Days 8-12

Am I the worst blogger ever? Probably not buuuut, I come pretty close to it. As with most holidays, my schedule got pretty crazy leading up to Christmas and I was unable to post the final 5 organizations. But I didn't forget! And since it is not the new year, yet, you can still make your tax-deductible donations for 2011. So here they go!

Day 8: Invisible Children

I have a huge heart for ending the use of children as soldiers. Probably my biggest passion. And Invisible Children is the organization that kickstarted all of that with a simple documentary screening. The documentary was shot by two USC students (fight on) and outlines a plan of action to end the horrific practice in which an estimated 300,000 children are sucked into. Since I have seen it, their documentary has gone viral, and the cause/ scope of their work is growing. Check out their site, use the resources, and donate to end the use of child soldiers.

Invisible Children

Day 9: American Diabetes Association

My grandfather passed away a few years ago due to complications from diabetes, and so this is dear to my heart. Diabetes is a painful and stressful condition to live with, and to date there is no cure, only medications that assist in managing symptoms. The ADA is working hard to provide the correct support to families living with diabetes, spread awareness, and find a cure. Please browse their website to learn more information and donate if you can.

Day 10: KPCC

Public radio!! Might seem kind of random in a list of mostly health and social development organizations, but this ish is important. Not only because they are having yet another annoying pledge drive right now and I need you to donate so I can get back to listening to the regular programing, but also because KPCC provides some amazing news coverage right from our backyard. Knowledge = power and the more up-to-date you are on current events or business or public resources, the better you live your life. If you don't listen, you should tune in (especially to Madeline Brand, Patt Morrison, and Off-Ramp) get your daily news and learn something new. Most importantly, you should donate. Seriously, member drives drive me insane.

Day 11: Love 146

Love 146 aims to rescue and successfully rehabilitate girls and boys caught up in sex trafficking. Also with the aim of being a sustainable program, they train and hire locals to run and maintain the clinics and/or houses (some of them are rehabilitated slaves). A good buddy of mine is highly passionate about this org and introduced me to it. They are doing some amazing work to end the abusive cycle of sex trafficking. Learn more about their work on their website, look into hosting an event to sponsor them, and be sure to read their founding story.

Day 12: Life in Abundance, International

So I may be slightly biased because, (drumroll)... THIS IS MY NEW EMPLOYER!!! Yayyyy! But I wouldn't be working for them if I didn't truly believe in their work and mission. Life in Abundance was founded by a Kenyan doctor who had a heart to serve the poor in Ethiopia, and what began as a small, one-country dream has grown to become a very powerful agent for change all over Eastern Africa. And the best part is, they haven't stopped growing. The mission is to go out into the community to find out what their greatest need is, employ local resources and volunteers to meet that need through extensive training and teaching, nurture the local project until it can stand on it's own (the goal is usually 3 years max) and then move on to a different location or community need. Having experienced the impact of and working with this organization first hand during my time in Kenya, I can say that it is really changing the social structures in place around the world and empowering the poor to achieve a higher quality of life on their own.  Love love love this org, so proud to be on staff finally, and I hope that you will donate to their cause. If you have any other questions about it, you can ask me :)

This is the current website however we plan to launch a new one soon so stay tuned.

Well I hope you enjoyed this inaugural season of the 12 Days of Christmas Giving, even though half of the organizations were announced after Christmas. I'll be sure to try and keep you all updated on the madness that is moving to a new city should I remember to do so. Love and

Day 7

SAVE THE CHILDREN!! No, really. That's the name of today's organization, rounding out the first week of Christmas giving. Save the Children Federation, Incoporated was founded in the early 1930's shortly after the Declaration on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the League of Nations. Their goal is to ensure that governments/ international actors respect all rights of children and to create immediate and lasting change in the lives of individuals around the world. Save the Children works internationally, constantly collaborating, researching and creating new partnerships with other non-profits, governments, organizations and local partners to maximize positive impact. They have so many different accomplishments and areas of specialty that I am unable to consolidate it for you in this post. So check 'em out below. Give if you want to/ are able. Spread the word.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday night, and have a fun/ safe time gearing up for the big day next Sunday. Barikiwe sana.

-Educated & Employed

Day 6

Normally around this time of year, you hear a lot from St. Jude's hospital and how you can save lives in giving to their organization. St. Jude's does amazing work, however they tend to over-shadow another pediatric powerhouse in the Los Angeles area. Children's Hospital Los Angeles is "a non-profit, academic, pediatric, medical center" dedicated to providing the top medical services to children in the Greater Los Angeles area and from around the country. They are one of only eight children's hospitals in the US to be voted a Top Hospital, they are nationally ranked in all 10 pediatric specialties, and they are the only children's hospital on the West Coast. This hospital is highly under-rated and creating a lot of positive change for families in serious medical need right in our own community. Please check the link below and support this hospital if you are able. CHLA is also in need of blood donations from healthy adults of all blood types. So if you are unable to give your money, blood or platelets are a good alternative; plus the nurses at the CHLA donation center are really fantastic and give you the best cookies post-donation.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's organization. Apologies for the late night post. Be blessed.

