“It is estimated that more than 100 million children and adults need wheelchairs worldwide but do not have them either due to lack of money or availability.” – factoid from Wheels for Humanity’s brochure. Watching the orientation video at Wheels for Humanity’s headquarters I get a better idea of what life is like if you need a wheelchair, but can’t afford one. Quite simply – you live on a blanket or drag yourself around. Handicap children without ambulatory devices are generally homebound,... [Read more]

We have to rethink human waste and we are running out of time to get over the uncomfortable nature of the discussion and come up with real solutions. It’s an understatement to say humans produce a lot of waste. Adult humans produce 1-2 liters of urine a day; if you live to be 70 that’s around 10,000 gallons. Each of us also produces 13 gallons of feces annually - lovely. This overflow of excreta causes big problems. In countries like Zimbabwe lack of basic sanitary facilities leads to massive... [Read more]

When I first moved to Los Angeles I was amazed by the oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes, and other citrus trees that grew like weeds in the hot dry climate. How lucky the owners of these trees were! They could make fresh squeezed juice, salad dressings, desserts, and marinades with the tastiest freshest produce around. Over time though I noticed that many of these trees remained unpicked or only the very lowest branches were harvested. The fruit eventually blackened, hung lifeless on the trees,... [Read more]

I’ve field tested a lot of kids books on different age ranges this year reading for BookPals.  These books get thumbs up ratings from all grade levels… The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl Roald Dahl is the creator of such classics as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and Matilda. The Magic Finger is one of his shorter and lesser-known works, but the message within packs quite a punch. Finger tells the story of a young girl who has a magic finger.  One day she... [Read more]

I’m half way through with my Mission 50 to complete 50 different volunteer activities before 2010.  I picked LibriVox for number 25 because it’s really a unique volunteer experience… When I decided to become a professional actor and writer one of the jobs I looked forward to the most was voice-over acting. Being a huge fan of books on tape and cartoons I couldn’t wait to break into this area of the business. I took mimicry, improv, and speech classes, did bizarre exercises like recite Shakespeare... [Read more]

Summer is a time for playing tennis, surfing, skateboarding, riding a bike, hiking and generally enjoying the great outdoors in it’s natural splendor (what’s left of it anyhow.)  Regrettably fun in the sun isn’t always so kind to Mother Earth. Equipment, and careless behavior can often leave a heavy footprint.  With the health of the planet in mind here are some ways you can have fun and keep your global impact in check. Surfing You probably won’t find a group of people, other than environmental... [Read more]

Website: Operation Shanti Activity types: Fundraising - If you can’t manage to get to India and physically help this organization yourself the next best thing is raising money for them. Time Required: If you are an attendee of the class about two hours. If you are organizing it you will have a couple of weeks of administrative type work in your spare time. Skills Required: Basic Physical Fitness (attendee) or A Certified Aerobics/Yoga/Aqua/Pilates/Dance Instructor (organizer). Attire: For a yoga... [Read more]