The First

This is my first Mother's Day since my mom passed. I thought I would have gone to Atlantic City today since we often went there on Mothers Day. But as life would have it I have many things to catch up on today, Try Change videos to shoot, hotel work to catch up on and cleaning around the house. Actually I think that it was a good decision to stay home and do my assignments and reflect on my mom.

I owe so much to my mom, she helped me get into the Army, made sure I attended college and supported me in everything I tried to do in my career. In a way I'm thankful I am busy today, without her support I could have plenty of time on my hands to do nothing.

There's alot I could say about by mom, I could talk about her generosity, compassion and love she had for everyone. She bought me my first Jimmy Hendrick and Frank Sinatra albums, she encouraged me when I started Try Change LLC.

There are so many things but one thing does stand out for me. I have two brothers and two sisters all of us are over forty years of age and right up until the day she died called her Mommy.

Happy Mothers Day Mommy.

Love,

Vince

Everyone Can Help

Here's a great story of how everyone can help:

High Point Regional High School in Sussex, NJ is made up of special need students but that did not stop them from helping our brave soldiers currently serving in Iraq. Each year the school holds a charity for the annual Make a Difference Day and this year they selected to help our troops.

Throughout the year the students raised funds during high school and local church events. Hearing that many of our soldiers do not have enough money to call home they decided to use the money to purchase phone cards. The students not only collected funds but they also collected letters written by individuals for the soldiers. The class ended up collecting over 1,700 letter's and $3,300 worth of phone cards.

Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odiero, then-commanding general for the Multi- National Corps Iraq summed it up best when he said "These (students) are extraordinary individuals who cares about others"

Please help us spread the Try Change mission by joining one of our communities.

Encourage others in your network to do the same.

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We appreciate your support!

Vince

A Cool Experience

I stopped by the 2Excess store in the Springfield Mall today to follow up on some samples we had placed in the store. I was in the middle of a conversation when I noticed a couple walk into the store. There were about ten shirts against the wall , all surrounding my new Try Change shirt. The man walked up and touched my shirt. I took the opportunity to introduce myself as the founder of Try Change. He said "this is something different, very positive with a cool design". He asked me how much the shirt was and if he could purchase the shirt. I told him it was a sample but gave him my card, website address and printed information. I went onto tell him the Try Change story, which he really connected with.

I would have to say that was a very cool experience! The first order of shirts will be delivered to the three stores shortly. I cannot wait to see the results!

Stay tuned for more updates!!

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Make A Difference Day Awards

At Try Change we recently came across a great story in the NYC Daily News USA Weekend magazine. The article highlighted the magazines 17th annual Make A Difference Day which was held on October 27th. In the U.S over 3 million people went out of their way to assist others in need. In the United Kingdom almost 600,000 people took part and in Brazil over 3 million participated in this worthy cause.

Here's the story of just one such effort:

In Sinclairville, NY 13 kindergartner Daisy Girl Scouts secretly cleared the yard full of apples (Bob has an apple tree) of Bob Peterson who is a 88 year old World War Two veteran of all the apples laid on the lawn. They then made pies and treats from the fruit and delivered them to Bob.

The article closes with " For Peterson who lives alone and visits his wife daily at a nursing home, the treats-and affection-were touching"

"It just made my day"

To Troop 319 of Sinclairville NY- Thank You- we all can learn from you!

At Try Change we celebrate those who take the time to help others. We encourage everyone to find the time in our busy days to give back in some form. Even if it's just baking an apple pie for a veteran.

Please help us spread the Try Change mission by joining one of our communities. Encourage others in your network to do the same.

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We apprecaite your support!

Vince

Around The Corner

There is one thing which gives radiance to everything. It is the idea of something around the corner- G.K Chesterton

At Try Change we are looking around the corner. All the samples are in , the photo shoot is complete, and the MYSPACE page is done. Most of all we have pre orders from two local stores!

We are even in discussions with a positive rap group in hopes of them wearing our shirts in one of their videos. It's been a long journey with some tricky obstacles but it's been worth it. As you may know our mission at Try Change is to spread our positive message of change while also donating ten percent of or profits to Volunteers of America Chesapeake.

How can you help? -Join one of our communities!

During our presentation to retail stores we boast about the number of Try Change members that belong to our blog, MYSPACE or Idealist communities. We have members from California to London and at the very least this helps us get our foot in the door to some of the decision makers. If you have not joined please do so and also send it out to your community members. We feel our story is one that people can embrace and help support!

