From a Whisper to a Scream
Today my friend Catherine has a new post up in which she showcases a buttload of blogs calling us all to action for a variety of causes. When I see how many people responded to Catherine’s challenge, I couldn’t be happier because I am, at heart, an activist, too.
As a mother to two children and a slave to school and nap schedules, I have very little free time for marching, sign-waving and letter-writing. That said, it’s a damn good thing I live in the age of the internet. You see, even if you’re time-challenged like me, you can STILL make your voice heard, thanks to the marvels of modern technology.
How? Well, if you visit the website of your favorite charities, chances are there is a section called “Take Action” or “Action Alerts.” These typically allow you to sign a petition, send a letter to a representative or a corporation, make a donation or let others know about an issue with a few keystrokes and mouseclicks. It honestly couldn’t be easier!
So now that you know about this awesome way to be an internet activist, go! Be heard! Make a difference!
If you look in my sidebar, under “Get Involved” you will see just a few of my favorite causes. And while I’ve got you here, I’d also like to let you know about something coming up that is very, very important to women & parents everywhere…
I was recently informed by Cooper Munroe of Been There Clearing House that in Pennsylvania (among several other states) it is legal to ask someone, during a job interview, if they are married or have children. As you can guess, this hurts mostly moms and single moms. Legislation to make it illegal has been stalled for SIX years but will hopefully be on the table again soon.
Momsrising has created a web page for this issue with links to PA legislators phone/email info and a petition. You don’t have to be from PA to send a message that this is important. What if you were one of the women who couldn’t find a job because you had children? Please take a moment to help.
FREE MONEY! FREE MONEY!
And finally, the folks over at Hamburger Helper are conducting a grant contest for local non-profit groups raising funds to positively impact their community in some way.
Here’s how it works:
Every month through May 2007, Hamburger Helper will choose one 501(c)(4) organization for a monetary grant of up to $15,000. All the group has to do is to register online with www.myhometownhelper.com and complete an essay of two hundred and fifty words or less describing how they the need help.
All of the application information can be found here.
If any of you is affiliated with a 501(c)(4) organization, you should share this info with them. This is a great opportunity to try and make a difference in your hometown!
14 Responses
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Good for you Izzy.
Now I’m off to sign some petitions and go visit my favorite charity site.
And I’m feeling good about it!
Hey, I got a 404 error when I tried to go to the Momraising webpage? :)
mom RISING. Oops. We all know Mom’s are already raised….
As I said chez moi, it’s a wonderful, wonderful thing to be able to make a difference while perched comfortably on one’s ass.
This is a great thing, Izzy. If we all just do our little bit then the world will be a much better place. Thanks to Catherine, too.
Izzy! Good on you. This sucks big time and I wasn’t aware of it. Moms Rising is such a great org - love Joan Blades.
Cool Stuff, Izzy. And I’m glad to see Hamburger Helper finally living up to its name.
Lisa
In addition to sign-waving-marching-for-causes-signing-petitions, I think raising your child(ren) well is the greatest cause and the best action you can take. Don’t you?
Oh, and Her Bad Mother-awesome challenge indeed:)
Wow. PA sucks. I’m glad I don’t live there. That’s terrible! I thought that was a federal law. I hope it gets changed very soon.
I love action alerts too and the sites that help you easily send letters to your reps. I checked out that Fund for Animals site that you linked me to in your comments on my last post and they had some good action alerts so I sent in a couple “letters” to my legislator. It only takes a few seconds and I know it makes a difference.
I’ll be honest and say I’m not much of an activist. I do a few things but I could do more and thanks to your post I will. THANK YOU.
I just want to say, I am starting to get irritated by everyone dissing Pennsylvania. It’s my home and it does not suck. I have three children under the age of six years old. I applied for my first job out of graduate school while pregnant with my first - VISIBLY pregnant - and had no problem getting multiple job offers. I have since fielded several other offers in the past six years and at no time minced words about my family committments. I realize that some people suck and that maybe in some cases people truly can’t get hired without covering the truth, but personally I would not WANT to work for someone who expressed no interest in me as a person instead of just a cog in a wheel.
Marvelous. Thanks, will spread this among my friends!