Tag Archives: united states

Mama Mania

Proud mama moment here on scrink.com

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As many of my regular readers know my son Braeden has his own public charity of which he is the founder and it is called 3B Brae’s Brown Bags Foundation. The mission is to help provide homeless and low-income people within our community by giving them “to-go” bags which provide them with clean water, healthy snacks, a message from Braeden and a list of contact information to services who can provide them with further assistance.

Braeden has packed and delivered over 1,200 brown bags in less than a year with the help of many friends. He very much enjoyed the bag packing events hosted by the Delaware Collegiate 4-H and the UD Food Science Club. He has also received a great amount of help from Alpha Phi Omega the service fraternity on campus. Today, Monday, May 19th he will have a table out near the University of Delaware’s Morris Library fountain as he has been invited to participate in the UD Day of Service from 5 until 7pm.

Right now Braeden’s project is one of 27 national finalists to receive the Lead 360 Challenge Jefferson Award for Public Service. The finalists are participating in a contest to earn votes. The top 5 voted projects will attend the national ceremony in Washington, DC next month.

Please help get 3B Brae’s Brown Bags into the running. No registration is required and it takes only two clicks. One click from the link in this email and once click on the orange vote button on Brae’s page. https://lead360.jeffersonawards.org/challenge/3b-braes-brown-bags/

You can vote one per 24 hour period until midnight on Wednesday, May 21st.

For more info on Brae’s Brown Bags check out his blog at braedenquinn.com.

 

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Mama Mania

3B Brae’s Brown Bags Receives Grant

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Of course since 3B: Brae’s Brown Bags is an important cause to me I absolutely have to share with you this amazing news.

Braeden Mannering, 10-year-old, has received a $500 grant from DoSomething.org to go towards his Brae’s Brown Bags project.

This is very exciting news and you can read more about it on his blog.

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World Issues

Woman forced to resign after marrying partner of 14 years

Some of us have equality. Some of us do not.

This is a true statement even here in the land of the free, the United States.

It’s great to say all people should be treated equal and there are so many ways in which this is becoming more and more true, but the fact remains that there are still many people who are not treated equally.

tippiOne of those people is Tippi McCollough a teacher at Catholic private school Mount St. Mary Academy spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday since she was forced to resign 45 minutes after marrying her long-time partner. McCollough says, 45 minutes after they exchanged vows at their wedding, she received a phone call from her boss, saying if she didn’t resign, she would be fired.

According to an article on the Huggington Post website, McCollough was forced to resign on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 after returning from a trip where she had married her partner of 14 years. The former teacher, who had been in an openly gay relationship for 14 years, acknowledges her contract with the school contained a morality clause, but says she was never approached by the school about violating it until she was married.

This is an injustice. Tippi McCollough was not teaching about sexual orientation. Her relationship was not a secret. So why would a legally binding service to unite her and her partner mean she can no longer teach at that school? I understand it is a private school and they have a morality clause, but forcing a teacher to resign does not bode well for her when she goes to get a job elsewhere. Her commitment to her students did not change because she became married to her partner.

Here is a link to the statement from Mount St. Mary Academy.

If you would like to sign the petition from the Human Rights Campaign to show your support for Tippi McCollough you can find it here.

 

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Geekery

You belong in South Carolina!

My cousin-in-law, Nikki, posted this quiz on her Facebook page and I was curious so I clicked through and tried it out.

The quiz, from science.time.com, asks you a series of questions to find out which of the United States your personality best fits.

The article is by Jeffrey Kluger and Chris Wilson, their research finds that West Virginia is the most neurotic state, Utah is the most agreeable and the folks of Wisconsin are the country’s most extroverted. According to the quiz, I belong in South Carolina. I think this is a good thing. I’ve never been to South Carolina but I hear really amazing things about the state.

state

Sounds like a trip should be planned ;)

Let me know which of the United States you match up with once you take the quick quiz.

World Issues

Syrian intervention should be one of aid, not more bloodshed

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syriaOne million children are now refugees from Syria’s civil war — and more escape the violence every day. That is JUST the number of children who have fleed. They are broken from their families and friends, because their parents help them to get smuggled out of the war zones. Many have seen their homes bombed, their schools reduced to rubble, their communities destroyed. Since the crisis in Syria began over two years ago, 4.25 million Syrians are believed to have been forcibly displaced within the country with over 100,000 deaths caused due to the conflict. I can’t even begin to pretend that I have any idea what these people go through.

The news reports today make it seem like the US House will side with President Obama in his decision to strike against Syria after their apparent chemical warfare crime which killed over one thousand people a little over one week ago.

This particular issue has been one of great debate in my household and also across social networks. For the most part I think people either have the “just drop a bomb on the whole country” attitude or the “war will do anything except end the deaths of innocent.” It’s a lose-lose situation. If the US strikes in Syria the only guarantee is that there will be more bloodshed. But does that mean we should turn a blind eye? Does it mean we should allow the tragic and unethical displays of inhumanity continue?

