PeaceOholics

As some of you know at Try Change we like to introduce or readers to individuals and organizations that are making a difference in our communities. Tonight we bring you PeaceOholics-"People addicted to Peace". If you live in the DC area you may have seen them on the local TV news programs as well as heard them on the local radio stations.

As stated on their website:

"Peaceoholics was established to enhance the academic and social development of at-risk youth and their families. To assist in the reduction of truancy, and violence but to increase common respect, literacy and self-worth amongst our youth and communities.With your help and support we can have a greater impact within the community. Having the proper resources to fund proof positive programs that enable our youth the opportunities to engage in world travels, college tours, youth empowerment seminars, counseling, and a host of other activities that enrich and cultivate a powerful individual and help break the mold"

Services and programs include, but are not limited to:

Youth Leadership Council

Peer and Family Mediation

Job Placement Assistance

Mentoring

Technical Assistance

Transition Back into the Community upon Completion of Incarceration "Re-entry"

Mediation Training

Weekend Workshops and Retreats

Male/Female Counseling

Agency Sensitizing/Partnering Training

Fatherhood/Motherhood Training

Event Coordination

Gang and Neighborhood Intervention

Crisis Intervention

Collaboration Coordination

Substance Abuse Prevention

Motivation Speaking

Youth& Parent Advocacy

So often you hear negative stories that it's great to hear of organizations such as PeaceOholics that are giving back to the community. If you live in the DC area and are looking for ways to make a difference check out PeaceOholics!

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Try Change shirts now available at the following stores:

Capital Grind - Landmark Mall

Indigo - Georgetown

Changes - selected stores

Sports Zone - selected stores

Shadows - Forestville Mall

Fashion Mechanics - Potomac Mills & Springfield Mall

Evado in the Fair Oaks Mall

Remember, 10% of all proceeds go to Volunteers of America Chesapeake!

Thanks for your support!

Vince & Chrissie

Volunteers of America

Each week at Try Change we introduce our members to different organizations and individual that serve the communities in which we live. Over the last year we have shared stories of many worthy causes and individuals. This week we would like to revisit our partnership with Volunteers of America Chesapeake. We have personally seen the results of their efforts at homeless shelters such as the Hilda Barg Shelter here in Woodbridge VA as well as their support for the Annual Homeless Walkathon held here in Washington DC.

VOA Chesapeake has over 23 programs that assist individuals who are homeless, victims of domestic violence and many other challenges that are far more prevalent than many people are aware.

As stated on their website's homepage:

Volunteers of America Chesapeake, founded in 1896 in Baltimore, is the locally chartered affiliate of Volunteers of America, Inc., one of the nations largest and most comprehensive human services organizations. Volunteers of America Chesapeake accomplishes its spiritually based mission by serving over 10,000 people annually through programs that spread geographically from Baltimore, Maryland to Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Governed by a Board of Directors, Volunteers of America Chesapeake operates 24 programs that serve the homeless, mentally ill, developmentally disabled, ex-offenders, substance abusers, the elderly and children. Our professional staff of more than 500 employees, partner with dedicated volunteers, local government officials, businesses, civic organizations and the faith community to provide high quality human services.
Volunteers of America Chesapeake's goal is to help those served become self-reliant and make positive life changes.

At Try Change we donate 10% of all our profits from our t-shirt sales to VOA Chesapeake, donate 100% from our annual yard sales ( $900 so far) and have donated hundreds of items to the Hilda Barg shelter as well as volunteer at the shelter when possible. You can find our shirts in MD, VA & DC areas at Fashion Mechanics in the Springfield, Potomac and Manassas Mall, Capital Grind in the Landmark Mall, Evado in the Fair Oaks Mall, The Shadows in the Forestville Mall and selected Changes and Sport Zones stores.

Help us pass along the Try Change message by joining one of our blog communities and asking your blog community members to visit our blog.

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WOW- Yard Sale Success

Well the results are in , the 2nd Annual Try Change Charity Yard Sales was a success!

The weather was great, the turnout was great and the number of items on hand were fantastic! We started at 6am by setting up the tables and wouldn't you know it people began showing up before the start time of 8am. We had hundreds of items on sale and we even attracted a neighbor who decided to bring some of her items to the sales and donate all her proceeds to Volunteers of America as well!

