CrisisCongress Photo Courtesy of Taylor Davidson on Flickr

As I’ve grown into my activist and humanitarian roles, technology has helped me find a place where I feel like I belong in the response. It’s not my primary profession, per say, in life. But it is a place where I feel like I can make a difference.

How?

Sometimes, from using our voice. Our voice online has the ability to multiply and make a bigger impact. Using your voice on the internet (and this could be Facebook or your own blog) is a way of standing up for what you believe, asking questions, and seeking answers.

That’s what happened to me in January. The earthquake happened and I turned to the Internet to see what the response would be. I had heard of Transparency Camps happening last summer, but only pieces, as I had been in the Philippines on my Kiva Fellowship. I had heard more about CrisisCommons from friends like Alex Rose and Chad Catacchio and with my incessant need for information learned more about the Camps. I started to see them pop up around the country and people were reaching out to me, since I now lived in New Orleans, asking to connect with people who had been instrumental in the response for Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and wondering when there would be a CrisisCamp in New Orleans.

From the bottom of my cause-filled activist heart, you could say this is how I was roped in to creating CrisisCampNOLA.

I was helped by Robert Fogarty, who himself has a nonprofit focused on evacuation techniques called Evacuteer.org and by Barrett Conrad, who leads up a monthly developer event in New Orleans and could tap into those networks to get developers to attend.

So I had Alex and Chad rooting me on, and Robert and Barrett partnering and helping shoulder the load, and the local New Orleans community donating space (LaunchPadNOLA), food (Naked Pizza) and press/promotion (New Orleans Tech) and all of the pieces were coming together. But more than all of that, all CrisisCamps would be remiss not to mention Heather Blanchard.

Heather’s passion for creating CrisisCamp and moving CrisisCommons into a viable entity were never far off from the overall goal of having a successful campaign.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We held CrisisCampNOLA, we invited local Haitians to come and tell their stories and we built a local response and also helped on the national scale. It was, by all means, a success.
Through the type of connections that we make online in this day and age (which makes me feel so old for saying this way but it’s true), Heather and I stayed in touch. In fact, we put together a CrisisCamp dinner during SXSW and we also put together a panel during SXSW about CrisisCamp. We talked many times after about how to move forward and then the Oil Spill happened.

That stupid Oil Spill. God, it makes me so angry and sad and frustrated and wondering what I could do to help. But to “help” I mean, we couldn’t clean the beaches and the catastrophe was so severe.

Again, there was Heather heading up a oil spill reporter app to help people create visuals of where the spill had hit and working with the technical resources at her disposal around the country to make an impact.

This leads me to two weeks ago when CrisisCommons held its first International Crisis Congress. City leads from around the world came together to meet in person (most for the first time) and talk about the future of CrisisCommons. Held in Washington DC on July 16th at the World Bank and travel grants graciously given by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, we all gathered for a full day of workshops. The mediator, Allen Gunn, for the day was the best, literally the best, I’ve ever seen. He kept us moving, laughing, engaged and thoughtful. We got up out of our seats and we interacted and asked the hard, tough questions necessary to build and grown CrisisCommons.

Would we be more open? Would we have more rules and legal protection or less? Where are we looking to go in a year or five years from now? We spared nothing to analyze those questions.

In the group, besides City Leads, were professors in emergency preparedness, social innovators, marketers and GIS professionals all bringing their perspectives to the table.

I walked away with a case of the “wow” at the talent that came together for a unified cause. We could have hit a dent in a “virtual conference” but to attend in person we accomplished much more than I ever would have fathomed.

I’d like to extend my sincere thank you and ever-admiration to Heather Blanchard for being the visionary around CrisisCommons. I’m honored to represent New Orleans, and truly moved to be part of the process and be able to flex my own creative muscles into being part of the vision moving forward.

I’m always looking for more passionate and talented people to help grow CrisisCampNOLA and if this is you, please send me an email to sloane@thecausemopolitan.com.

