National Donate Your Hair Day

 

I did it.

I went and cut off over 10 inches of my hair and donated it.

It took me four years to grow it out. This was the longest my hair had been for 19 years!

It's been over two weeks now and I am finally getting used to it.

At first, I was really missing my long hair (but not the baby pulling on it). Every time I looked in the mirror, I kept doing a double-check thinking I was wearing a wig.

Now, I just feel back to normal. And, I feel really good that some person will be able to benefit from the simple act of me cutting off my hair.

We were visiting friends near VA Beach and I asked M (perhaps my most favorite former student EVER) to cut my hair. I cut my own hair for years and years, so I was confident she would do a decent job. And, she did.

M also took a few shots of my family before she chopped away.

Putting the Movement Back

MLK Memorial (Photo credit: alvesfamily)

 

Today, is a special day. Not only are we remembering the Courage and Conviction of Martin Luther King, Jr. but our 44th President is being Sworn-in for a second term. In honor of MLK Day occurring on the same day as his Inauguration, President Obama is calling for a National Day of Service.

I'm thinking that something simple we could do would be to go for a walk on one of the trails along the Potomac and pick up trash. It would be fun to see the Capital Building and all the Monuments across the river (and not have to deal with all the traffic and people). The wonderful blog Kidfriendly DC has a list of tons of activities for children in DC celebrating the Inauguration.

One of my favorite things about living in the NOVA/DC area is the bookstore Busboys and Poets.  The bookstore is run by the staff of Teaching for Change, a non-profit devoted to providing "teachers and parents with the tools to transform schools into centers of justice where students learn to read, write, and change the world." Pretty exciting stuff.

"Teaching for Change" is a amazing resource whether you are a teacher or a parent unschooling, homeschooling or just encouraging your child to become a life-time learner. In honor of MLK and President Obama's Inauguration, I want to mention the book Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching.

When I was teaching at a Friends School, I discovered this book; it's full of some very brave and sometimes very ordinary people and deserves to be read and used in every classroom. There are tons of primary sources from such activists and writers as Leonard Peltier, Marcus Garvey, Ward Churchhill, Sonia Sanchez and Gwendolyn Brooks. Not only are there lessons on lesser known part of the African-American Civil Rights Movements but the Native American, Latina, Asian-American, Gay Rights and Women's Right Movements are also examined. There are numerous ideas for teaching students from Pre-School until High School.

I can't wait until my daughter is a little older and I can start using this fantastic resource!

The Good Work of KIVA

Kiva Site (Photo credit: consnam)

Continuing along with my Month of Courage is one of my favorite organizations (besides WWF and Heifer International). KIVA is a non-profit committed to fighting poverty through empowering people to start and improve their own businesses through micro-loans. Each borrower shares a brief bio and photo; there are thousands of stories of courageous people trying to better their lives and the lives of their children. Many of them of are women.

To find a borrower, you can look at specific countries or particular sectors like: Agriculture, Education, Food, etc.... You can even use a filter to search for an attribute like: Fair Trade, Green practices, Underfunded areas or Conflict Zones.

Since it's founding in 2005, Kiva has distributed $256 million throughout 60 countries - many of these loans were lent in $25 increments. They have a 98.8% repayment rate. I've been a lender for several years now and highly recommend it to everyone.

Donating in someone's honor makes a wonderful gift. If you donate $25 in someone's name that person then can keep re-lending the $25, every time it's paid off. It's truly the gift that keeps giving.

The Gratitude Month. A Free Acupuncture Clinic for Veterans

Day 72/365 (Photo credit: SuperFantastic)

In honor of yesterday being Veterans Day here in the United States, I wanted to share a wonderful organization with you. "Annapolis Veterans Acupuncture Clinic" is a FREE clinic for those serving in the Armed Forces, their families, Veterans and folks working with these populations.

Every Thursday from 5:30 pm -7 pm, Veterans can walk into AVAC and be treated with the NADA (Ear) Protocol. Five tiny needles are placed in both ears, while the person sits fully clothed in circle with other people receiving treatment. Treatment usually lasts for 30-45 minutes.

Acupuncture is being used at Walter Reed Medical Center to help returning Vets deal with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and flashbacks. NADA Protocol has successfully helped people dealing with trauma sleep better and experience less irritability, stress and anxiety.

My hat goes off to those volunteer Acupuncturalists providing this wonderful service to those who have sacrificed so much for this Country. Pretty inspiring stuff!

If you know of any Vets (or their families) living in Maryland or Virginia, please let them know about this program. Spread the word. Much appreciation...

Month of Service...A Street Herbalist

I recently came across this fantastic Interview with Doc Garcia on Kiva Rose's Herbal Blog. Doc Garcia is a third generation Curandero who runs California School of Traditional Hispanic Herbalism. He's about as down-to-earth as you can get. I'd love to hear him speak!