Archive for ‘Good people/services’

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February 8, 2012

Austin: Must Go! Studio Sale Raven + Lily

Austin-based Raven + Lily is a lifestyle brand featuring jewelry, paper goods and bath products that are produced by women in developing world communities. Raven + Lily recognizes that 70% of the world’s poorest people are women and have dedicated themselves to empowering women through design partnerships and sustainable economic opportunities.

Today and tomorrow, you can shop these beautiful designs marked 50-70% off, OR hit up the $5 and $10 bins.  Their current collection features products made by their partners in India and East Africa. You could get sweet wooden bangles or a cool charm necklace …

 

I love that a local company is creating opportunities for women and sharing beautiful jewelry, journals, and bath products! Go check out the shop!

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February 8, 2012

Austin: Grounded in Music with Jack Ingram and Hayes Carll

Austin organization Grounded in Music’s annual benefit concert (past coverage here) is Wednesday, February 15th at the Gibson Guitar Showroom. Longtime Grounded in Music supporter Jack Ingram (I got to meet him when he helped open a recording studio at the Boys & Girls Club) and Hayes Carll are co-headlining the event.

Tickets are $35 and $50 at frontgatetickets.com. The event will help raise funds for GiM’s growing music education program in the Boys and Girls Clubs of Austin. Grounded in Music’s students are taught a variety of  skills in musicianship, which range from writing lyrics, playing instruments, and exploring other areas  of the music industry. Statistics show that students  who are involved in music programs early in life perform better academically in the areas of math and  reading. The data also shows that students score higher on the SATs in the areas of math and verbal,  regardless of their socio-economic background.

“Grounded in Music has a very simple mission: to leverage the power of music to transform young lives by creating self-confidence, opportunity and hope. These kids are learning that they can do anything they set their mind to and developing the confidence to push themselves to achieve things they never thought they could,” said Joe Stallone, Grounded in Music’s Founder.

“Some of the  kids in the program have a hard shell to crack,” remarks Michael Longoria, Grounded in Music’s  Program Director. “But as we mentor, teach, and share with them, the music dissolves that shell.”

Posted in Going Out, Good people/services, Music | Leave a Comment »

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February 5, 2012

Austin: CB&TL Supports Wonders & Worries with Wristband

The everybody-wins Wristband program is back at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.  This time, they’re supporting Wonders & Worries, an Austin based non-profit which provides family services in coping, to children who have a parent with a chronic or life-threatening illness. Check out this video for more.   This is an intelligent and caring group of people who are filling an astounding gap in the emotional journey of family illness.

wonders worries coffee bean

Support is super simple: for a minimum donation of $1 at any of the seven Austin cafes, you receive a Coffee Bean / Wonders & Worries Wristband.  The proceeds from your donation go directly to Wonders & Worries.  In exchange, your wristband entitles you to 10% off all prepared beverages for the entire month of February. 

Since the inception of the Wristband program, CB&TL has sold 18,900 wristbands and donated over $32,500 to local non-profits.  Awesome!

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December 7, 2011

Give + Get Gift Guide

There are gift guides galore on the interwebs these days, so I thought I’d do a happy spin on them … this isn’t about specific gifts I love, but great places to shop for them. These six websites all donate to worthy causes or employ people in developing nations at fair wages or a little of both. Click through and shop around—for yourself and the loved ones on your holiday list.

Guilt-Free: Changing the Present

changingthepresent.org: ”Browse our causes to find gifts that make a difference, or search for your favorite nonprofit to make a donation”

Awesome things like adopting a sea otter, donating a kickball, or microchipping pets can be donated in a friend’s name, with a personalized greeting card mailed to them.

Designer-Savvy: Community Collection

communitycollection.com: ”We partner designer brands with the world’s top charitable causes and for every item sold we donate 20% to an affiliated cause.”

Hot-hot-hot designers like Elizabeth & James, Genetic Denim, Current/Elliot, Tibi, and more offer the ability to get the goods you love and give back via a trustworthy vehicle that is meaningful, measurable, and transparent.

Plain & Simple: Blu Democracy

bludem.com: save water + give water = save lives

Clothing line that saves water through its manufacturing process, gives water with every purchase, and is generally awesome.