I’m not sure the great majority of people are aware just what happens in Syria. I’m not claiming to be all knowing either. And I certainly do not have the answers. I do wish greatly that there could be some sort of mediation set into place to help the country become more peaceful.

You might want to check out this RAND* pdf entitled “Unfolding the Future of the Long War,” copyright 2008, which discusses issues involving the US and Syria… stemming long before the chemical warfare…showing there has always been a plan, there has always been something looming here and it wasn’t because the US cared about who died… do a search for pipeline.

So what I suggest we do, for those of us who can, is to give to the Mercy Corps, International Medical Corps, Unicef or agencies similar to them so we can help these children who are the real victims in this situation. If any intervention is put into place shouldn’t it be one of aid and not one of more bloodshed?

*RAND Corporation is a nonprofit global policy think tank first formed to offer research and analysis to the United States armed forces by Douglas Aircraft Company.

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Wellness

Speaking out against child abuse; Info on the Big Pinwheel Garden

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pinwheelsApril is Child Abuse Prevention Month.  Every year 3.3 million reports of child abuse are made in the United States involving nearly 6 million children (a report can include multiple children). An alarming statistic from childhelp.org states five children die every day in the United States due to child abuse and/or neglect.

This is a topic near and dear to my heart, if you are a regular reader of scrink.com you probably already know I’m an advocate against child abuse. The Pinwheels for Prevention are something I absolutely love and when I heard about this a couple years ago I was very excited because it’s a fun idea that everyone can get into an appreciate. (Click here for information pertaining to Delaware).

Why a pinwheel? These blue metallic pinwheels are reflective and symbolize the bright future that every child should have the chance to live. Every child deserves an equal chance to thrive and grow!
On April 16th, Prevent Child Abuse America will turn the “Big Apple” into the “Big Pinwheel” — the new national symbol for child abuse prevention — with a display of up to 5,000 pinwheels in Times Square! If you would like to help sponsor the  garden, click here.

The pinwheels will bring:

  • Awareness to your community about child abuse and child neglect.
  • Working with other groups in your community on a pinwheel project promotes early prevention Coordination.
  • Hosting an event where a speaker presents or educational materials are distributed helps Educate your community on how child abuse and neglect can be prevented and what to do if it occurs.

Among the nearly 287,000, children served by Children’s Advocacy Centers around the country in 2012, some startling statistics include:

  • 109,619 children were ages 0 to 6 years
  • 103,636 children were ages 7 to 12 years
  • 71,840 children were ages 13 to 18 years
  • 197,902 children reported sexual abuse
  • 49,155 children reported physical abuse

If you are not participating in Pinwheels for Prevention this year, you can still help out by  texting PINWHEEL to 20222* (powered by www.givebycell.com) and donating $10 to the cause.

Here is a coloring page you can download, color and then display to help spread the word.

pinwheelcoloring-thumb

Pinwheels for Prevention Coloring Page [pdf]

 

Entertainment

Yes, I am a self-professed Psych-o #psych

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Finally. FINALLY! The wait is over and the new season of Psych on the USA Network will begin today.

Anyone who knows anything about me is perfectly aware by now that I am crazy, psych-o crazy about this show. I have seen every episode many MANY times and could not possibly be a bigger fan. I have Psych bobble heads in the office on my desk. Shawn, Gus, Lassiter and Juliet all bobble affectionately as I type and every now and then I push their buttons to make them recite a quote from the show. Love!

Last season we were all left with quite the shocking cliffhanger when Shawn’s Dad was shot in the episode “Santabarbaratown.” It has now been over 10 months since the season 6 finale. That is WAY too long if you ask me. However, Psych fans are loyal and we are all pumped up for the seventh season to start. In fact, two weeks ago there was a Psych Slumber Party on the USA Network. They aired six of James Roday and Dulé Hill’s

Someone named Shawn Spencer on Facebook wrote: Boom! That baby is channeling 100% psychic juice. You should be very careful near fruit stands and labradoodles.
Someone named Shawn Spencer on Facebook wrote: Boom! That baby is channeling 100% psychic juice. You should be very careful near fruit stands and labradoodles.

favorite Psych episodes. I am proud to say I “checked-in” and received several stickers from Get Glue for watching the shows.

Something you may not be aware of but you really should embrace is the way the show allows you to interact online via the USA Network website’s S#ocial Sector.

“PSYCH The S#cial Sector is the next evolutionary step in storytelling as it engages our fans by bringing them into the story with their own social and video-based content which they can share with other viewers and become part of a fantastic show experience,” said Jesse Redniss, senior vice president, Digital, USA Network. “This Social TV activation reflects our ongoing efforts to push the boundaries of storytelling across every screen and harness the immense power of fandom by creating a deeper connection our viewers.”

Fans will help Shawn and Gus solve the case through a series of real-time communications, mini-games, crowding-sourcing challenges and an interactive Fan Theory Board where fans can post video responses to weekly challenges from the PSYCH characters.

Do not miss this fantastic show! Wednesday, February 27 at 10/9c on USA.