[ baby formula drive! ]

sooooooo... the charity For This One is going back to haiti on march 14 to help out. www.forthisone.org

they have lots of contacts that work over there & what is needed most, at the moment, is baby formula. they are asking for monetary donations so that can buy palettes of formula (in the usa), making it easier to ship, instead of getting lots of different boxes, tubs, bottles etc. that will need to be packaged up.

formula is virtually impossible to buy in haiti.

for this one will be taking as much as they can on the plane with their luggage ~ hand delivering the formula where it is needed. the rest will be shipped over, picked up by them & again hand delivered.

please make a donation... however small, to keep babies fed.

we are aiming to raise $2,500 by march 12th... the needs are great & every little helps.

100% of money collected will be used for the purchase & delivery of formula & other essential goods on the ground in Haiti ~ what other charity can claim that?

if you would like to send this flyer out to anyone that you think might be able to help, daycares, schools,  libraries etc ~ you can download a pdf on:


www.519design.com/flyer.pdf

or write a comment requesting one & i'll email you one

Please send your donations to
For This One,
PO BOX 265,
Bordentown NJ 08505

Or to make a credit card donation, please visit www.forthisone.org

please follow their efforts on facebook: www.facebook.com/forthisone

[ BAND AID! ~ let's do this! ]

sooooooo ~ i was driving along this morning deep in thought, thinking about whether we could do another haiti benefit concert in the summer... a big one!! (i hope mr RAY is reading this xoxo!!) or EVEN 2 concerts a year & the money raised would go to worthy causes & started thinking about band aid, you know 'do they know it's christmas?' bob geldof & midge ure....

first of all !!LIGHT BULB!! i never realized before, this morning, BAND AID means band aid as in what you put on a cut!! i'm english & we call them plasters... but even so i should have made that connection!!! i feel like i've had a revelation!! I MUST BE THE ONLY ONE WHO DIDN'T KNOW!!! a bit like when i was arguing over the phone with my sister about austin powers (one of my all time favorite films!!) she said something like 'didn't mike myers do a great job playing dr evil.' i remember replying almost in a 'what on earth are you talking about' voice... 'no no no no, mary.... mike myers played austin powers!!' & we argued for ages because i just didn't believe it!!! hahahahaha!!!

secondly... i can't believe this was 1984!! TWENTY SIX years ago!!

anyway i was looking up about band aid & found this really interesting!!

Bob Geldof, after watching a television news report by Michael Buerk from famine stricken Ethiopia, was so moved by the plight of starving children that he decided to try and raise money using his contacts in pop music. (The news report itself has become famous, being voted among the greatest television moments of the Century.)

[i think this is it:]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj2jf0US8zI

Geldof enlisted the help of Midge Ure [i had a HUGE crush on midge!! & my first single was vienna!]  from the group Ultravox to help produce a charity record. Midge Ure took Geldof's lyrics and created the melody and backing track for the record. Geldof called many of the most popular performers of the time, pursuading them to give their time for free. His one criterion for selection was how famous they were in order to maximise sales of the record.

The recording studio gave Band Aid 24 hours free to record and mix the record on 25 November 1984. The recording took place between 11am and 7pm and was filmed to release as the pop video. The first track to be put down was drums by Phil Collins including the memorable opening 'African Drum' beat. Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet was the first to record his vocal while a section sung by Status Quo was deemed unusable and replaced with the Paul Weller [YES!!!!!]/Sting/Glen Gregory section. Paul Young has admitted since in a documentary that he knew his opening lines were written for David Bowie who was not able to make the recording but made a contribution to the B-side. Boy George arrived last at 6pm after Geldof woke him up by phone to have have him flown over from New York on Concorde to record his solo part. [BRILLIANT!!!!!]

The following morning Geldof appeared on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show to promote the record and promised that every penny would go to the cause. This led to a stand-off with the British Government, which refused to waive the VAT (tax) on the sales of the single. Geldof made the headlines by publicly standing up to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and, sensing the strength of public feeling, the government backed down and donated the tax back to the charity. [GO BOB!!!!! i can't believe this happened in my lifetime, where the hell was i!!]

The record was released on 15 December and went straight to number 1 in the UK pop charts outselling all the other records in the chart put together. It became the fastest selling single of all time in the UK, selling a million in the first week alone. It stayed at Number 1 for five weeks, selling over 3 million copies and becoming easily the biggest selling single ever in the UK. (It has since been passed by Elton John's tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, but it is likely to keep selling in different versions for many years to come.)


[ WON'T it be sooooooo cool to have benefit concerts for kids, really cool singers... money to worthy causes, my cogs are spinning!!! ]

[ with a little help from our friends ]

>

sooooooo... today was the day of the mr RAY & friends concert! i kept waking up every hour because i was scared i was going to over sleep!

the concert was BRILLIANT!!! it was a room full of big hearted people enjoying music from really generous, talented musicians, coming together to do something good for haiti.

from the ticket sales & the auction we managed to raise $4000!!


the needs in haiti are vast & will continue to be for the foreseeable future. if you can help in anyway, resources, time etc please contact info@ForThisOne.org

you can follow their progress here: www.facebook.com/ForThisOne

[ an extract from an update posted there: ]

'The UN is distributing food and water, but entire families are required to stand in line all day in the sun in order to receive it. If they are in line, this means they cannot do anything else - like search for loved ones, remove rubble from streets or from their own homes, or look for jobs. They cannot be productive because they must be in line for food. Also, the UN is patrolling these lines with heavily armed guards. This doesn't feel very good to the honest civilians standing in the lines and it has caused more than one scuffle. (We're not knocking the UN - we know they mean well. We're just suggesting there's a better way).

