined a Bible Study run by Janette Green. The doctor at Houseboat camp and an AMAZING Christian woman. It is an all girl (or should I say woman?) Bible study that meets on Monday nights. Frank (FRANK - really loud and with a French accent) Janette's hubby makes us dinner and then we do our Bible Study. Right now we are studying prophecies, which isn't something I've ever spent much time on. So I'm learning a ton.

Today was also my first real day being unemployed. I didn't get much done though. I got up, started picking up the house because the cleaning people are coming tomorrow and our place is trashed (I did everything except my room - that is for after Bible Study), did a months worth of laundry, worked out, help my aunt load up her Hummer with all the stuff that didn't sell at the garage sale, did some research for my new part-time job (remind me to blog about that more), and applied for a couple of jobs from Craigslist. Hopefully, something will pan out.

That is basically my life. Oh, and the Red Sox lost last night. Let's not talk about it.

Life Update

It has been a couple days since I blogged. So I thought I would catch people up on my life. Here it goes:

1. I'm currently watching the Red Sox game - GO SOX! For those of you who have been gone somewhere. The series is tied 3-3, which means this is the final game. I'm hopeful that the Sox will win.
2. The garage sale went well this weekend. No rain, which was awesome. Sold a lot of stuff. Especially to this lady who came three different times! She was addicted I swear. I haven't done a garage sale since I was little (by that I mean my parents did the annual block one and I hung out until I got bored and went to play with the neighborhood kids). So it was interesting to experience this one. Between the people who drive by really slowly to see what I'm selling before they get out of their car, to the people who have to touch everything, to the people who have to get a deal. My aunt is coming to get the rest of the stuff tomorrow so it will be out of our house finally. (My mom can't wait!) I'm sure most of it will end up at Goodwill.
   
3. Friday was my last day a THPRD. It was an interesting week but not too painful. My supervisor even invited me out to lunch next Thursday. That should be interesting. I really hope they make changes there but for the most part I am extremely happy with my time there. It was just time for me to grow up and start acting like a real adult.
4. Speaking of acting like an adult. Diane Sexton, a girl in my Monday night Bible study invited me to a fundraiser for Pure Life Alliance at the MAC club on Saturday night. It was formal, so I got to play dress up. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot about sexual sin and how it affects not just one person, but their loved ones, families and friends. Did you know?

• The U.S. Customs Service estimates that there are more than 100,000 websites offering child pornography (which are illegal) worldwide.
  Red Herring Magazine, 1/18/02

• Hollywood currently releases 11,000 adult movies per year – more than 20 times the mainstream movie production.
  LA Times Magazine, 2002.

• 39 million homes receive the adult channels in scrambled form, while the number of children with potential exposure to such images is about 29 million
  Morality Continues to Decay. Barna Research Group, November 3, 2003.

• One in 4 American adults surveyed in 2002 admitted to seeing an x-rated movie in the last year.
  National Opinion Research Letter

• 55%: Percentage of Porn movie rentals vs. non-porn movies in hotels in 2005.
  AVN News, State of the Adult Industry

• The average time a porn movie is watched in a hotel room is 12 minutes.
  Time.com, 3-29-05

There are a bunch more statics like this at the Blazing Grace website.

What have you been up too?

What Matters?

Check out this website What Matters. Which discusses what matters most to our Earth right now. There are some amazing photographs! EVEN A FREE E-VERSION OF THE BOOK!

They also have a blog and a book for sale.

Also, check out the CNN article about children who work in Bangladesh recycling batteries.

What issues matter most to you?

Advent Conspiracy Promo Video

Just trying to spread the word on this issue. Pretty cool stuff! Care to join? Share your thoughts?

Garage Sale - THIS WEEKEND!

In an attempt to liquidate more of my aunt's boutique shop. I'm having a garage sale at my house this weekend.

Where: 16232 NW Joscelyn St. in Beaverton!
When: This Friday, 10/17 from 9AM-3PM & Saturday 10/18 from 9AM-3PM.

ALL BRAND NEW ITEMS! ALL MUST GO!

