idUnited

FreeRice.com just may be the coolest time wasting thing you can do on-line. Except like most other time wasting activities on-line (insert how you waste time here_) FreeRice actually accomplishes two goals. 

1. Provide English vocabulary to everyone for free.

2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

Here’s how it works >

FreeRice has a custom database containing thousands of words at varying degrees of difficulty.  It starts by giving you words at different levels of difficulty and then, based on how you do, assigns you an approximate starting level. When you get a word wrong, you go to an easier level. When you get three words in a row right, you go to a harder level. Every time you get a word right you donate 10grains of rice that is distributed by the United Nations World Food Program. How cool is that. The site raises money for the rice through it’s advertisers.

Instead of (insert how you waste time here_) go to www.FreeRice.com today and do something truly productive. I got to level 23 and raised 44o grams of rice. See if you can do better,.. I hope you can.

FreeRice is a sister site of the world poverty site, Poverty.com.

Via > PSFK

Another product release from the (RED) campaign. This (RED) Aqua Table is designed by famous architect Zaha Hadid. Priced @ $49,560,.. it’s probably just a bit out of your (at least my) price range,.. but it’s nice to look and all the profits are going to support the Global Fund.  

“Established & Sons is extremely excited to partner the (RED) campaign founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver in 2002. This global initiative’s primary objective is to engage the private sector in the fight against AIDS in Africa by channeling funds from the sale of (RED) products directly to The Global Fund. The iconic Aqua Table designed by Zaha Hadid has been the most sought after piece from the Established & Sons’ collection; it is sold internationally as both a Limited Edition of 12 and as a production table. Since it’s 2005 debut all edition pieces have been sold, one of the two Limited Edition’s prototypes was sold at a Phillips de Pury’s auction for $296,000 and another is currently being exhibited at the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum as part of the Zaha Hadid retrospective.”

Established and Sons is only going to produce 39 of the (RED) Aqua Tables. They are all signed by both Zaha Hadid and Bono and will be available for purchase directly through Established & Sons web-site.

Via > Trendhunter

Pretty cool project getting started today called > Bloggers Unite “Blogging for Hope” This blogger-driven campaign promises to raise awareness of abuse-related subjects and related non-profits around the world.

Bloggers are supposed to blog about putting an end to some sort of abuse (anything you want) and then track any measurable results (traffic counts, comments, links from others, recognition from charity or media, donations collected or made to a charity as applicable, etc.) for two weeks. Then the winners will be announced and they’ll receive some pretty cool prizes.

I love the idea and so far it looks like they’ve gotten a ton of bloggers on board. The thing is I just read about this today and don’t have time to participate the way i’m supposed to. But that won’t stop me from trying something in the next few weeks. Watch this space_

In the meantime get involved yourself or keep an eye out for some of the blogs that are participating.

Via > CopyWriteInk

The following information could turn out to just be a rumor,.. but for now I’ll help spread the word >

“…..Apple’s future product plans say the company is preparing to add a red-colored model to the line of petite clip-on players, possibly as early as next week…..”

Apple has already released a (RED) iPod nano as well as a (RED) iTunes gift card. As far as the (RED) shuffle goes we’ll have to wait until next Wednesday to find out if you can (really) get your hands on it. That’s when Apple will unveil it’s new products @ San Francisco’s Moscone West convention center. Until then this is just a rumor. It’s true! Go here.

Via > AppleInsider

Camilla Engman was chosen by the Converse 1HUND(RED) artists program to design a pair of Chucks for the (Product) RED campaign. Check out her Little Red Riding Hood inspired kicks here >

“For Converse 1HUND(RED) Artists, Engman drew upon the fabled character of Little Red Riding Hood as her primary inspiration. Engman noted, “The artist’s role in contributing to a cause is to try to help us see the cause anew, to understand it, to feel it in a visceral way.” She chose the character for her pluck and bravery, her warmth and kindness, and her iconic familiarity. Indeed, the Little Red Riding Hood character appears in many of Camilla’s works as a recurring motif. “I wanted the design not to interfere too much with the shoe and to be something I would like to wear myself. The Little Red Riding Hood character has appeared in many of my paintings and drawings and probably will again. She has so many attributes that I like,” she added.”

Converse hasn’t started selling Camilla’s kicks yet,. they’re still sampling them. Once they receive enough orders (I’m sure they will) then they’ll begin manufacturing them. So keep an eye out,.. or check back for an update. Congrats Camilla! 

Spotted over @ NOTCOT.org

This is by far one of the best water projects I’ve seen! A girl named Katie Harrison along with a small and dedicated voluntary team started an independent, not for profit company called FRANK. Who in the heck is FRANK?

“FRANK Water is an independent bottled spring water company.  FRANK aims to supply the UK’s demand for bottled water in a socially responsible way – by giving the net profits (100%) to technology based clean water projects around the world.

Every one litre of FRANK spring water bought in the UK helps fund 200 litres of clean, safe drinking water for villagers at the FRANK projects in India and Africa.”

Water for Water,.. straight up. How great is that!? Especially considering how serious the worlds water problem is. Can you believe it’s the year 2007 and there is still people in the world who don’t have access to clean water!?!?!

Stop and think about it. WATER. The most basic human right. No access.

While here in America and most developed countries we pay, $1, $2, $3,.. sometimes up to $5+ for a bottle!

Did you know that:

More than a billion (MORE THAN A BILLION!) people in the world today lack access to clean drinking water. The result is that there are more people in the world’s hospitals today suffering from water-borne diseases than any other ailment.

