Kaboom!'s Playground Love Contest

If you haven't heard about Kaboom!, they are one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the United States to dedicated to saving play for children. 

A little background

In August 1995, shortly after moving to Washington, D.C., 24-year-old Darell Hammond read a story in the Washington Post about two local children who suffocated while playing in an abandoned car because they didn’t have anywhere else to play. Darell realized this tragedy could have been prevented. The passion was born, the idea was conceived.

A formative childhood

Darell grew up with seven brothers and sisters at the Mooseheart Child City & School, a group home outside of Chicago. The Mooseheart community instilled in Darell the power of volunteerism and the importance of helping those less fortunate get a head start.

Planting the seeds

After attending community college and Ripon College, he helped lead the start-up of City Year Chicago. Under Darell’s leadership, 600 City Year volunteers built two playgrounds and more than 500 community volunteers joined the incredible day of service. Watching the volunteers take on their challenges in a fun and productive way, Darell realized that with organization, leadership, and minimal training, communities could make huge improvements to their neighborhoods and their lives.

It starts with a playground

Although not yet under the KaBOOM! name, the first KaBOOM! community playground build took place in October 1995, at Livingston Manor in southeast Washington, DC. KaBOOM! was officially founded in 1996 in the back of a deli in DC’s Adams Morgan neighborhood. Since then, KaBOOM! has raised more than $200 million, rallied a million volunteers, led the hands-on construction of over 2,000 playgrounds, and inspired a movement for the child’s right to play.

Contest:

This month they are asking parents to send in photos of the playgrounds they love for a chance to win great outdoor toys. 

To enter for a chance to win visit Kaboom's Facebook page and upload your picture. 

 

Deadline: February 19, 2013 - the last day for contest entries

Information for this post came from http://kaboom.org/about_kaboom/our_story

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UNICEF'S END TRAFFICKING PROJECT @EndTraffick @UNICEFUSA #EndTrafficking

UNICEF's newest Ambassador is Angie Harmon. As their Ambassador, Harmon is lending her support for the fight against child trafficking during Human Trafficking Awareness Month in January.

·         Harmon is appearing in Public Service Announcements to raise awareness about the issue of child trafficking, an inhumane and exploitative practice, and urge Americans to help end it. Part of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s End Trafficking project, the 15, 30, and 60-second PSAs will air in January. You can view and download the spot by following this link: http://bit.ly/HarmonTraffickingPSA.

·         An estimated 5.5 million children are victims of trafficking, an illegal enterprise that generates an estimated $32 billion in yearly profits. Human trafficking cases have been reported in every state in the United States. Rates are particularly high in California, Texas, Florida, and New York.

·         The U.S. Fund for UNICEF has launched The End Trafficking project to raise awareness about child trafficking and mobilize communities within the United States to take meaningful action to help protect children. In partnership with concerned individuals and groups, the initiative aims to bring us all closer to a day when ZERO children are exploited. To learn more about the End Trafficking initiative, visit: http://www.unicefusa.org/endtrafficking.

·         Social Media Guide

o   @EndTraffick @UNICEFUSA #EndTrafficking

o   http://www.facebook.com/UNICEF-USA

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Action Campaign: Tweet About World Polio Day

Today we'll be tweeting to spread the word about our partner Shot@Life's fundraiser to vaccinate 40,000 children against polio by Halloween. Also, the Gates Foundation has been on the front line of polio eradication for many years. Bill Gates wrote a great post today on Impatient Optimists about the importance of World Polio Day and how we can all help.

TWEET: Today, we have an opportunity to change history. Join the fight to #endpolio with @shotatlife http://bit.ly/VQjLcW #socialgoodmoms

TWEET: World Polio Day: A Day to Learn, Act, Donate by @billgates http://gates.ly/VoDUCa via @gatesfoundation #socialgoodmoms #endpolio

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Action Campaign: Join, Donate & Spread the Word About Catapult

Our good friends at Women Deliver and the Gates Foundation have today helped launch Catapult, a brand-new crowdfunding platform specifically for women and girls. They need our help to join teams and rally together to micro-fund programs that assist women and girls.

 

Please join me in welcoming Catapult to the global good community. And if you have a moment, please sign up as a team member on the Gates Foundation page and donate any amount - $5, $10, $25, whatever you like -- to fund wonderful projects that will help so many women and girls! The good news: 100% of all donations go to projects, not overhead!

 

TWEET: Join @gdarmsta's @WeCatapult team and raise money to fund projects for women and mothers. http://bit.ly/RRBQE8 #CATAPULT #socialgoodmoms
 

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Oxfam World Food Day Oct.16 #socialgoodmoms #globalteamof200

Oxfam America is an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. Together with individuals and local groups in more than 90 countries, Oxfam saves lives, helps people overcome poverty, and fights for social justice. They are one of the 17 affiliates in the international confederation Oxfam. While Oxfam specializes in helping communities realize individualized solutions to their problems, their work takes on universal themes. From community to community and region to region, they see people facing like challenges—and pursuing like solutions to their needs.