Razoo

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Thanks,

Vince

Hungry for Music

This week Try Change brings you yet another opportunity to help those in need. We bring to you Hungry for Music. Hungry For Music is a grassroots volunteer-driven 501 (c)(3) charity organization with a nationwide and international outreach. Hungry for Music's mission is to inspire underprivileged children (and others) by bringing positive musical and creative experiences into their lives. Since becoming a non-profit in 1994, Hungry for Music has brought the healing quality of music to thousands of people through its musical instrument donations, concerts, and workshops. They support their programs through memberships, benefit concerts and events, raffles, and the sale of Hungry for Music produced compact discs.

Their goal for 2008 is to distribute 365 musical instruments to individual children in need, school programs, and after-school community centers. As of April 15, , Hungry for Music has donated 53 musical instruments to individuals, schools, and music programs.

You can assit Hungry for Music by attending the 13th Annual Hungry for Crawfish Music and MudBug Bash on Saturday May 17th 12-5pm Rain or Shine at Ft. Hunt Park, Area A in Alexandria, VA. You can also make donations to Hungry for Music at http://www.paypal.com/ payment user id: hungryformusic@att.net.

For more information visit http://www.hungryformusic.org/ or call Jeff Campbell at 202-479-2810.

Try Change would like to thank our friend and supporter Saul for bringing us this fantastic organization!

We're making a push for more friends on MySpace, so if you have a quick moment please check out our page and add us!
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Teens in Motion

So often we hear of stories of young adults getting into trouble with the law or being a disturbance in school. We at Try Change hear and read many stories of children doing just the opposite. Tonight we bring you Teens in Motion an organization based in the Bronx (NYC) which provides an avenue for the youth to express themselves in dance, step as well as drama. Teens in Motion also provides the motivation for the young adults to stay in school and further their education. Grammy Award winning recording artist Alicia Keys is a big supporter of Teens in Motion as you see during the introductory video.

As stated in their Mission Statement:

"Teens In Motion's philosophy is that any teen can be reached in spite of their circumstances.Our youth to youth performances and discussions encourage young people to continue in school and they feel motivated to explore the options of higher education.We believe that with guidance and opportunity today's youth can navigate through the complex ills befalling our communities"

Try Change salutes the participants of Teens in Motion for setting an example of what can truly be achieved if you believe in yourself. To learn more about Teens in Motion visit their website at:

http://www.teens-in-motion.org/main.php

Together we can make a difference.

Vince

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Food Bank Shortage

I read a interesting story in Tuesday's Washington Post detailing the current state of some of this area's and the nations' food banks. According to the article the recent economic conditions has caused many families to turn to charities for food supplies.

Across the nation food assistance request are up 30 percent. In the DC area The Arlington Food Assistance Center that served 710 families last year has already served 868 so far this year. Rising fuel cost coupled with rising electricity cost has had a big impact on the level of service food banks can deliver to those in need. "Capital Area Food Bank which helps supply more than 700 member agencies in the DC region, has seen the groups annual electricity cost rise 35 percent, to $135,000 from $100,00 in five years."

The ongoing housing slump has also increased the need for food banks as construction and real estate workers turn to them for assistance. Another reason for the increase need in food banks is because of the small amount of assistance that is supplied by the food stamps program. " A person who gets $669 a month in Social Security qualifies for only $10 a month in food stamps'

What can we do? Visit your local food bank, donate food or your time.

Together we can make a difference.

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Pass It Along

Today at Try Change we bring you yet another organization that is making a difference in our community. As stated on their website Pass It Along was founded in December 2001. Pass It Along provides a way for individuals to make a difference in their community through meaningful volunteer service. In 2002, PIA became a member of the national organization Hands On Network.

Pass It Along serves three populations – volunteers, nonprofit community based organizations, and individuals that are in need of volunteer support. They offer well-managed, meaningful, and flexibly scheduled service projects in ten fields of interest.

