Friday, May 17, 2013

charity fridays: organizations worth supporting

Apologies for not posting much this week. Between my crazy work schedule and my laptop dying unexpectedly (eep...) I haven't been able to post much. Now I'm slowly painstakingly typing this out on my husband's Galaxy tab.

Anyway, enough about my tech woes. For this week's Charity Friday, here are some organizations advocating for great causes that I think are worth supporting.
  • Jer's Vision: I met Jeremy at a birthday dinner once, but I'd heard of him long before. As a teenager, while the rest of us were angsty about homework, parents, and our prom date, Jeremy was fighting with his high school about the right to start up a LGBT-postive club at school, resulting in a human rights complaint, and one of the largest human rights settlements in Canadian history. What did he do with the money? He started up Jer's Vision, a non-profit organiztaion to eliminate bullying, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of discrimination in schools and the community. It's an inspiring story - but then,  Jeremy himself is quite inspiring. Donation page here.
  • (Ottawa) Hollaback!: This is a very creative initiative to raise awareness about street harassment. People post their stories about being harassed - intimidated, cat-called, called a racial slur, groped - in the safety of a supportive community, thanks to the availability of mobile technology. It's a really interesting project, with local bases in each city.  Donation page here.
  • Leave Out Violence: My friend Leila let me know about this project. She's on the board of directors for this organization, as if she wasn't busy enough being a lawyer. This organization is based in Toronto and is devoted to fighting youth violence. Check it out! Just keep im mind that the website is http://leaveoutviolence.org/ and NOT love.org like I originally tried...that is a completely different website.

I'm still participating in the 30×30 challenge to spend 30 minutes outside every day for 30 days! Which isn't always easy, considering sometimes we have snowstorms. In May.

Day 3: On your next walk, stop to smell the flowers

what flowers

Day 4: Outdoor picnic in -30°C weather at the ruins of the old stone church