In the end we raised over $400.00 for Volunteers of America and also donated over 200 items to the VOA shelter here in Woodbridge! We want to thank all of the people who took the time to stop by and purchase some items as well as those who just stopped by and made donations to Volunteers of America.

Special thanks goes out to Rose (Chrissie's mom) and David who donated items, set up, manned the tables and broke down the yard sale. Rose & David have an antique business (Delrose) and will be out at the Antique Show at the Dulles Expo Center this coming weekend (July 19th & 20th). We also want to thank our friends Ruth and Martin who took time out of their busy schedule to offer there support, buy items and even assisted opening boxes for us. Ruth and Martin are the owners of Signs by Saenz. They manufacture banners, signs and an array of other items. They produced our Try Change banners for us and they do FANTASTIC work! If you ever have a need for such items they are the company you want to work with, believe me.

We also want to thank my sister Audrey and my nieces and nephews who came out to show their support as well.

It was a great day!

As an extra bonus this weekend we got news from some the stores carrying our shirts that sales are going really well! We even have a re-order from one of the them already!

Check out our Try Change shirts now available at the following stores:
Capital Grind - Landmark Mall
Indigo - Georgetown
Changes - selected stores
Sports Zone - selected stores
Shadows - Forestville Mall
Fashion Mechanics - Potomac Mills & Springfield Mall

2nd Annual Try Change Charity Yard Sale!

2nd Annual Try Change

Charity Yard Sale!

Saturday, July 12th

8am to Noon

100% of all proceeds go to Volunteers of America Chesapeake!

There will be Clothing, Jewelry, Antiques,

Holiday Decor, lots of Coca-Cola collectables and much more!

We'll be in the Beau Ridge Neighborhood in Woodbridge

Directions From Springfield:

Take 95 South to the Rippon Landing Exit

Take a Right onto Rt. 1 South

Make a Right onto Cardinal Drive

Then a Left onto Beau Ridge Drive

We'll be in the lot on your left under the power lines.

You can also click on the map below:

View Larger Map

or enter "Beau Ridge Drive, Woodbridge VA 22193" in Mapquest or Google Maps

or you can always call us at 703-261-7099 or email us at trychange@aol.com

We hope to see you there!! Remember all proceeds from this yard sale go to Volunteers of America Chesapeake! You can help our community and find some new treasures too!! (And maybe some free t-shirts)

Thanks for your support!

Vince & Chrissie

Concernusa.org

"30,000 children under the age of 5 die from poverty and disease every day"

30,000 everyday!

At concernusa.org you can learn how just $60.00 can give a child the medical care they need for an entire year.

Concern Worldwide is a non-governmental, international, humanitarian organization dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.

Times are tough, property foreclosures are rampant and gas prices are skyrocketing we all may feel a little nervous during this year -however 30,000?

We can do better, visit concernusa.org to learn how you can save a life for as little as 20 Lattes at Starbucks.

Help us pass along the Try Change message by joining one of our blog communities and asking your blog community members to visit our blog.

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Happy 4th of July!!

On the Air!

Tonight Try Change would like to share our two live radio spots that we had last Saturday the first one was with Ill Will introducing Try Change to the listening audience and the second one is with me on the air.

We're having some technical difficulties so please click on the "Start" button on your right at the top of the page to hear the audio.

Thanks for letting us share our launch with you. Later this week we will once again highlight individuals and organizations that are giving back to their communities.

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Thank you to all of you for your support! Never give up on your dreams!

Vince

Try Change Launch with WKYS a Success!

The Try Change launch was a success!! A big Thank You to everyone that came out to support us!! We had a great time and sold some shirts too! Also thanks to WKYS for the live broadcast with Ill Will. He really rocked it! And a big thank you also to Al and Chloe & the crew at Fashion Mechanics for hosting our launch and making us look good! A special thanks to Bobby at Capital Grind for helping us pull this together!

We also want to say thanks to the other stores that are carrying the new Try Change Line:

Capital Grind- Landmark Mall

Changes- Various locations

Indigo- Georgetown

The Shadow- Center at Forestville

And Fashion Mechanics stores in Potomac Mills, Manassas Mall & Springfield Mall

Check out the video above with Ill Will! And don't forget to rock your new TC shirts this week!

