Many of us take simple things for granted, like the ability to make cosmetic changes if we need to. A chipped tooth can be repaired simply enough, a bothersome mole removed. But for many around the world, many learn to live with physical imperfections and deformities.

But recently, Burmese villagers living near Mae Sot district had the opportunity to fix some longstanding physical problems such as cleft lips and palates as part of the Operation Smile Thailand project, where volunteers contribute their time and services.

“They will have a new life and a bright smile. They won’t have to live with physical abnormalities anymore,” said Busaba Chirathivat who is the senior vice president of Central Retail Corporation, which finances the project.

This is a new lease on life for many of these people. Children and adults flourish more freely and happily when not contending with physical deformities. What a positive service Operation Smile is providing. Today, smile a little more in honor of your Burmese friends!

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Willie the parrot isn’t always the most talkative sort. He has a limited vocabulary that includes “I love you” and “mama.” But one night several weeks ago, he had a lot more to say. His owner Meagan was babysitting a two-year old named Hannah in Denver when Meagan went to the bathroom.

“While I was in the bathroom, Willie started screaming like I’d never heard him scream before and he started flapping his wings,” said Meagan, the babysitter. “Then he started saying ‘mama baby’ over and over and over again until I came out and looked at Hannah and Hannah’s face was turning blue because she was choking on her Pop Tart.”

Meagan then performed the Heimlich maneuver on Hannah, which dislodged the food.

“If Willie wouldn’t have warned me, I probably wouldn’t have come out of the bathroom in time because she was already turning blue, her lips were blue and everything,” Meagan said.

Animals have a powerful sense of intuition and recognize danger. When we realize their importance on this planet as our friends and protectors, we can do more to protect them. They need it. They deserve it. What can you do today to give back to the animal kingdom? It could be an extra long walk for your dog or a friendly hug or some volunteer work.

Positive news for Parrots - It's nice to see them in flight!

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India has itself a new, self-imposed Parliament of youths who seek change.

At first, Ishita Chaudhry gathered friends who were serious about social activism in the confines of her garage. Since then they have grown exponentially.

Computers have become a mainstay in most of our lives. We bank on them, start businesses on them - even make friends on them. But many people can’t take advantage of what a computer has to offer due to finances. For a child or a young adult just starting out in the world, this puts them at an incredible disadvantage nowadays.

Lorraine Kenwood, who started NextStep Recycling was one of those disadvantaged youths. In addition to lack of finances, Kenwood was diagnosed with autism as a child. She pursued higher education and realized she had a real knack for repairing computers. That’s when NextStep began - a program where refurbished computers are gifted to families in need.

According to the NextStep website:

As of the end of January 2007, NextStep Recycling had, with the help of hundreds of volunteers and community support, responsibly recycled more than 800 tons of electronic waste, and refurbished over 10,000 computers and other electronic devices - placing them with people who would not otherwise have access to this technology.

Lorraine Kenwood, Founder of Next Step

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It’s amazing how much good a dedicated playing area for children can be. If you think of your childhood, that special playground or spot in the woods allowed your imagination to run wild. It gave you an opportunity to explore and expel energy. If your home life wasn’t so good, playing allowed you enjoy yourself, smile, laugh…play.

But kids all around this world don’t always have that dedicated space. Drew Chafetz, 25, a graduate from the University of Colorado, is making it his mission to ensure children can play, even in impoverished lands. He is utlilzing a business platform that’s called “social entrepeneurship” that is gaining a vast amount of momentum. It allows people like Chafetz to make big things happen from their computer. His project is called love.fútbol which builds low-maintenance fields in Guatemalan communities.

So what is social entrepreneurship?

It’s a movement in which people launch nonprofit or business ventures to address systemic problems in impoverished areas, emerged nearly three decades ago and is growing in appeal among young adults who want to help vulnerable people. Rather than working their way up at a government agency or large nonprofit, Chafetz and others in their 20s or early 30s are leveraging business partnerships, grants and donations for their own initiatives to do good in the world. There is even a magazine devoted to social causes, called Good, launched in 2006 by a 26-year-old and available at stores such as Whole Foods.

In a nutshell, it’s taking charity into your own hands as opposed to traditional means of contributing. It’s a rewarding feeling to know that charity work is only a keystroke away!

It seems so simple to do; outreach your hand and shake another’s. It’s built into us at this point; a habit we know very little about. But there’s power behind a handshake. It’s more than just a nicety. It’s a connection and some scientist say, it even has healing traits. Even the temperature of a hand makes an impression on you, whether you know it or not. A cold hand, unfortunately, doesn’t mean a warm heart, in our minds:

According to one study:

The bigger message is that very subtle cues from our environment can significantly influence behavior and feelings, said lead researcher Dr. Lawrence Williams, who conducted the study while completing his psychology graduate degree at Yale.

Physical and psychological concepts “are much more closely aligned in the mind than we have previously appreciated,” said Williams, now at the University of Colorado.

Indeed, other research has found that the same brain region that processes physical temperature changes, called the insula, also processes feelings of trust and empathy associated with social warmth.

So what can you do to make sure your putting your best hand first? Take a moment the next time you shake someone’s hand. Focus entirely on the meeting of the hands. Let your hand be expressive and not a “cold fish.” Shaking hands is a moment to hold hands with someone. Embrace it as an opportunity to connect. People appreciate the kindness and the touch, as will you.

