Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Nelson Mandela/ In My Mother's Arms/ Mealshare



Dec. 7 Nelson Mandela: He has passed away at the age of 95 yrs old on Dec. 5, 2013.  Well he did live a very long life.  He inspired a lot of people.  On Dec. 6, 2013, there was a quote of him in the Metro: “For to be free is to not merely cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”  I’m going to put that in my inspirational quotes.

I read about it on Yahoo:


Good tips: I was reading in the Metro on Dec. 5, 2013: “Ann Arbor News reports that in Sept. a $3000 US tip was left for a $87.98 US bill, and $7000 US for a $200 US bill.”  It was on Instagram using the “tipsforjesus” name.

City litter: On Dec. 5, 2013, I read in the Metro that the waste on the Edmonton streets decreased by 40% since 2009.  That’s good.

Singing Christmas Tree Foundation: I read in the Metro on Dec. 5, 2013 that this charity got 20,000 pounds of food to be delivered to families in need.  They donated $50,000 to the Food Bank and it helps 20,000 residents each month.  The foundation also donated $50,000 to Santa’s Anonymous to provide Christmas gifts to kids in need.

How to be a fundraiser: By typing about the above news, I thought “How to be a fundraiser” as a career.

Mixed Bag Designs: I did find this website about selling reusable bags.  The website looks really good:

“We offer flexible fundraiser profit programs (including up to 50% profit!) that can be tailored to your fundraiser needs.

Boost sales by inviting friends and family to shop our online store. Fundraisers receive 40% from all online purchases and they can shop online even after the catalog sale is over!”


Fundraising Authority: This looks like a good website too.  There is a “Basics” part to it.  There is fundraising on the internet, how to write a successful fundraising plan, how to fund raise by mail, etc.



In My Mother’s Arms: I found this movie review called “How much does one boy’s life matter?” about the movie In My Mother’s Arms.  The reviewer is Liam Lacey and it was in the Globe and Mail on Aug. 31, 2012:

Roughly-made but illuminating, the Iraq documentary In My Mother’s Arms is a brief immersion into life in a Baghdad boys’ orphanage. The sibling team of Atea Al Daradji and Mohamed Al Dardji, made the film after being contacted by Husham, a thirty-something man seeking a donation for his orphanage, in which he houses 32 boys in a rented two-bedroom house.

Instead, they filmmakers decided to film him. The orphanage is in Sadr City, the poor embattled Baghdad suburb that has been a centre of violence since the 2003 American invasion. The opening shot sees Husham riding in the passenger seat of a car while a radio broadcast provides the context. The war has created a crisis in orphans in Iraq and the orphanage relies entirely on private donations and volunteer help. Many of the children end up being recruited by criminals or terrorist groups; others are victims of violence and sexual abuse in a handful of state-run institutions.

A moment later, the car pulls over and Husham gets out and walks under an overpass where he meets a couple of boys who say they have been living on the streets for the past three years. He invites them to come live at his home where they can get clean, eat and be with children their own age. Though he can’t help reaching out to more kids, he’s already stretched to his limit. Along with six volunteer care-givers, he feeds and dresses the kids, takes them to school and works the rest of the time trying to raise funds.

Three boys are of particular concern because of the traumas they have suffered: Saif, a 7-year-old Kurdish boy who is a chronic fighter; Mohamed, who excels as a competitive diver but performs poorly in school; and Sallah, a ten-year-old who does not speak or attend school. A doctor brusquely suggests the boys need more of a family atmosphere.

The film follows Husham’s struggles with the system: a cold shoulder from the ministry of social services; a friend with psychological training who says he can’t work for the the orphanage’s meager salary, and a Sunni organization that offers faint hope of financial assistance. To add to the troubles, Husham gets an eviction notice and is forced to seek a new location.

The film’s title comes from a song, and an unabashedly pity-inducing play the boys stage to help raise funds. Scenes occasionally feel staged, though the day-to-day reality of the children’s lives are dramatic enough: Between the usual games, squabbles, TV shows and homework, they live in a world of wall-rocking explosions, power blackouts and constant television reports of nearby bombings and the deaths of other children in their neighbourhood. Helicopters whirl overhead and America troop carriers rumble through the streets.

Occasionally, the camera cuts away to street scenes, where other boys and girls emerge from the roadside at stoplights, approaching cars for food and money. Husham’s struggles to make a handful of boys’ lives tolerable is heroic though it would be misleading to call the film inspiring: The best he can hope for is to exempt a few children from a generational tragedy.

My 2013 opinion: That’s sad to hear, but I was like: “Donate to Unicef.  They help children in 3rd world countries.”  I then thought about how I saw something like this on BBC news.  I looked it up on my blog, and it lead to this post called “job search/ child labor/ charity.”  It did talk about kids working in glass factories.  It also mentioned this:

“However, the factory does let the boys leave for a few hours a day to go to this place run by Unicef. The place is for kids to have a free lunch, take a shower, play games, just simply be a kid. So please donate to Unicef, because it's a good charity.”


Help the homeless: On Nov. 22, 2013, in the Edmonton Journal, Marta Gold writes about how Urban Barn has launched “Blanket the Country in Warmth.”  Customers donate $5 and the company gives new fleece blankets to homeless shelters.

Mealshare: On Nov. 21, 2013, I read in Metro “Buy 1, give 1 meal program enlists more restaurants” by Lucy Haines.

“Mealshare is the brainchild of 23 yr old Jeremy Bryant and his cousin Andrew Hall, two business- school grads who wanted to find more meaning in their work.”

“Choose a Mealshre-branded menu item from you favorite local, independent restaurant, and a meal will be donated to someone in need.  Culina Muttart, Noorish Café and Creole Envie were first on board, and this month three more local restaurants joining in: Blue Plate Diner, Tiramisu Bistro and Niche.”

 The meals go to Hope Mission and they have received 350 donated meals since July 2013.


Stuff a Bus campaign: On Nov. 21, 2013, I read in Metro, “Food for the Festive season” by Lucy Haines. It’s where you stuff an ETS bus full of food.  Edmonton’s Food Bank also works with the Crystal Kids Youth Centre and they serve 24,000 meals a year to kids from 6-17 yrs old.

Children’s hospital: On Nov. 21, 2013, I saw in Metro Edmonton Oilers Captain Andrew Ference signs a photo for Dante Miguel, 4 at the Stollery Children’s hospital.

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