I’d also love to find a way to get training to be able to be a first-responder of some kind for future emergencies around the world. World Vision has people who jump in to assess the needs of an area (like a project manager) and other direct response agencies have people they train in mental health services to go in immediately and help people on the ground. I’m looking to combine my online experiences with real offline field work, so if you know anywhere I should look I’m all ears.

Until then, I’ll continue to search and seek out ways to help with disasters around the world through my contributions with CrisisCommons. I’m so happy to have found a place where I belong and where I can contribute to those in need during crisis.

(Topic for another time…defining crisis!)

Further Reading:

• CrisisCommons Roundtable Series + First International CrisisCongress from CrisisCommons
• How CrisisCommons Is Helping the Tech Community Help Others on Mashable
• UStream from CrisisCongress
• CrisisCongress Flickr Set from Taylor Davidson
• CrisisCommons and Congress on High Earth Orbit

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A creative society is a prosperous society! In some ways, we all seek to define creativity and prosperity as it means something different for each of us. My creativity has tended towards the curatorial process and my current application typically involves the fusion of creativity, innovation, sustainability, social & environmental awareness, and values-driven business principles. I define prosperity through a perspective of abundance versus scarcity. Therefore, prosperity for me is simply a state of mind that has an outward effect on my external environment.

For some time now, I have operated from the perspective that creativity is the most powerful access point to our own truth; a truth that ultimately links all of humanity and life in general. This creative flow manifests differently for each of us. Painting, music, cooking, writing, entrepreneurship and so on; it’s all creativity. It connects us with that conscious that links us all.

It is through the creative process that I become more conscious and ultimately more compassionate for all life that is linked by consciousness. In essence, it is by tapping into my creative flow that I resonate with the universal truth that ‘we are all one.’

From here there is no avoiding that what I must seek is a common good for all humanity. I must find harmony between self-interest and altruism. This is the seed or truth that drives the statement: A creative society is a prosperous society!

Once I was able to resonate with this truth, my life purpose become clear. I must use my creativity to promote a common good in the world so that all of humanity has the opportunity to live in harmony and prosperity.

The goal of my work in the world is to promote a world of ‘pure projects,’ which uses creativity and innovation to promote a common good in the world. By applying values-driven business principles to these ‘pure projects,’ they become sustainable storytelling devices that move through the world based on economic principles. These stories meet people where they are and allow one to consider what this story means for oneself. Take for example I buy a lemonade that is served in a cup made of plant matter verses petroleum-based plastic. And imagine that there is a clever and inspiring statement that is inviting verses intrusive. I, for sure, would be affected and after a series of related occurrences, would probably consider how I might apply these ideas to my own life. This is one of a million examples.

The point is this: all projects should have a ‘pure’ intention at their core and also be wrapped with a fully sustainable model, that considers social, environmental, cultural, and financial issues.

It is my firm belief that by promoting a world of ‘pure projects,’ we will accelerate the current global shift in consciousness. We are currently experiencing a breakdown in many, if not all, of our systems. It is time to evolve, to transform, to innovate in ways and at rates we have never experienced before. It is happening now and all around us. Tomorrow, the only constant will be change. We must embrace it and tap into our innate gift of creativity.

I urge you all to focus on what you love. Do more of it as it is your right to do so. By honoring your creativity in this way you will be promoting a common good in the world.

Thanks for allowing me to share this with you all and if your interested in learning more about our work, please have a look at Pure Project.

I’m looking forward to hearing about your ‘pure project.’