Thank you again for all of the support! Especially the family and friends that came out in the crazy traffic to see us! We wouldn't be doing this without you guys!

Vince & Chrissie

Come Celebrate the Launch of Our T-Shirt Line with WKYS 93.9 FM!! Saturday June 28th at Fashion Mechanics in Potomac Mills Mall from 3pm to 5pm.

Try Change Celebrates Launch

Saturday June 28th

(3pm to 5pm)

with WKYS 93.9 FM

at Fashion Mechanics

in Potomac Mills Mall!

Come out and celebrate the launch of our new line of t-shirts at the Fashion Mechanics store in the Potomac Mills Mall in Woodbridge, VA on Saturday June 28, 2008 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m! The launch will coincide with a remote broadcast by one of area's top radio stations WKYS 93.9 FM!

We are very excited that the new line has arrived and want to invite everyone to come out and celebrate with us! There will be free Try Change t-shirts and give-a-ways from WKYS! Come check out our shirts before they all sell out! Don't forget 10% of all proceeds go to Volunteers of America Chesapeake!

The remote broadcast will be from 3pm to 5pm at Fashion Mechanics.
Fashion Mechanics is located in Neighborhood 5 between Saks Fifth Ave & Marshalls at Potomac Mills Mall:
http://www.simon.com/mall/show_floorplan.aspx?ID=1260

Check out our press release:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/06/prweb1026684.htm

For those of you who haven't heard the story yet...We actually received an email from the talent coordinator for the Jay Leno Show. She saw the press release and thought our story was interesting so we are sending her a press kit and we'll see what happens from there. No promises but you could see the Try Change t-shirts on Leno!

We've also been broadcasting on YouTube (Thanks for the camera Joe!):
http://www.youtube.com/trychangellc

We want to thank everyone for all of the support we've received (along with understanding from our families). None of this could be happening without you guys!

Hope to see you out there Saturday! Call or email us if you need directions!

Vince & Chrissie
trychange@aol.com
703-261-7099

Cell Phones for Soldiers

Tonight we once again bring you another fantastic example of individuals helping others.

The Cell Phones for Soldiers program was started in April 2004 by 13-year-old Brittany Bergquist and her 12-year-old brother Robbie of Norwell, Massachusetts.

Robbie and Brittany's goal is to help our soldiers serving overseas call home. They hope to provide as many soldiers as possible with prepaid calling cards. Through generous donations and the recycling of used cell phones, Robbie and Brittany have already distributed thousands of calling cards to soldiers around the globe.

Cell Phones for Soldiers hopes to turn old cell phones into more than 12 million minutes of prepaid calling cards for U.S. troops stationed overseas in 2008. To do so, Cell Phones for Soldiers expects to collect 15,000 cell phones each month through a network of more than 3,000 collection sites across the country.

Visit http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/ for information on how you can donate your cell phones to our soldiers.

Thanks Brittany and Robbie that everyone can make a difference!

Thank you to everyone who has offered words of encouragement and joined our blog. Let's keep the momentum going by asking your friends and blog members to join one of our communities.

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Ordinary People...

Ordinary people doing extraordinary things for others...tonight we share the story of Eric Gamble. Eric is on a mission to raise money for Angels Place by losing 25 pounds by participating in a boot camp at his gym.

ANGELS' PLACE provides a loving and caring environment for children diagnosed with life-threatening illness. Additional assistance is given to the family as they emotionally struggle for understanding while the pain and exhaustive treatments continue for the dying child. Our respite/end of life program provides ease and comfort to the whole family and help preserve the family unit.

We'll let Eric tell you all about it in his own words via his Travel Beggar blog:

I am starting Eric's 25 for Angel's Place . As many of you know, I also have promoted charity to children's charity. Often, I see and help others who are taking pledges or donations to walk/run or do something for Cancer Research, AIDS Research, Education Against Violence, etc. So I am taking donations to lose weight on behalf on Angel's Place. Right now I weigh 224.5 lbs. My Personal goal is to get to 199 lbs. The program is a 14 week program that will essentially end on August 20th

I am asking for a $25 donation or $1 a pound. You can donate via paypal right now. If you donate now, I will note the amount donated & if by some horrible chance that I don't make the 25lbs, I will refund you a dollar per pound I missed. (ie: if I only lose 20lbs by August 20th then, the Angel's Place will receive your generous $25 donation & I will refund you $5 from my own money...not the Angel's Place. Please consider helping me on my mission to become a healthy Travel Beggar as well as a way to help these great children

Visit Eric's blog or check out Angels Place's website to learn more about this wonderful organization!

