Thank you!

When we started Try Change we set several goals to attain by August 2008. One such gaol was to have two hundred members friends at our Try Change blog. We are pleased to say we have exceeded that goal (207 members) eight months ahead of schedule! We want to thank everyone who takes the time out of their busy day to visit our blog and website. I have linked My Story for individuals who may not know the origin of Try Change inspirational t-shirts for change. We received such a positive response to our cause that we decided to take our t-shirt idea and create our own Try Change brand. Over the last several weeks we have contracted for Rocket Communications to upgrade our website, met with several designers to redesign our logo and t-shirts and had a a meeting with The van Aartrijk Group to formulate a Public Relations plan.

This along with some activities with Volunteers of America Chesapeake has really energized us to start the Try Change brand. We say thank you to everyone in our blog community who visited our site and offered words of encouragement but we are not finished. I ask that you continue to visit our blog, share our blog with your fellow bloggers and communities and wish us luck as we launch the Try Change Brand in February of 2008. Remember Try Change promotes peach, hope, faith, diversity and positive change with a portion of all profits donated to Volunteers of America Chesapeake.

Together we can make a difference!

Vince

*Please join one of our communities at:

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Idealist

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Try Change News Letter

Any Soldier

I came across a great website where you can donate items to our combat soldiers. You simply go to anysoldier.com select "where to send" and a list of soldiers appears for you to select from with their individual and group needs. The program was founded in in 2003 by Sergeant Brian Horn , who was stationed in Kirkuk at the time. Sgt. Horn agreed to hand out any packages that were delivered to him addressed "Any Soldier". As with most great ideas any soldier took off! Today Any soldier has expanded to all branches of the military . Past donated items include sock, shoes, t-shirts, deodorant and hats, items that many take for granted. Why not help those who are in need. Check out http://www.anysoldier.com/ today.

Thanks for stopping by!

Vince

*As always, we'd like to invite everyone to join one of our communities or sign up here to keep up to date with what's going on at Try Change!

Choices

While at home this past weekend I had the chance to spend some time with my older brother . He shared with me a story of a photograph he lost in a fire some years back. In the picture was him and five of his friends. Unfortunately (fortunately for my brother) the only person still alive today is my brother. What make this even more sad is that my brother is only 50 years old. We began talking about the choices we make in life...do we decide to further our education so we can afford a better way of life? a life that permits us to go to the doctor for annual checkups? Do we associate ourselves with people that are striving to make the world a better place or do we hang out with shady characters that end up in trouble with the law? Do we try to eat right and exercises so we can live a healthier and hopefully longer life or do we hit the fast food joint and say next year I'll get in shape? I believe these little choices that we make in life adds up to either make our lives happy and healthy or just a struggle to survive.

There is an old saying (forgive me if I don't know it exactly)

"In the long journey of life it's not the mountains that wear you down but the pebble in the shoe"

It's my goal not to let the little pebbles (choices) wear me down but to make the right choices to live a happy and healthy life.

Join us at Try Change as we strive to share inspirational stories with others and promote positive change in our communities through volunteering, the promotion of inspirational t-shirts and other Volunteers of America activities.

Vince

Tagged!

In the past we haven't really done meme's but in an effort to tell more about ourselves we've decided to go ahead and try this lasted one from Mary Marete.

So this is a "Three Things I Can't Live Without" meme. It is meant to be more personal things, not the essentials for survival things like air, water, and food.

1. Serenity...I must have peace and order in my life. With life being so busy it's very important for both of us to be able to find that place in ourselves.

2. Eachother

3. Friends and family

I hope she doesn't get annoyed with us but we're going to tag Chrissie's friend Cindy at Sweet Bead Studio.

Thanks for stopping by!

Vince & Chrissie

Playing It Safe?

I recently read a fantastic quote that was posted on one of the blog communities I belong to:

"The riskiest thing to do is to play it safe"

It made me think about our decision at Try Change to expand our line of inspirational shirts from Cafe Press to actually sell them directly to retailers. About a month ago we made the decision, met with a local designer and put together our marketing plan.. Over the next several weeks we will revamp our website, make final changes to the new designs and set up meetings with local and national stores. We could have played it safe, kept our shirts on Cafe Press and hoped for the best but we decided to take the risk in hopes of a great reward not only for us but to have the opportunity to share our message of peace, hope, faith, diversity and positive change with as many people as possible. Also as stated before a portion of all profits are donated back to Volunteers of America Chesapeake.

