Florida’s Broward County is exploring the use of crushed recycled glass to bolster its eroding beaches — a sensible addition to the beach because the main ingredient in sand is glass. (AP) Thanks, Andrew.
“Peace through Business” Program Makes Afghan Women Entrepreneurs
Twelve Afghan women arrived in Michigan last week to attend business classes. After five weeks, they’ll return to Afghanistan and help other women learn business skills, despite the naysayers who will try to stop them from pursuing their dreams. (Detroit Free Press)
A Dollar a Day Transforms Teen Pen Pals in U.S. and Brazil
Imagine the thrill. You’re an American teen, planting your toes into the sands of Brazil for the first time. Imagine total immersion into a culture unlike your own. Imagine returning home still holding someone’s hand across 9,000 miles.
The age-old tradition of pen pals has long sparked international friendships, but now it has become an avenue for providing aid to poor families overseas, with the added byproduct of lasting friendships.
Cameron Boyle, of New Jersey, co-founded the life-changing alliance for American and Brazilian children called CRIANSA Connection. CRIANSA not only means “child” in Portuguese, but also is the acronym for Children Realizing International Alliances Now, Socially and Academically. Since 2004, the CRIANSA pen pal program has taught middle class American youth that there is a larger world of children out there who live without material blessings, who nonetheless can offer the riches of kindness, friendship and adventure.
One hundred such alliances have been sparked and fueled by the CRIANSA Connection. Shelley Siller, from Northern Virginia, has been writing to her pen pal, Maycia, for one and a half years. Her letters are all translated through CRIANSA interpreters. What doesn’t need translating is the money that accompanies the letters.
Maycia’s family, along with the other CRIANSA households, face harsh daily economic realities living in Cumbuco Beach in the Northeast, one of the poorest regions of Brazil. American families sponsor a child with $365 to help the family with material needs, and to provide daily bus fare to a distant school for education beyond the seventh grade.
Grateful for the Siller family donation last year, Maycia, 14, wrote in a letter, “Many thanks to your family for their generosity! With the money you sent, my mother bought a new stove, blender, sofa, and used TV. I WILL be able to go to school next year! My dream is to be a model someday.”
But her biggest hope was that her friend, Shelley, would visit one day.
Shelley, 15, jumped at the invitation, and boarded a plane with her uncle in early August to leave the United States for the first time. A totally different world awaited her.
“We couldn’t believe her house,” Shelley reported. “Her family of eight shares a space the size of our living and dining room. They sleep on hammocks, with no air conditioning, yet they are so optimistic.”
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________________________________
________________________________ Teaching Self-Reliance Through Sales of Homemade Crafts
CRIANSA helps the older children in the community of Cumbuco to raise money by creating handicrafts from recycled materials. CRIANSA’s catalog of homemade merchandise includes purses, jewelry and other crafts.
“These craft cooperatives create sustainable economic opportunities and an alternative to crime or begging,” Boyle explained. ________________________________
For corporate sponsorship opportunities, to make a personal donation, or for more information, visit www.criansa.org or write to Cameron Boyle and CRIANSA:
94 South Fullerton Ave. Montclair, NJ 07042. |
“Each evening, her dad would come in with a bag of whatever he just caught. Everyone would open it to see what dinner would be. They always fed us first, and her dad shimmied up a palm tree to get us coconuts for the coconut milk to drink.”
Siller is the first American involved in the organization to actually travel to Brazil to meet her pen pal.
During their week’s stay, Shelley’s uncle, Chris Cloud, treated Maycia’s family to things they’d never experienced, like meals out, dune buggy riding and a trip to the water park to ride the “Insano,” the world’s tallest waterslide.
“They are incredibly fun people,” remembers Shelley. “We had a blast.”
The friendships formed through CRIANSA are cherished. What if there were enough corporate donations for all the American pen pals to visit, or for these Brazilian children to travel to the U.S.? This is CRIANSA’s vision, children sharing what we all have in common universally.
BP Reduces Course on Lake Michigan Pollution
Responding to a groundswell of protests from politicians and the public, BP and Indiana regulators agreed Wednesday to reconsider a permit that allows the Midwest’s largest oil refinery to significantly increase the amount of toxic waste dumped into Lake Michigan.