-Educated & Recently Employed

Day 4 & 5

Consolidation is the name of the game. I was too busy yesterday to make a post in a timely manner; ergo, I decided to just combine these two dates and share some good orgs to invest your money in.

Day 4:

Sooo you may be a poor student, or unemployed, or just really low on funds thanks to your Christmas shopping, and all of this "donating to a cause" sounds great, but impractical, because you need every penny you can spare. Well, thankfully, there is an amazing organization that allows you to provide a loan for an entrepreneur abroad looking to improve their own life and that of their community. You get your money back. You just have to pretend that you put $25 into savings for a little bit, should you begin to have money separation anxiety.

Kiva is a 501(c)3 that allows you, the average (awesome) person, to become an investor in a start-up business on the other side of the world through micro-financing. You browse the site, pick a person and business that you would like to help out, loan them $25 or more, and then get re-paid once their business has taken off and made a profit. Kiva doesn't just throw money at people and expect them to run with it, though. In order to maximize the impact/benefit of the money invested, Kiva partners with other local financial organizations to provide educational resources, financial and community support, repayment collection and assistance, etc. to these international entrepreneurs.

Their website below explains the entire process much better than I can, and can get you started shopping for your first business investment or work on giving a Kiva Card! Enjoy.

Day 5:

Access to clean water is not something that we concern ourselves with too much here in the States. Mainly because we all have access to drinking water and multiple sources for water used for sanitary, cooking, and cleaning purposes. It's difficult to wrap your head around the fact that a large number of people around the world cannot even brush their teeth with tap water without risking serious illness or parasites, much less the fact that many of them do not have sanitary drinking water sources. The ability to access clean water is not only a global health issue, it perpetuates the cycle of poverty. 

Water for People is an organization that works with local entrepreneurs, civil society, governments and communities to create innovative and sustainable solutions that allow people to build and maintain safe water systems. Based in Colorado, this organization works internationally with various partners and communities to solve the water issue and positively impact the locals. Check out their site below and donate!

Tomorrow I will be prompt about an update, I apologize for the tardiness of this post. Be blessed. Happy Friday!

-Educated & Employed (what?! True story... Details coming to a blog post near you, soon)

Day 3

Happy Third Day of Christmas giving! Today we'll be focusing on the education of children and young women, specifically in Afghanistan. Founded in 1995 by Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, the Afghan Institute of Learning has been run for an by Afghan women and positively impacted the lives of over 7 million. The AIL provides pre-school and primary educational services, advanced classes and school support for older children and teens, learning centers for mothers and women in the community, Human Rights & Leadership training, as well as specialty training in healthcare and economic empowerment. Because this is a locally founded and run program, the positive impact made by access to basic healthcare, education and economic training is sustainable, laying the groundwork for a more peaceful and successful sociopolitical future for Afghanistan. So check out the site, read their newsletter, look up Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, and don't forget to donate if you can.

AIL classroom

Stay tuned for more ways to give or loan to different causes this Christmas. If you want to see an organization for a specific cause, let me know and I'll research it for you. Thanks for reading. Asalaam wa aleikum.

-Educated & Unemployed

Day 2

Today's organization is Partners in Health! They are a medical organization that began in Haiti and have more recently expanded internationally. They aim to provide a sustainable healthcare model in not only addressing the immediate needs of a community, but also through training locals in the healthcare profession so that the community can continue to solve their own healthcare needs without a foreigner. Beyond meeting medical needs, PIH is also committed to training locals in how to better manage their finances, begin businesses, and maximize the benefit of their agricultural resources. This organization is pretty awesome and has received 4 stars from Charity Navigator. Be sure to click below and browse the site, learn more about them, and donate if you can!

Have an awesome Tuesday, and go do something fun.

-Educated & Unemployed

12 Days of Christmas

Christmas means a lot of things to different people. And to those that don't celebrate Christmas, it must feel like a time when everyone just goes kind of bonkers. Even though I personally am not a huge fan of the holiday because of all of the commercial insanity that surrounds it, I do LOVE the central concept of Christmas, which is one of giving, sacrifice, and unconditional love. Whether you like it or not, Christmas is based on the gift of God to the world, which was both a display of love and later an immense sacrifice. I think that (especially) during this time of year it is important for us to mirror that kind of giving heart, no matter what social or religious background we come from. And not to share with just the people who we feel deserve it, or that we love directly, but to those that may be in much greater need than us and we have never met.

So in saying that, over the next 12 days I'll be posting links to organizations that make a tremendous and sustainable impact on the communities that they serve, and that you will be able to contribute to, no matter what your budgetary restrictions may be. (And if you are still feeling a bit Scrooge-ish, you can look forward to the tax deduction)

Without further ado, I present to you the International Justice Mission Holiday Catalogue!