A handshake means more than you think!

Please send us your comments or positive news of your own!

We all have good intentions…well, at least most of us! If you’re like me, every year you plan on doing some charity work. You’re not quite sure what - maybe you’ll work in a soup kitchen this Christmas or donate some more time to a senior citizen’s home. But something happens and…well, nothing happens. We’re all too busy nowadays. But busyness doesn’t change the needs of others and there are ways you can help, even with limited time or a tight budget.

Gimundo has these suggestions for the well-intentioned person with little time or money to spare:

The Hunger Site
(thehungersite.com)

This site features click buttons for six different causes: hunger, child health, breast cancer, literacy, the rain forest, and animal rescue. The concept is simple: Just click the button for each cause once every day, and the site’s sponsors will make a charitable donation on your behalf. If you purchase an item from the site’s online store, they’ll donate even more. It takes just thirty seconds a day to make a difference in someone’s life without spending a cent –make this site a daily stop. Better yet, make it your home page, so you won’t start a single day without chipping in.

Ripple
(ripple.org)

Ripple works exactly the same way as the Hunger Site, funding clean water, food, education, and a $100 loan with your daily click. Ripple also features a Google-powered search bar, which makes a donation every time you use it. To get all your friends in on the giving act, add Ripple’s “give” buttons directly to your blog or Facebook page.

Free Rice
(freerice.com)

We’ve written about this one before, but it’s such a great concept that we had to bring it up again. The site features a vocabulary game, where every correct answer you choose donates 20 grains of rice to an impoverished country. Play as long and as often as you like – you’re bound to pick up a few SAT words while saving the world.

Free Poverty
(freepoverty.com)

Have you ever played the Facebook staple, Traveler IQ, where you score points by locating cities and landmarks on an unmarked map? This game is just like that, but better – with every correct answer, the site donates 10 cups of water to a poor country on your behalf. It might make you feel like an idiot for the first few rounds when you realize you can’t even locate the Statue of Liberty, but the fact that you’re making a difference should soften the blow a bit.

GoodSearch
(goodsearch.com)

Are you passionate about fighting poverty? Want to save the whales? Are you committed to curing breast cancer?

No matter what your cause is, you can find a way to support it through the philanthropic search engine tool, GoodSearch. Simply type in the name of the organization you want to support, and GoodSearch will donate 50% of its advertising revenue to your charity of choice. With 54,000 organizations already registered, you’re bound to find a cause that you believe in. Once a few people hop on board, the funds add up fast: If a charity has 10,000 supporters who each use the search tool twice a day, that can add up to $73,000 in donations for the year.

Best of all, GoodSearch recently added a GoodShop tool, which allows you to donate a percentage of the cost of your purchases to the charity of your choice. The store choices include all the big names like Amazon, Best Buy, and Travelocity, so be sure to click through from the site whenever you’re planning a new purchase – you’ll finally have an excuse to feel good about shopping!

There is positive news that surrounds us daily. Sometimes its hard to find but often it can be a small gesture or a kind word. Once in a while, positive news is monumental in size and scope.

Today, we celebrate positive news of enormous proportions - ground-breaking, revolutionary and truly amazing. Our world sighs a collective breath, knowing there is promise in in the air.

The first African American, Barack Obama is elected as President of the United States.

His victory speech says it all:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there.

Barack Obama - America's New President Elect

Congratulations, world. Today is a day full of positive news and tremendous possibility!

Many of us are creatures of habit. We drive to the grocery store, even though its a ten-minute walk or 5-minute bike ride. We forget how simply taking our bike to work wakes our bodies up and enlivens us in addition to helping the environment. And while fuel prices are at an all-time high, we still often jump in the car for the simplest of tasks.

When Tian Harter started his “Don’t be Fuelish” campaign as a way to promote bicycle commuting, he never knew it would become such a huge success.

“I just wouldn’t have predicted a few years ago when I started producing my bumper stickers that I’d be seeing $4/gallon gas so soon.” he comments.

He soon formed an allegiance with the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition as a way to promote “Bike to Work Day”. Together, this group of bike afficianados set up close to 50 stations (called “Energizer Stations”) which provides the bicycling commuters refreshments, give aways and plain old encouragement.

Every year in California’s Santa Clara County, this group of bike enthusiasts sets up nearly 50 “Energizer Stations” to provide free refreshments, give-aways, bicycling information, and encouragement to thousands of bicyclists on their way to work in California’s Santa Clara County.

His philosophy is to make everyone who breaks free from the fuel trap feel special and noticed on a community level. Local businesses are happy to donate as well, so the prizes these bicyclists receive are often quite substantial, like a free dinner or discounted sports equipment.

In addition, Tian and friends work with local heavyweights like Google and Yahoo as well as major government and community agencies, whom also help foster a “bike approach” with their employees.

“Bike to Work Day,” which started 14 years ago in San Francisco, has now spread nationwide. Bicycle friendly cities from across the U.S. participate, increasing the public awareness and importance of moving away from fuel-reliance.

“Whether you drive or ride, please remember…share the road!”

http://www.bikeleague.org

http://www.sfbike.org

Bikes Save Fuel