On the phone Tuesday night: “I got to go to bed.  I’m cleaning snake cages early tomorrow morning.” “Why!?” “Because they sh*! in them Mom.” “This is another one of those volunteer things isn’t it?” “No, this is for fun.” “Really!?” “Mom…” “Okay.  Just be careful.  Don’t get bitten.” “I’ll try.” 8:30 am Wednesday. Being a sloppy reptiles interior designer = the punishment you have to endure when you’re sarcastic with your mother and use four... [Read more]

The same day BP finally threw a cap over their spewing oil well in the Gulf of Mexico (which is expected to be as effective as celebrity rehab) the non-profitArtists & Athletes Alliance held a private discussion with Philippe Cousteau about the epic Gulf disaster.  Event attendees, like Jorga Fox , Alyssa Milano ,Stephen Baldwin and Jason Marz , were treated to Cousteau’s inside information about the spill and it’s consequences, and got a rare glimpse of his feisty Irish side when... [Read more]

After 15 grueling days of voting you’ve chosen Kidsave to receive the Reader’s Digest $1500. Kidsave supporters voted from around the world and one fan pledged to double the Reader’s Digest award so Kidsave will be receiving $4500 which is amazing and I’m beyond happy for them. I would like to thank all the groups that participated.  You should know that you all have rabid supporters and fans.  They flooded my site and as a result broke it.  Right now we are trying to resolve a technical... [Read more]

Reader’s Digest called last week to inform me that because I was featured in the “Make it Matter” section of the June/July issue I get a $1500 grant for either my non-profit or a non-profit of my choice. I don’t have a non-profit. I just help them. So I’m going to give the money to a non-profit. Problem is I can’t make up my mind. I worked with dozens upon dozens of different groups and I love them all for different reasons. To fix the problem I sat down with a group of scientists.... [Read more]

I went to a costume party the night before my first 5k run ever. Not the smartest move. I know. As a nondrinker/smoker/recreational drug user I figured I’d be fine. I don’t want to tell you this next piece because I’m sure I will get emails about being insensitive, trashy, heartless etc. but here ya go… I decided to go as a crack head like my roommate (it was a theme group). Insensitive – yes. Easy to do – you bet ya. We sprinkled our black clothes with powdered sugar, put on makeup... [Read more]

On May 12th the June/July issue of Reader’s Digest hit the newsstands featuring a story about TheGoodMuse (page 51 – damn right memorized). Since that day I have been inundated by the most humbling, unbelievable response and I just wanted to take a moment to say, “Thank you.” The purpose of TheGoodMuse and all these Volunteering Journals, besides being a tribute to my late and incredibly wonderful grandfather, was to demystify the volunteering experience and to encourage people to try something... [Read more]

One of the perks to living in Los Angeles is the regular invites to screenings ‘n such. Recently, I was invited to TreePeople‘s  headquarters to see a screening of the award-winning documentary “Dirt! The Movie”  . “Dirt” profiles our most underappreciated and squandered natural resource – you guessed it dirt – or soil if you want a higher-class name.  I approached Producer/Director Gene Rosow after the film and when the man handed me a plant-able business card that would... [Read more]