Tonight we celebrate everyone who makes it their duty to make a positive difference in the world!

Help us pass along the Try Change message by joining one of our blog communities and asking your blog community members to visit our blog.

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Thank you to all of you for your support...Never give up on your dreams!

Vince & Chrissie

Malaria No More

Malaria...you may have heard of the disease but did you know that it kills more than one million people worldwide each year? In Africa alone it kills one child every 30 seconds.

Tonight Try Change brings you news of a wonderful organization called Malaria No More. As is states on it's website their mission statement is:

Malaria No More's mission is simple: to end deaths due to malaria. The world has known how to beat this disease for more than a century, yet it remains the number one killer of children under five in Africa, claiming more than 1 million lives a year. Malaria No More works to raise the profile of the disease among the public, policymakers, and businesses, while engaging the private sector to provide life-saving bed nets and other critical interventions to families in Africa

Try Change urges you to visit there website and see how ten dollars can actually save the lives of an entire family.

One of our goals at Try Change is to put our readers in contact with organizations that are making a difference. Help us spread the Try Change message by joining one of our communities and asking your community members to do the same.

Technology has made the world smaller...it has brought us all closer together...And Together we can make a difference!

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Thank you to everyone out there for believing in us and supporting us!

Vince & Chrissie

92 Degrees and Climbing

Today was a hot one (96 degrees)...Chrissie and I were invited to a wedding at a fantastic local golf course. However; I know that in order to make Try Change successful I have to keep pushing, and keep making sales calls on the weekends, even if its 92 degrees in the Washington DC humidity (8 pound air). So there I went out walking the streets in Georgetown... samples, laptops and cads sheets in hand in the sweltering heat.

Thankfully my fiance understands the sacrifice needed in order for us to be successful. No doubt today she heard the familiar question that's asked at most social events we are invited to "Where's Vince?"

And thankfully my efforts have paid off recently (we're in 19 stores) and even today, now were in 20 stores! That's right we picked up another store today!

Indigo in Georgetown placed an order!

So here I am at the counter of Johnny Rockets celebrating with a hamburger and fries. Maybe I'll splurge and get a shake as well :-)

Vince

Try Change at 2Excess in Springfield Mall!

Another store, another video!! Try Change stops by the 2Excess store in Springfield Mall, continuing our video log of the progress we're making and the new stores we're in. Check out our tour of the 2Excess store featuring our hot new line of shirts!

CHANGE!

We at Try Change have many members from all over the world. In many of these countries there are women and minorities as heads of state. Tonight the United States took a step to join the rest of the world by selecting it's first African American Presidential nominee. To be clear we are not affiliated with any political party, we actually came up with the name Try Change over a year ago. This was before the "Change" phenomenon entered the political arena. We believed and still believe there is a thirst for change no matter what race, creed, sexuality or political party you may be part of.

Tonight we celebrate what can be achieved if you believe and that's the first step- to believe in the change yourself. When Barrack Obama accepts the nomination in Denver this year it will be on 45 years to the day since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream Speech". We all have dreams, lets get out there and make them come true before someone tries to convince us that they cannot come true.

"Change is the watchword of progression. When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men (and women) spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view"

-Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Tonight we celebrate everyone who makes it their duty to make a positive difference in the world.

Help us pass along the Try Change message by joining one of our blog communities and asking your blog community members to visit our blog.

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As always, thank you to all of you for your support...Never give up on your dreams!

Vince & Chrissie

WOW!

When we started Try Change a little over a year ago we really did not know what to expect. Would we be able to sell a couple of shirts on Cafe Press? Would we get anyone to sign up to any of our blog community sites? Would anyone even care about us launching a T-Shirt company based up inspirational themes that donates 10% of all profits to Volunteers of America Chesapeake?

Well I have to tell you we are very happy to tell you the overall response to those questions have been a resounding YES!