Amateurs to Launch Dream of ‘Biggest Rocket’
During International Rocket Week, enthusiasts are chasing their dream to launch the most powerful craft ever fired by amateurs in Britain. At 500 miles per hour, it is set to reach 1,829 metres (6,000 ft.). (BBC) Submitted by Andrew.
New Podcast Up!
EDITOR’S BLOG – The second Good News Podcast has been recorded and is ready for a listen (or a download) on my radio page at BlogTalkRadio.com/goodnewspodcast
It will play automatically when you visit the page. And, you can subscribe to the podcast for your iPod on the same page…
Earn Yourself Some Halo Points
We hear it, we read it, and indeed, we often say it: “This city has the most inconsiderate drivers on the planet.” But, after unending weeks of navigating the highways of Wichita, with their orange-striped cones and barrels, I’ve discovered we also have some very kind and courteous drivers. I also discovered that being thoughtful under such trying conditions raises my spirits. So, I started giving myself “Halo Points” whenever I paused for a couple of seconds to let someone enter a stream of traffic. My friend, Tracy, recently related an incident where one driver earned “Halo Points” big time.
Gaza Power Plant Back Online After EU Resumes Aid
Gaza’s only power plant went back online on Wednesday, receiving three trucks of fuel, after the European Union resumed paying for fuel supplies, ending days of blackouts after moves to ensure Hamas would not benefit from the aid.
As an Energy Saver, the Clothesline Makes a Comeback
"A clothesline — or ‘Right to Dry’ — movement is growing. Some states have introduced legislation to override clothesline bans, which are often instituted by community associations." (CS Monitor)
Hybrid-Fest: It’s Electric (Video)
The hybrid car show in Madison, Wisconsin, highlights the growing trend of hybrid car ownership and is the largest convention for people with vehicles that are half gasoline and half electric. (Video)
Helping Kids Thrive After Divorce (Video)
Innovative programs in some states are requiring parents seeking separation to keep the focus on what is good for the children. A Bill of Rights for kids prohibits involving the children directly in the conflicts of the parents. (CBS Early Show link was lost)
Check out this resource, a free 28-page special report that features four secrets to successful parenting after divorce, at ThriveAfterDivorce.com.
No Water Wasted with State Capital Collection System
Even with the recent drought, the grounds of the North Carolina State Legislative Building are lush and green. A water-collection system funnels rain water off the roof into underground tanks where it’s sent to decorative fountains and used for irrigation. Not a drop is wasted — not even the condensation from the building’s air conditioners. (WRAL.com) Thanks to new GNN-i member, Ed, for the link!
Bolivian President Donates Salary to Peru Quake Victims
Bolivian President Evo Morales said Monday that he would donate half of his monthly salary to emergency aid for families that are victims of the devastating earthquake in neighboring Peru. Other cabinet members would donate as well.
States Trying to Extend Foster Care Benefits
In most states, youths in foster care are on their own when they turn 18. Federal funding for their care is cut off when foster kids reach 18, leaving those who have not been adopted to fend for themselves, with little state support.
Two states are now footing the bill to help foster-care youths who turn 18. Vermont this year became the second state, after Illinois, to use state money to extend its foster-care services to age 21, if a youth chooses to remain in the program.
While other states have adopted programs to help youths who are “emancipated” from foster care without permanent homes, states say their options are limited without federal funding.
Federal matching funds could become available to states under the Foster Care Continuing Opportunities Act (S. 1512), proposed by U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). The bill is aimed at helping states provide essential foster-care services such as food, housing and legal help to age 21. Without this kind of support, Boxer said, “the future for foster youth, once emancipated, is often bleak.”
“One of the most important factors in whether a person succeeds in life is whether they have a family they can depend on to help them,” said Julie Farber of Children’s Rights, a national watchdog group. If states fail to either reunify children with their families or find them permanent adopted families, “the least they can do is continue to support them through their transition to adulthood,” she said.
For those living in group homes, “kick out” happens within days of their 18th birthday, explained Robin Nixon of the National Foster Care Coalition, an advocacy group for children. “They sometimes end up sitting on a curb with their belongings in a black trash bag and nowhere to go,” she said.
Kristal McCoy, 23, who spent eight years in the foster-care system, became homeless at the end of her freshman year at California State University, Hayward, and started “couch surfing” with friends or relatives. Although the stress took a toll on her grades, McCoy graduated and now has a full-time job at the California Youth Connection, which lobbies for increased state support for foster youths.