Smarty-Pants: Out of Print Clothing

outofprintclothing.com: Donates a book to a community in need for every shirt purchased.

The shirt catalogue is like a list of classics I need to read or re-read.

Bedazzled: Joan Hornig

joanhornig.com: 100% of the profit goes to a charity you choose at checkout.

She has her own collection of earthy, architectural metal designs as well as charity-specific collaborations with other designers.

For Anyone: Pure Citizen

I already wrote about it here, but Pure Citizen is your charitable flash-sale site that not only provides eco-friendly and ethical goods on sale, but allows you to donate the sale difference to various charities. Check it frequently for new deals on accessories, cosmetics, jewelry, handbags and totes, blankets, and clothes.

 

Posted in Good people/services, Shopping | 1 Comment »

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November 30, 2011

Ripples of Hope for Children

I’m so very lucky to be on the Millenial Advisory Board for Ben & Jerry’s. They recently sent us Free Pint coupons to create Random Acts of Ice Cream. I’d just heard of an amazing new group in Austin working with kids in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, so I put two great groups together and sent coupons to Ripples of Hope for Children.

ben & jerruy's

Ripples of Hope for Children is a nonprofit organization created to break the cycle of child abuse and juvenile delinquency by bridging the gaps for children and youth involved in the foster-care and juvenile-justice systems. Ripples of Hope for Children provides the support structure necessary to strengthen the families of these children by connecting them to critical community services and opportunities.

Specifically, the pint coupons will likely be used in SYNC Court (kids aging out of the foster care system and trying to prepare for life on their own) or for COPE Court (kids with severe mental health issues who are given a chance to stay out of juvenile probation and have their charges dropped if they and their families work the program).  These could be kids on the autism spectrum, kids with low IQ due to parental drug use, kids who have experienced so much trauma that they’ve just shut down and are socially unresponsive … it’s heartbreaking to see how many mental health issues are created for teens especially with histories of abuse and neglect.

Executive Director Gena Vanosslear says, “A lot of time, the kids with mental health disabilities are the victims of bullying and gangs because they don’t understand the ramifications of their actions, so they’re led into doing something that gets them in trouble, then find themselves on the verge of a juvenile justice system they really don’t need to be in.  COPE Court is a preventative court to provide the family with some resources (psychological assessments, counseling, mentoring, parent coach) to help deal with the challenges so their kids don’t go into the juvenile system.”

Kids are the future. Kids need help, support, and love. Ripples of Hope for Children does that. Ben & Jerry’s has committed to many causes (Hubby Hubby, anyone?), and I think their commitment to impacting individuals and small and large groups is absolutely phenomenal. I am so lucky to be involved with such great groups of people!

Posted in Good people/services | 2 Comments »

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November 24, 2011

Feel Good Friday (Thursday) 112511 Thanksgiving Edition!

We’re going to suspend our regularly scheduled Feel Good Friday for one big, massive FEEL GOOD things I am thankful for list. Here are 73 things I am so grateful are in my life: (please join me and leave yours in the comments!)

  1. My amazing, supportive, happy family
  2. PLPs of both sexes in Aspen, Austin, Arizona, D.C., Cali, and all around the world. PLP
  3. Denali’s 5th birthday and her new off-leash walking skills
  4. All four of my grandparents are still alive
  5. Texas
  6. Being raised in Texas (You Know You’re a Texan When …)
  7. Hymeadow
  8. Pumpkin
  9. My adventure to Aspen
  10. Knowing what Love Is and loving it
  11. Learning to ski and snowboard

