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!

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.”

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!

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.

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!

1. My amazing, supportive, happy family
2. PLPs of both sexes in Aspen, Austin, Arizona, D.C., Cali, and all around the world.
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
    

    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!!

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.

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.”

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!

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!