Here's some of their accomplishments so far:

*Over 200 service projects were completed through 34 different programs throughout the Sussex, Northern Morris, and Warren County area
*Introduced 9 new programs
*Over 3,500 volunteers gave their time to PIA last year
*Over 9,900 people were served by our programs and projects
*Over 10,600 volunteer hours were completed in 2007
*The dollar value of a volunteer in the state of New Jersey in 2005 was $21.88; this translates to our organization putting $231,100 back into our community
*For every hour PIA was open, we gave back over 5 hours of service to the community
*Mentored to hundreds of children through literacy enrichment, tutoring, and recreational programs
*11,150 toys were given to 2950+ children in Sussex County and Newark NJ

Visit their website to learn more!

Thanks for stopping by!

Vince

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My Space

At Try Change we decided to add yet another community/ communication avenue for our company. We now have our own My Space page to go along with our other communities:
Razoo
Idealist
Change.org
MyBlogLog
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Try Change Newsletter.

Please feel free to check it out and let us know what you think! Oh, and don't forget to add us as friends!

http://www.myspace.com/trychange

We are actively seeking new friends to share our Try Change story with.

Thanks for stopping by!

Vince

Our First Photo Shoot

Another weekend, another completed task for our Try Change Inspirational t-shirts company. Today we held our first photo shoot. These pictures will be used to update our Try Change website and for promotional materials.
We were fortunate to have James Cabrera , Bobby Harris & Antan Pierce assist Chrissie and I with seeing this project come to life. Step by step our website has gone from the very basic to a new and improved website with flash, a video montage and photo's of our latest designs.

We will have the new photo's on the web by the end of next week but here are a couple of photo's from today's shoot that we would like to share with you.

In closing we ask for you to feel free to join the Try Change family at one of our communities:
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Our First Meeting

This weekend Try Change LLC took a giant step in bringing our dream of inspirational t-shirts to retailers near you to life. We showed our first line of shirts to our Director of Sales, Director of Special Events and designer. Everyone was very impressed with our Marketing Plan and overall designs. So much so in fact that our Director of Sales called up a sales representative in Dallas who is attending a show this week. The Dallas representative agreed to show our line.

I feel the Dallas show is geared towards a slightly different market than ours but we feel blessed to have the opportunity to showcase our line of shirts so soon after getting our final samples completed. As they say " The greatest risk you take is to take no risk at all"

In closing we ask for you to feel free to join the Try Change family at one of our communities:
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Make Believe

While scanning the Internet last night I cam across this article on AOL. I typically do not dive into the whole gossip column/ celebrity pool but I thought it was quite interesting. It shows our beloved celebrities without makeup, maybe this should be shown to all the kids and adults out there that go to extremes (including surgery) to look like their favorite actor or actress.

Here's the link!

http://tuvida.aol.com/moda-y-belleza/fotos/stars-without-make-up

Shoe4Africa

Here's a wonderful organization doing great work for the people of Africa. Shoe4Africa collects shoes for the people of Africa. In a recent study 92% of Kenyan's children that were tested had hookworm. hookworms enter through exposed feet.

As stated on their website:

Empowerment, Health, and Aids Awareness. A simple concept; taking excess shoes, taking them over to Africa, and making change. That was the seed, but the mushroom became community events with a platform for educating health awareness, dramatically changing lives for the better, and putting smiles on the faces of many. But it all began in 1995 with a single pair of shoes being given away...

Read more on Shoe4Africa at their website http://www.shoe4africa.org/

In closing we ask for you to feel free to join the Try Change family at one of our communities:

Razoo

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Thank you,

Vince

Clearing Hurdles

Well as you may know this has been a very trying two months for me here at Try Change. I started a new job, had to go through the process of approving our Try Change t-shirt samples and my mom passed away last week. It's been tough to say the least but as always there is a glimmer of hope. We cleared a major hurdle today...

We finally have all the Try Change samples in our possession! We can now have our first Try Change Strategy meeting. Once we agree that the samples are good to go we will then release our sales team to make presentation to our target accounts. Our goal is to provide an alternative to some of the t-shirts currently in the market. While at the same time donating ten percent of all profits to Volunteers of America Chesapeake.

In closing I'd like to thank everyone for all their prayers during my mother's illness. I can't express how much it means to me that you took the time to pray for my mom.

Vince

Acceptance

One of the lessons I learned in life is to pray for acceptance, not for my will but God's will to be done. Praying for acceptance certainly has helped me this week. On Tuesday my mom lost her battle with Ovarian Cancer. It's still such a shock, she was well one day then deathly ill two weeks later. Throughout the two weeks I prayed for acceptance, I prayed that I would be able to accept any outcome no matter what it would be. Don't get me wrong I wish my mom was physically still here however I know she is in a better place.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to read the Try Change Blog and share their prayers and thoughts with us during our time of sorrow. We feel very blessed to have so many friend and family members in our life.