In the coming weeks we will reintroduce you to the story behind Try Change and our partnership with Volunteers of America as well as an opportunity to win some free Try Change shirts. In the meantime we ask you to help us spread the Try Change message by sharing our blog with your members. The logo above is part of the whole re-design and we'd really love to hear what you think...please send us an email or leave us a comment here on the blog!

We wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and hope you have a safe holiday with lots of turkey!

Vince & Chrissie

Food from the Hood

Food from the Hood is a program started back in 1992 by a group of students from Crenshaw High School. There goal was to covert a garden overrun with brush into a garden to supply food for the less fortunate people in there community. Here's a timeline on how a band of people can take a weed infested garden and turn it into $140,00 in scholarship money.


On December 18, 1992, Food From the 'Hood harvested its first crop and donated 100 percent of its produce to Helpers for the Home less and the Hungry, a local area food bank. "


In July 1993, Food From the 'Hood attended its first public Farmers' Market in Santa Monica, where the company sold $150 worth of produce in just 30 minutes.
In September 1993, when school was back in session, the student-managers researched the food industry and conducted a survey. The student managers came to an astounding conclusion, that salad dressing was one of the best selling food products. Food From the 'Hood contacted Rebuild Los Angeles for their first grant in hopes of turning the vegetable gardens into a business.
Rebuild Los Angeles, introduced Food From the 'Hood to Sweet Adelaide, a leading salad dressing co-packer and manufacturer. Working with food technologist from Sweet Adelaide, Food From the 'Hood converted its homemade salad dressing into a reproducible commercial product. After six tests and reformulation, Food From the 'Hoods "Straight Out' the Garden" Creamy Italian Dressing was born.

Working with Marketing Specialists(a major food broker), the student-managers met with leading grocery store chains to introduce their product. Within two months, they had achieved 100% distribution in all major grocery stores.
Rebuild Los Angeles, presented the Food From the 'Hood with a check for $50,000 to be used to make the salad dressing dream a reality. Within six weeks, Food From the 'Hood created its corporate office and completed its first "batch" of dressing.

More than Business
The program's most unique innovation is that "student-managers" participate in running every aspect of the business. The "student-managers" design, develop, and create products; plant, maintain and harvest their own garden; make marketing decisions, develop business plans, and run the daily operations. Each student "banks" his or her work hours, and receives payment in the form of a direct scholarship paid to their post- secondary school, college or university. The program also provides academic tutoring, SAT and college entrance exams preparation, mentoring, and life skills training.

To date, Food From the 'Hood has awarded over $140,000 in college scholarships to the student-managers. 77 program graduates have attended two-year or four-year colleges or technical schools. Student Managers have been accepted to colleges and universities throughout the nation including Cal State L.A, University of the Pacific, Pitzer College, Concordia University, Babson College, Howard University, San Diego State, Tuskegee Institute, Morehouse, Stanford, University of California at Berkeley, Cal Poly Pomona, Clark-Atlanta, University of North California, USC, Chapman University, and much more. 20 program graduates receives their college degree in 2000, with 5 of them entering postgraduate programs.


Yes, people can still make a difference!

An Amazing Day!

Today I participated in the 20th Anniversary Homeless Walkathon in Washington DC and I have to say it was amazing. I arrived just in time to register, get my shirt and get to the starting line. There were thousands of people who showed up for the walk. Companies ranging from Fannie Mae to Volunteers of America. Congresswomen Eleanor Holmes Norton and Mayor Fenty were in attendance as well. I walked with my fellow Volunteers of America Chesapeake members and had a great conversation with Susan Bently the Volunteer Services Coordinator for the Residential Program Center. I will admit that I felt very proud when someone came up and said "Your the Try Change Guy".

