Photo by Sybren Stüvel

“Many hands make light work” - John Heywood

Hello, spunkadelic muchachas and muchachos! It’s that time of the week when we look at the big and little ways in which we can help one another and enhance our world. Are you feeling the love?

Free Rice: You might be familiar with Free Rice through Facebook or Myspace, but if you aren’t, go to this website and donate your time. They’ve combined a vocabulary game with the donation process. They ask you a multiple choice question and if you answer correctly, they donate 20 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program. So not only are you increasing your vocabulary, but you’re also helping out people in need - a win/win situation, if you ask me! You might also find this interesting; the rank of countries and their contribution to international aid. (The United States is donating the lowest amount while Norway is donating the highest. Yay, Norway!)

Recycled Houses: Dan and Marsha Phillips have taken the affordable housing crisis into their own hands. They use an unskilled, minimum-wage labor force to build houses for the working poor. The houses are made from materials that were about to be thrown into a landfill. So they’re combating three major social problems; low income housing, the reduction of landfills and training unskilled workers. Check out Dan and one of his homes (the house is truly awesome!);

Safe Dating: I know a lot of my readers are in their teens to early twenties, which is usually the prime dating stage. There are far too many rape and abuse stories out there and one of the best ways to prevent these is to be well-informed. My good friend Chelle is the writer of It Might Be Love, and she has also written the Dating Safety Guide (which you can download from the link for free) that looks at what you should know before you date someone, how to avoid nasty dates and what you can do in a dangerous situation. I encourage you to read and share the guide with your family and friends as the information is so so valuable. Personally, I think it’s a shame these things aren’t taught in school along with sex education, but we’re lucky enough to have people like Chelle sharing her advice!

Big love & cotton candy,

Ivy

xx