*****
Ryan Fix is the Founder of Pure Projects. Infused with entrepreneurial spirit, Ryan embodies a life dedicated to sustainability, environmental action, global social awareness, holistic health, wellness education, and artistic expression. Using ‘values-driven business principles’ as his vehicle of choice, Ryan employs his communication skills and vast networks to draw people together to effect a common goal.
Educated in Foreign Policy from American University, trained in Finance on Wall Street, engaged in Real Estate Marketing & Development in the Halls of NYC, and riding the dot-com wave of the late-90s, Ryan is well prepared for just about any mission. Defined by his heartfelt ambition, consistent drive, unrelenting spirit, and overwhelming love for life & mankind, Ryan greets every day and every opportunity with open arms.
Ryan Fix is the founder of PUREPROJECT, an organization that uses creativity and innovation to promote sustainable solutions that advance a common good in the world. After successfully incubating several ventures, they are currently building a platform and system to support others catalyze their own ‘pure projects.’

*****

Dear Friends of SBP,

August 29, 2010 marks the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the incredible devastation that still plagues the greater New Orleans area.  August 29, 2010, however, also marks the beginning of the largest and most enduring charitable response in our country’s history. At the St. Bernard Project, we are grateful for the help of 24,000+ volunteers and thousands of funders who have enabled SBP to rebuild homes for more than 300 hardworking, home-owning families. We appreciate our partners and supporters who have helped us open and successfully operate the only free mental health clinic in the area. And, we are enthusiastic about creating jobs for veterans in residential construction. In this letter, we ask for your help to make sure that the 5th Anniversary is commemorated by action and meaningful efforts to solve solvable problems.

While much progress has been made, for too many clients, the 5th anniversary means just another summer waiting to move back into their storm-devastated home. Today, despite our best efforts, nearly 1,000 families own homes but are still living in FEMA trailers because they can not afford to rebuild. Another 6,000+ families who own homes cannot afford to rebuild.  Mental health problems plague the community and post-Katrina rental prices have increased to the point of being unaffordable.

Just as hope and progress were gaining momentum (The New Orleans Saints won the Superbowl, we elected a new mayor, Treme became a national favorite) another threat emerged and inches closer to the Gulf shores — and the precious marshes that protect St. Bernard and New Orleans — with every passing day. As the Deep Water Horizon spill unleashes vast amounts of oil into the Gulf, residents who already lost their homes now face the loss of their livelihood and lifestyles.

Fortunately, there are solutions and you can help.  In fact, SBP and our clients need your help.  During the month of August, please consider joining SBP’s five-fold efforts in New Orleans by matching with your own five-fold efforts from home. To make an immediate and lasting impact on people’s lives in the New Orleans area, you can:

1. Host a fundraiser to benefit SBP. Click here for some ideas and support materials.

2. Vote for SBP to win $250,000 for our Oil Spill Response in the Pepsi Refresh challenge: Voting starts Aug 2 and we will send a reminder and link on Aug 1. You can vote once a day for 30 days.

3. Make a donation or text “NOLA” to 50555 to donate $5

4. Sign up to come volunteer with SBP this fall/winter

5. Use Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn and blogs to friends, fans and followers to vote for SBP’s Oil Spill Response in the Pepsi Refresh Challenge.

Thanks so much for being part of the SBP team!  To be sure, there is lots of work left to do, but as we have shown, the problems are solvable.

To plan an event, or to learn more about SBP’s efforts, please email your SBP contact, or please email Amanda Catalani at amanda.catalani@stbernardproject.org. Five steps from each of us can ensure that five  years from now, we won’t be wishing that we had done more.

Click here to view the embedded video.

*****

Most of the time I forget to be inspired by myself.  Hang on, I’m anything but immodest, but that’s just my point. We’re comfortable with drawing inspiration from others, but don’t usually tap our own stores of experiences and learning.  So before I share some of the people and projects that inspire me, I’m taking a minute to silently include myself, to put to use the lessons learned from my life of gaffs and victories and tamed uncertainties—and I think you should do the same.

Much of my time is focused on using business to positively affect society. This puts me in contact with social entrepreneurs, homespun do-gooders, professional changemakers and many types in between. I’d like to share some of my favorite inspirations whom you might not yet have heard of, and offer them up as a potential inspiration for you too.