JT and Adam spent their week in PAP developing relationships with the organizations stockpiling food at the airport, working with them, and procuring food from them which they then discretely (so as not to be robbed by gangs) brought back to the team at Sherry Faussey's school and orphanage. Here, the food reaches the team of missionaries who are intimately familiar with the neighborhood and the local pastors as well as the school's teachers. The local pastors and teachers also know the neighborhood. With their help, they are quietly dropping food into each tent in the neighborhood. So everyone eats. No one stands in line for it. And there are no guns involved. Humanely obtained, compassionately delivered food.

THIS is why For This One supports the work these missionaries are doing. They live in haiti. They know the people. They know the turf. They know how to get what's needed where it needs to be. And it is always done in a way that is dignified and peaceful and compassionate. And it works.

The work of the teams has been so effective that it drew the attention of other groups and the U.N. itself. Everyone wants to know how they have been able to get so much done '




THANK YOU:

to everyone that came to the concert! we hope you had a blast!!

to everyone that donated something, however small ~ it ALL helps!

For This One (jenn, darren & christine) ~ who tirelessly are doing everything humanly possible to raise money & collect supplies to help the people of haiti.

mr RAY for generously starring at the concert & having the talent to draw the crowd! without you doing this we wouldn't have had a concert! YOU ROCK MAN!

mr RAY's special guest friends: lisa bouchelle, paul geiger, carmen plummer-rubin, joe bellia dusty micale & miss amy ~ you are all wonderful!

carolyn taylor ~ coolest PR person ever!

kiddie academy princeton for the drop off of haiti supplies, you really are the best daycare center!

thomas sweets & contes ~ THANK YOU!

best buy ~ for the 26" TV!!

the following people for gift certificates: thomas sweets, contes, music box studio ~ janet campbell, music together ~ sarah orfe, director of the princeton lab school, cropping circle, getting2knowU ~ jane klein conklin

the awesome guy that donated $500 ~ THANK YOU!

sharon dunham, robert wood johnson, conference manager ~ for hosting & all your help with that!

all those that posted posters & forwarded emails about the event.

friends & family that came early to sell tickets

[ when stars align ]

sooooooo... i had real trouble breastfeeding (that's a whole other blog right there) & when oscar was 11 days old i made my first trip out with him to a breastfeeding class with enough supplies & equipment to have safely overcome almost any emergency & survived for 3 months. seriously it looked like i was going on vacation!

little did i know that this class was the foundation to so many adventures & meeting so many wonderful people.

a few of us have kept in touch & have been great support.

last august, one of these people announced she was going to help out in haiti. first of all, i had no idea what a devastated country haiti was, without electricity, clean water, food, medical treatment...  & secondly i couldn't believe my friend jenn whose 3 children were all under 4 at the time had the ambitious drive to organize this & go, i was in awe...

if i had been asked to go i probably would have thought of a million excuses as i'm sure jenn could have but she didn't & she went on her way raising money collecting formula & supplies. i felt kind of guilty but very proud of her & wanted to help as much as i could. i posted the list of things she needed on free cycle & went round collecting items from generous people.

jenn returned with lots of stories, photos & a big piece of haiti in her heart.

she started up a charity with darren & christine ~ For This One   www.ForThisOne.org  *(please see below for the story that inspired the name)

and now... the earthquake

needless to say jenn, darren & christine have been selflessly working around the clock raising money, organizing drop offs etc etc  please visit their website www.ForThisOne.org

there are some people you meet in life that make you a better person, jenn, for me, is one of these. her enthusiasm & passion for this cause as well as juggling a job & family have inspired me to do more to help.

trying to think of a way to raise money i contacted mr RAY to see if he would do a children's benefit concert. i knew deep down he'd do it if he could & he is! he also has 4 guests lined up too!

(if you've not heard of this rock legend look up this older blog [ oscar & flynn's party! ~ featuring mr RAY ]  )

www.mrRAY.com

so please come out & show your support for this cause ~ SPREAD THE WORD!

here's the flyer:
http://tekprosystems.com/forthisone/mrRAYhaiti.pdf
Saturday, Jan 30, 10:30 am (doors open at 10 am)
Mr. RAY performs a benefit to HELP HAITI!
Robert Wood Johnson Hamilton Center for Health and Wellness

also we are looking for some cool stuff to auction off! & please let us know if you know of any other ways of publicizing this, radio etc

info@forthisone.org

i'm just off to deliver a car load of donations from kiddie academy princeton ~ thank you guys sooooo much!!

*(inspiration to For This One name)

The Star Thrower

Once upon a time, there was a man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer, he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?" The young man paused, looked up and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I guess I should have asked, Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"

"The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die."

"But young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves. "It made a difference for that one!"

His response surprised the man. He was upset. He didn't know how to reply. So instead, he turned away and walked back to the cottage to begin his writings.

All day long as he wrote, the image of the young man haunted him. He tried to ignore it, but the vision persisted. Finally, late in the afternoon he realized that he the scientist, he the poet, had missed out on the essential nature of the young man's actions. Because he realized that what the young man was doing was choosing not to be an observer in the universe and make a difference. He was embarrassed.

That night he went to bed troubled. When the morning came he awoke knowing that he had to do something. So he got up, put on his clothes, went to the beach and found the young man. And with him he spent the rest of the morning throwing starfish into the ocean. You see, what that young man's actions represent is something that is special in each and everyone of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can, like that young man, become aware of that gift, we gain through the strength of our vision the power to shape the future.

And that is your challenge. And that is my challenge. We must each find our starfish. And if we throw our stars wisely and well, I have no question that the 21st century is going to be a wonderful place.