    Skiing

    Yep, those are still dumpster poles

  12. Blake Lively, for constant style inspiration and a huge girl crush
  13. The colors teal and orange together
  14. Wool socks
  15. Airplanes, for visits to and from friends
  16. Washington D.C., for being a wonderful home to my fb gf and my second fall home
  17. My many friends who have found true love
  18. Pickup basketball
  19. Hot tubs
  20. My new skis, which are long, fat, and badass
  21. Pigeon pose, for eliminating IT band pain
  22. Glitter nail polish pens
  23. Confidence and grace, gifted to me by my parents and their raising of me
  24. Press trips
  25. My blog and her loyal followers, who read even when I don’t write about Austin :-)
  26. Football
  27. Rekindled romance with reading
  28. Learning how to curl my hair with a straightener (again)
  29. Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Kate, Voegle, and Taylor Swift
  30. Wine
  31. My new travelin’ buddy, the iPad2
  32. Gossip Girl, Hawaii Five-O, Hart of Dixie, 90210, Covert Affairs, Ringer, and Pan Am
  33. Deep Hip & Leg Stretch yoga class
  34. My life experiences
  35. Lowered blood sugar
  36. My new mittens, which are teal and warm
  37. Pinterest
  38. Pinterest
  39. Pinterest
  40. Handwritten notes and cards
  41. Hot pink temporary hair dye
  42. The Pitkin County Library and its incredible inter-library loan system
  43. My hand-me-down down jacket (again … seriously, I would die without it)
  44. The ocean
  45. The internets
  46. Adobe Creative Suite, I’m still holding on to the pirated version from my first-ever job (shhh don’t tell)
  47. Kale
  48. Newfound photography obsessionand friends who happen to have closeted photography interests

    Polar bear!

  49. Twitter
  50. The blow dryers with the nozzle attachments at Aspen Club
  51. Ashley Turner
  52. Bubble baths (with non-toxic bubbles, obvi)
  53. Free Pints of Ben & Jerry’s
  54. Free Pints of Ben & Jerry’s for Ripples of Hope for Children (more details coming soon)
  55. US Weekly
  56. Change … as in life, not coins
  57. Drake
  58. My mobile storage unit (aka yellow land rover)
  59. Blogs and the bloggers who write them
  60. Aspen Extreme friends who force me to do things I never thought I would do
  61. Theme parties
  62. Jhorts
  63. Denali’s reflective collar so I can find her in the snow
  64. Bubbly water
  65. CrossFit
  66. The Blind Side, it never gets old
  67. The knowledge that you can hard-boil eggs in a toaster oven
  68. ViX bikinis
  69. A spiritual, open-minded family
  70. Sunshine + Vitamin D + warmth
  71. Cold-brewed coffee
  72. Love … luv … lurve … loooove … I love all love
  73. That the proliferation of infographics and cute pinterest sayings makes me think at the end of this post that I should have probably made it a graphic in Illustrator, and made it pretty. Instead of a list. Then people might have pinned it. PIN ALL THE THINGS!!
Previous goodies: Thanksgiving 2010 / Thanksgiving 2009

Posted in Feel Good Friday, Good people/services, Thoughts | 4 Comments »

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November 22, 2011

Give Without Giving With GoodSearch

Despite what the upcoming apocolypse known as Black Friday would have you think, a new report says almost 70 percent of people will give less this holiday season. In cash-strapped times, charitable supporters are getting creative with their giving … you know how much I love giving/getting goodies with charitable ties (more posts on that coming up soon)! To tide you over, here are six ways you can “give without giving” online right now:

Shop online. GoodShop.com works with more than 2,500 retailers (including Amazon,Gap, Target, Staples and Macy’s) to give a percentage of almost every purchase back to the shopper’s favorite charity.  In addition, GoodShop lists more than 100,000 coupons so that shoppers can save money and do good at the same time!  GoodShop currently works with more than 102,000 charities and schools.

Search the Internet:  GoodSearch.com donates about a penny per search to the charity the user designates. It’s powered by Yahoo. Together with GoodShop, GoodSearch has raised more than $8 million for charity.

Dine out:  GoodDining.com works with more than 10,000 restaurants across the country and each time you dine, up to 6% of what you spend is donated to your favorite charity.

Redeem credit card points. You can turn unused credit card points into a charitable donation to your cause. Both American Express and Citi Card offer this program.

Volunteer: There are a handful of companies that match volunteer hours with funds. For example, Microsoft will match volunteer time at $17 an hour through its Volunteer Time Matching program. Boeing, Exxon, Intel, Chevron, and Bank of America have similar programs.

Recycle your old electronics:  Send your electronics to Gazelle.com and cash generated from that will be donated to charity.

