An Easy Way You Can Help Haiti

We give regularly to Doctors without Borders, and to Unicef, and the Red Cross. We give all the time, to all kinds of causes. But Haiti seems different to us. It's a catastrophe that almost defies understanding. These were people who had very little to begin with, and now have nothing. The magnitude of the casualties is also beyond comprehension - maybe 200,000. This on an island nation just a few hundred mils off our shores.
There are many ways that generous Americans have been giving, and here is one more. Shopkeepers at Zazzle have joined forces to create a shop selling beautiful stickers and refrigerator magnets, with all the designer profits going to Hope for Haiti, a 501 non-profit charitable organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for the Haitian people, particularly children, through education, nutrition, and healthcare.

Here are a few samples of the beautiful stickers and magnets you can purchase, with the knowledge that you are making a difference. Click any design or click HEREto go to the shop and buy, buy, buy! If you can't afford to buy, then at least spread the word about this great shop via facebook, twitter or other means.

(Update: Zazzle, the company that prints the stickers, has committed to matching the profits from sales, and that is great news!)


Haiti Relief Valentine Stickers by Hearts4Haiti

Haiti Relief Valentine Stickers by Hearts4Haiti

Haiti Relief Valentine Stickers by Hearts4Haiti

Haiti Relief Valentine Stickers by Hearts4Haiti

Haiti Relief Valentine Fridge Magnets by Hearts4Haiti

Haiti Relief Valentine Fridge Magnets by Hearts4Haiti

Haiti Relief Valentine Stickers by Hearts4Haiti

Who's Dressing Rafa Nadal?

Yipes. Is Nike responsible for this atrocity? I guess I can forgive the t-shirt, although it looks uncomfortably tight at the neck, and makes Nadal look like Dennis the Menace. I actually like the color on Rafa, he looks good in hot spicy tones like this. But the shorts? Eek. There's what looks like a windowpane check to them, in yellow, and man, that is UGLY. And then there's the question of the headband and one wristband being a sort of peachy color that might match the stripe of the shirt, when he's not sweating. But the headband goes red, and the stripe goes dark, and nothing matches, once it all gets wet.

One wonders, did Rafa put his foot down and insist on only ONE pink wristband?

We love him, anyway! And we'd love to see him in this:

Vamos Rafa With Flag of Spain by greenbaby
Browse Tennis T-Shirts

PANTS ON THE GROUND T-shirts!

*All Rights to American Idol 2010 and Fox*
The famous "Pants on the Ground" guy General Larry Platt.


Pants on the Ground T shirt and Apparel by greenbaby



Pants On The Ground by SHTAPPAREL



Pants on the Ground T shirts and Fun Apparel by greenbaby



Pants on the Ground by zazspaz


LYRICS:
Pants on the ground
Pants on the ground
Lookin like a fool with your pants on the ground
Gold in your mouth
Hat turned sideways, pants hit the ground
Call yourself a cool cat looking like a fool
Walking down town (2nd time say Talkin')
With your pants on the ground!
--General Larry Pratt

Haiti Earthquake Help T - shirts

I've gotten a number of requests from people asking if there is someplace they can buy t-shirts that will help in the relief effort for Haiti, following that horrible Haiti earthquake. The answer is yes. We are only mentioning the ones we have checked out and know for a fact are legit. While buying a t-shirt isn't the quickest way to get money to Haiti, it can serve a couple of functions -- spreading the word, and showing that you're philanthropic.

Blink 182 Haiti T-Shirt $15 (shipping not included) with all proceeds going to The Red Cross. This item will start shipping on January 22nd.

Special-edition t-shirt designed by Studio Number One (founded Shepard Fairey) for Cafepress. $15 (shipping not included). 100% of the retail price for this shirt will be donated to the U.S. Fund for Unicef.