Philip Rosedale
Philip is the founder and CEO of Linden Lab (the maker of Second Life).  Every quarter, he sends his employees a quick questionnaire asking:

“Do you want to keep me or find a new CEO?  Over the last three months, did I get better at this job or worse?  Why?”

Voting is anonymous. Rosedale shares answers to the first two questions with the entire company. Overtime, as responses indicated that it was becoming increasingly difficult for Rosedale to improve, he tapped a successor (that was last fall; this past June he rejoined as CEO). I’m inspired by Rosedale because he routinely opened himself up for criticism.  He held the success of his company in higher regard than his own success and ego.

Joyce Lavalle
A sales director named Joyce LaValle left a copy of Paul Hawken’s The Ecology of Commerce on her CEO’s desk, which led to a complete transformation of the company and the industrial carpet industry as a whole.  Joyce works with Ray Anderson, the founder and CEO of Interface Inc. Hawken’s ideas inspired Anderson to commit his company to zero waste by 2020 and alter the methods and resources it uses to produce carpet. Interface is well on the way toward its goal and has eliminated hundreds of millions of dollars in waste, as well as increased sales by more than $1 billion.  Sixteen years later, Joyce heads the marketing for InterfaceFLOR.

John Wood
Wood walked away from a swank Sydney flat, a relationship and a salary and identity he enjoyed as a Microsoft executive to build and stock libraries in Nepal.  Wood’s the founder of Room to Read, which now also builds classrooms and computer labs and endows scholarships for girls in India and parts of African and Asia.  While traveling, he observed that it doesn’t often require much money to significantly alter a child’s trajectory.  Room to Read has built 10,000 libraries, more than 1,000 schools, distributed 7.4 million books and given 9,000 girls scholarships. Reading his book, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, changed the way I give. I now look for more direct impact opportunities and organizations that facilitate them.  I’m more optimistic about the real possibility for change in developing economies. I’m more focused on causes, campaigns and donations that make a damn of difference.  Less hoopla, more impact.

Mukhtar Mai
Mukhtar Mai grew up in Southern Punjab, Pakistan.  When her brother was wrongly accused of fornification, she went to court to argue on his behalf. As a form of honor revenge, village tribesmen ordered her to be gang-raped.  Custom dictates that rape victims commit suicide to spare their families the humiliation, but instead Mai she spoke up and demanded prosecution, gaining attention from her government and the international media. As compensation, President Pervez Musharraf sent Mai $8,300, which she used to start an elementary school for girls.  Today, she runs Mukhtar Mai’s Women Welfare Organization (MMWWO) to educate girls and teach the community about human rights and gender issues. MMWWO now includes a school, women’s resource center and shelter for battered women. Mai lives in constant danger of being attacked for the humiliation she’s seen to have brought on Pakistan and her schools and centers have been raided by the local government.

Wilbert Rideau
In 1961, Wilbert Rideau, an African American, shot a female bank teller during a fumbled robbery. He was convicted and lived on death row from the age of 19-31 in Louisiana’s maximum security prison, Angola. In 1972 (after changes to the way the death penalty is practiced) he received life in prison. After an initial race-based rejection from the prison’s magazine, The Angolite, Rideau became editor of the magazine, reporting on the prison’s barbarities and injustices for 25 years. He took full responsibility for his crime and was deemed rehabilitated by many. In 2000 he was retried and freed. He says that prison, where he discovered reading and writing, saved him. “I lived like a reporter and had a mission in life…. And despite everything else, it gave my life meaning.” Rideau inspires me because he used books to transform his life and facilitate prison reform. His perspective is honest, but not vengeful. He has a new  memoir,  In Place of Justice.

