Join My Village

Did you know Malawi is among the world's least developed and most densely-populated countries? Because of the extreme poverty in the region, Malawi has a low life expectancy (44 years of age) and high infant mortality (89 deaths per 1,000 births, the 14th highest in the world).

As a member of MyBlogSpark, we wanted to share with you the news that was announced today at the Clinton Global Initiative Fifth Annual Meeting. President Clinton introduced a unique commitment between General Mills and CARE called Join My Village, an innovative online community that is fighting poverty in Malawi through the empowerment of women and girls.

Here's how you can get involved:

• Visit Join My Village and join one of ten village teams to benefit approximately 75 villages in Malawi
  
  
• As a village team member, you will get to know the women and families in Malawi through frequent updates, photos and stories



• You can also track how dollars are creating change and improving lives in Malawi


• Through simple online activities - answering a quiz question, telling a friend about Join My Village, or joining a village team - $1 will be unlocked by General Mills and will go to CARE's poverty fighting programs in the Malawi villages (limit of 3 activities per person per day, and $15,000 per online village team - or $150,000 in total)



• Additionally, General Mills will match personal contributions dollar-for-dollar for up to $50 per donor, $15,000 per village team or $150,000 in total



• CARE will distribute all funds raised directly to Malawi to provide economic opportunities for women and increase access to quality education for girls

Join My Village is setting out to drive measurable and long-term positive impact with women and families in Africa by tapping into the inherent power of women to connect with, and provide strength for, other women.

To learn more about Join My Village and help unlock funds to empower women and girls in Malawi, visit JoinMyVillage.com.

Courtesy of MyBlogSpark.

"Raise the Perfect Child! Be the Perfect Parent!"

The powerHouse Arena hosts a hilarious evening of stress-free parenting and

deliciously twisted child rearing tips on Wednesday, Oct. 14th with parenting manual authors:

Elizabeth Beckwith: Raising the Perfect Child Through Guilt and Manipulation
and

Dale Hrabi: The Perfect Baby Handbook

Refreshments will be provided. Elizabeth and Dale will be available for interviews.

WHAT: Raise the Perfect Child! Be the Perfect Parent!

WHEN: Wednesday, October 14, 2009

TIME: 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm EST

WHERE: The powerHouse Arena

37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (718) 666-3049

Fitness Tips by Natasha Linton

Natasha Linton spoke with Connecting Women Radio on shaping up for the fall: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/connectingwomen/2009/07/25/Connecting-Women

Here are some tips by Linton for our readers.

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Eating Fruits and Vegetables Like Going to the Dentist?

TwitterMoms and Horizon Little Blends is sponsoring a contest for for parents to share how they have their children eat their fruits and vegetables.

For some parents, feeding fruits and vegetables to their children is like going to the dentist--scary and painful. However, it doesn't have to be.

Here are some ideas that I have done with my child and some I have done without my child knowing (no, it doesn't include bribing or blackmailing):

• I have had my son help me prepare dishes that include vegetables and fruits. The fact that he helped prepare them makes them more special to him that he sees it is as a reward of eating something from his own hand.
• I have often included a very puree vegetable mix in hamburger meat, shishkabobs, etc.
• My son and I have always made frozen popsicle by freezing 100 percent juices. He enjoyed the activity, while I got to remind him that not only these are fun to make, but also better and healthy for him.
• My son is a the age now that he loves to use a plastic knife or butter knife with supervision, for example like putting peanut butter on celery sticks.
• I also include my son when grocery shopping asking him what kinds of fruits or vegetables we need at home.

Share your tips with us.

Click to Be Counted! Fight Breast Cancer!

Not many people know about the BRCA gene, listen to Stephanie Robin's interview on Connecting Women Radio: http://tobtr.com/s/661984. Stephanie Robin is on a mission to inform as many people on the BRCA gene. Stephanie wants to at least one million visitors to be informed about the BRCA gene. Go to Think Pink Rocks and the upper right hand corner of the site, Click to Be Counted. Be sure to read and become an informed citizen on the BRCA gene.

Be sure to join:

Facebook:

THINK PINK ROCKS 2009 (Group) - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=99763936269

THINK PINK ROCKS Invites You to Click and Be Counted (Cause) - http://apps.facebook.com/causes/346982/82426478?fb_page_id=100000181403726&m=6d54c0aa

Stephanie Robin (Profile) - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=712737187

Twitter: http://twitter.com/theBRCAgene

BLOG
www.thestephanierobinstory.com

Contest: Ready, Go, Play-Doh

Standing the test of time, shaping, molding and sculpting the Play-Doh compound never seems to get old! The creative, tactile experience of producing whatever comes to mind makes for awesome indoor fun with your kids.

Embracing the idea of creating food, Play-Doh has created a "Ready, Go Play-Doh" contest where our kids can come up with their own Play-Doh "food" creations for a chance to win a makeover of both their playroom and their school's playroom. You can visit www.ReadyGoPlayDoh.com to enter by uploading a photo of your child's food-inspired Play-Doh creation along with the "recipe" to make it.

The grand prize winner of the "Ready, Go Play-Doh" contest will win $10,000: $5,000 for a playroom makeover as well as a $5,000 "Doh-nation" to their child's school. Contest entries will be accepted through September 30, 2009. On October 15, 2009, the ten finalists will be posted on ReadyGoPlayDoh.com and the public will vote on who receives the $10,000 prize! The website will also feature a gallery of entries, so even if you don't win, everyone can see your child's creation.

Free Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is giving away supplies of Flat Rate Boxes. Go to prioritymail.com/offer24 to receive a free supply of Flat Rate Boxes and other offers.