charity: water

Sooooooooo, there is only a week left in April so i figured i'd better find a charity for this month.
Through various social media I became aware that fans of 30 Seconds to Mars are donating to charity: water to dig a well in the band's name.
How crazy is that?
One thing that i love, love about living right now is that there are opportunities for global community that simply didn't exist before.
Trust me, if i could have done some cool charity thing in the 80's in the name of Duran Duran, my little 14 year old self would have been all over it.
It just seems cool to me that people that don't know each other and will never meet can bond over what kind of music they enjoy and then do something with that community that isn't even music related.
After checking to make sure that this is indeed a real and reputable charity, i've decided to make charity: water the Nikiverse Charity of the Month for April. And what the heck, i'll even go through the 30 Seconds to Mars campaign cause it makes me smile.

National Red Cross Month

When i donated blood last week i found out that March is National Red Cross Month.
It seems appropriate that this month's charity should therefore be the Red Cross.
Consider donating time, money or blood - you never know when you might be the one in need.

you can have my money cause i'm not going in there

Diving into the Chesapeake Bay in January is crazy.
Insane.
Reckless.
Possibly even a little bit dumb.
But the Maryland State Police sponsors a very popular and well attended Polar Bear Plunge every year and i can support doing ridiculous things for charity.
Don't get me wrong, i'm not gonna get into that water even if it IS a La Nina winter; however, i will gladly send them my monthly charity budget for January. Especially since the money goes to Maryland Special Olympics.


Plunge on Polar Bears; plunge on.

the last day of Movember

Do we all know how much i hate facial hair?
I despise it.
There are some ethnicities and cultures where facial hair looks good on a man, but pretty much anyone with European genetic stock should just not bother, in my opinion, unless he is actually a Viking. And i really, really hate it when a guy tries to grow facial hair to look older cause you know what, you look like a young guy trying to look older - stop it.
Which is why it might shock some to know that i supported both male members of my team growing 'staches for Movember. If you haven't heard of it, in Movember, men grow mustaches to raise money and awareness for men's health issues, like prostate cancer. How can i not support prostate cancer awareness, even if it makes me cringe when i look at them?
However, i am very glad that tomorrow is shaving day because not only did my two do it, but two other members of the Education Department grew mustaches along with them. shudder
For more information, to make a donation or simply to laugh at them, you can find TM Chris' team under TSP and Friends.

Help Hospitalized Veterans

It seemed only right that my November charity should be for a veterans' organization.
There are several different ones that i have been involved with in the past, but my favorite has always been Help Hospitalized Veterans. For over 40 years, they have been supplying veterans in VA hospitals with craft kits. It seems like such a simple -almost silly- thing, but the kits give the patients something to do, a way to pass the time and can be therapeutic for injuries involving the hands or brains.
They are also a tangible and real thing that a patient can hold in his or her hands and know that someone somewhere cares that they are in the hospital.
You can send a card with your donation and i have received several heartfelt thank-you postcards in return.
This month's donation will go to sending craft kits and kind thoughts to soldiers who will be in the hospital over Christmas, which honestly makes me smile.

The Shine Project

I like reading other people's blogs; i enjoy seeing slices of other lives. Recently, i added The Shine Project to the my blogroll because i find the writer Ashley inspirational. She issues challenges to her readers to make the world a little better in tangible ways. She tries to be creative and foster imagination in others. I like that. I like that she is making real changes in the world, not just talking about it.
In fact, her current project is to raise $20,000 to help kids from a city school where she volunteers to go to college. She started a change4change drive, is donating some of the proceeds from her vintage clothing store and handmade necklace line and is hosting a fund-raising event at the end of this month. I found the blog too late to do a change4change jar, which would have been cool, so instead i am sending my 50 cents per day for charity to her this month.
It is amazing to me that in this huge world, every little thing we do can affect change.
Really.