To date, GoodSearch has donated more than $8 million to over 102,000 charities and schools designated by its users.

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November 2, 2011

Starbucks + Opportunity Finance Network

I recently participated in a conference call with BlogHer, Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz, and Starbucks Global Chief Marketing Officer Annie Young-Scrivner about their new Create Jobs for USA initiative that launched yesterday. You buy this (very cute) wristband for $5 and it’s all donated to a fund at the Opportunity Finance Network for capital grants to local lenders who fund small businesses that make a difference.

starbucks wristband

Schultz says, “The question I’ve been asking myself is, ‘how can Starbucks use our scale for good?’ … the lifeblood of job creation in America has been and continues to be small businesses.”

“100% of the money we raise will go to the OFN … think of them as the United Way of community-based loan organizations in America… they will get millions of dollars in the hands of these enterprises that will start lending money to small businesses, start-up businesses, that will be a catalyst for job creation.”

“The intent here is to give the benefit of the doubt to the business and provide access to credit.”

Donations have a multiplier effect times 7 … so that for every wristband purchased, $35 can actually be lent out from OFN. The organization estimates that $20,000 creates one sustainable job. There’s no set end date for the program.

Bonus! Young-Scrivner briefly talked about women in business, giving her thoughts on what makes a woman successful in a global company like Starbucks: “Stay consistent and centered on who you really are. Work for a company that you care about. The balance between profitability and social benevolence … I think as women it’s really critical that we understand what we want, we have a map we develop for ourselves, focus on our skill set, and have good mentors inside and outside the company.”

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October 24, 2011

Connecther

Like the shopping sites I’ve mentioned before, new Austin-based non-profit Connecther.org is focused on making life better for global women and children. Only Connecther.org provides collective giving and increased visibility to smaller scale 501c3 projects.

By aggregating and consolidating hundreds of women and children focused non-profit projects, Connecther provides a platform for a single donor or a donor group, such as a corporation looking for a philanthropic cause, to see over 91% of their donated dollars go directly to those in underdeveloped communities that are willing and driven to work for self-reliance. Think kiva but without loans and local.

The Connecther platform was specifically developed to use social networks to maximize giving and to create the greatest social impact for women and children in need. Local award-winning graphic and web design studio Creative Suite helped create the initiative. Rachel Clemens of Creative Suitcase says, “As a woman-owned business, and explorers of this wondrous world, we were thrilled to help bring Connecther.org to life. The opportunity for women entrepreneurs in impoverished countries to make a better life for themselves and their families is something we’re very proud to have contributed to.”

Connecther will begin with a pilot phase including non-profit partners such as:  DiscoverHope, Vanavevhu, Meca For Peace, GiveLight and Well Aware, as well as many others. Check out connecther.org to give and share!

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October 20, 2011

A Fresh JewelMint Code + BeautyMint $1 Donation

I get unbelievable amounts of compliments on my JewelMint earrings. I literally have NEVER worn these and NOT been complimented on them.

These new babies just arrived in the mail and I’m certain they will receive much love too:

And so you can get in on the goodness, I have a new discount code for thisislifeinaustin&aspen readers—especially commenter Amanda! I have two things for you to do before Halloween (October 31, um duh?), the first for you, the second for breast cancer.

  1. If you haven’t joined already, you can get 50% off your first JewelMint purchase with code BOCT50 (expires October 31).
  2. I’m pretty psyched about BeautyMint, Jessica Simpson + Nerida Joy’s new personalized skin care line, which is launching on Monday, October 31, 2011.  In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, BeautyMint will donate $1 for every BeautyMint registration to the National Breast Cancer Foundation starting today through the October 31 launch.  The more signups, the more money donated!

BeautyMint members will take Nerida’s online Skin Care Consultation to identify their skin type and concerns so BeautyMint can personalize the right system to  each member’s needs. The line will feature products ranging from an Ultra Replenishing Serum to an Ultimate Eye Treatment.

… and you’ve heard a ShoeMint is in the works with Rachel Bilson? Stay tuned for the inside scoop on the exploding ______Mint family!

Posted in Beauty, Good people/services, Shopping | Leave a Comment »

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