McCoy beat the odds, but many others don’t. In response, states are finding new ways to continue supporting these vulnerable youths, despite the lack of federal money. All states provide some level of assistance to youths who leave the foster-care system, but only Illinois, the District of Columbia and now Vermont maintain formal foster care, said Gary Stangler of the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, a foundation that supports programs for youths leaving foster care. If you or anyone you know is
In most states, foster kids who reach their teens without being adopted are offered courses on “independent living.” They learn a variety of life skills such as how to open a checking account and budget living expenses, what to wear to a job interview and how to get a driver’s license – since many states do not allow foster kids to drive. They also learn how to take advantage of other state, local and nonprofit assistance – such as temporary housing programs – once they leave foster care.
At least 18 states offer Medicaid health-care benefits to youths up to age 21, and all states provide some housing, counseling, scholarships and career training through a $140 million federal grant known as the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program.
In addition, states are starting to find mentors – or “lifelong family connections” – for youths who have not found permanent families, said Stangler. This gives young adults someone they can call for advice, spend the holidays with, and in some cases, get financial assistance from, he said.
McCoy said she took advantage of independent-living classes before she graduated from high school, and it made all the difference. A friend who did not attend the classes had “a horrible kick out and had no idea what to do next,” she said.
While extending the age of foster care has few critics, most say it is only part of the solution. Unless states do more to find kids permanent homes and prepare them for adulthood, they could end up just as vulnerable at 21 as they are at 18, said Nixon from the National Foster Care Coalition.
Advocates for extending foster care say states would spend less money helping youths between 18 and 21 than bailing them out later.
“Getting these kids to services they need to heal and be better prepared for adulthood is a wiser investment than having them end up in the criminal justice system or needing other types of assistance down the road,” said Rutledge Hutson of the Center for Law and Social Policy, a national nonprofit group that works on issues affecting low-income people.
States differ widely in the percentage of foster kids that leave the program at 18 without a permanent family. Connecticut and Alabama have the lowest rates at 1.9 percent and 1.6 percent respectively, while Virginia (21 percent), Maine (20 percent) and Illinois (16 percent) have the highest rates. Experts say failure to find placements is largely due to a shortage of trained social workers.
McCoy dealt with several social workers during her years in foster care, but she says the one assigned to her from age 15 to 18 helped her the most. “She still sends me gifts,” she said. Without her, McCoy said she might not have pursued the independent-living classes that helped her get where she is today.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about half of young adults ages 18 to 24 in the United States live at home with their parents.
“When we’re talking about our own kids, we understand that the transition to adulthood is lengthy and they often leave and come back home. We need to provide a similar experience for kids aging out of foster care,” Nixon said. “Legally, we are their parents,” she said.
Jewish-American Kids Donating Money to Build Playgrounds in Israel
“Eleven playgrounds are being built in Kiryat Shmona thanks to contributions from the Jewish community abroad. However, the money did not come from wealthy adults, but from children who have reached bar and batmitzvah age and are donating the money they received as gifts.” (Jewish Agency)
Sex Life Doesn’t End at 80
Many older adults are sexually active into their 70s and 80s says a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Fifty-three percent of those aged 64 to 75 confirmed they’d had sex with a partner in the last year, and 26 percent of those aged 75 to 85. (USA Today) Click Read more for AP video.
Make Surf not War in Gaza, Says American Wave Legend
For American surf legend Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, the waves of the volatile Gaza Strip could be a key to Israeli-Palestinian peace. The 87-year-old Jewish wave guru has rustled up the support of Israeli companies and donors to buy 15 surfboards for Palestinians in Gaza as part of his Surfing For Peace program.
Young Teachers Commit to Denver’s Toughest Schools
Nearly 60 top college graduates have come to Denver from across America with the ‘Teach for America’ program as young teachers committed to working in Denver’s toughest schools. (CBS video) Very inspiring!
British Scientists Make Breakthrough in Understanding Huntington’s Disease
British scientists have made a major breakthrough in understanding Huntington’s disease and are excited to be able to pioneer more effective treatment techniques.
Cat Reunited with Owner After 10 Years
A cat has been reunited with its owner 10 years after going missing. “To be able to hold him feels like a miracle," said the owner, who was traced via microchip after the cat was found 60 miles away. (BBC)