Items for sale include, tons of clothes, belts, bags. Children's toys. Large furniture items, wine rack, mirrors, etc.

Hope to see you there! Even if you don't need anything, stop by and visit me!

Silk Pajamas

While organizing my aunt's boutique shop I came across two boxes, roughly 50 pairs of silk pajamas. All woman's styles in various sizes and colors. Any suggestions on how I can sell them or donate them? Let me know. Thanks!

Two Week Notice

It's been awhile since I wrote about my life career wise. Here is a little update.

Today I turned in my two week notice at T.H.P.R.D. Where I have been lifeguarding on and off for the past six years. It is time I grow up and find a real job that utilizes my degree. Lifeguarding is a great job when your in high school or college but not after graduating. While I believe working there has given me great opportunities and a chance to grow up and practice my leadership skills. It was time for me to leave. For the last couple of months I've felt unappreciated and taken advantage of. If you want details call me and I'll let you know.

I've never turned in a two week notice before. Has anyone ever turned in a two week notice before? If so, how did it go?

As for now, I'm trusting God has bigger and better plans for me. Counting my blessing for my family and thus lack of major expenses.

So I'm back on the market. If anyone knows of any marketing, management or non-profit jobs that are available. Please let me know. Thanks!

AIDtoCHILDREN

One of my readers told me about an organization called AIDtoCHILDREN which has visitors answer vocabulary questions. For every right answer, AIDtoCHILDREN donates .25 cents to World Vision. I think this would be fun for an entire classroom to do.

Joys in Being Sick

Odd title I know. But for the past couple of days I've been fighting this sick/cold/flu thing. Basically my throat feels like there is a sand-papered covered grapefruit stuck in there. So if I talk for very long I loose my voice. My ears feel plugged up and I'm feeling overall sluggish. But in being sick I've realized two awesome things:

1. I'm thankful that I know sign language so I can still "sing"/worship at church yesterday morning!
2. I'm thankful that I love social media and can still keep in contact with "the outside world" while being stuck at home, through email, checking blogs, and facebook!

I also like that I can take cough medicine and sleep for 6 hours during the day and still get 9 hours of sleep at night!

Transitions Cambodia

In my previous post I asked people what they were doing to make a change in this world right now. And my good friend, Melinda Groth, wrote about how she supports an organization called Transitions Cambodia, which mission is to "empowering victims of sexual trafficking with the opportunity and processes to heal from the past, focus on the present, and pursue the future." They are working to accomplish this mission by using Transitional Homes. Each home is run by four full time staff members and 10-15 clients, helping the clients gain independence and learn adult living skills. Some of the benefits of this style of transitional home care, include: lower operating cost than institutional after care, low cost of housing, high staff:client ratio, increased focus on individual client needs, limited security risks, improved independence in clients, better social models for adult living, and relatively short program time (average lenght of stay one year with two years of follow up).

I really believe transitional housing is a great way to teach better living skills. Last summer I worked at Orphans Overseas' Community House, a transitional home for teen mothers. And I saw first hand how those girls were learning better life skills, from money management, self-esteem issues, and better parenting skills while living together with help from each other and the staff.

Oh, by the way, you can check out Transitions Global's Blog here!

Women of Vision for World Vision

This morning I attended Women of Vision 2008 Fall Kick-Off Event for World Vision at Sunset Presbyterian Church. I honestly did not know what I was getting myself into. I was attracted to an announcement in last Sunday's church bulletin. I'm passionate about non-profits and thought it would be fun to check it out. I also heard that some girls from my Bible Study were going so I was sold.

The first thing that caught my eye at the event was at each table setting there was a business card sized piece of paper that on the front said "Pray - Pray for at-risk youth." And on the other side it said:

"It is estimated that 2 million children, mostly girls, are enslaved in the global sex trade. These girls - and sometimes boys - may be required to service 15 to 20 customers per day."

That is up to 100 "customers" a week! That is outrageous!

I was glad to find out that World Vision has developed a targeted media campaign to deter would-be sex tourist in Cambodia, Coast Rica, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, and the United States.

This sign says "I'm not a tourist attraction. It's a crime to make me one."

