makehope

...the news today Oh Boy! No Beatles music for charity after all.

(no what if) 

Everyone must think I'm nuts! A dreamer. Responding to my original post --  I heard "You can dream", a blogger friend said politely "...its a bit of a stretch" and I won't even tell you what my friends and family said!

Thing is they are 99.9% right. There isn't going to be a Apple Core Foundation. The Beatles aren't going to donate their music to charity -- of course not. Its the dreaming part that gets me - have we become so jaded, so dreamless that we can't believe that since the Beatles could give it all away that they might in fact give it all away?

If we can't fathom someone like the Beatles doing something like this, then tell me how do we go about believing we can end hunger, cure down syndrome, multiple sclerosis, alzheimer's or diabetes? Or are we dreaming? I myself am a little disappointed -- what if friends and family had thought bigger? my blogger sphere debated the idea? blogged about it? Sir Paul and Mr. Starr heard about it and thought remarkably...what if?

What if we all think and dream bigger, much bigger!

Some DID and we DO have a man on the moon, no polio, light bulbs, a bloodless Belfast, and a kazillion songs in your pocket...Someone told me "You can Dream"....know what,  You can too!

World Vision, hunger and the neighbor's kids!

In this installment of my ground hog day series. A story. Two neighborhood kids Nick and Emily knocked on my door and made a nice pitch for a donation to World Vision -- 4 stars at Charity Navigator by the way!! I gave 'em $20 bucks each.

This is the second year Nick will fast for 30 hours in support of the 30,000 children who DIE each DAY from HUNGER.
This is the second year Emily will fast for 30 hours in support of the 30,000 children who DIE each DAY from HUNGER.

UPDATE: Her Mom points us to Emily's appearance in the 30 Hour Famine video, nicely accompanied by ColdPlay.

Its been 14 days, 2 weeks since my last post on hunger -- time flies ya' know
So...that's about 420,000 children who have died since the last post -- oh and add 30,000 today and again on Monday.
Thank you Nick and Emily!

leadership = initiative

Micah Davis, wants my URL foodforethought.com and if he keeps posting beautiful essays like The most underrated attribute of leadership, I may just have to let him have it!

The natural inclination would be to add 2 cents to Micah's distillation -- to add another attribute or two even -- bloggers as we are. But you know I think he got it right. So rather than add I will complement with recent words from Seth Godin...

99% of the time, in my experience, the hard part about creativity isn't coming up with something no one has ever thought of before. The hard part is actually executing the thing you've thought of.

In the end the good stuff is in the hard part(s).

turn your water buffalo into a purple cow

Actually charities, non-profits and the like sell products like everyone else. Abstract as they may be hope, comfort, support, service and trust are products nonetheless. Charity Navigator is one organization that does a nice, fair job evaluating charity products. They look at a NP's "operational efficiency" determining how much it costs to deliver the hope, support etc. you just paid (donation) for.

The reason all this comes up today is a recent post by Nedra Weinreich in her blog Spare Change. In part she says,

As much as I like the approach that Heifer International takes in helping donors to understand concretely what their donations pay for, others feel that the organization is being dishonest. The fine print states that the funds do not actually go toward buying a specific animal for a specific family, but are allocated as the organization sees fit. I don't have a problem with this, since I assume that the prices in the donation include administrative costs, and the money within the organization is fungible.

I don't think it is a question (here) of dishonesty....

Beatles music online ~ 100% to charity, imagine!

This made me think of this and that  revisiting my post from January 2007...

What if...
Today the surviving members of the Beatles, Paul and Ringo wives Yoko and Olivia announced the creation of The Apple Core Foundation. Together Apple Inc. and Apple Corps. will fund this foundation to benefit (insert cause). Starting today the complete Beatles digital music library will be available exclusively on iTunes. Further the lads from Liverpool signed a 100 year grant whereby 100% of all proceeds from the Beatles music sold on iTunes will go to the Apple Core Foundation to battle (insert cause) until it is defeated. Apple Inc. will distribute the music on iTunes at no cost to the project.

Imagine (that)

• A remarkably bold and sticky move? Yes.
• A global gift generational in scope? Yes.
• A beautiful nod to George and John? Yes.
• A permanent and poignant legacy? Yes. 
• A chance to buy great music and give back? Yes.
  

So you say it could never happen because its only about the money and I say it absolutely could happen because after all its only about the money.

groundhog day again

Sorry I missed a couple of days so it's...
120,000 the past couple of days
30,000 tomorrow
30,000 on Tuesday

Start here with my friend Nedra's point to the
American Anti Slavery Group. Donate right on her blog and make a difference. Today, Now, GO!

Hurry!
(and to answer your question re. donating, I did)

                                                                                                 

can Cingular think different?

This
technology is going to change the world*, profoundly.

*Until that bastion of customer service AT&T/Cingular screws it up, likely!

Thing is Apple Computer Inc.'s magic was never really in the technology. It was the usability stupid. iPods play music so do other mp3s -- so what! Yet the iPod plays over 64% of portable music and I predict done RIGHT the iPhone will be carrying a similar % of conversations. Whoa!

But beyond me as to why ($) Mr. Jobs would risk his and Apple Computer Inc.'s reputation by partnering with a leader in customer dissatisfaction. For God's sake don't let a frumpy CEO ruin your "applelegant" Keynote by reading ad nauseum some putzy speech, from cards no less!

Clearly NOT Made to Stick.

Is this what we are to expect from the new Apple Inc.....

it's kinda like groundhog day, kinda

I suppose today is pretty much the same as yesterday -- 30,000 again more or less.
I didn't do much 'bout it, did you?

Since "A journey of A thousand miles begins with A single step." Lao-tzu


Here's one first step

profound. prolific. poignant.

Profound, prolific and poignant. His Hard Work another homer!

Seth Godin is arguably one of if not the best "business&life" thinkers thinking today.

Seth is an internet treasure and the bulk of his stuff is free! Remarkable indeed.

Buy Purple Cow and get started, today, now, GO!! 

30,000 yesterday, 30,000 today, 30,000 tomorrow...

30,000 yesterday
30,000 today
30,000 likely tomorrow

what = children dying

Jeff Brooks at Donor Power points out this chilling fact. So what am I, you, we doing about this? What did we do yesterday, today, tomorrow?

Better Hurry!