We Belong

I spy with my little eye a SuperForester whose name starts with J...



You're there for just a second you beautiful devil (at 18 seconds in)... but I caught you in this lovely "Live United" United Way commercial.

Looks like SuperForest has made it national! One of us at least. And how appropriate that it is through standing up and taking your clothes off for a good cause.

Bravo good sir. Bravo. SupeForest hearts United Way.

SuperForester Annette Presents: Good Search

Oooooooh!

The amazing miss SuperForester Annette just sent us word of Good Search.

Good Search is a search engine where you enter in your favorite charity, then search for whatever you need, and... Good Search gives money to the charity you chose!

How simple is that?

I just googled "nutmeg" for Kiva. It took three seconds.

How "now" is the sentence: "I just googled nutmeg for kiva."

That should be our slogan, yo!

SuperForest: We just googled nutmeg for kiva.

Check out Good Search. They've combined curiosity and philanthropy into one friendly app.

Search good with Good Search!

Here's the Good Search wiki.

Thank you, Annette!

See something that makes you happy? Send it in to SuperForestnyc(at)gmail(dot)com.

Painting for Congo!!!!

Hi Everyone,

I just received this unbelievable email from my dear friend and amazing artist, Sara Woster:

"I am writing you to ask for your help in a fundraiser I am doing to raise money for the women of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The war in Congo is the deadliest since World War II. Over 5.4 million people have already died and almost half of those are under the age of 5.

This month the fighting has been escalating, which has caused an escalation in the violence and the attacks on the women and girls of Congo. They have been gang raped, tortured and forced to watch their husbands and children being murdered in front of them.

Anderson Cooper did a powerful story on 60 Minutes that is hard to watch but may inspire you to do something.



You can read more about the facts here:

www.enoughproject.org
www.runforcongowomen.org

Women for Women International has held a fundraiser for the past few years called Run for Congo. I cannot and will not Run for Congo, but I can Paint for Congo.

From now until the end of November in exchange for a small donation of $27 you can receive from me an 8 x 11 original painting on paper that will make the perfect holiday gift for somebody you either love, or are obligated to buy something for. You provide the subject matter or a photo of somebody or something near and dear to your heart and you will receive a lovely, original painting from me. Go to Target, get yourself a frame, and you have given somebody a thoughtful gift while helping to save the world.

I uploaded some samples of my illustrations on Flickr for anybody who may not be familiar.

$27 is the amount that it costs for Women for Women International to support and educate a woman in Congo for one month. You can always round up to $30 or, if you are still rich after last week, round up to $100. My goal is to paint at least 100 paintings between now and Christmas but I would love to do many more so please forward this email on to anybody you know who might like to help the women of Congo while crossing a name off of their holiday gift list. If I receive your request before December 1st I can guarantee that you will receive your painting before December 15th. But the earlier you get me a check and your painting specifics, the more quickly the money will get to the people of Congo and the less panic I will have to go through in mid-December.

I'm sure that you have somebody who would like a painting of something:

Your dad might like a painting of your mother.
Your mother might like a painting of her dog.
Your boy dog might like a painting of a girl dog.
Your boyfriend might like a painting of his favorite Led Zepplin album.
Your grandma might like a painting of Liberace.
And if you haven't heard, everybody loves Obama.

You can either donate on line and then email me a digital image.

Or you can mail me a photo of something/someone you would like me to paint and a check written out to "Women for Women International" with "Run for Congo Women" in the memo line.

If you prefer, The International Rescue Committee is also doing great things to help the people of Congo.

Thank you, Sara"

I personally own a few of her paintings! She is amazingly talented and this is an unbelievable opportunity to own a gorgeous (and personalized!!) painting, while doing something to help put an end to a devastating tragedy.

If you have the means, support this cause!

You can also email Sara directly for any further information at sarawoster@hotmail.com.

Amazing.

Niki

One Voice

If you don't yet know, today is Blog Action Day's 2008 campaign to raise awareness about, and inspire action towards helping solve POVERTY.  It's an impressive international initiative with over 11,500 websites and writers participating worldwide, all focused on one collective theme.

  

Thinking about what I might contribute as I browsed the hundreds of posts on blogactionday.org, I found myself feeling, well... slightly overwhelmed.  It's the same feeling I had when, as an aspiring writer, I signed up to work in a library.  Nothing is more humbling and daunting than placing your own small voice next to rows upon rows of the masters who have come before.

Pushing my cart through fields of books stacked ceiling high, I would find myself wondering what did I have to offer? What difference in the history of the world could my little voice make?

I never found an answer to that question. I still haven't... and I'm writing every day.  Because what I did find was the answer to a more important question: 

Not what difference can my one voice make in the world if I express it, but what difference can it make if I don't?

Poverty is a huge issue.  A global issue.  And we can choose to be overwhelmed by it, or we can choose to help.   To do something.  Raise our voices.  Act!   It's so easy and it's the hardest thing.

Because how many of us ever really give ourselves to a cause?  How many people commit their lives to an idea or ideal?  How much difference do we make in the world, each and every day?