Today Try Change is pleased to announce that we will shortly be in 19 retail stores in the VA, DC and MD area. Those stores include the Capitol Grind, 2Excess, Shadows, Fashion Mechanics' three locations and selected locations of the Changes and Sports Zone retail stores. We also have over four hundred members to our Try Change Blog Communities and we now have several videos on You Tube.

Later this month we will launch the Try Change line with the help of one of the area's premier radio stations WKYS!

Thank you to everyone who has offered words of encouragement and joined our blog. Let's keep the momentum going by telling your friends and blog members to join one of our communities.

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Stand Up To Cancer

Tonight Try Change highlights a new initiative called Stand Up To Cancer. As stated on their website part of Stand Up To Cancer's Mission Statement says:

"Cancer takes one person every minute. One life in a moment. They are our brothers, our sisters, our fathers and mothers, our husbands and wives, our best friends, our children, ourselves. Every day in America 1500 people die and yet the means to save them are literally within our reach. To wait any longer for someone else to save our lives and the lives of those we love is unforgivable.

Inspired to act by our own personal experiences with cancer, we recognize that we can no longer rely on the current system alone to give us the breakthroughs we need. So, we are calling on the public to help take matters into our own hands, investing in a revolution that will change the way scientist and clinicians work to understand and treat these diseases. Stand Up To Cancer is more than a rallying cry. It is a galvanizing force created to urgently move cancer research forward.

This is where the end of cancer begins: when we unite in one unstoppable movement and Stand Up To Cancer."

We are the one's we have been waiting for...

Both of our families have been touched by Cancer and so this cause is particularly close to our hearts. We invite you to visit the Stand up to Cancer website and see how you can make a difference. You can even create a star in honor of a loved one who is or has fought cancer.

Please remember to join one of our communities of positive people and organizations:
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As always, thank you to everyone out there for believing in us and supporting us!
Vince & Chrissie

Out and About

Hello everyone!

Here's our latest video from our visit to The Gaylord at The National Harbor in Maryland.

Later this week Try Change will share some good news from a sales call to a local retailer with ten stores in the DC, MD and VA area! Stay tuned!

Please remember to join one of our communities of positive people and organizations:

My Space

Razoo

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Change.org

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Try Change Newsletter

As always, thank you to everyone out there for believing in us and supporting us!

Vince

Vote The Environment

In this political season it can be pretty tough to find out where the presidential candidates stand on certain issues. Well if the environment is a top issue for you, Try Change has a great resource we would like to share with you. It's called Vote The Environment and the web address is: http://www.votetheenvironment.org/.

On this site you can select from three resources to gage where the four candidates stand on the environment. The three sources are Grist, Project Vote Smart and the League of Conservation Voters.

Resources and information on people and organization that are making a difference can be found in Try Changes favorite magazine which is Good Magazine. This magazine is chocked full of valuable information on political and social issues that affect us all. What's also great about Good Magazine is that 100% of your subscription payment is donated to a nonprofit partner of your choice.


Please remember to join one of our communities of positive people and organizations:
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As always, thank you to everyone out there for believing in us and supporting us!
Vince

Positive Quote

I'm a big believer in positive thinking and finding daily sources of inspiration. One easy way to find positive quotes is to make a stop to your nearest bookstore and purchase The Book of Positive Quotations compiled and arranged by John Cook.

Here's today's quote on Visualization:

"What man can imagine he may one day achieve"- Nancy Hale

I believe one of the greatest obstacles in achieving success is the fact that people cannot visualize themselves as being successful. In my case it's been my dream of developing Try Change LLC. I had the idea but more importantly, I had to believe in the idea of a new line of shirts. If I did not believe in Try Change, how in the world would I be able to convince anyone else in taking a chance on a new line of apparel.

If there's one thing that I've learned in sales it's that they are not buying the product they are buying you and your knowledge and belief in the product.

So surround yourself with positive thoughts, people and places and watch your dreams come true!

Speaking of which... :-)

Please join one of our communities of positive people and organizations:

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As always, thank you to everyone out there for believing in us and supporting us!

Vince

A New Video

This week Try Change shares with you another You Tube Video. This was taken the same day we shot the Intro Video. It shows me visiting Bobby at his store "The Capitol Grind" at the Landmark Mall in Alexandria VA.


Enjoy!

Stay tuned for more updates!!
In the mean time...check out and join one of our communities:


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Thanks for all of the support!
Vince