I was able to get to shake Mayor Fenty's hand and thank him for coming out for the walk and then introduce myself to the Outreach and Services Specialist for the 2nd Ward. I told him a little about Try Change and how we are official partners with Volunteers of America. He asked me to email him some information and perhaps there is a way the we can work with the mayor's office in some capacity.

The musical entertainment was fantastic. BB Wayans, Michael McDonald and Darius Ruckus ( Hootie of Hootie and the Blowfish) I have to tell you that it was absolutely incredible when they had Michael McDonald on Piano, with BB Wayans and Darius Ruckers singing Amazing Grace. On top of that BB Wayans and another singer sang Oh Happy Day. I witnessed all this less than 75ft from the stage.

If you have never been to the Homeless Walkathon I'm here to tell you get yourself to one. If you can't get to DC check the VOA's website for one near your home state.

What An Amazing Day!

Vince

Networking 101

One of the great things about being the President of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce is being introduced to new area businesses. Tonight I met Michael Stewart of Stewarts Inspirational Cards. Michael's inspiration for starting Stewarts Inspirational Cards is his mother. He would call his mother and start the conversation with “Wilhemina, Wilhemina, Wilhemina!” He would ask a question every time he talked to her ....“Ain’t God Good, You Know What, or Mother are you still Fine?” She would respond to the question, “Ain’t God Good?”, by saying, “All the Time”. Michael began to take every question he asked his mother and put it on paper. He decided take those conversations and share them with everyone. There are over 300 cards to select from, so there's something for everyone!

Visit Stewarts Inspirational Cards at

http://www.stewartcards.com/

Stewart,

Thanks for sharing your story with Try Change!

Vince

Change Makers

Here's an interesting organization that was recently mentioned in the New York Times. As stated on their website:

Changemakers is a national public foundation that models and supports community-based social change philanthropy. They we work within the philanthropic sector to shift where money is directed -- to address root causes of social and environmental problems -- and how it is given, urging individual donors and philanthropic organizations to become more accountable, strategic, inclusive, collaborative, democratic, and creative.

Mission statement

Changemakers' mission is to transform the values and practice of philanthropy in order to assure a more equitable and accountable distribution of resources for creating positive social change.

Thanks for stopping by and allowing us to share another resource with you!

Vince

*Please join one of our communities at:
Razoo
Idealist
Change.org
MyBlogLog
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Help the Homeless Walkathon

Today Try Change once again participated in the homeless shelter weekly giveaway. This is a great way to get donated items into the hands of needy families here in our county.

The 20th Annual Help the Homeless Walkathon will be held next Saturday . The walkathon will start here in DC on the National Mall at 9am. The Help the Homeless Program is the nations largest fundraising event benefiting the homeless. Since 1988 this program has raised over $62.5 million for the more than 220 homeless service providers in the Greater Washington area.

Join the Help the Homeless Walkathon at:

Help The Homeless Walkathon Registration

Look forward to seeing you there!

Vince

Old Cell Phone?

If your like me you have several old cell phones tucked away in your drawer. Well here's a cool way to get rid of them and help your favorite charity at the same time. Phones4charity.org sells discarded phones to recycling businesses and gives back 80 percent of the money to over 500 charities. They have donated over 1 Million since its inception. You can even start up your own phone drive by filling out the simple phone drive start up form on their website.

Go to http://www.phones4charity.org/index.php to learn more about this very cool and easy way tom raise funds for your own favorite charity. By the way this is also great for the environment since it ensures that old phones and batteries and properly disposed of instead of ending up in land fill.

Help us spread the word by sharing this information with our fellow bloggers!

Thanks for stopping by!

Vince

*Please join one of our communities at:

Razoo

Idealist

Change.org

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Student Empowerment

I recently came across a very interesting organization called Campus Progress. As stated on their website:

"Campus Progress is part of the Center for American Progress, works to help young people -- advocates, activists, journalists, artists, and others -- to make their voices heard on issues that matter. Through an online magazine and student publications, public events, and grassroots issue campaigns, Campus Progress acts to empower new progressive leaders nationwide as they develop fresh ideas and perspectives and seek to communicate in new ways.
Campus Progress is working to see that the next generation of progressive leaders is better trained, better informed, more diverse, and more united than any generation before. We’re helping to build a strong progressive movement by connecting young people across the divides of region, background, and issue interests, and working to keep them connected over time. "

"Campus Progress primarily organizes at colleges and universities—where many young people are concentrated and easier to reach—but we intend our work to
be accessible and useful to everyone. Even if you’re not a college student, or a young person at all, or even if you don’t share our views, we hope you’ll stick around this website. There’s plenty of news, debate, and controversy, great writing, and eye-opening multimedia. Look around, create your own blog, pitch us a story, post your comments"

This organization seems to be getting alot of attention. Check it out!

