It's my 30th Birthday!

I'm 30! I know it's a milestone, but I'm donating my big day to something that needs the attention even more than I do.

What I REALLY want you to pay attention to today is rhino poaching. I've had the absolute pleasure of meeting and interacting with some rhinos in person and was instantly enamored with them. It breaks my heart to know that if poaching continues at the rate it's happening now, these gorgeous animals will be completely gone from this planet in just a few short years. In 2013, more than 946 rhinos were poached for their horns, making it the deadliest year on record for rhinos. Time is running out fast!

With that in mind, I set up this donation page. I'm asking you to please take a look and consider donating to Save the Rhino International, an organization working to protect rhinos in the wild.

Fundraising Websites - Crowdrise

I'm asking you, my cherished friends and family to please PLEASE take a moment to look at some of the information I've posted below about rhino poaching, and donate what you can to my campaign. I'm so lucky to already have your love and support, and it's proven to be all I need to be really really happy in this life. What I really want you to give me for my birthday this year is this gift for these animals.

If you need more incentive than knowing that you're contributing to rhino conservation, Crowdrise is offering each donor a chance to win some really great prizes just for donating. If you donate at least $24, you'll be entered to win an iPad Mini, which I hear is pretty groovy. Click here for a look at the rest of the prizes you'll have a chance at winning just by donating to this very worthy cause.

Other Ways to Help

Besides financial support, I think the most important thing that you can give to the effort to save the rhino is a voice. The more information about what is happening in Africa spreads, the more support the effort will have. So please, share this and other videos about rhino poaching with your friends and family. Write to local politicians, sign petitions, and do more research on your own.

Spread the word, and please don't forget to donate. Thank you for already making this birthday so great!

Rhino Poaching Info

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Further Reading

• http://www.stoprhinopoaching.com/
• http://www.savetherhino.org/
• http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_rhinos/
• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/02/130227-rhino-horns-poaching-south-africa-iucn/
• http://globalnews.ca/news/1085626/south-african-rhino-poaching-deaths-nears-1000-in-2013/
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/southafrica/10528085/South-African-rhino-poaching-deaths-nears-1000.html

Best in Crowdfunding: October 2013

The True Cost

The major issue that I've come to care the most about over the past year is the fast fashion industry. I'd already started seeking out more eco-friendly apparel, when the Rana Plaza collapse happened in Bangladesh, killing over 1,100 garment factory workers. It was then that I realized that there was something even more important that the eco-friendliness of my clothes: their human-friendliness. Since then, I've completely changed the way I shop for clothing. I talk about fast fashion to anyone who will listen, and am constantly encouraging my friends and family to make better shopping choices. It's so important to educate people about the fast fashion industry, and its affect not only on the treatment of factory workers, but on the environment as well. This filmmaker is working to do just that. I hope you'll watch the trailer, below, and support this project.
Campaign Goal: $75,000
Deadline: November 11
Platform: Kickstarter

You and Who makes the "Goodest T-Shirt Ever!"

I can barely contain my excitement about this campaign! You and Who, a Buffalo-based t-shirt company has been around for a few years now. Their shirts are designed by some really talented artists from all over the country. For every shirt they sell, they donate another one to an organization in the artist's city. Until now, their shirts have been manufactured overseas. Founder Dan Gigante was really affected, much like I was, by the tragic garment factory collapse that occurred in Bangladesh earlier this year. He decided to make a major change and to start working with domestic manufacturers. This campaign will help him make that happen. It's no secret that I'm skeptical of the Buy-One-Give-One business model, but You and Who is definitely an exception! They are a great company doing wonderful things, and I'm proud to say that I know Dan personally. I'm thrilled about this project, because it's educating people about garment factory working conditions, and because it's coming from a Buffalo company! Contribute now to help prevent more garment factory tragedies, and get some really awesome t-shirts in the process
Campaign Goal: $25,000
Deadline: November 11
Platform: IndieGoGo

Conscious Step: Socks That Solve Social Problems

Here's another fashion-related project that is pretty great. The creators behind this one just want you to buy some socks. When you do, the proceeds will go to the cause associated with the sock design you choose. Causes include providing clean water to school children in Nepal, and planting trees in Ghana. The sock designs are all really fun, and of course I absolutely love the fact that they're manufactured in fair trade conditions. They're going to make some really unique gifts for the wonderful men in my life this holiday season!
Campaign Goal: $20,000
Deadline: November 7
Platform: IndieGoGo

Proceeds from Conscious Steps socks will benefit a variety of causes.