To those who are struggling with challenges in there life we offer our prayers to you. May you find peace and serenity during your time of sorrow. For those battling Cancer we pray and hope that you be healed and share your joy of recovery with others in the fight against this deadly disease.

Thank you,

Vince & Chrissie

Great Sadness & Great Joy

I have heard it said that sometimes with great sadness comes great joy...like God somehow tries to even things out or at least give you something to hold on to in times of pain or grief. In a way that is what Try Change has been for us. Along with all of the support from our family and friends we are making our way through this path we are following with my mother's illness. She has been stable the past couple of nights so that is a good sign, though we don't really know what the future holds. The doctors say don't get our hopes up, but if you don't have hope, what do you have? It is not in our hands as they say...

So for the good news and great joy...

We have several more of our samples in hand now and they look amazing! We laid them out last night to look at them and I have to tell you...I really did feel a great joy! I can't wait to see them in stores. We are planning a photo shoot in the next few weeks so you'll be able to see the shirts on actual models instead of just the illustrations and design work.

Also, we got approved as an affiliate for Dr.Jay's! Check out the link on our home page on the left hand side. Pretty cool, huh? We'll be working to get into their store too so its a good step in that direction.

Before I run I just want to say a quick thank you for all of your prayers and thoughts!

Vince & Chrissie

Time

It seems we can become obsessed with cars, clothes, jewelry and other trinkets in life when all that really matters is time. Time spent with family and friends, tonight I wish I can buy some more time. Time, more time with my mom. I'm visiting with my mom here in the hospital; I will stay the night and perhaps the next night. I hope to have many more days and nights with my mom . I try not to ask for help to often but if you pray please say a prayer for my mom (her name is Gwen). My dad past a little over two years ago so it's pretty tough seeing my mom this way.

People ask me if there is anything they can do for me. I would like to offer this suggestion. Everyday tell your children, parents and grandparents you love them. Treasure the time you have with them don't let "I'll do it tomorrow" become the saying of the day.

One day there will be no tomorrow.

Vince

Planet Aid

Tonight Try Change brings you another wonderful opportunity to assist those in need.

Planet Aid is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the environment and creating sustainable development in Africa and Asia.

They collect and recycle used clothing and shoes in 19 states in the USA. Items donated to Planet Aid are resold and proceeds are used to support education, community development and HIV/AIDS programs in Africa and Asia.
Planet Aid partners with individuals, schools, organizations, companies and government agencies to inform about and contribute to community based development.

There's so many great organizations such as Planet Aid. We at Try Change encourage everyone to find one that suites your goals and help make a difference in the lives of others.

Soon Try Change will make our presentation to several retail chain stores in hopes of securing future accounts for our Try Change t-shirts. Remember ten percent of all profits are donated to Volunteers of America Chesapeake. We do not ask any of our Try Change Blog readers to purchase our shirts. We merely ask that you wish us luck and hope that you find our blog post helpful in finding a cause for you to be part of. We feel our t-shirts that promote Peace , Hope, Faith, Diversity and Positive Change offers an alternative to some of the sculls and crossbones that proliferate some of the stores today.

In closing we ask for you to feel free to join the Try Change family at one of our communities:
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Thanks for stopping by!

Vince

Until There Is A Cure

We at Try Change once again bring you a wonderful opportunity to make a difference. Tonights inspirational organization is Until There Is A Cure. You have by now seen programs that highlight as well as raise funds through the sale of bracelets. This is one such program but instead of just offering the normal rubber bracelet they have a variety of different bracelets.

As noted on their website:

"Until There's A Cure® is a national organization dedicated to eradicating HIV/AIDS by raising awareness and funds to combat this pandemic."

"Our goal is to fund prevention education, care services, and vaccine development using The Bracelet as the tool. The Bracelet will serve not only as a bridge to unite people to fight HIV/AIDS, but to help people to recognize that anyone—man, woman, or child—can be infected and that everyone should be compassionate, understanding, and responsible"

At their website you can invest in one of their bracelets or make a direct donation to fight against HIV/ AIDS. You can also use the program as a fundraiser for your 501 (c) (3) organization.