Help Haiti T shirt and Apparel by Scarebaby
Help Haiti T-shirt from $16.65 at Zazzle. Shopkeeper has already donated to Doctors Without Borders, because she didn't want to wait until sales cleared (30-45 days), and will donate more if sales are made.

Don't Let AT & T Make a Profit on Your Text Donation!

Please donate via the internet. I know it's easier to text a word to a number but
if you do this, AT & T and Sprint may make a profit on your donation, as standard text messaging rates "may apply". (Verizon and T-Mobile say they won't charge, by the way.)

From the website www.itsjustlight.com, here is a partial list of legitimate charities you can donate to via the web:


American Red Cross International Relief Fund

Canadian Red Cross

International Committee of the Red Cross

MercyCorps

Oxfam America

Oxfam UK

International Medical Corps

AmeriCares Help For Haiti

Islamic Relief USA

Doctors Without Borders

UNICEF

Catholic Relief Services:

Yéle Haiti

Haiti Earthquake Relief and Avoiding Scams

If you're seeing the same devastating pictures coming out of Haiti that I am, then you want to help in whatever ways you can. Unfortunately, there are always going to be unscrupulous individuals out there who want to scam you out of your money, in times of disaster. Please, everyone, do not donate to organizations or individuals who are unknown to you! These "pleas" may come in phone calls (to cell phones as well as land lines) or emails. Politely turn them down.

The most important thing you can do right now is donate CASH. Why cash? Because governments and private corporations often donate food, clothing, and medicine, but cash is always needed, to pay for getting the goods to where they need to go. Here are direct links to some 100% safe places you can donate, and remember, NO amount is too small.




Doctors Without Borders

UNICEF

Salvation Army

International Red Cross

OR you can text the word HAITI to 90999 to automatically donate $10 to the Red Cross. You'll see the charge on your next bill.

Robert Burns Birthday and Burns Suppers Coming Up

Great Scot! In 2009 Robert Burns was voted by the Scottish public as being the Greatest Scot, in a vote run by Scottish television channel STV. If you sang "Auld Lang Syne" at a party this past New Year's Eve, then you're a fan, too. Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796) (AKA Rabbie Burns, Scotland's favorite son, the Ploughman Poet, the Bard of Ayrshire and in Scotland as simply The Bard) was a Scottish poet, widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland.

And his birthday is coming up on January 25! In honor of Rabbie's 251st birthday, here are some t-shirts, bling and party favors (buttons, magnets, mugs, etc) you can purchase for your next Burns Supper, complete with haggis of course!

Find or Announce a Burns Supper near you!





And don't forget the haggis!


"Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinkin ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a haggis!"

Nocturnal House at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle to Close

Fans try to save zoo's Nocturnal House; zoo indicates there's no hope
Those of us who live in Seattle have come to be very proud of our Woodland Park Zoo. It has been on the cutting edge of zoo design, quality of exhibits, and work with endangered species. But recently things have changed at our beloved zoo. It passed into the hands of a private organization, which has gone about systematically turning it into a cheap amusement park rather than an educational experience. First they started charging exhorbitant amounts for parking. Then they raised entry prices. Then they tried to hold the neighborhood hostage for a huge new parking facility - whereas parking is only an issue a few weeks out of the year. Then they decided to close on Christmas Day. Then popcorn stands and stuffed animal stalls started popping up all over the place. Then they closed the butterfly exhibit.

And now they are closing the Nocturnal Exhibit, saying it's too expensive to maintain, even as they are building an elaborate new entrance on the west side.

I say enough is enough. We, the community that loves our zoo, need to start really pressuring the zoo to respond to our needs. And let's start with telling them what we want!

Join the Facebook Page to Save the Nocturnal House
Call the Woodland Park Zoo: 206.548.2500
Email them: webkeeper@zoo.org
Snail mail them: 601 N. 59th Street
Seattle, WA 98103
Spread the word with a t-shirt:

Save the Nocturnal House in Seattle T-shirts by Scarebaby
Browse other Nocturnal house T-Shirts