Do Something! A Handbook For Young Activists

   

Painted on her wall

To Write Love On Her Arms April 2010
with Nathan Kress

NoH8

Sharing a passion for various movements has been a family affair in my house. My husband and I have brought awareness in many ways to our children, and they, in turn have taken it upon themselves to support what they believe in(see photos).

Listen up! You don't have to be a rock star or president or even have your driver's license to change the world. (This is the first line of the Do Something book)

Author Nancy Lublin along with Co-Authors Vanessa Martir and Julia Steers bring this interactive book to any child/tween/teen who would like to help change the world. This easy to use book enables the reader to fill in the answers to various questions by writing in the book itself, and then gives them step by step directions to find out what their "Thing" is, how to "Rock" their thing, and complete it.


My own children have looked at the book, and are excited to choose their next cause/movement or as Nancy calls it, their next thing.

I had the pleasure of doing a quick Q&A via email with Nancy this week.

Me- Why did you write Do Something?

Nancy- All three of us felt really strongly that younger kids are amazing too. They are super-creative and passionate--but largely overlooked. We wrote this for them.

Me- Why is it important to get tweens & teens involved? 

Nancy- It's good for them because being an active citizen gives them a sense of achievement, chance to learn, lead, etc. But it's also good for the world around them! Kids come up with amazing, innovative solutions. 

Me- What do you think the kids will get out of volunteering? 

Nancy- A life-long commitment to being an active citizen.

Me- Do you have children that are participating?

Nancy- My 5 year old daughter is responsible for refilling our re-usable water bottles, recycling all paper, and turning off all the light-switches. She takes this responsibility very seriously!

Me- Do you have a powerful catch phrase to get kids involved? 

Nancy- F-U-N!

Me- You founded Dress for Success at 23, is there anything else you'd like to share about your life? 

Nancy- I've always had a strong sense of right and wrong, and being active. In pre-school, a boy declared "Purple is a boy color! No girls can use the purple." I crawled under the table with magenta, lavender, lilac, mauve,aubergine and screamed "I've got the purple." (I apparently ran around the room with them in my clenched fists over my head too.) So i think I've always been this way...

Me- You said this book is like a cookbook of social change. Can you explain? 

Nancy- Vanessa and Julia were the ones who insisted that each project be broken down into small details including how much time something would take and what supplies were needed, so that it would be really practical.

Me- How does it make you feel when you hear about teens or families that volunteer? 

Nancy- Hopeful!

Me- What is your most memorable volunteering experience? 

Nancy- I still dream about Dress for Success almost every night...
 

For more information please see the website: www.dosomething.org

You can find the book at all major bookstores, online at Amazon, Workman.com, and Indie Bound. Please check your local mom and pop bookstores. We are here to help make a difference, and you can start with your local independent shops.

Disclaimer~ I was not paid to promote this book. I did however receive a copy of the book, and my family will use it for many years to come.

Found Missing Child *Suicide Information*

Missing -   *Highly Suicidal*ch

This original post was about my daughters friend who was missing. She has been found alive, and is being taken for the necessary medical treatment. In times of a missing child it takes friends, family, and your community to come together to support the family and spread the word. Facebook was an amazing source to use.


If you or someone you know is depressed and contemplating or even thinking of suicide do not wait, ask them directly. Seek help or look for the numerous face to face, phone, and online help available right now. Listed below are well known sources:

HELPLINES - IF YOU NEED SOMEONE TO TALK TO:

National Hopeline Network (U.S.A.) -  www.hopeline.com - 1-800-SUICIDE

S.A.F.E. Alternatives -  www.selfinjury.com - Self Abuse Finally Ends

Childhelp –  www.childhelp.org - 1-800-4-A-CHILD - National Child Abuse Hotline

National Domestic Violence Helpline -  www.ndvh.org   - 1-800-799-SAFE 

Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network -  www.rainn.org – 1-800-656-HOPE National Sexual Assault Hotline

National Eating Disorders Association - www.nationaleatingdisorders.org - 1-800-931-2237

The Trevor Helpline is the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. All calls are confidential and toll-free from anywhere in the United States, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386)

National Missing Children's Day

Image by trawin via Flickr

Are you prepared as a parent if your child went missing? Is your child prepared? Have you ever talked to your child(ren) about strangers or being abducted? Have you used a child safety kit yet?


If you answer NO to any of these questions it is time to do all of them now. It only takes a split second for a child to say or do the wrong thing. Go onto the internet and chat with some stranger online or on the telephone. Or they may do nothing at all and it be another situation.