IJM works tirelessly to prosecute those trafficking, purchasing, abusing and exploiting men, women and children around the world for labor and/or sex. This organization represents thousands of trafficking and slavery victims in court and assists them in reestablishing their lives as free-people. Be sure to read stories and testimonials on the site or in the catalogue. This is really a great organization working hard to protect trafficking victims and end human trafficking and exploitation.

Happy shopping. Stay tuned for tomorrow's organization. Bendiciones.

-Educated & Unemployed

Anything You Can Do...

I can do better?

This is the everlasting competition between men and women (at least in Western society) especially when it comes to competitive sports and working out. So when I told a buddy that I was working on pull-ups, I was a bit annoyed when the look of shock flashed across his face and he asked, "You can do pull-ups?" I was equally annoyed while watching a movie, where the lead female was using her upper body strength to get herself out of a crisis, and a friend (female) commented that that could never happen because "girls can't do pull-ups."

Since when are pull-ups a male-exclusive workout? And why can't we do them? Because we'll look like men? Because we've always ben told that we can't? Because we're scared of them? It cannot be because we are weak. In fact women are naturally internally stronger than men, males just have more testosterone and a different distribution of weight which makes it easier for them to outperform women on traditional strength tests. But women are strong. And we can do pull-ups. And we don't have enough natural testosterone in our bodies to bulk up. And it doesn't matter what size/ shape you are...

Basically, ladies, you have no excuse. You can do pull-ups, and do them well. Depending on your current fitness level, it may take you longer to complete a full dead-weight set, but your bodies can handle it!!!

Ok, so obviously the next question would be how in the heck do I get started? If you have a gym membership, there is no doubt a pull-up bar or machine located somewhere, and for everyone else, your brother, friend or boyfriend may have a pull-up bar lying around or installed in the house. Step to the plate and take advantage of the opportunity.

Before doing any exercise you do need to warm up and stretch out the muscles. a pre-workout stretch for pull-ups should not be the traditional static stretching. Instead you should do some arm circles, shoulder shrugs, and neck rolls to get the muscles ready. Once you've done that you should gauge just how much you are already capable of doing. Grab the bar with an overhand grip, hands shoulder width apart, and without jumping or kipping (pulling your knees up to assist) attempt to pull yourself up as close to the bar as possible. If you can do a full pull up, try to see how many more you can do. If you are unable to complete a pull-up in this form, try pulling up with your palms facing you (deadweight of course). This tends to be easier for women as this uses more of your bicep and chest muscles as opposed to the targeting of your back muscles with the overhand grip. Try to see how many you can do.

If you are unable to do either of these, don't be discouraged!! You can quickly work your way up to doing pull ups. Many workout instructors recommend trying chin-ups and negative pull ups to build up the muscle, and luckily you can get some assistance from a box or stepping stool to get you over the bar. For a chin-up, stand on a box and grip the bar, hands shoulder width apart, pull your body up until your chin is above the bar, take your feet off the box and attempt to pull your chin right above and below the bar as many times as you can. This helps build the smaller muscles that give you the final thrust up over the bar. As you get better you can start to drop your chin lower below the bar and work your way towards a full pull-up. Be sure to vary the grips you use so that you build all of the muscle groups proportionately.

Negative pull-ups are for building up the larger muscles in your back and arms. Get up on a box and get your chin above the bar, then, as slowly as possible, lower your body down until your arms are fully extended. Try and increase the amount of time that it takes you to lower your body all the way and do this more than once each time. Aim for 5 attempts at 5 seconds the first time and increase the time if you feel you can handle it.

Photo: mybodybeats.com

Assisted pull-ups with a machine or partner are also helpful in quickly building up your ability to complete this awesome workout independently. to make sure that your muscles are balanced, it is best to incorporate a push-up workout with your pull ups. For pull up workout plans, I suggest you check out the S.W.A.T. Workout by Stewart Smith, the CrossFit Official Website, a commercial fitness magazine's suggestions, your local trainer, military branch sites, or that awesome thing known as YouTube.

Ladies I want to see you doing pull ups!!! Not shying away from them. They are perfect for toning all of the typical problem areas, like flabby arms, your core, and your back. And the best thing is, because you are using your natural bodyweight, you won't look like a scary body builder, just really well defined and strong! Of course a healthy diet and lifestyle will help you achieve your goals more quickly, so be sure to make smart choices.

I hope this helps someone out there. I know it's a bit rant-ish, but I seriously am tired of the stereotype. It also took me a very long time to decide on a  topic to write on thanks to being unmotivated to blog haha, so I kind of went all out. In other news! I have some exciting things to blog about in the near future, be sure to stay tuned and be blessed.

-Educated & Unemployed