Current Events

Today, December 17th, 2007 thousands of bloggers are uniting to share their stories of their own acts of kindness.

“Bloggers Unite is an initiative designed to harness the power of the blogosphere to make the world a better place. ” Read More

So today I’d like to share a neat online organization I just discovered… Donorschoose.org.

Donors Choose is a non profit oraganization originally started by a school in the Bronx, New York. Teachers can submit proposals for funds and the public can then choose to donate a portion or all of the requested funds. Its a great way to help individual classrooms and make a big difference to the students involved.

As soon as I heard about this site, I got involved. You can search by subject, age, location, keyword and more. I chose a couple different projects to help with. One request inparticular was located right here in Colorado. The teacher requested funds to buy each of her students a new book to read over the holiday break. A good portion of the request had already been fullfilled, so I was able to complete the funding – hopefully just in time for the holidays.

The other inspiring idea on this site is that you can purchase a gift certificate for someone else. Your recipient can then choose which project/s they’d like to support. What a fabulous gift!

I had so much fun reading about the different projects and the teachers wishes for their students. There are so many ways we can help with such a tiny bit of effort, it amazes me how true the statement – little things really can make a difference.

[tags]acts of kindness, charity, donation, jgoode[/tags]

Tonight, at sundown, Hanukkah (Chanukah) begins. So, for Tuesday’s Topic today, I say…

Happy Hanukkah to All!

Some fun facts and tid bits of holiday festiveness…

History:
Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, is a celebration of the victory of the Maccabees and the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple. It also commemorates the miracle of the oil that burned for 8 days” – from Holidays.net

Dreidle:
The letter on dreidls outside of Israel stand for “A great miracle happened there” but in Israel the last letter is different, to stand for “A great miracle happened here.”

Also in Israel the word for dreidl is “sevivion” (hebrew instead of yiddish) – from Rotemgear.com

Latkes:
Potato pancakes, also known as kartoffelpuffer or latkes or latkas (Yiddish: ???????), are shallow-fried cakes of grated potato and egg, often flavoured with grated onion. Potato pancakes may be topped with a variety of condiments, from savoury (sour cream, various cheeses) to sweet (applesauce, sugar with or without cinnamon), but traditionalists prefer them ungarnished. – from Wikipedia

The Star of David:
The Magen David (shield of David, or as it is more commonly known, the Star of David) is the symbol most commonly associated with Judaism today, but it is actually a relatively new Jewish symbol. It is supposed to represent the shape of King David’s shield (or perhaps the emblem on it), but there is really no support for that claim in any early rabbinic literature. In fact, the symbol is so rare in early Jewish literature and artwork that art dealers suspect forgery if they find the symbol in early works. – from The Jewish Virtual Library

Have a wonderful Chanukah!

[tags]hanukkah,penguin,jgoode,holiday,tuesdays topic[/tags]

Brand new this year, Kwanzaa Penguin and Happy Kwanzaa. Plus, don’t forget the smiley corn.. a fun JGoode original design because we just love the corn!

From wikipedia:
“Kwanzaa (or Kwaanza) is a week-long Pan-African festival primarily honoring African-American heritage. It is observed from December 26 to January 1 each year, almost exclusively in the USA.

Kwanzaa consists of seven days of celebration, featuring activities such as candle-lighting and pouring of libations, and culminating in a feast and gift-giving…”

Check out all three designs:

Happy Kwanzaa Penguin
Kwanzaa Penguin
and

Smiley Corn

[tags]kwanzaa, gifts,jgoode,penguin[/tags]