Oxfam has launched the GROW campaign to build a better food system: one that sustainably feeds a growing population (estimated to reach nine billion by 2050) and empowers poor people to earn a living, feed their families, and thrive. 

Why care about food justice?

One in seven people goes to bed hungry every night. Not because there isn't enough food, but because of deep imbalances in access to resources like fertile land and water. The power to control these resources sits neither with the billion-plus farmers who produce food, nor with the billions of consumers who eat it.

Instead, companies and governments control the global food system—and they often determine who eats and who doesn't.

A few facts on the deep imbalances in our food system:

•    Our planet produces enough food for everyone, yet nearly one billion of us (1 in every 7 people) still go to bed hungry.

•    About a third of the food produced for our plates ends up lost or wasted between farm and fork.

•    One pound of ground beef for your family uses more than 28,000 cups of water to produce—that’s enough to fill 20 bathtubs to the brim, and then some!

While this may seem overwhelming, there are many ways that we, as individuals, can make simple changes in the way we grow, cook, eat and store our food to be more sustainable.  So, as a special way to celebrate World Food Day, we’re asking people to:

•     Sign up to host a World Food Day dinner discussion. Oxfam has tons of free materials including a discussion guide, placemats, and recipe ideas from acclaimed chefs Jamie Oliver, Mary Sue Milliken, and others. Everything can be found at www.oxfamamerica.org/worldfoodday

•   Share GROW method recipes on Pinterest and we’ll add them to our GROW Method Cook Book (http://pinterest.com/oxfamgrowmethod)! Just tag your pin with #GROWmethod to add it.

•    Snap photos of your World Food Day meal on Instagram and tag them with #WFD2012, then check out our site (www.oxfamamerica.org/worldfoodday) to see photos from all over the world.

Other Links:

Oxfam America – World Food Day: www.oxfamamerica.org/worldfoodday

GROW Method: www.oxfamamerica.org/growmethod

World Food Day Discussion Guide (FULL of facts and figures):http://www.oxfamamerica.org/campaigns/publications/world-food-day-dinner-discussion-guide

GROW Method Pinterest Cookbook: www.pinterest.com/oxfamgrowmethod

GROW Method Facebook App: http://www.facebook.com/oxfamamerica/app_358645720874634

World Food Day Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/350242438397916/

Disclosure: I did not receive compensation for this post. It is a campaign that I believe in and want to share with my readers.

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Action Campaign: Pratham's "I Believe" Campaign: Educating Children in Need

Our newest partner, Pratham USA has launched a campaign to spread awareness about educating children in need in India in honor of UNESCO's International Literacy Day on September 8. Over 100 million children in India cannot read at grade level. Watch our latest one-minute video to learn more about the program. 

Pratham has created a wonderful toolkit for bloggers who would like to get more involved in spreading the message. They also have really great badges you can grab for your sidebar. If you do, email us at info@mombloggersforsocialgood.com and we'll promote your involvement!

In the meantime you can tweet awarness about Pratham's International Literacy Day below! You can also follow Pratham at @PrathamUSA.

Tweet: I believe every child should be in school and learning well. #IntlLitDay @PrathamUSA #socialgoodmoms

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Action Campaign: No Kid Hungry

Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign released a report this week that revealed startling statistics about children and hunger in the United States. According to the report:

 

• 3 out of 5 teachers say they have children in their classrooms who regularly come to school hungry
• 4 out of 5 of those teachers say these children come to school hungry at least once a week.
• A majority of teachers who see hunger as a problem believe the problem is growing.

 

They also released an infographic that shows the problem in full detail. You can see the infographic, share it with your readers, and see how you can help. Spreading the word about this problem to your networks is a great place to start!

 

 

 

Tweet: 3 in 5 #teachers say students regularly come to school hungry. You can help: http://bit.ly/O4jIHp #NoKidHungry #socialgoodmoms

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Action Campaign: Girl Up and Clean & Clear

We are thrilled to help our partner Girl Up spread the word about supporting girls' education in Guatemala. Please choose from the tweets below to help girls in need get an education.

Tweet: Buy 2 Clean & Clear products @Target & receive a free @GirlUp tote bag to support girls' education in Guatemala! ow.ly/cnLTI #socialgoodmoms

Tweet: Want to help make a difference while you shop? Find out how with @GirlUp and Clean & Clear! ow.ly/cnLTI  #socialgoodmoms 

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Action Campaign: Gates Foundation and Polio

This week the Gates Foundation published a great article about ending polio in Nigeria. Did you know there are only three countries with recent polio cases: Nigeria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan? Ending polio in these countries is within reach. Tweet this article if you're interested in spreading the word about polio eradication. 

Tweet: What It Takes to End Polio in Nigeria http://gates.ly/SXAgjq via @gatesfoundation #socialgoodmoms

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