There was a really great guest speaker, named Rory Anderson, who is the Deputy Director of Advocacy and Government Relations at World Vision and works in Washington, D.C. lobby for human rights. She spoke about why it is important to advocate. One of the reasons, is because it is important to God.

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." - Proverbs 31:8-9

The second reason, is because it is part of World Vision actual vision (duh!) to "Our vision for every child, life in all its fullness. Our prayer for every heart, the will to make it so." Anderson also talked about the two types of change, the change of our own will, and the change of other's will. This is done through advocacy. She pointed out three ways to change policies, money, media, and masses. And the worse thing is to do nothing!

The thing that I liked most about her talk was how she encouraged everyone there to become an advocate and write letters, emails, and make phone calls to their congressmen and women. How those letters, emails and messages will help educate them on issues they might not be aware of. This is something I definitely plan on doing on Monday and I encourage you to do that same. For more information/sample writing go here.

The really cool thing about the event was "A Citizen's Guide to Advocacy" notebook given to everyone who attended. In the book it outlines ways to get involved and advocate. One of the ways to get involved was "Online Social Networking," a personal passion of mine (if you haven't noticed yet). Encouraging people to use their bloggers, MySpace, and Facebook pages to inform friends and invite them to get involved with advocating as well.

Both my mom and I signed up to be Women of Vision partners in making a change in the world.

What are you doing to make a more positive change in this world?

Consignment Adventures

This morning, my friend Katie and I hit up Buffalo Exchange and Red Light Clothing Exchange. In hopes of getting rid of some of my aunt's clothing. We did have some success:

1. Sold some clothes.
2. Katie found a really cute purse for his sister's upcoming bday.

We also hit up some children consignment stores and failed miserably. One of the stores only offered in store credit and the other one did not offer consignment Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

Oh well!

Still have lots of stuff to get rid of. Let me know if you have any suggestions!!

Bentley College is Now...

"The Bentley Board of Trustees announced today that the college has received approval from the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education (MBHE) to change its designation and name to become Bentley University, effective October 2, 2008."

Do you know what that means? The 2008 graduates (aka 800+ of my friends and I) were the last class to graduate from Bentley College! Fun thing to ponder today. Had to update my resume though. So my resume will say I graduated from "Bentley University" however, my diploma says I graduated from "Bentley College." Maybe I'll have to explain myself...or maybe no one will notice.

Just wanted to post a fun college graduation picture. Here I am with my younger (but taller) brother, Kirk!

Green Ink Goes Pink for Breast Cancer

My family friend, Tara Green is the owner of a really cool custom announcements, invitation, and stationary company called Green Ink.

During the month of October Green Ink will be donating 25% of all sales to help advance breast cancer education and research. There are breast cancer cards for sale for only $16 for a box set of 20 cards. There is also a Holiday section so you can start picking out your 2008 Christmas cards!

Not only that, but Green Ink is also sponsoring Rachel Allen from San Diego, a 3 Day Walker, on the 3 day, 60 mile walk on November 21, 2008. So you an pay it forward without purchasing anything by visiting www.the3day.org and search for Rachel Allen. Help her reach her goal of $2,200.

Check Tara's store out and shop for a good cause.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

There will be an estimated 182,460 new cases of invasive breast cancer in women in the US in 2008 (and about 1,990 new cases in men). What can you do to help? Shop! Buy everyday items that support breast cancer research. Here are some suggestions from City of Hope:

• Office products from Newell Rubbermaid's "Pink @ Work"
• Avery pink and white binders with breast cancer awareness messaging
• MVW's Mead, At-A-Glance, Cambridge, Day Runner calendars and journals
• Innovera's white and pink Swarovski crystal-encrusted computer mouse
• Samsill binders with pink ribbon decor and breast cancer awareness messaging
• OfficeMax's in-store display featuring specially market leading office products
• Designer apparel line Lyric Culture's "I Will Survive" pink T-shirt and tank top
• Sutter Home's White Zinfandel "Capsules for Hope" program
• Brita's special pink ribbon-themed water pitcher
• Living Spaces Furniture "Sleep for the Cure" mattress set promotion

Anyone have any other suggestions?