Charity
Flying Pigs in the Queen City
May 4th
Flying Pigs in the Queen City, originally uploaded by foyble.
Friend of foyble Brian Geraghty ran the half during this year’s Flying
Pig Marathon. And he wore some foyble SWAG (as Michael Scott says:
“stuff we all get”)!
Hey, races are a great way to see a city and participate in some fund raising or causes. Search for races in your neck of the woods to participate in or think of a city you’d like to see and search for races there. And check out sites like TEAM in training (http://www.teamintraining.org/) to find a cause to train for.
According to Brian’s blog it’s a milestone for him! So to Brian we
say congrats and thanks for sporting the foyble burst in the streets
of Cincy!
Posted by Brian (Foy, not Geraghty).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brian G. on foyble: www.foyble.com/users/454/foybles/331
Brian G. on the internet by himself: www.hottjava.com/
The Flying Pig: http://www.flyingpigmarathon.com/ AND http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_pig
Team in Training: http://www.teamintraining.org/
Need inspiration to GIVE? Look no further than this video on the flooding in Tennessee
May 3rd
On May 1 and 2, 2010, Middle Tennessee was hit with the greatest amount of rainfall in its recorded history. Photographer Michael Deppisch created the following video which, as you will see, is a supremely moving account of the destruction.
If this video moved you at all like it did us here at foyble HQ, then please consider visiting the Middle Tennessee Red Cross Chapters site and making a donation to help.
Posted by Jerry
Starting the GIVE: Pay it Forward Day in Elkhart, Indiana
Apr 28th
You all know that foyble, Start the GIVE, and Pay it Forward are synonymous. The folks at foyble HQ are always looking for ways to start and spread the GIVE. When we see others committed to the same philosophy, we like to spread the word. Our web alerts went to DEFCON 1 this morning (acts of kindness ready for launch) when we came across this story from reporter Brandon Lewis from WNDU news out of Elkhart, Indiana:
image via WNDU
The city of Elkhart is encouraging people to help a neighbor this weekend as they declare Saturday “Pay It Forward Day”. The idea is to give back to your community, especially if you’ve received help.
There will be a bed race, a tug-of-war, and much more. The winning team will get to donate a check to their favorite charity.
Meantime thousands of students at Elkhart schools will be involved in assemblies to learn what it means to pay it forward and do good deeds for others. Classrooms will also teach kids that there are a lot of simple ways to make a difference.
“A lot of times things don’t cost money or very little money to do something nice for somebody,” said Debbie Micola from Santa’s Pantry Inc. “So that’s what we really try to get through to the kids that they can do something no matter how old they are.”
Micola introduced us to Art Jones, an Elkhart resident who exemplifies what it means to pay it forward. He’s helping make it easier for others to make a difference. Jones started a web site called “Basic Needs” that allows people to buy items at discount prices, and then he delivers them to local charities. For example, tooth brushes or canned food items. Even though he’s been battling cancer for several years, Jones says the project is good therapy.
“It gives me a good purpose in life.” said Jones. “I’ve been very fortunate. I’ve had a lot of people helping me. And then what I’m doing hopefully will give something back to the community that’s helped me so much.”
Brandon’s original story with related video can be found here.
We love this idea and send out mad foyble love to the city of Elkhart, Debbie Micola, Art Jones, and all the other residents of Elkhart that are participating in Pay it Forward Day this weekend!
Posted by Jerry
8.8 Richter Scale Earthquake strikes Chile. Time to foyble, once again!
Mar 1st
Devastation and flooding in Chile. -AP Photo
On February 27, 2010, a catastrophic earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter Scale devastated Chile and triggered tsunami warnings throughout the Pacific. This quake has killed over 700 people at the time of this writing and more are being found every hour it seems.
Just because Chile is not as economically and “structurally-challenged” as Haiti, does NOT mean the people of Chile do not need your help. They do!
That in mind, and like our article last month on how to help the people of Haiti, the foyble guys are providing you with some options to lend a hand to Chile. Just REMEMBER: If you’ve donated time, money, or talents to any world disaster relief, be sure to share you story on foyble to inspire others to do the same!
The great folks at Mashable have compiled a list of ways to donate, so we’ll help spread the word:
Text it and know that Verizon, At&T, Sprint and T-mobile have waived messaging fees for these spots:
1. Text the word “CHILE” to 25383 to donate $10 on behalf of the Habitat for Humanity
2. Text the word “CHILE” to 20222 to donate $10 on behalf of World Vision
3. Text the word “CHILE” to 52000 to donate $10 on behalf of the Salvation Army
4. Text the word “CHILE” to 85944 to donate $10 on behalf of International Medical Corp.
1. American Red Cross— the American Red Cross International Response Fund helps victims of crises such as the Chile and Haiti earthquakes. If you wish to designate your funds to a specific crisis, you’ll need to mail in your donation.