At Try Change we strive to bring you opportunities to promote hope, peace , faith , diversity and positive change through organizations such as Until There Is A Cure. As many of you know we also look to do so by launching our new line of Try Change t-shirts. Shortly we will make our presentations to several retail chain stores, so wish us luck! Remember 10% of all profits are donated to Volunteers of America. Founded in 1895 VOA is one of the countries oldest and most respected charities. VOA provides over 23 programs for the homeless to single moms.

In closing we ask for you to feel free to join the Try Change family at one of our communities:

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Friday's Quote

At Try Change we like to provide inspirational stories and resources to share with our Try Change family and also we like to share our progress on launching our line of Try Change t-shirts. As with starting any business there are good weeks and challenging weeks. I would classify this week as one of several challenges but as always I keep a positive attitude and keep forging ahead. I recently came across a quote from Vincent van Gogh that helped me keep moving foreword. It reads

"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?"

Call it courage, perseverance or desire matched with willingness -whatever you like but this characteristic is required in order to be successful. I feel we must challenge ourselves in order to grow and prosper. Whether it's starting a new business or moving to a new part of he country with a new job. It takes courage, hey what would life be without it?

Vince

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Reaching Out

There has been a lot of talk about Hope & Change out there on the campaign trail...Hope for the future, Hope for Change...But I feel the need tonight to look beyond what is going on in within our borders and look toward an issue that I feel has been loosing some of its media coverage lately...

Darfur and the genocide that is still happening there.

Our issues in this country are very real but we can't forget about the suffering that is still going on throughout the world. We are a global community...we can't forget our neighbors. And we can do both, we can do it all...we have the tools at our finger tips, literally. There is so much that can be accomplished just by reaching out to our politicans, reaching out to our friends & family, or reaching out to our online communities.

I encourage all of you to take a moment to remind the current President and Congress about the suffering that is happening in Darfur. You can click here to write a letter to the President or Congress. The link is from The Enough Project. "Enough was born out of frustration and hope." They decided to stop waiting for progress in combating the suffering and do something about it. So please take a moment to visit their website, write the President and/or Congress, and take a look around, there is a wealth of information to be found.

Oh, and back to what is going on here in the US...there were more primaries this weekend and another set coming up on Tuesday (here in our neck of the woods) so don't forget to get out there and vote!! Unsure of when you're state is voting? Click here for a list of the primary and caucuse dates.

Thanks for visiting!

Chrissie & Vince

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PS. Blogger's spell check is still down so please excuse the typos :-)

The Big Idea

In starting the line of Try Change -Inspirational T-Shirts For Change there were several misteps, mistakes or I like to call them opportunities for training. Nevertheless we kept going one of the resources that helped us keep pushing the wet noodle was the TV Show The Big Idea. Seen on CNBC at 10pm The Big Idea showcases individuals that have turned there ideas into successful businesses. As stated on thier website "The Big Idea" is your roadmap to the American Dream. Each weeknight, Donny Deutsch, the maverick CEO who built a multi-billion dollar advertising and media business, introduces you to the men and women who have made BILLIONS with their Big Idea.Their stories. Your Roadmap to the American Dream. The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, weeknights at 10p/1a on CNBC.

"All life is a chance. So take it! The person who goes furthest is the one who is willing to do and dare"
-Dale Carnegie

Join us at Try Change as "we take our chance" in making a difference through the sale of our inspirational t-shirts. Remember a portion of all profits are donated to Volunteers of America. We hope to have our shirts in a store near you shortly.

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Thanks for stopping by!


Vince & Chrisse

Time to Vote!

Tomorrow is "Super Tuesday"...if you live in one of the states holding primaries tomorrow, please get out there and vote. These primaries and caucuses are the next step in choosing the person that will be the next president. Our decisions now can change the future. It is one of our great rights to be able to participate so please take a few minutes and go vote. We can make a difference...

There are also several other primaries after Super Tuesday. Here is a link to the dates for all of the primaries:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/campaign08/primaries/primary-calendar.html

If you are still undecided, here are links to the canidates' websites so you can find out a little more about each of them:

http://www.barackobama.com/index.php

http://townhall.hillaryclinton.com/

http://www.johnmccain.com/pathtovictory/democrats.htm?s=google&t=electability

http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=SignUp.Home

http://www.mittromney.com/

I don't know about you but I can't help but be a little excited about this election. It has already been historical. The first woman and the first african american running and some of the largest voter turn out ever...and we can all be a part of it! So don't miss your chance...get out there!!