One voice matters.  Your voice matters.  Do more.  

Not sure how?  Read here Peter Singer's famous call to charity: "The Singer Solution".

Or this list of 88 ways to end poverty now.  Read it, pick one, do it today!

With love,

-Jordan and Team SuperForest

In My Name

Throughout history, millions of people have stood up in the fight against global poverty.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

"The problems we face today, violent conflicts, destruction of nature, poverty, hunger and so on, are human-created problems which can be resolved through human effort, understanding and the development of a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. We need to cultivate a universal responsibility for one another and the planet we share."

Nelson Mandela

"Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life . . . "

Barack Obama

"If poverty is a disease that infects the entire community in the form of unemployment and violence, failing schools and broken homes, then we can't just treat those symptoms in isolation . We have to heal that entire community."

Now it's our turn to take action. In the year 2000, government officials from around the world gathered together to form an 8 point strategy to end global poverty and promised to achieve most of these goals by 2015. In My Name is a website launched only a few weeks ago in partnership with YouTube as an effort to both raise awareness on the issue and to encourage each of us to take action by doing anything from spreading that awareness to making sure our government officials do their part in keeping that promise of ending global poverty.

We can be the generation that ends poverty. We can make a difference.

Goods for Good!

Goods for Good is an amazing organization that was started by an old friend of mine, Melissa Kushner. She is doing a remarkable job doing something we all wish we had the stamina and determination to accomplish.  

She approaches corporate companies to see what excess materials they have (anything from clothes, pens, paper etc.) and ships them to Malawi and Liberia,where she works with local groups to distribute these materials to kids who need them. It seems like a perfect plan: We have tons and tons of extra stuff, let's see you needs it! The ultimate in recycling! 

SuperForester Damani, just went to Malawi to document the progress Melissa and her team have been making. 

Here's the unbelievably beautiful video:

Goods for Good: From Excess to Progress from Melissa Kushner on Vimeo.

"Goods for Good turns excess into progress. Our slogan is straightforward because our mission is straightforward. We collect surplus goods for targeted distribution to vulnerable children in Africa.

Through partnerships with companies in the United States and local organizations in Africa, we are able to provide much needed school supplies, clothing and health and hygiene products to orphans and vulnerable children, while at the same time reducing waste at home.

We rely on donations of surplus goods from a wide range of companies. Our volunteers help to sort the items and our donors fund the shipment. In Africa, we build on the success of local schools and community centers by supplying them with the tools they need to care for and educate children.

Many of the items we ship to children were gathering dust in warehouses or were slated to be destroyed. On the other side of the world, these same products have an immeasurable worth to disadvantaged children. Together with our international and local partners, we work to develop sustainable care for Africa's youth."

If you can offer any help, please do! 

Absolutely inspiring and remarkable!

Niki

Charity:Water!

Good Afternoon!

Scott Harrison, started an amazing charity called Charity: Water. The mission is simple: Buy a $20 bottle of their water and 100% of the proceeds go towards drilling wells for clean drinking water in impoverished communities.

There is so much to say about this awesome organization and how much they have accomplished in just 16 months, but for today, just check out this video and get inspired (and actually, check out the photographs while you are there!)

Have a good day!

Niki

How To Be Happy

Eat lots of salad.


Have a glass of red wine (or two) with dinner.


Go outside and walk around. Look at things.


Be in love with someone or something.


Donate some time to your fellow humans.


And finally, be thankful for every moment on this wonderful planet.








Love to all,

Jackson

Supermen. Superwomen.

Humanity seems to be waiting for a Superman.

A shining God/King to alight on Earth from the heavens and solve our collective problems. Save the Rainforests, save the Polar Bears, save the Imperiled, the Downtrodden, the Hopeless.

Who can defeat Genocide? Who can stop Terror?

Superman could.

But Superman ain't real.

The good news: SuperMEN is real. SuperWOMEN is real. (I will just use the masculine form from here on so as not to be tedious.)
There is no one single entity that will be able to address the myriad of issues we face. No flawless Immortal to put fear and suffering back in its box.

No, there is not one. There are hundreds of thousands.

I speak of the private citizen, working together with other private citizens to bring about equity and balance.

I'm talking about the spirit of ALTRUISM.

Altruism: Noun. "The belief in or practice of disinterested or selfless concern for the well-being of others."

Everywhere you look, there is a Bono, or a Bill and Melinda Gates, or a Bill Clinton, or a Desmond Tutu, or any of the many others who believe in altruism and are hard at work to make sure that others enjoy the same freedoms that they enjoy. Breath clean air like they breath. Be free to criticize their countries leaders, like they are free to do.

What to call this emerging conciousness? The New Way? Neo-Optimism? Pragmatism Plus?

Whatever you call it, it is hard at work, and it is winning adherents.

The new way is not to fight. The new way is to relentlessly support.

We are the Superman. We together are the great shining God.

Together we can move mountains and conquer death. Alone we can only continue to struggle.

Love to all,

Jackson