2. Americares— funds go exclusively to the Chilean earthquake (and tsunami relief, should further tragedies occur)
3. Google Crisis Response, with channels benefiting UNICEF and DirectRelief International
– use your Google Checkout account to donate instantly to these charities
4. World Vision Disaster Response Fund - your money goes towards relief efforts for global disasters worldwide (not Chile specifically).
Foyble on. Help the World. Start the GIVE.
Posted by Jerry
Massive Earthquake in Haiti. Here’s how you can help.
Jan 13th
Image via AFP.
An earthquake registering 7.0 on the Richter Scale rocked Port-Au-Prince, Haiti collapsing buildings and killing untold thousands yesterday. You can read more on the earthquake on every news outlet anywhere, so pick your favorite.
What’s important for us, is how you can start committing foybles to help this impoverished nation in the very long road to getting back on their already fragile feet.
foyble co-founder John Frazier supports a missionary in Haiti that builds schools and health clinics. You can find them at www.lifeline.org.
An article from The Huffington Post via Yahoo shares several ways that you, (YES YOU!), can help the people of Haiti. You can make a difference whether you donate $1.00 or $10,000 or more. You can also donate supplies. Here are their ideas and they are all foybles for you:
•The American Red Cross is pledging an initial $200,000 to assist communities impacted by this earthquake. They expect to provide immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support. They are accepting donations through their International Response Fund.
10 foybles in 10 days
Sep 27th
Inspired by christianpf.com we here at foyble will be performing 10 foybles in 10 days- one per day for the first 10 days of October. Join us! We’ll update you via twitter (follow us here) and right here on the blog. We have set up a 10 day give group on foyble.com- we’ll connect all of our 10 day give foybles to that group. If you participate, please do the same! Read a story on the 10 day give here too.
The 10 day give culminates in our booth at the Columbus Italian Festival. If you’re in Columbus check out the fest and be sure to stop by the foyble booth.
Consider joining us for the 10 day give. Since we have a few days until October 1st you have some time to plan ahead for this event, maybe you can “schedule” a few good deeds ahead of time. Here are some ideas for you (don’t forget you can browse over 100 foybles on foyble.com for inspiration):
1. Bake some bread for your neighbors like Chad and Lynn did.
2. Buy three $5 giftcards to your favorite coffee shop and give one away each day to friends or family.
3. Do something nice for your work colleagues- bring some bagels in, offer to help someone out if they seem stressed out, consider letting your team out a little early on a nice day next week. Think of something that might be relevant to your work or industry that might resonate.
4. You don’t have to spend money on the GIVE- resolve each day to do something completely random based on some interaction you have during the day. Keep your eyes, your mind, and your heart open to helping someone. Like this gal or these guys did.
5. Pick 10 charities and give a small donation to each every day. You can find charities associated with foyble here. Don’t be afraid to give small donations to charities. They all add up. If you can’t afford to give money to your favorite charity try giving them time. Contact them and see what they’ve got going on next week.
No act is too small. Don’t be intimidated by the 10 day give. If you’re having a crazy day or you’re tired or you simply forget just spend an hour complimenting as many people as you can. Keep that energy up and the good vibes flowing.
So follow us on twitter (@foyble_org), check out this blog, and look for new 10 day give posts connected to the 10 day give group on foyble.com.
Thanks!
posted by Brian
Foyble, Canadian Style.
Sep 26th
I read this story by Chris Parry of the Vancouver Sun on the world wide interweb today and it’s a prime time example of foybles in action! School kids at Cindrich Elementary School in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, were charged with the task of spreading random acts of kindness (that’s what a foyble is, but you knew that!). Teachers inspired the kids and “Quietly, unobtrusively, these children began to weave their magic. ”
Kids passed out homemade cookies, helped kids on the playground, and wrote kind notes for kids’ school bags. Asking only that the goodwill be passed on (foyble-riffic!), the movement became contagious. The small acts like cookies lead to bigger ones like sponsoring Make a Wish Foundation kids. One class created “30 Random Acts of Kindness Cards” that asked recipients to pay it forward.
You should read the rest of the article. It’s uplifting, relevant, and will put a smile on your face and warm your heart. No doubt. I hope those kids, teachers, and the ones they touched find their way to foyble.com and share all of their amazing stories of the GIVE with us here in foyble-land!
Posted by Jerry
Of the GIVE and the internet economy
Sep 16th
Breaking News: using the internet to cultivate the GIVE was not invented by foyble.
Ok, that’s not breaking news. But you knew that. Just how IS the internet being used to start the GIVE though? Or, more importantly (and for the sake of time), how is the internet being used in interesting ways to start the GIVE? More >
