Day 140 - Jeff Hanson Bag

Who is Jeff Hanson and why has he made a Better Reusable Bag for Whole Foods Market?  He's a kid who made $15,000 selling lemonade and notecards at his lemonade stand when he was 12 years old.  And now he's a world famous artist - who wouldn't be if they personally knew Elton John and other stars because of their art - and their philanthropy?  But he also is 17 and visually impaired, having dealt with neurofibromatosis for the last 5 years.  He paints because he loves it and so that he can donate part of his proceeds for charities that have touched him, including the Children's Tumor Foundation and Make-A-Wish.  I bought my bag at the Overland Park Whole Foods Market, Overland Park, KS - the hometown of Jeff Hanson, local hero.



$1.50 from the purchase of my
Jeff Hanson bag went to the
Make-A-Wish Foundation



Day 139 - Share the Bread

Once Panera Bread Bakery-Cafe comes to a community, the community gets its share of the bread.  With cash - the coins and dollars like the kind I slipped into the slot of the Share the Bread container at the cash register - dreams and causes are fulfilled.  Whether it be for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, for literacy programs, in support of warm clothing drives or holiday gifts for kids, Panera Bread shares its profits.  The bakery-cafe is not just breads and soups and salads and sandwiches and sweet rolls and cookies and catering and more.  Panera Bread is like a well behaved kindergartener.  They've learned to share.

Day 138 - Happy Hearts Fund

Petra Nemcova is a supermodel and the founder and chair of the Happy Hearts Fund.  After surviving the 2004 Indonesian tsunami with a broken pelvis - and losing her partner in the tragedy - Petra helped create a non-profit foundation for children, helping them get back to normalcy after disasters.  Rebuilding schools, 47 to date and more in the process, and giving life and happy hearts back to the kids are the goals of the organization. Petra stresses that immediate help during disasters is wonderful but a sustained response months later is just as important.   Get this - "All Happy Hearts Fund administrative expenses are underwritten by its board allowing 100% of all public donations to go directly toward building a future for children affected by natural disasters."  That's their exact mission statement.  I donated to their Japan Rebuilding Campaign.

Day 137 - Microcredit

For a month at Whole Foods Market, all foods bought carrying the Whole Trade Guarantee meant a percentage of sales was donated to the Whole Planet Foundation.  The purpose is to help alleviate poverty throughout the world. The Whole Planet foundation provides microcredit to people in 29 developing countries around the world.  With these loans, more than 70,000 workers in poor communities can start businesses that will support their families.   Whether they use the loans to buy a goat, a sewing machine, or for tools to plant and harvest fruits and vegetables, they are bettering their lives. For those like me who ran into Whole Foods for something specific and not part of the Whole Trade Guarantee product lines, a donation in the Change for Big Change can at the registry checkout supported the same cause at 100%.

Day 136 - Diana, A Celebration

The Diana, a Celebration exhibit was on display at Union Station in Kansas City.  It was a  bittersweet walk down memory lane, seeing her wedding dress with the 25' train and many other outfits that she had worn during her reign as Princess of Wales.  There were diaries and home movies, ballet shoes and trinkets, all part of her personal collection which the public could now see.  Most moving were the travelogues of her charitable trips in which she personally greeted and touched so many lives.  It seemed fitting to support an organization that was of interest to her, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a 1997 Nobel Peace Prize Co-Laureate.  The month of March 2011, marks the 12th anniversary of the beginning of the Mine Ban Treaty, supported by 60 countries around the world, the U.S. not among them.

Day 135 - Pop-Tab Program

It was as easy as buying a can of soda, flipping the pop-tab, and throwing it in a cup.  At Happy Gillis Cafe & Hangout in the Columbus Park area of Kansas City - known for their delicious soups, sandwiches and breakfasts -  they were collecting pop-tabs for Ronald McDonald House Charities.  The tabs are recycled and the charities get paid.  In 2010, over $14,000 was raised by local schools, youth groups, businesses, and soda drinkers.  By the way, you're not going to find a better sandwich in town than the one I had here.

Day 134 - Missouri Irish Brigade

Early one morning, on the lower level of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, there was a delightful quartet of young musicians performing called the Stonecreek Serenaders. They were dressed in Civil War era costumes and played music that was indicative of what would have been played during that time.  Behind them was a meeting room where each month the Missouri Irish Brigade, a group of Civil War reenactors, plan ways to keep the history and lives of the original Civil War units alive.  They are always looking for memorabilia of significance to Civil War battles as this is the 150th anniversary of remembering the past.  I put $ in a banjo case for the cause.