Vince & Chrissie

T-Shirts Taking a Stand

So its seems like we aren't the only ones out there that are looking to put something a bit more inspiring on a t-shirt. This weekend our new issue of Good Magazine arrived and on page 46, low and behold, is a whole section on companies that are using t-shirts to support their causes. Of course my first thought was that Try Change should be in there but I'm a bit bias :-)

I won't bore with sharing all of them but here are a couple of my favorites:

Rosa Loves


Each shirt is $25, there is a graphic on the front and the story printed on the inside. 60% of the sales goes toward the cause the t-shirt represents and once the set goal is met that shirt is retired. The designs are cool and the stories even cooler.









Part of It

These shirts are $28 each. They have artists that have chosen different causes and made designs based on these causes. The proceeds go to the cause or charity chosen by the artist and also to keep the Part of It project going.





Re-Shirt

Re-shirt is not so much a cause as just plain inspiration (if inspiration can ever be plain). Each shirt once belonged to someone else and has been given to re-shirt, cleaned and given a serial number. Each shirt has a story and a new life other than in a land fill or the bottom of your closet.



Here are links to some of the other companies mentioned in GOOD:

http://www.statattak.com/

http://www.becauseclothing.com/

http://www.buyameter.org/

http://www.thequietlife.com/

http://www.socialatelier.com/



And remember a percentage of sales from Try Change shirts goes to Volunteers of America Chesapeake. Check out our shirts on Cafepress and stay tuned for some very cool new designs that will be coming to stores soon!


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Thanks for stopping by!

Chrissie & Vince

Free Rice

Do you ever find yourself mindlessly playing a computer game and feeling like you have just wasted a huge amount of time? It happens all the time; one minute you're playing solitaire or mine sweep and then the next thing you know 20 mins has gone by and you have nothing to show for it. Well, here is the answer...FreeRice.com. It's a game but its a game with a cause. Basically you test your vocabulary skills to reach higher levels and with each word you get correct, the advertisers for FreeRice donate the equivalent of 20 grains of rice. You can see it build up in your little bowl. It makes you smarter and it helps the world. You can't lose.

The game was developed by computer programmer, John Breen, in and effort to help his son prep for the SATs. And though I'm sure its helped his son, it has also helped many other people. According to USA Today, players of FreeRice have donated over 15 billion grains of rice! That's enough to feed over 700,000 people for one day...and that's just since October 2007.

So here's your chance...go have some fun, get smarter, and help end world hunger at the same time!

Vince & Chrissie

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MLK Day (Build the Dream)

There are many tributes to honor Dr. King today but there's one ongoing project that I would like to introduce to you today. It's the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation. to be located at the Mall here in DC. As stated on their website

"The Memorial is conceived as an engaging landscape experience to convey three fundamental and recurring themes throughout Dr. King’s life – democracy, justice, and hope. Natural elements such as the crescent-shaped-stone wall inscribed with excerpts of his sermons, and public addresses will serve as the living testaments of his vision of America. The centerpiece of the Memorial, the “Stone of Hope”, will feature a 30-foot likeness of Dr. King."


The foundations Mission Statement is:

" To commemorate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by leading a collaborative funding, design, and construction process in the creation of a memorial to honor his national and international contributions to world peace through non-violent social change."


Visit the website to find out how you can help build this worthy memorial.

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Vince

Escaping into Hope

This morning while watching the normal Sunday political shows, I saw a little blurb about The Wellness Community. We are always looking for stories of hope and inspiration so I headed over to their website to check them out. Here is a bit of basic info about TWC:

The Wellness Community is an international non-profit that provides support and hope to people with cancer and their loved ones. They offer support groups, classes, and workshops all of which are free of charge.

http://www.thewellnesscommunity.org/pdfs/Fact_Sheet_FINAL_07.pdf

The Wellness Community was founded in 1982 by Dr. Harold Benjamin in Santa Monica. He believed that "People with cancer who participate in their fight for recovery from cancer will improve the quality of their life and may enhance the possibility of their recovery." Actively participating in your own care gives you a sense of empowerment and hope. The Wellness Community helps people with cancer achieve this.

