I’ve long toyed with this idea. I am sure it’s nothing new and people probably do it all the time, but for anyone looking to buy me Christmas or birthday presents, I would like them instead to make a small donation to my favorite charities. I’m an impulse shopper and at times spend foolishly so if there is something I *really* want, I’ll buy it for myself. Read more…
The telethon is now over and the Jimmy Fund raises over 4 million dollars in the past two days. The proceeds from this will go to fund cancer research and to help make the lives of children and families dealing with cancer have a sense of hope.
My friend emailed this to all of us yesterday during the final drive of the charity telethon where the Jimmy Fund was trying to reach it’s goal of 5 million in these tough economic time. I hope you can find time and a little money to still donate. Read more…
I just made a donation to the Fisher House to support the great work they are doing. The Fisher House provides a home away from home for the families of America’s soldiers who often have to travel long distances to receive specialized medical care.
This is a great cause and your help is needed this holiday season to make sure the families of our wounded soldiers can be close to a loved one at these most stressful times.
Thank you, and Happy Holidays!
To be considered in my top X “All Time” movies it has to pass one test. Will I stop what I am doing and watch it, whenever it is on, no matter what I am doing? With that as the criteria, here are my top 5 movies of all time:
I’d like to see what my other friends choose as their top movies, so consider yourself tagged:
‘Skate for Sully’ is happening tomorrow at 2pm at Smithfield Municipal Hockey Rink.
I want to make a last minute push for more contributions. We have received $205 dollars in contributions (thanks so much!!) so far.
Here is a news article in the Valley Breeze that tells Shannon’s story. (Excerpt below):
SMITHFIELD – When 5-foot, 1-inch Shannon Sullivan became the first girl to play varsity hockey here, in 1991, she despaired of looking dainty – so before each game she would tuck her flowing, flame-red hair into her helmet.
Her opponents cut her no slack on the ice; she remembers once being checked so hard that “I had to crawl back to the bench – I could barely catch my breath.”
Now, the glory of two high school championships is long past, and at 32, she concedes with characteristic understatement that “I’m kind of in a pickle.”
A fighter by nature, Sullivan is confronting hard times. And once again on her mind are those trademark, shoulder-length curls.
She pauses for a moment in a conversation laced with humor and composure, and then confides, “The first time I cried was last Thursday, when my hair was falling out in my hands.”
That was the private Shannon Sullivan few see as she confronts her second bout with cancer in four years – but true to form that day, she quickly reached for the positive. Her tears dried, she says, and she took control.
“I told myself, ‘Get the razor and shave it all off’ – then I was fine.”
If you have the time and the inclination, please consider making a small donation using the ChipIn widget below.
Related Links:
Harrison Avenue in the South End of Boston is the place to be…on the First Friday of the month. SoWa (South of Washington) is a trendy area of Boston that is home to some very talented artists. 450 Harrison Avenue houses 15 galleries and over 50 artists studios whose sole purpose is to “promote the diversity and individuality of the artists working in this flagship space, the center of the SOWA Art District”
Attending First Friday was a very exciting experience for me. I don’t “do art” so to speak. I like what I like. But going to SoWa and seeing the artists in their environment was a revelation of sorts. There was such a variety of art, culture, personality and ambiance.
First Friday was a great opportunity for me to meet an artist whose work I have admired for the past 3 years, Charyl Weissbach. She is an encaustic impressionist that has a beautiful mind and eye for landscape. The picture below does no justice at all for her incredible work (camera phone, meh). So I encourage you to visit Charyl’s website to see her online body of work.
Here is a list of all the artists we saw:
If you live in Boston and have even the most remote appreciation of art I highly recommend attending. The studios are open daily and also by appointment (please check with the individual artists) but attending on First Friday was quite the experience.
#ramday is a twitter meme started by new twitter friend @thespottedduck. It means Random About Me Day and it is when people tweet (a message to Twitter) a random piece of information about themselves that would not normally come up in conversation.
It has been an interesting way to learn new things about people (and meet new people in general).
Some favorites so far:
News Article: Smithfield hockey pioneer Shannon Sullivan fighting cancer a second time
I also wanted to give more info about the benefit and alternate ways of contributing:
The game to benefit Shannon Sullivan, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30, will feature volunteer players who are at least 16 years old, and will include a slapshot contest for spectators and a puck throw competition for children. Game tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. Tickets for the after-game buffet at Ticker’s are $15. For more information or to sign on as a player contact Alyson Aceto at 401-487-7085 or aaceto21@yahoo.com , or Jenny Trainor at 401-255-7582 or jenn_trainor@yahoo.com .