Give to Kenya's Wildlife Foundation

This project addresses a very complex situation arising in and around Nairobi, Kenya. It is a rapidly developing city, surrounded by poor farming families. Land development is forcing wildlife to share space with livestock farmers. The farmers, who depend on their livestock to feed their families, kill predators like lions and leopards. Meanwhile, they're selling portions of their land to developers, usually to pay tuition costs for their children. So the land for the wildlife is getting smaller and smaller, and poor families are still struggling to both feed and educate their children. The Wildlife Foundation has come up with a great solution through the Conservation Lease Program. They ask farmers and landowners not to sell their land to developers, or to kill predators like big cats. In exchange, the farmers receive a stipend that they may spend as they choose. Most often, the money is spent on education. It's a win-win-win. Farmers get to keep their land, wildlife is safe, and children receive an education.
Campaign Goal: $50,000
Deadline: November 13
Platform: IndieGoGo

The conservation lease program protects wildlife like lions.

Educate Yourself About Palm Oil

Face Palm to Palm Oil

Palm oil is pretty nasty stuff. It doesn't offer much nutritional value, but is commonly used in over 50% of manufactured food products as well as health and beauty products. The problem with the stuff is how it's harvested. In order to harvest palm oil, referred to as "liquid ivory," you have to cut down a palm tree. In order to manufacture enough palm oil to meet the current global demand for it, you have to annihilate an entire rainforest. And that is exactly what palm oil manufacturers are doing. The affects on the rainforests of Indonesia have been absolutely catastrophic.

The deforestation has affected not only the animal and plant populations of the region, but also the native peoples who live in and depend on the rainforest for their way of life. The population most devastated by the palm oil industry though, has been the orangutans. In just the past 20 years, over 90% of the orangutans' natural habitat has been destroyed.

The palm oil industry may lead to the extinction of orangutans in the wild.
Image courtesy of saynotopalmoil.com.

Small Things We Can Do

There are lot of things we can all do to help the effort to stop deforestation by the palm oil industry. You can sign petitions, contact manufacturers, donate, or adopt an orangutan. The easiest thing to do is stop buying products with palm oil in them.

I see palm oil showing up in the ingredient lists of even some of my favorite organic and eco-friendly (even "cruelty-free") beauty, health, and food products. The stuff is everywhere and tricky to avoid. Here are a few lists that I'm using to help me eliminate palm oil from my home.

• EthicalConsumer.org has compiled a list of products that are free of palm tree oil. They also provide an email address so that consumers can help add to the list. Check out their palm-oil-free list here.
• Care2 has a list on their website of some of the many brands and products that do use palm oil. Here's the list of products to avoid.
• World Wildlife Fund (WWF) created a Palm Oil Buyers Score Card to help educate consumers about how certain brands are using palm oil. It was created in 2011 and focuses mostly on European companies.
  
•  The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has created a guide of products containing palm oil that was harvested sustainably. It contains brands that can be found around the globe.
• Palm oil can be sneaky. It disguises itself on ingredient lists, hiding behind names like "vegetable oil" or  "stearic acid." Here's a list of names palm oil can be labeled under.

There are also a lot of online petitions that you can sign; urging retailers, manufacturers, and politicians to stop using, selling, or harvesting palm oil. Here are just a few of them.