Two million children die every year - 6000 a day - from such infections. Most of them are under the age of five.

The question now is,.. when is FRANK coming to the US? Or when will a not for profit like FRANK be started here? Or better yet,.. when will one of the big brand water companies announce they’re going to do something about this crisis and help?..

While I was writing this,.. I was curious to see how much the big brands were spending on advertising water to us?

I won’t name names,.. but one company I found spent $20million+!!! And in the report it states “Compared to the competition, this budget is about the same” You can read it here.

If a company and their competition can afford $20 million to market & advertise WATER to us,.. imagine how much they’re making off us!?… And imagine how much they could give to help the billion+ humans who have no access to clean water.

Think about it.

Via > Trendhunter

I love clean water projects,.. here’s the latest one I’ve spotted >

“The TAP Project — whose board of directors boasts such names as Pharrell Williams and Mary-Louise Parker — aims to create viable sources of clean water programs for those living in underdeveloped countries.”

DKNY is helping out the cause by designing this limited edition t-shirt ($30) They will be available in their Manhattan stores and on dkny.com. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the $30 tee will benefit UNICEF.

Via > FadedYouth

A good friend once told me that > ”show is more powerful than tell” It was a great piece of advice and one I try to remind myself of all the time.

The ad below features Shirley Manson for PETA UK and is a perfect example of “show” and not just “tell”.

I hope you can try and remember this picture next time you wish you had something made of fur : )

Via > Houtlust

I must admit I really like the (LESS) Campaign. (LESS) is a collaboration between Romantic Static and Words Pictures Ideas that allows you to donate to great charities with out buying stuff from a major corporation. Their motto is :

SHOPPING IS NOT A SOLUTION: Buy (LESS). Give More. 

“Join us in rejecting the ti(red) notion that shopping is a reasonable response to human suffering.”

And the Philosophy is true,.. if you truly want to give to a cause,.. why not just donate the entire amount?>.. I actually had this discussion/conversation with a reader when I wrote about Product (RED)  awhile back. His comment went something like:

Stop the Buying.  To Stop the dying.

I agree,.. if you really think that by buying a bunch of stuff that’s connected to a cause is your way of donating,.. well then your missing the point. The point is to become aware of a cause and walk away with the desire and passion to want to learn more about how you can help. At least that’s what I hope happens.

So yeah,.. saying you bought a hoody from the GAP,.. or idUnited doesn’t make you a philanthropist : )

I still think the philosophy of having a product/service connected to a cause is a great. I wish I had more everyday options to choose products/services that donated/supported causes. At the very least allowing me to have that option. 

One thing that comes to mind is bottled water. There’s hundreds of different brands of bottled water. And there’s only one I know that donates to Clean Water projects. That’s Ethos Water,.. and they only give a nickel (which in my opinion is weak,.. especially considering it’s about $2 a bottle and Starbucks owns them,.. anyway) Even at just a nickel Ethos water is expecting to raise $10 Million in just 5 years!! What about Dasani, Aquafina, Fiji, Voss, etc..!! Imagine how much more could be raised?… Just by drinking bottled water…..

What about text messaging?… I get charged 10cents for every txt msg I send (I didn’t buy the plan) Anyway the number of txt messages being sent per day is probably ridiculous (if you can find this figure please let me know) Let’s just estimate it’s 10million and take just 1penny from each 10cent charge.

10,000,000 txt msgs per day x $0.01 = $100,000 a day x 30 days = $3 million a month!

Just by taking a penny! 

Verizon (as of Jan 2007) had 59,100,000 customers! What if Verizon offered to donate a penny a month on your behalf?… You get to choose from a select number of Charities,.. (Like Good Magazine does) 

$591,000 a month. One penny. Not bad. I would join the network.

How about gas? $2.50 a gallon,.. I won’t even get into that.  

I guess the point I’m trying to make is,.. if your spending your money anyway,.. it might as well go toward a good cause. Especially if you end up learning about a cause you never knew about before : )

I’ll leave you a couple of quotes that still make me believe the concept is a good one. And yeah,.. maybe it needs some tweaking,.. (Like PSFK points out,.. Did (Product) RED spend more on advertising then they actualy raised for charity?) but at the end of the day,… Especially here in America (the Capital of Capitalism) We can use the strength of our economy and the habits of our consumerist culture to make a change,.. even if it’s just slightly : )

“Business has now become the most powerful force in society. We cannot solve social problems unless business accepts a leadership role. That in turn requires business to act in the interest of the common good.”

_Ben Cohen > Ben and Jerry’s

 “The prevailing view of trade could be described as commerce without conscience. And conscience is the key way out.”

_Anita Roddick > Body Shop

Thanks if you read all that! I guess that’s what happens when you stop writing for so long  : )

Via > JoshSpear

Do you have any old mobile phones? [this guy does] I’m sure we all have a few old ones in a drawer somewhere. I know I do,.. and for some reason I keep holding onto them like I might actually use them again?.. Anyway we found a great site called Wireless Recycling. Check out what they do >

“Help our environment and the planet. Help a charity and a person in need. And you don’t have to do anything except find the old cell phones collecting dust in a drawer or closet at your home. Simply turn them in, and get a tax deduction!”

You can go to a drop off location closest to your house [just type in your zip] and drop off the phone. Then you get to choose from a list of 16 charities to support [a newer model phone can be worth up to $10. The older models down to a $1]. You can even start up your own local collection as a fundraiser for your own favorite charity! Your choice : )

Helping the environment + helping charity + getting rid of your old cell phones = What are you waiting for? Go get rid of that old brick today!