Cancerpalooza

Strange post title, huh? You'll understand soon.
My friend from college, Bruce, is currently doing battle with melanoma.
And it is a battle; melanoma has one of the lowest recovery rates and the treatments are often as brutal as the disease itself.
But in true Bruce-style he is using humor as both a shield and a weapon. He has named his cancer Humperdink and relates every step of his treatment to The Princess Bride or another pop culture reference.
He is the youngest person trying a radical, experiemental therapy.
He is not going quietly into the night.
Which is exactly what i would expect from him.
I had decided a few weeks ago that this month's Charity of the Month was going to be something having to do with Bruce, but i couldn't decide between a national foundation or his specific treatment facility or Caring Bridge, where he maintains his journal. But then he made the decision for me by posting a zazzle link to buy various wares emblazened with Bruce's FIGHT logo:

This is a different sort of CoM for me. It's not really a charity per se, but I feel like money going directly to help with his family's bills right now is the right answer. As always, there is a link in the sidebar if anyone feels compelled to explore his store, which is called Cancerpalooza.
And if you'd like to read more about Bruce, his battle or his experimental treatment, it can be found here.
Fight on, Johara Trebb, fight on!

this is freakin' America, people; no one should be going hungry

The food we drop off of the roof at work is over-ripe and not really fit for human consumption most of the time. But still, i harbor a little niggling feeling about it inside, so the Charity of the Month is going to be the Maryland Food Bank.
Now since you might have noticed that there are indeed only 2 days left in this month, i've decided to double up on this charity and send both the July and August allotment.
A tiny bit of guilt goes a long way in the Nikiverse.
They take monetary donations, of course, but in cruising around the site i found this cool option to do a virtual food drive where you send money to buy specific foods. I've never heard of such a thing and you know how much i enjoy the new so i think that's the way i'm gonna go.
Time to virtual shop!

because the need is constant

I figure one-third of the way through the month i should get around to choosing a June charity. This was the first month that i didn't have one already picked out from the beginning.
hmmmmmmmm... i thought. There are plenty of worthy charities around, including ones i've supported in the past, but nothing jumped right out at me.
As I was poking around it seems to me that there have been a lot more natural disasters recently. I mean, i'm not sure if there really ARE more or if in our age of instant and constant information we are just more aware of them.
Anyhoo, anytime there is a major disaster it seems like the Red Cross is in the forefront of relief. I know they get great donations in times of crisis, but i wonder if monetary donations, like blood donations, drop off when there aren't pictures plastered everywhere in peoples' faces.
Sooooo, it seems like now would be a good time to throw my 1500 cents into the pile. The donation page for the American Red Cross, which can be accessed from my sidebar, has a minimum donation of $10, but i really like that you can earmark how you'd like your donation to be used. 

I believe in miracles

Mayhaps you recall that one of my best friends from college had preemie twins, born at only 27 weeks gestation:

This past weekend, James and Matthew celebrated their second birthday.

The Nikiverse's May charity will be the UNC Children's Hospital in honor of them. For boys who did not have the best chance at survival in the beginning they have certainly turned out to be rambunctious toddlers, whose adventures can be followed here. This miracle is in no small part due to their stay at one of the best NICUs (neonatal intensive care units) in the country. I was very impressed with the facility when i visited them about a month after they were born and hope that my tiny donation will help other families come home healthy and happy.
Happy Belated Birthday to the boys and Well Done to Mike and Mel!

