Saturday, May 22, 2010

Willie & Lu Contributions: The Nitty Gritty

Up to the MInute with Willie & Lu

The BP Oil Catastrophe is out of our hands.  That much is clear. But there are dozens of non-profit (and, I suppose, for-profit) agencies doing everything within their power to limit and repair the devastation.  The Huffinton Post has a great article (that's being updated continually) that includes details about The Disaster, the organizations mentioned above, and ways that we can help: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/30/deepwater-horizon-oil-spi_n_558736.html

Check it out.

To make room for more moans and groans like these, we're relocating our current Donations statement here, just so it has someplace to stay.  A previous post has more details about the first quarter donations.

>> Willie & Lu is committed to contributing at least 20% of our proceeds to humanitarian and environmental charities. For the first quarter of this year, we donated to agencies providing disaster relief in Haiti, Chile, and China: The Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and Habitat for Humanity. For information about these organizations and details of our donations, please visit our blog: www.willieandlu.blogspot Because every day SHOULD be Earth Day, our donations in the second quarter of the year will be given to environmental/animal groups. April's recipient of $20 is the Nobel Prize winning Nature Conservancy, "the leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people." Go to www.nature.org for more information. Here's a bit about our May recipient, Conservation International: (www.conservation.org): "Through science, policy and field work, we're applying smart solutions to protect the resources that we all depend on. We help communities, countries and societies protect tropical forests, lush grasslands, rivers, wetlands, abundant lakes and the sea. Only through properly valuing the essential services these ecosystems provide can we create a sustainable development path that will benefit all people for generations to come." < (*) \|/ < (*) /|\

Thursday, May 20, 2010

It's a Good Time for Nature Conservation

We've been contributing 20%+ of our Etsy $ to humanitarian, educational, environmental (etc) organizations since we opened our li'l shop (details of our donations are in a recent post), and while it just happens that our 2nd quarter donations are earmarked for environmental groups, the devastating (and growing) oil disaster demands that we continue in this manner at least into the next quarter.  In April, we gave $20 to Nobel Prize Winner, the Nature Conservancy (www.nature.org), and May's funds are earmarked for Conservation International (www.conservation.org).  What about June?  We'd really like your feedback about where our little money could be best used, and found a great article in the Huffington Post to help us along.  Tell us who should get our money, and SHARE this article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/30/deepwater-horizon-oil-spi_n_558736.html

THANK YOU!!!


Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Impact: Get Involved
First Posted: 04-30-10 02:06 PM   |   Updated: 05- 7-10 01:52 PM
WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?
 
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Oil Spill Birds
Now that the oil spill in the gulf coast has reached land, the effects are being felt in towns and cities across the area -- this is in addition the local wildlife in both the land and sea that are dying by the thousands.
HuffPost Impact has compiled a list of ways you can help contribute to the cleanup and save local wildlife. Thanks to CrisisWiki for compiling this information.
Volunteer and Cleanup Actions
•Oxfam America is working to help affected communities with financial assistance, as well as protect local wetlands and marshes. Make a tax-deductible donation to Oxfam America.
•You can register through OilSpillVolunteers.comto volunteer or join a cleanup organization.
•The BP Volunteer Hotline has set up numbers if you need to report injured wildlife or damage related to the spill. You can also request volunteer information at 866-448-5816.
•The Oiled Wildlife Care Network is providing volunteer information, though help from private citizens is not being requested at this time.
Story continues below
Global Green plans to spend the coming months working to protect injured wildlife and to lobby Congress to enforce tougher regulations on the oil and coal industries. Volunteer with Global Green or donate to support these efforts.
The National Audubon Society is asking concerned citizens to donate or volunteer. Sign up to get trained and volunteer to help local birds.
CrisisCamp set up a conference call for Friday afternoon -- follow the notes of this meeting, containing volunteer information with nonprofits and information from government organizations. You can also follow the CrisisCamp oil spill Twitter list for updates.
•The National Wildlife Federation has a message you can send to President Obama to urge restoration of Louisiana's Coastal Wetlands. They're also asking for residents to upload photos to flickr and tag them SPILL_NW10.
Matter of Trust is organizing a collection of human hair and other materials used to soak up oil spills. You can mail in your donation of hair, furs and nylons to aid clean-up missions in the Gulf Coast.
Mobile Baykeeper, and affiliate of Waterkeeper Alliance, is dedicating resources to educate potential volunteers on how to help and address the long term environmental change needed in the Gulf region. Make a donation to these efforts.
•The International Bird Rescue Research Center is coordinating a professional rescue team to help birds covered in oil. You can help by reporting wildlife affected by the oil spill to the organization by calling 866-557-1401. You can also make a donation to support their work.
•The Sierra Club is gathering volunteers to help with the cleanup efforts on the Gulf Coast. Sign up online to volunteer and the Sierra Club will help you find the right opportunities for you.
•The Coalition To Restore Coastal Louisiana is also helping to coordinate volunteers. You canregister online to volunteer or make a donation.
Political Actions
•Petition sites are already packed with letters to politicians that you can sign on to. This one fromCare2's The Petition Site aims to encourage President Obama to reconsider his plan to expand offshore drilling and invest in clean energy resources. A similar petition can be found onTrueMajority.org.
•Join the Facebook group 1 Million Strong Against Offshore Drilling. Check out the action page for more suggestions of how to lend your voice to the anti-drilling movement.
•If you want to do more after writing to your representatives, you can always boycott BP products. The main ones you use? Arco and ampm. If Americans stopped buying gas and products from these places, they'd feel it. Currently, BP has seen very little economic backlash from the spill.