I have been an avid follower with the Polly Klaas Foundation since my daughter did a project with them about five years ago. I've learned many ways to teach my children what to look for, but not to scare them.


We have also kept our safety kits up to date(fingerprints, hair & DNA samples). 


Keep your child(ren) safe and be prepared because one day you may need the help of a group like Polly Klaas. Read the story behind this organization, and order a free safety kit if you need them. Don't wait do it now.  http://www.pollyklaas.org/

10 Ways I Know There's Nothing Wrong with You(or Me)

I am reposting this after reading it on Tinybuddha.com. Always trust in yourself and stay positive.

1.  You’re playing the game of life as best you know how, and trying to get better every day. You can’t possibly do someone else’s best, so there’s no point in stressing about it.
2. You make mistakes like everyone else, which allows you to learn as you go. That means you’re doing what you should be.
3. You’re unique, whether you’re introverted or outgoing, book smart or street smart, creative or technical—the list goes on and on. You’re the world’s only opportunity to know a person just like you. The only hope to share what only you can.
4. There’s no such thing as the way you should be. If you do what you enjoy and don’t harm other people, you’re living a beautiful life.
5. You will never become someone—you are someone right now, whether you influence millions of people or mean the world to just one person. Your impact is powerful, whether you realize it or not.
6. If someone hurts you, you don’t deserve it. No one does. End of conversation.
7. You feel emotions and respond to them. That’s the way this whole humanity things works. If you could stand to improve the way you respond, newsflash: you’re still like everybody else.
8. You have a pulse right now, and it’s your choice what you do with it. There’s no right or wrong answer. (Unless what you want is to maim a puppy or something equally perverse.)
9. You choose what you think is best, or else you wouldn’t choose it. As you get new information and grow stronger and smarter, you’ll make different choices.
10. You are beautiful, inside and out.

Share a Day

Image by ArchivesACT via Flickr

Share a Day at the: 

• beach
• park
• ice cream parlor
• museum
• hiking
• riding bikes
• walking

Just share a day with your family.

A Family Quote

Image by State Library of Queensland, Australia via Flickr

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ~Erma Bombeck

Create Special Memories

Image via Wikipedia

Every year my daughter creates a memory book for herself that is put together by each person invited to her birthday party. Last year she had two poster boards and created people using individual parts to create a person. Each of these poster boards with random faces and bodies are now hanging on her wall as a memory of her friends on her tenth birthday.


This year she made an actual magazine that each friend designed by cutting and gluing magazine pieces together. Each girl created her own page and signed it to ensure my daughters delight each time she looked through her birthday magazine.


A memory is the mental capacity or faculty of retaining and reviving facts, events, impressions, etc., or of recalling or recognizing previous experiences. If our children learn to create and preserve such special figures at an early age they will indeed recognize how amazing life can be knowing they have been special to more than one or two people. 


Life is a special memory, and everything we touch, feel, and speak of can be too.

Parent Position Open

Image via Wikipedia

   PARENT - Job Description 

This is hysterical. If it had been presented this way, 

I don't believe any of us would have done it!!!!

POSITION : 

Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma 

Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop 

JOB DESCRIPTION : 

Long term, team players needed, for challenging, 

permanent work in an often chaotic environment. 

Candidates must possess excellent communication 

and organizational skills and be willing to work 

variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends 

and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. 

Some overnight travel required, including trips to 

primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities! 

Travel expenses not reimbursed. 

Extensive courier duties also required. 

RESPONSIBILITIES : 

The rest of your life. 

Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, 

until someone needs $5. 

Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. 

Also, must possess the physical stamina of a 

pack mule 

and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat 

in case, this time, the screams from 

the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. 

Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, 

such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets 

and stuck zippers. 

Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and 

coordinate production of multiple homework projects. 

Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings 

for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. 

Must be a willing to be indispensable one minute, 

and  embarrassment the next. 

Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a 

half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices. 

Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. 

Must assume final, complete accountability for

the quality of the end product. 

Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and 

janitorial work throughout the facility. 

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION : 

None. 

Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, 

so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you 

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE : 

None required unfortunately. 

On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis. 

WAGES AND COMPENSATION : 

Get this!   You pay them! 

Offering frequent raises and bonuses. 

A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because 

of the assumption that college will help them 

become financially independent. 

When you die, you give them whatever is left. 

The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that 

you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more. 

BENEFITS : 

While no health or dental insurance, no pension, 

no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and 

no stock options are offered; 

this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, 

and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right. 

Forward this on to all the PARENTS you know, in appreciation for everything they do on a daily basis, 

letting them know they are appreciated 

for the fabulous job they do... 

or forward with love 

to anyone thinking of applying for the job.