On Saturday, April 14th, from 4pm to 7pm, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will be hosting an art opening with Project ClayPlay, Foster’s Angels, andHelping Hand Home at the South Lamar café (221 S Lamar). The art on display and for sale comes from Foster’s Angels and/or Helping Hand Home children through the creative guidance of the dedicated team at Project ClayPlay.
Join CB&TL for complimentary beverages and enjoy some precious art from very strong and talented children.
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.”
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
I don’t normally write about things super-far in advance, but you might want to plan to be in Houston for this one. The First Annual BreatheCure Conference comes to Rice University Recreation and Wellness Center October 29.
The event supports the illness-to-wellness community with educational classes and lectures for participants of all ages and fitness levels to use as a means of enrichment and healing. It’s a FUNdamental day of bringing like-minded folks together in a place of healing harmony. My university is awesome.
Founded in 2007, Breathe the Cure®, is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to bringing educational awareness to the general public about the benefits of breathing techniques, meditation, and yoga. Much of the focus is on cancer survival and recovery through these practices. The conference is also donating twenty percent of all proceeds from the conference to Pink Ribbons Project, a Houston-based nonprofit that saves lives and improves the quality of life for those touched by breast cancer. A list of the 2011 presenters is here.
Keynote Speaker Award-winning investigative food journalist Barry Estabrook, author ofTomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit, explains how tomatoes have gotten to their current tasteless, nutrient-deficient state and how we can fix the problems. Grown out of season to supply distant markets, dependent on a witch’s brew of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and produced under some of the most abusive labor conditions in this country, the modern agribusiness tomato is a “poster child” for many of the ills facing our industrialized food system.
The 2011 BreatheCure Conference is a collaboration between Breathe the Cure® founder, yoga professional and legislative yoga advocate Jennifer Buergermeister fromJennyoga/CuraYoga and the Texas Yoga Conference, who partnered with Amy Garratt and Julie Byrd, co-founders and Yoga Studies Directors of Balance Your Body Yoga as well as BYB Pink Ribbon Recuperative Yoga. Of the first annual BTC Conference, Jennifer states, “We believe that change comes from a healthy mind, body and planet. This year’s conference supports integrative medicine, deep breathing techniques and mindfulness as a healthy lifestyle and a tool that helps alleviate many symptoms of disease.”
Registration for the 2011 BreatheCure Conference is $175 for the general public and $150 for students, teachers, and seniors. To register, visit btcconference.com/register or call 713-839-9642. Students of Rice University, UH, Baylor or UST can get a 50% discount if they enroll via email to info@breathecure.org.
The BTC Conference will be held at Rice University Recreation and Wellness Center, Saturday, October 29, 2011. Doors will open at Rice University’s Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center on Saturday at 8:30a with the first session beginning at 9. Event ends at 8p. Performance by the Houston Ballet at 7p Saturday night to end the event with a Pink Aware Splash!
2011 BTC Conference Sponsors include: Breathe the Cure, Texas Yoga Association, Texas Yoga Conference, Balance Your Body Yoga, Jennyoga/CuraYoga, YogaOne Studios, Wisdom & Co., New Living, Luke’s Locker, OneYoga USA, Pink Ribbon Recuperative Yoga Training, 002 Magazine, Kingwood Yoga and Wellness Center, Yoga 4 Kids, Expedition Balance, Origin. Magazine, JCC Houston, Yoginos: Yoga for Youth, Ligmincha Texas Institute, Yoganonymous, Luna Bar, Body Dynamics, The Motherhood Center, Ekam Yoga, Mind Body & Soul, Sedona Tea Blends, Pure Rain, PerfectMind Yoga, and Aerobifit.
I love cookies, and I love what the group Austin Bakes is doing with bake sales to support people close to home and far away (remember Austin Bakes for Japan? It raised almost $12,000). Saturday, October 1st from 10a to 2p, hundreds of bakers, bloggers, businesses, and consumers will unite for Austin Bakes for Bastrop, a bake sale fundraising event to help those affected by recent wildfires in Central Texas.
Over 80 home cooks and dozens of local businesses will be contributing baked goods at locations throughout Austin. Baked goods will include cookies, cupcakes, brownies, pies and pastries of all kinds. Several home bakers are creating Texas-themed confections for the sale, while others will be baking locally sourced, organic, vegan or gluten-free items. All funds raised will go to Austin Community Foundation’s Central Texas Wildfire Fund. Those who wish to make a gift in advance of the sale may do so at Austin Bakes for Bastrop’s secure, online giving page.
Austin Bakes for Bastrop locations:
Community Renaissance Market
6800 Westgate Blvd., 78745
The Flying Saucer at The Triangle
815 W. 47th Street, 78751
Foreign & Domestic
306 E. 53rd Street, 78751
Hotel San Jose
1316 South Congress Avenue, 78704
Old Settler’s Park
3300 E Palm Valley Blvd., Round Rock, 78665
Whole Foods Market Gateway
9607 Research Blvd. #300, 78759
Whole Foods Market Lamar
525 N. Lamar Blvd., 78703
Get Involved: Interested in providing baked goods and/or volunteering? Contact Kathryn Hutchison at austingastronomist@gmail.com.
GivingCity Austin and the Austin Community Foundation are throwing the Spring 2011 GIVERS BALL on April 5 at Gibson. Givers Ball is half launch party, half YPO mixer. It’s a great opportunity to connect with some of the coolest young professionals in Austin.
Deets:
5:30 – 8pm at Gibson, 1109 South Lamar
Food, drink specials
Meet the 30 New Philanthropists from Giving City Magazine’s first print edition cover and learn about the Video for Change contest for your nonprofit.
Clothing swaps are not new. People who are really good at organizing them are. Check this from swapatx’s FAQ:
There are free swaps around town. Why are you charging $5?
A couple reasons. First of all, charging a nominal fee helps us to be able to spend a lot of our free time working the event- it also helps us be able to make the events fun: free dance parties exist, but there’s a reason you’re willing to pay to go to a really good one. We gotta pay for coffee. But more importantly, when we’ve done free events, we’ve gotten a lot of creepers looking for free stuff and piles of really crappy clothing. The $5 keeps the creepers out & you in. We are not above being exclusive.
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