hope week

 George Lenker/ESPN

This article by Rick Reilly is absolutely amazing.... 

it will change your day, at the very least

dinner table quote worth contemplating

"Nowhere in life does anything 

replace enthusiasm"

- JL

Summit on the Summit: it begins

Yesterday, January 7th, a group of celebrities and activists began their climb to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for the global water crisis. Jay Lavender, co-writer of the Break-up, is their writer and blogger. You can follow him and the climbers on his blog http://sotsk.tumblr.com

The press release is below...

THE ASCENT BEGINS:

KENNA, JESSICA BIEL, EMILE HIRSCH, LUPE FIASCO,

ELIZABETH GORE AND FRIENDS

EMBARK ON SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: KILIMANJARO

TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE GLOBAL CLEAN WATER CRISIS

January 8, 2010 (13,640 Ft, Mt Kilimanjaro ) – The last two days, Kenna, Grammy-nominated musician, philanthropist, “actionist” and mastermind behind SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro, began the week long trek, on Thursday, January 7, up Kilimanjaro joined by Emile Hirsch, Jessica Biel, Lupe Fiasco, Isabel Lucas, Santigold as well as many of the world’s brightest minds and major cultural influencers (complete list below), for the ascent to raise awareness of the global clean water crisis.  Since originally announcing SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro last year, the  project  has raised awareness of the global clean water crisis as well as funds on www.summitonthesummit.com for The Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and Water For People's Playpump Technology.  The expedition is also being documented and produced by Radical Media, Procter & Gamble Productions and Fury League Inc. for a documentary to run on MTV on March 14 at 9pm/8pm CST.

For Kenna, the vision behind SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro stems from his drive to create a greater good for our youth and has personal meaning as his father was deeply affected by water-borne illness as a child in Ethiopia and his uncle had passed away from a related illness’ as well.  Kenna has inspired his influential friends to join the climb which include:

·         Jessica Biel, Actress (upcoming Valentine's Day and The A-Team)

·         Lupe Fiasco, Grammy-Nominated musician

·         Isabel Lucas, Actress (Transformers 2)

·         Santigold, Musician

·         Emile Hirsch, Actor (Into the Wild and Milk)

·         Alexandra Cousteau, National Geographic Emerging Explorer 
·         Elizabeth Gore, Executive Director for Global Partnerships for the United Nations Foundation

·         Simon Isaacs, International Development and Water Expert,

·         Michael Muller, Award Winning Photographer Michael Muller

·         Jimmy Chin, Award Winning Photographer

·         Kick Kennedy, Environmental Activist and Granddaughter of Robert Kennedy

·         Bernise Ang, Social Entrepreneur and Recipient of the YouthActionNet Award & Fellowship

·         Dr. Greg Allgood, Director of the Children's Safe Drinking Water Program at Procter & Gamble

·         Melissa Arnot, Mountaineering Expert

·         Jason Walsh, Renowned Trainer and Movement Specialist

Participants of the  SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro team have been blogging and discussing the issue of water alongside educators who are leaders at the forefront of global issues. As a team they have been learning of solutions to the problem, discussing how to improve social awareness and embracing the idea that they are now the example for showing ways to take action and give back to those with little or nothing.

Supporters can follow the action and interact with the climbers through the SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro website (www.summitonthesummit.com) which is being updated daily with additional communication through Facebook, Twitter (@sotsk) and a dedicated climber blog (www.sotsk.tumblr.com). Visitors can also get a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation and training that went into the climb from a series of web videos, keep track of climbers’ progress on the mountain with the help of GPS trackers, plus stay informed and interact throughout the climb.  Those who wish to contribute to the cause may sponsor a foot on the site or purchase products with proceeds going towards the cause.

In addition to HP, the official technology partner, PŪR Water Filtration, providing financial support and water filtration solutions, and First Ascent by Eddie Bauer, outfitting the entire climb, Microsoft has joined  SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT as the official Expedition Software of  SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro , joining in support of raising awareness of the global clean water crisis.  The base camp will be outfitted with the high-powered HP TouchSmart PC featuring Windows 7 touch enabled software to help track each climber’s progress, monitor weather conditions and capture every aspect of the climb. All funds raised by SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro will be managed and distributed through the United Nations Foundation, the project’s charitable advisors.

food for thought

                                                                              click on photo for video

Wouldn't it have been nice if the H1N1 vaccine 

had been available for our children before the school year started?

This site just went live this morning:
www.fastervaccines.org

Below is a statement from the Congressional Commission worth thinking about:

This is a Call To Action video for the BIPARTISAN Congressional Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism. We've been discussing the H1N1 vaccine issue since the spring when we knew it was a virtual certainty that there would be insufficient supplies this fall.

We are the first Congressional Commission to use social media to reach out to the public. If you send an e-mail to your Senator or Representative, a 22 year-old staffer will make a check mark on a score card. However, if we get the response that we think is possible, it will give some real power to former Senators Bob Graham (D-FL) and Jim Talent (R-MO) to sit down with leaders in Congress and the White House. 

We are not selling anything except an idea. With the capability to make vaccines faster and less expensively, we can save millions of lives worldwide.

We need help with the solution.

Watch it. Share it. Learn More. Join the Conversation.





Visit www.fastervaccines.org