Vince

*Please join one of our communities at:
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Idealist
Change.org
MyBlogLog
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Nothing But Nets!

Looking for an inexpensive way to make a BIG difference?

Let me introduce you to Nothing But Nets as explained on their website:

Malaria is a disease caused by the blood parasite Plasmodium, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. Infected humans experience flu-like symptoms that can result in coma and death. Malaria infects more than 500 million people a year and kills more than a million— one person dies about every 30 seconds. The disease is particularly devastating in Africa, where it is a leading killer of children. In addition to being home to the deadliest strain of malaria and the mosquito best equipped to transmit the disease, many areas in Africa lack the proper infrastructure and resources to fight back.

How can you help?

For just $10, we can purchase a bed net, deliver it to a family, and explain its use. Bed nets work by creating a protective barrier against mosquitoes at night, when the vast majority of transmissions occur. A family of four can sleep under an insecticide-treated bed net, safe from malaria, for up to four years. The benefits of bed nets extend even further than the family. When enough nets are used, the insecticide used to deter mosquitoes makes entire communities safer—including even those individuals who do not have nets.

Please join Try Change in spreading the word about this inexpensive way to fight back the dreaded disease of Malaria. Visit nothingbutnets.net, make a $10.00 contribution and save a life!

Vince

*Please join one of our communities at:

Razoo

Idealist

Change.org

MyBlogLog

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Pass It On

Today I once again participated in the weekly give away at the homeless shelter. Each week 30 to 50 people and families come to the shelter to pick up food, blankets and other items that were donated by the community. I donate items as well as help with the organizing of the giveaway. Today I decided to donate (along with some other items) a framed motivational slogan that belonged to a good friend of mine who passed away some years ago. At first I was hesitant to give it away, Jimmy was a great friend and the slogan means a lot to me however I thought maybe someone else could benefit from it as well. The slogan reads:

"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."

So I placed the item into the bin and went about my business at the giveaway. Several minutes later as I noticed a man sorting through the bin the frame was in. I could not believe it but he picked up the frame, read it and put it in his box he was collecting items in. I wanted to go over and tell him I donated the item and what it meant to me however I thought let him have his own story to tell one day . Something in the slogan made him pick it up, maybe it will help him further achieve his own goals. Maybe the slogan will be a part of his story one day.

Maybe there's a story, slogan or item that helped motivate you. Why not share it with others? If you have story, please share it with us at Try Change!

Together we can make a difference.

Vince

We miss you Jimmy!

Common Sense Prevails

At the Try Change blog we highlight individuals or organizations that are taking steps to make positive changes in the world. These stories inspire ourselves and others so we feel they should be recognized for their efforts. Tonight's entry is a little different but no less inspiring. Tonight we recognize the family of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder. Lance Cpl. Snyder was killed in Iraq and during his funeral the Fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church decided to picket the funeral service.

The church has picketed funerals before with signs that reads: "God hates fags" and "Thank God for dead soldiers". They believe God is punishing America for its immoral ways. I'm sure there are many people with different views on the war in Iraq, however picketing a funeral of a serviceman, or for that matter anyone, is not the decent thing to do. If you want to protest there are plenty of government organizations and agencies to visit. A funeral is private not a public forum.

We salute the family of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder for standing up to Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps and his two daughters. They took them to court and were awarded $11 million. They received $2.9 Million in compensatory damages, $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and $2 million for emotional distress.

No amount of money can bring back Cpl. Matthew but maybe this judgment will make people think before using someones funeral as a platform to make their case. We are for freedom of speech but we are also for common sense as well.

Lets not let the tail wag the dog.

Vince