Please check out the new site. Have some fun, do some good, and get some happy!

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Shannon

Jessica in her pink yacht

Fitting to a teenaged girl, Jessica’s yacht was a bright pink one.  She is the youngest ever to complete the task – a continuous, solo journey without assistance in an amazing 210-days.  This speed, however, will not be recognized by the World Sailing Speed Records Council – the set minimum age is 18.  You can read the full story here, or watch this video from NewsOnABC:

Regardless of who recognizes it, Jessica has accomplished something truly amazing – and no one can take that away from her.  Congratulations!

I have learned that human hair can be composted, made into rope, into clothing, into furniture – if it’s long enough you can donate it to cancer patients.  It all seems so logical now that I know – but as I said, I just had never thought about it before.

Human hair also has another very important use – we shampoo our hair because it absorbs oil from our environment.  A pound of hair is capable of soaking up as much as a gallon of oil – and an organization called Matter of Trust has already collected 450,000 pounds of hair to begin to tackle the devastating BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  The hair is being stuffed by volunteers into recycled panty hose and made into booms to try to help contain and absorb the spill.  

Read more about it here, or watch this:

Thank you to all involved for your amazing efforts!

This is not an elaborate superhero movie – this, along with hundreds of volunteers and the city of Seattle, was Erik’s wish – made possible through the regional chapter of the Make a Wish Foundation.  An amazing tale of a city with a big heart and a kid with an even bigger imagination. 

Read the story here, or watch the video:

Thank you Seattle and thank you Erik!

“Our horse chestnut is in full bloom, thickly covered with leaves and much more beautiful than last year,” wrote Anne Frank in her diary on Saturday, May 13, 1944. 

The now famous tree could be seen from the window of the secret annex where Anne and her family went into hiding from the Nazis in World War II.  That tree was a continuous reminder to Anne during those years of the changing seasons and provided hope for the new life that she would begin following her liberation.

In recent years, the chestnut tree has faced some pretty serious challenges – a deadly fungus and moth infestation – and just narrowly avoided being cut down in 2007.  Some support structures have been built, allowing the tree to remain standing.

A few years ago, Anne Frank House (the museum that is housed in the very building that hid them in Amsterdam) began collecting chestnuts from the grand tree with the intention of allowing it’s offspring to continue to flourish and inspire hope in places all over the world, including Yad Vashem, Israel’s official Holocaust memorial and Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas among others. 

“As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow.”  ~ Anne Frank, February 23, 1944

Many of us have felt the pain of a lost pet.  They are usually found a few days later and just as frightened as we are – we won’t discuss the worst case scenarios.  After eight months, we often have given up hope that we will ever see our precious pets again.

 Imagine her surprise when Robin Alex, cat owner from Albuquerque, New Mexico got the call that Charles the cat was found, safe and sound and in Chicago. 

 How he travelled the 1300-miles may never be known, but thanks to the help of many caring strangers, Charles made the long journey back home. 

To read more, please go here.

Earth Day 2010

 April 22, 2010 is Earth Day. 

To find out activities that are happening here in Canada, and also to learn what you can do to help, please check here.

To learn about the global movement, click here. 

Only we have the power to save our most precious resource

We only have one world – do what you can to protect it.

David Shepherd and Travis Price

‘Pink Shirt Day’ was started by two students from Central Kings Rural High School in Nova Scotia in 2007. 

David Shepherd and Travis Price heard about a Grade 9 boy who was harassed simply for wearing a pink polo shirt to school – they went out and bought 50 pink tank-tops from a local discount store.  That evening, they sent the word out to their fellow students about the situation and passed on their idea.  The next day, they distributed the tank-tops at school, sending out the message that all the students were united and bullying would not be tolerated in their school.

Following this action, other high schools around the area began their own ‘Pink Shirt Day’ campaigns, and now three years later the Anti-Bullying message has spread throughout North America.

“I’ve learned that two people can come up with an idea, run with it, and it can do wonders,” says Travis. “Finally, someone stood up for the weaker kid.”

On April 12, 1980, Terry Fox dipped his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean in St. John’s harbour, Newfoundland signifying the beginning of his trek across Canada. 

Diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer at only 18, Terry had his leg amputated about six-inches above the knee to stop the spread of the disease.  He was fitted with a prosthetic leg, and within a few weeks of surgery he was walking – and in the fall of 1979, the idea of the “Marathon of Hope” was born. 

It was Terry’s intention to run from coast-to-coast to raise money for cancer research. His goal was to raise $24 million – $1 from every Canadian.  Running approximately 42 kilometres (26 miles) – a marathon per day, by the end of June Terry had made it from Atlantic Canada, through Quebec and into Ontario.  He was met with grand celebrations and was attracting world wide media attention – and with his trademark gait that still symbolizes hope and determination, he continued on his journey.

On September 1, 1980 after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres, Terry was forced to return to his home in British Columbia – his cancer had returned and had metastasized to his lungs.  The Toronto Maple Leafs offered to finish the Marathon of Hope for Terry but he politely declined, saying that he would resume when his health improved.

Later that month, Terry Fox was the youngest person ever to be awarded the Order of Canada and donations to the cause kept rolling in.  By April, 1981 he had exceeded his goal, raising $24.7 million for cancer research.

On June 28, 1981 Terry lost his battle – but 30 years later his message of hope, his dedication and determination live on, inspiring millions of people around the globe.  The first Terry Fox Run was held September 1981 in over 700 cities across Canada – in September, 2005 there were over 1,000 sites in Canada and 4,000 more worldwide.  To date, there has been over $500 million raised in his name.  And Terry’s legacy makes me so overwhelmingly proud to be Canadian.