If you would like to contribute online, please use the ChipIn link at the end of the article. There is absolutely no contribution that is too small.
Original post below:
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Do you have the kind of friend that no matter how long it has been, you can get on the phone and pick up right where you left off? There are no preconceived notions of how often you need to stay in touch to maintain “friend” status. There is no: “I haven’t spoke to her in years, she’s off the wedding/Christmas/BBQ invite list”. They are truly and simply just your friend, always.
Well, I do and I hope you are lucky enough to have one too. Trouble is that my friend, Shannon, needs some help. She was just recently downsized from a company where she worked as a graphic designer for 12 years, leaving her with no health insurance. Here’s the scary part, she was just diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time.
Here is her story (reprinted from her Lotsa Helping Hands page):
Shannon is a 32 year old woman diagnosed with Breast Cancer for the 2nd time and this is her story. Shannon began her hockey career in 1988 with the RI Panthers. It wasn’t long after that, that the town knew of Shannon’s strength and fight as she became the first female to play for her high school team the Smithfield Sentinels. Little did we know that Shannon would once again have to fight like she had never fought before when she was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in 2004. With amazing strength and bravery Shannon took on her course of treatment: lumpectomy, sentinel node biopsy, chemotherapy, radiation, and oral medication for the last 5 years Eventually, she was considered in remission and was working hard as a talented Graphic Designer in Massachusetts. Her curly hair grew back and a sense of normalcy returned to her life.
Recently, her inspirational story has taken a twist. After 12 plus years with her employer she was downsized leaving her without medical coverage. There wasn’t a pretty severance package and extended benefits. That alone is a daunting situation many families have felt and are experiencing during these difficult economic times. What separates this situation from others is that Shannon was informed a week later that, “the breast cancer is back.”
Shannon is facing her next battle with breast cancer which has metastasized to her lung. The treatment will be similar, the side affects all too familiar and with YOUR HELP the outcome will be positive. So help us by being a part of Shannon’s next chapter in life because there is more story to be written.
There is a charity hockey game at the end of August to support Shannon. I am collecting money through ChipIn and will pass along your well wishes and donations at that time. So help out if you can: a small donation or a prayer, anything will help. I am lucky to call her my friend. And I want to have this friend for a long, long time.
I have been working with a great nonprofit group in Boston called the Lawyers Clearinghouse on a pro bono basis to redesign their website for the past several months. Along with a friend, Jeff Baker of Partner Alliances, we have redesigned their website and provided them with a way to manage the content using Wordpress.
A little about the Lawyers Clearinghouse:
The Lawyers Clearinghouse provides pro bono legal services to nonprofit organizations, groups seeking nonprofit status, and guests of area homeless shelters. We offer lawyers meaningful and rewarding pro bono opportunities. We also provide educational programs for nonprofit organizations and lawyers.
The project consisted of coming up with new creative for the site, creating a custom Wordpress theme and carrying over the content from the existing site. From there, the group at the Lawyers Clearinghouse made content updates to get it ready for launch.
Here are a few screen captures of the site we started with:
The original site was very informative but dated. They also required a web designer to make simple content changes for them which made it difficult and time consuming to update the site. The goal of the project was to give the Lawyers Clearinghouse a modern look and provide them with the tools to manage the content themselves.
As a nonprofit, it is difficult to justify costs for web design services. It is equally as difficult to make rapid web changes when you need to work around the schedules of designers who are donating their time. So providing a content management system was key to the success of the project.
Here are a few screen shots of the launched site (live site here):
I want to thank Jeff Baker for his help with this project. The creative (with the exception of the logo) is entirely his work. I also want to thank David Bissett (of Dimension Media) for his custom Wordpress theme based off of Jeff’s creative.
People always talk about the power of twitter, it’s ability to effect change (through grassroots fund raising) and mass distribution of info (see California Firefighters) among them. But when I sent out a tweet minutes after my daughter Ella was born I received some quick congratulations from people I have never met face-to-face (but hope to some day).
So Thank You to all who have given congrats and well wishes on what is by far the most exciting time in our lives. And for a quick update, mom and Ella are doing great. We have a pretty good system down so far and have been able to get our sleep in when we can. This is all subject to change from what I have heard 
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