Day 133 - Share Your Breakfast

By taking a picture of my breakfast one morning, I bought breakfast for a hungry child somewhere in America.  All that Kellogg's Share Your Breakfast program asks is that you take a picture of of your breakfast and upload it to their website.  As you "share" your breakfast,  they in turn will share a free breakfast to 1 of 4 American children who may not have enough to eat.  You can see your meal  displayed with a motley menu of other people's breakfast selections.  Kellogg's is partnering with Action for Healthy Kids on this and hopes to reach its goal of sharing one million breakfasts by the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year.

My breakfast

Day 132 - Three Dog Parade

Three Dog Bakery held a Mardi Gras pooch parade on this freezing cold March morning around the Park Place shopping area in Leawood, KS.  With a dixieland band and various breeds of costumed dogs, the parade entrants and supporters, like me, raised funds for the Three Dog Bakery Foundation which helps out homeless and neglected dogs.  Roasterie coffee was on hand for the humans and I spotted some scrumptious looking Three Dog Bakery cookies - for the pups.

           

             



Day 131 - Minddrive

                

How about a car that get's 300 miles per gallon?  Fortunately, it's been made and driven - and crashed at the Indy 500.  Unfortunately it's not for sale.  The car, named Minddrive, is the brainchild of local Kansas City architect and visionary Steve Rees. With his guidance, team of mentors, leadership and students of DeLaSalle High School, the former race car was transformed into a transparent body electric car that has been featured in AutoWeek. Minddrive was invited to be part of Emerging Tech Day at the Indy 500 and went to the Texas Proving Ground track, thanks to Bridgestone Tires.  The car is amazing but so are its builders.  The students live in the urban core and may have been bounced around from school to school.  Some are at risk and others are trying to find a niche, graduate, and then get a decent job.  Thank you to Steve Rees, Linda Buchner, and Tom Strongman for creating the inspiring Minddrive non-profit organization that gives students a chance to succeed. 



Steve Rees, me, and Linda Buchner with 2 Minddrive master builders
I bought a Minddrive t-shirt like the ones worn above, supporting their
educational program

 

Day 130 - Children's Place Backpacks

Thanks to the generosity of the community, The Children's Place is able to send home around 40 backpacks filled with food supplies for children and their families every week. The infants, toddlers, and preschoolers who come to learn and play at The Children's Place have had some rough and tough times.  They are taken in for breakfast, activities, lunch and therapy, all in a nurturing environment of professionals and volunteers.  I joined women from NCJW who came to stuff backpacks with chili, saltines, fruit cups, pudding, juices, Spaghetti-Os, granola bars, and apples or other fresh fruit or pastry.

                                                            

             

Stuffed backpacks



Day 129 - Dr. Seuss Day

Dr. Seuss was alive and 'well' for the clientele and personnel in doctors' offices around town on the anniversary of his birthday, March 2, 1904.  Tied in with National Read Across America Day, events for the birthday were organized by Reach Out and Read and their Hooked on Books program.  Dr. Seuss books were read throughout the community, including to patients on that day.  In a pediatric clinic, I was the interior designer, bringing Dr. Seuss paraphernalia, arts and crafts and snacks for kids awaiting appointments.  I knew there were decorations for major holidays, both secular and religious, but I had no idea that Dr. Seuss had a marketing genius behind his brand.  Next year, The Cat in the Hat will be back with the yak, and thing 1 and thing 2 will have something to do! 

Day 128 - Homeless and Dinnerless



You had to present your downloaded Humane Society/Chipotle flyer at the Chipotle checkout counter on March 1st in order to have 50% of your purchase donated to the Humane Society.  It was the 2nd year of partnership between Chipotle Mexican Grill and The Humane Society of Greater Kansas City.  It was a doggone good deal for both partners, raising awareness for homeless pets and dinnerless homes.  I forfeited the tortilla and had mine in a bowl. 





       

My downloaded flyer





Day 127 - National Pancake Day

They were flipping the pancakes pretty darn fast at IHOP restaurants on National Pancake Day.  You could get a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes and a gentle nudge to donate at least $5 to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.  Our local recipients were Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics and the University of Kansas Medical Center.  Last year, 1300 stacks of pancakes were served and this year IHOP was hoping for even more fans and donors and pancake eaters.  The Channel 9 TV News crew was there to interview the staff and managers and so were we, happily eating the most delicious blueberry and plain buttermilks this side of Metcalf Avenue - and supporting a good cause. 

Channel 9 News crew





A pancake lover helping kids



We love IHOP pancakes!