I have personally been touched by the pain of cancer. My father, grandfather and aunt all passed away from the same type of cancer...it is very hopeless and frustrating to feel that you have no way of pulling them out of the pain that they are in. Imagine how the person with cancer must feel...They are trapped by their condition...The Wellness Community strives to help these people and their families escape and find hope.

If you or someone you love is trapped by cancer or if you just need some one to talk to about what you are going through, TWC has a great online support community. There is a public discussion board as well as a support group. The support group is run by a trained professional and is a weekly event lasting 90 mins. There is also a special community just for teens called Group Loop.

If you would like to learn more about TWC, please visit their website at http://www.thewellnesscommunity.org/ or click here to make a donation.

Thank you...

Chrissie

The Globe

Hi there! Chrissie here again taking over the blog...

So today I found out about a new radio station here in the DC area and I decided to give it a listen on the way home. I'm the type of person that likes to listen to a little of everything. I like the radio over CDs because listening to the radio gives you a little bit of a sense of community. You get the news, contests, events, weather...if all you listened to was CDs you might not even know when its going to snow, right? :-)

Well, this new station seems to grasp this concept of community and takes a bit farther to include the "global" community. They still have all the local stuff but if you take a look at their website, you'll see that they also have an interest in things that effect the world as a whole. They are also a green station, meaning that not only do they encourage people to "go green", they actually use renewable energy to power their signal.

I won't give you my opinion on the music; you may not have the same taste as me, but I think its worth giving them a chance. If nothing else its another option.

Oh, and for those of you not in the DC area you can also listen online at:

http://www.947theglobe.com/

Thanks for stopping by!

Chrissie

Sneak Peak!!

Here is a sneak peak at one of the new t-shirt designs! The Buddha & speaker are on the front with the Yin-Yang on the back of the shirt.

We would really love to hear what you think so please leave us a comment or send us an email at: trychange@aol.com

Thanks in advance!

Vince & Chrissie

I don't think that Vince has shared this one yet so I thought I'd do a little blog about GoodShop.com. I know the holidays are over but in the spirit of fighting off possible recession and boosting the economy you might as well use some of those gift cards you got. On GoodShop.com you can shop at a variety of retailers by clicking on the links from GoodShop's home page. A percentage of everything you spend goes to the charity of your choice.

GoodShop.com is part of GoodSearch.com which makes a donation every time you use their search engine. 50% of their online advertising revenue goes to charity and they are powered by Yahoo so you're sure to get good search results.

Check out their press release: http://www.goodsearch.com/media/GoodSearch_Press_Release_August_2007.doc

Thanks for stopping by!

Chrissie

Getting Closer

It's been a very busy but also rewarding couple of weeks. We have selected the design of our new website which is schedule two launch on January 21st. We signed the Try Change Distribution Contract from Waitex. We also received notification from The Hamilton Group that we have been approved for factoring!!

Everything is in place we just have to get our Try Change T-Shirt samples in hand then were off and running. To top it all off the promotion to my new job begins tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to visit the Try Change Blog.

Please join one of our communities at:

Razoo
Idealist
Change.org
MyBlogLog
BlogCatalog
Try Change News Letter

Vince

Changes

"To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly"- Henri Bergson

2008 is just beginning I have already made a major change in my career. I have accepted a position at the corporate offices of the hotel company that I work for. While I have had great success at the hotel level I feel I owe it to myself to constantly challenge myself by diving head first into new opportunities. So off I go into 2008 with a new job to go along with the launch of Try Change LLC. As stated in the quote above "to mature is to go creating oneself endlessly"

Over the next several weeks I will share with you samples of our Try Change Inspirational T-Shirts, our new website and information on where you find our new collection of Try Change T-Shirts.

Please join one of our communities at:
Razoo
Idealist
Change.org
MyBlogLog
BlogCatalog
Try Change News Letter

Vince

Global MindShift

Recently I came across a very interesting online community called Global MindShift. The goal of Global MindShift is to contribute to the emerging global community. Their mission is to make the emergence of the online community unstoppable. They feel they can help accomplish this mission by connecting individuals and organizations with creative ideas and action plans with each other.

Global MindShift began as a project of the Foundation for Global Community a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. In 2005 Global MindShift became an independent non-profit organization.

Their website and resources are very interesting. Check them out...

Together we can make a difference!

Vince



Please join one of our communities at:

Razoo

Idealist

Change.org

MyBlogLog

BlogCatalog

Try Change News Letter