Columbus Hope for Haiti

Hey Friends, I'm not sure how many Columbus and Central Ohio readers I have out there, but this just came across my Twitter and I wanted to share it here on my blog.

Thursday January 21 from 7a.m. to 7p.m. "Columbus Hope for Haiti" is taking place at the Ohio Historical Society and online. The City of Columbus, the American Red Cross of Greater Columbus, and local media outlets are joining forces to raise money for the earthquake stricken country of Haiti.

I am very proud of my city for stepping up and making it a city wide event. There are several ways you can help out. First, you can drop your check off for the Red Cross at the Ohio Historical Society which is located just of I-71 at Exit 111.

If you do not live in Columbus or can not make it on Thursday there are several other ways you can donate:

• Call the Red Cross at 1-800- HELP-NOW
• Text "Haiti" to 90999, this will donate $10 which wills how up on your wireless bill.
• Make a secure donation online at www.redcross.org

Please help out in any way you can!
And Thank You!

Tour de Cure 2009

Team NESPAC Rocks!!!

If you click above you will be taken to the Team NESPAC page for the 2009 Tour de Cure, Westerville.  The tour is a bike ride of various milage with riders of skills who raise money for their ride.  The money raised goes to the American Diabetes Association. 

The ADA is committed to caring for and curing diabetes.  This is especially important to me because many friends and family are dealing with diabetes daily, including Team NESPAC captain Bruce Weaver.

Please consider donating to Team NESPAC's ride as they are a driving force in the central Ohio's fundraising and they are very close to their team goal and cool prizes.  Since I am unable to ride I feel I must make the way to raising funds easier for them.  The ride takes place on Saturday so get those donations in please. 

$20 Challenge

A few weeks ago Pastor Jason at Terra Nova challenged our congregation to change the world with $20.  What he meant by this, was instead of taking a large Christmas collection from the church and donating it to one organization or another, we would each take $20 and see how we could make a difference.  He encouraged us to join forces with our life groups, or our neighbors, and perhaps do something larger than just one person could do with $20.  

At first Ryan and I had some grand ideas of raisi

ng money for one of my favorite organizations, Heifer International.  But as reality sank in, Ryan didn't really have the time, and I'm not sure if I have the energy to devote to the large scale project we were planning.  Ryan is working hard at finishing up his masters degree in entomology, which takes up a very large portion of time.  I am very proud of him for this, so we decided to go our separate ways in the challenge.  

I am not sure what Ryan will be deciding on doing with his $20.  But I mentioned my latest project last week about Warm Up America.  I will continue to work on that project and hope to have at least one afghan done by December 14th which is when our challenge is to be completed.  $20 can buy a lot of yarn, so I hope to make some baby afghans as well as hats with some left over yarn from my afghan.  But that might have to wait till after the holidays.  The biggest focus now is getting 49 7"x9" squares done in 2 weeks.  I will be posting pictures of my progress, and pictures of the completed project.  I foresee the most difficult part of the project will be joining all the squares together to from the afghan.

 

Here is a photo from my first week of working on the project.  I already have a few more squares I made after taking this picture last night. 

And they are not actually squares, they are rectangles, but don't tell anyone.  

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

I wanted to take a few minutes to remind you all about the importance of breast cancer awareness, monthly self exams, and regular mammograms.  I've known many people with breast cancer, and  I became passionate about raising awareness and funds while in college.

I am a sister in the Zeta Tau Alpha fraternity, whose philanthropy is the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.   While in college I worked with my sisters to raise awareness among college age women about early detection and participated in some crazy fundraisers to raise money for the Susan G. Komen foundation.

For all you wonderful women in my life, please remember to check yourself, get your mammograms, and inform others about breast cancer.  And if you want to take a more active role in finding the cure for breast cancer sign up with The Army Of Women.  The Army of Women is looking for women with and without cancer to partner with researchers to learn what causes breast cancer and to find a cure. 

Just to be sure you are informed, here is a list of links that I mentioned throughout my post, please check them out: 

• National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• Zeta Tau Alpha
• Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
• The Army of Women

Biking Columbus

I write this post for a few reasons. Today a news article came about that said Columbus has developed a 20 year plan to make the city a more bike friendly place. This is good news any way you look at it. Columbus is a great city, and it's a beautiful city. To be able to see it by bike is just an enjoyment, not to mention an ecologically friendly option to driving to your office building. Columbus is already semi bike friendly, there is a nice wide biking path that takes you along the two rivers. And the Ohio State campus is frequented by many many bikes everyday.

However, just last Friday Ryan's bike got STOLEN from campus. It was a mistake, he left his bike locked up on campus over night, since left his key at home. When he returned in the morning it was gone. Such a bummer. He filed the appropriate reports with the campus police, but there is no hope for finding it. The police say they suspect a organized ring of not nice people who are cutting bike locks and stealing them away from campus. We have renters insurance but have decided not to file a claim, since our premium might go up, and the deductible is more than we would get back from the insurance company. Now Ryan is left bikeless, which is the third reason I am writing.

This weekend, Ryan will be participating in the Tour de Cure, as a member of Team NESPAC, he will be riding for 30 miles to raise money for diabetes research. This is a great cause, and a fun time with friends. I would be riding as well if I was healthier, but I will just have to root for the team from the sidelines.

If you would like to DONATE MONEY, any amount would be gratefully appreciate, you can go to this site: Ryan Bell and Team NESPAC
Ryan is 90% on the way to his ambitious goal of $600 please help him out. He will thank you and so will Team NESPAC.

If you would like to just learn more about the American Diabetes Association and the Tour de Cure you should go here: Tour de Cure