• Rainforest Action Network's petition urges Cargill, the largest importer of palm oil to the U.S. to implement new safeguards for the protection of wildlife throughout the company's harvesting process. (RAN has a whole page of online actions worth signing.)
• The Green Palm petition supports a sustainable method of palm oil harvesting.
• This petition on Change.org urges the makers of Nutella to stop using palm oil in their product. This one is a total bummer because that stuff is so tasty! Luckily, there are a lot of versions of recipes online so you can make your own!

If you're interested in learning more about palm oil harvesting, or you want to get more involved, I urge you to visit the Say No To Palm Oil website. You can also check out the recommended reading, below.

Here's a video of a piece that was actually featured on NBC Nightly News all about how the palm oil industry is destroying the natural habitat of orangutans, and what we can do to help.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Further Reading

• http://www.sumatranorangutan.org/
• http://redapes.org/adopt
• http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-to-stop-buying-palm-oil-and-help-save-the-orangutans.html
• http://www.wri.org/project/potico
• http://www.cosmeticsdesign.com/Formulation-Science/The-hidden-destroyer-palm-oil-demand-increases-deforestation-and-carbon-dioxide-emissions 
• http://menlopark-atherton.patch.com/groups/schools/p/stanford-palm-oil-demand-drives-borneo-deforestation
• http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/1984027/palm_oils_forgotten_victims_sumatran_elephants_suffer_in_rush_for_liquid_ivory.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facepalm

Update 7/30/2013
The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) has a great Problem with Palm Oil Fact Sheet.

The Big Chew in Erie County

Here in Western New York, November 6th is The Big Chew! So after you do your civic duty and VOTE today, go out for dinner and help animals. Today when you dine at a participating restaurant or business, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the SPCA of Erie County!

 

 

Click here for more information and a list of participating vendors.

Help by Gaming

I'm not big into video games. My inner- (okay outer) nerd is into enough dorky stuff. But a lot of people love playing games online, and that's great. Here are a few games that let you help worthy causes just by playing!

• Free Rice is a vocabulary game that donates rice to those in need through the World Food Programme.
• Games that Give offers a whole list of games you can play, all of which let you give to charitable organizations by playing.
• Joy Kingdom lets you allocate money to organizations that help animals. Ellen Degeneres helped to develop this one.
• WeTopia is a Facebook game that helps real children while you play.

Where Does the Money Really Come From?

These games cost nothing to play, so who's actually donating? From what I can tell, the giving structure for these kinds of games is pretty simple. Advertisers pay money to have their ads featured on the game pages, or other sponsorship and marketing platforms, and that money pays for the games' development and the donations. So really when you're playing, you're just telling the advertisers where to donate their money. I'd prefer that the donors just give the money outright, but from a marketing perspective I can see that it's a great way to connect with an audience to increase awareness about a brand's charitable giving. Sojo Studios is the developer behind both WeTopia and Joy Kingdom. According to this article from Kotaku,

"Sojo's formula is pretty simple. Half of the profit from in-game purchases and advertising revenue is applied towards the various charities. Through choices made in game, you decide how your portion of that is distributed." 

And the Games that Give website states "GamesThatGive combined gaming with charitable giving to create the leading platform for engaging brands' customers in charitable activities."

Not into games either?

Care2's click to donate programs are even simpler. You literally just click to allocate funds to certain organizations. I like to add the links to my various online profiles and email signatures to encourage people to click!

Small Ones Surround Us Every Day

"Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day."  -Sally Koch

Welcome to Small Ones Surround Us. I'm here to share small steps I'm taking, and steps I hope readers will take, to make every day a little bit better for people, animals, and the planet. That means seeking out responsible fashion, buying and cooking food that's better for us and the planet, and teaching others about how they can make small changes of their own.

Sometimes small changes locally can have an impact on big changes globally, so occasionally my posts will be specific to my hometown of Buffalo, but everything I share is about making small changes that affect the big picture. I'm slowly making adjustments to my lifestyle that I hope are making every day better for our planet, our fellow man, and our animal friends.