a quick breather

I'm taking a quick break from finishing title cards for tomorrow's show and thought i'd drop in to say HI to the Nikiverse; i feel like its been forever since i spent any real time writing here, but i am delighted with all the new experiences i'm having in the world. Okay, delighted might be a bit strong for some of those challenges, but i am certainly not bored!
Here's what's going through my mind right now:
- i think i am going to forget about finishing the painting for tomorrow and do a collage instead
- i want to have at least 8 new cards for the show as well
- i never posted the pictures of my vendor's table at the scrapbooking crop last month; i realized yesterday that i inadvertently deleted those pictures from my camera; i just got confirmation from my dad that he found copies on his computer from when i was at his house
- the butterfly sunglasses on my birthday purple pony look a little like blinders; it's kinda freaking me out
- my teeth taste like lunch; i need some gum but don't have any in my desk
- Pat Benatar really had a lot of hits; her voice is awesome
- i wonder if i should print the artist list on colored paper; white is just so... so... white
- i need to get something for the refreshment table and pull my pretty pitcher to have an extra water pitcher
- do i have time for a quick nap?
- i like showing in the exhibition and i like helping to set up the exhibition, but i think doing both for the same exhibition might be a bit too much
- i went to an Orioles game Thursday night with people from work, including the 2 TMs who are leaving in the next weeks, but forgot to take any pictures... sigh...
- maybe i should finish that painting instead of the collage
- i have a chance to do a jewelry display at an upcoming national yard sale thing and can't wait to finish the line of recycled rings i have been working on
- i need to get some ring blanks
- and more metal glue
- wait; don't think about the jewelry show; you've got to finish the art show first
- i haven't changed my quote this week; but this is the first time i've missed it this year
- ohhhhh, i haven't named a May Charity yet, either; dangit!
- 17 hours till i need to start setting up the exhibition; 22 hours until the door opens
- ducklings are adorable, but shouldn't hang out in parking lots

 

- enough break young lady; back to it

Come visit me at the 2nd Annual Catonsville Art Exhibition from noon to 5 tomorrow (Sunday May 15, 2011) at the Bloomsbury Community Center in Catonsville. I will have 1-3 pieces exhibited and we'll all be surprised which ones make the cut.

because someone should do it

The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life has its Catonsville run/walk on June 11th this year. I think it is a great event to get the whole community thinking about health and service at the same time.
Someday i will participate.
But today is not that day.
Today i am too lazy.
However, i am not too lazy to send this month's $15 from the Nikiverse Charity Coffer to Relay For Life, via my friend Nathan's page.
Walk on, Nathan; walk on.
Thanks for doing your part and for giving me the chance to do my much smaller and easier part, too.

How often do you even think about your pancreas?

As i have mentioned before I have not one, but two friends whose mothers are battling pancreatic cancer at the same time.
In one way or another both Cass and Ginny have played mother to me over the past few years since my own mommy is 1000 miles away.
In honor of their brave battles, this month's charity in the Nikiverse will be the Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center at Johns Hopkins, here in Baltimore. For information about general donations by check go here and for credit card donations go here; there is a way to indicate that the donation is for the Pancreatic Research Center either way. Here's hoping my $15 can make a difference and best wishes to these awesome ladies:
 
Cass and Kate with Dashiell; Ginny and Erin

oceans are made of drops

I'd like to believe that most people are interested in helping those around them; that in a world where we are constantly trying to Look Out For Number One we are also quietly looking out for others as well. That's why places like the Hunger Site, the Rainforest Site, the Child Health site, the Literacy Site, the Breast Cancer Site, the Animal Rescue Site and Free Rice exist.
Over Christmas i read about a guy who decided to give up his daily coffee and donate that money to a different charity every day; his journey is documented at Living Philanthropic and it gave me pause.
Could i do something like that?
I've been thinking, budgeting, researching and am heartened to see that there a lot of people in the blogosphere trying to make a difference, from Philanthroper which allows people to donate $1 a day to various place to Everyday Philanthropist who blogs all sorts of ways to be a giver.
 But what can a girl who works at a non-profit do?
I don't drink expensive coffee or eat out for lunch; there is no fat in my budget to be trimmed. I can't find $5 a day or even $1 a day.
But i still want to do something.
Even something little.
 I mean, even a tiny bit is more than nothing, right?
If I move a few things around in the budget, take a little cut here or there, certainly i can find 50 cents a day. Soooooo, i am putting the charity line item back in my budget at $15 a month. I'll post on my blog where the money is going to go every month so that if any of you have been wondering how you can make a difference with your two dollars, you'll have an easy suggestion.
Last week a friend and co-worker from Objects Found lost his battle with colon cancer. In honor of Tony, this month's donation will be going to the Susan Cohan Kasdas Colon Cancer Foundation. Donations of $5 and higher can be made right on that site; donations smaller than $5 can be dropped off at Objects Found. It might only be a drop in the bucket, but a bunch of drops make an ocean, right?