LivingGoods
Using the Avon model of franchised door-to-door selling, LivingGoods is turning women in Uganda into health promoters who sell essential, affordable healthcare products in their communities.  LivingGoods’ work has brought economic opportunities for women and reduced levels of infant mortality, malaria and TB in the communities where it works. The organization is brilliant in its model and tag-team approach to two of Africa’s most serious handicaps—poor health and the underdevelopment of the female economic sector.

*****

Olivia is the founder of CauseCapitalism.com.  She works with companies to grow their businesses by implementing a social mission and speaks to entrepreneurs and businesses about the power of socially driven business.  Prior to Cause Capitalism, she created Intent.com’s advertising and content networks. Before getting hooked in the start-up world, Olivia helped Los Angeles nonprofits build capacity and earn funding. She worked for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on international trade advocacy before moving to the Marshall Islands for a year to work for the Ministry of Education and write about international development. Olivia graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in International Relations and French and is now living in Buenos Aires as a digital transplant and committed vegetarian.

Mark your calendars! Citizen Effect’s CitizenGulf project will become a National Day of Action on August 25th, in alignment with the week of the fifth anniversary of Katrina. The benefit — to be promoted by Gulf Coast Benefit — seeks to help fishing families find a new, more sustainable future by providing education resources for their children.

You Can Help Many

Catholic Charities of New Orleans is the beneficiary of all CitizenGulf National Day of Action donations. Citizen Effect will send 100% of donations, less credit card fees, directly to Catholic Charities to support education programs for fishing families.

There are three things citizens like you can do to help:

1) Attend or host your local event

2) Donate

3) Support Gulf Coast Benefit’s Pepsi Refresh project.

Donations can be given directly through the main CitizenGulf project page.

A Day of Action Means Jazz, Blues, Zydeco, and More

Events will be meet-ups at places that can accommodate the following: People, hurricanes, New Orleans themed music (i.e. jazz, blues, zydeco) and a local green or environmental expert who can say a few things about the oil spill’s impact on the marine environment and the Gulf Coast economies associated with it. Registration will be $10.

Social Media Club has signed on as a CitizenGulf project partner and will help Gulf Coast Benefit promote the CitizenGulf events. Cities that have already signed on to host events include Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York and Washington, DC. A full list of cities and details on how to register and participate will be available on the Gulf Coast Benefit web site no later than August 1.

We Are Actively Seeking Event Hosts, Sponsors and Attendees.

We are actively seeking hosts and sponsors to lead official events in many cities, organize Social Media Club local events and host unofficial awareness meetings. Email us at for more details.

Gulf Coast Benefit’s Pepsi Refresh project will be our third action, and will be open for voting on August 2 (stay tuned for updates). The week of the national day of action, Citizen Effect will also offer CitizenGulf opportunities for individuals to engage in their own citizen grassroots projects throughout the fall to benefit fishing families; education, healthcare, food, etc.

In addition to my support through The Causemopolitan and NOLAlicious, we have support from Zoetica and additional promotion partners for the national day of action include Andy Sternberg, el-studio.com, Live Your Talk, and Taylor Davidson. Thank you so much for everything you and our caring supporters have done to support CitizenGulf.

The project is now yours!

*****

I’ve been extremely fortunate to be able to travel the globe over the course of the last few years, and there is no question that traveling has absolutely changed my life for the better on multiple fronts. In short – I’m absolutely hooked and certainly have no plans to stop seeing the world anytime soon. As any backpacker will tell you — once the travel bug hits, it’s extremely hard, if not impossible, to get rid of it. And before I get started with this post, let’s be clear about one thing — traveling WILL change your life.

Thinking of buying a new car? Don’t. Spend that money on traveling instead — I can all but guarantee that your outlook on life will be better and you’ll certainly be a more confident person. To everyone who has not traveled abroad, I think you are doing a huge disservice to yourself by confining yourself to your comfort zone and not experiencing all the world has to offer. Don’t accept not knowing what else is out there. Don’t be fearful of the unknown. Ever wondered what the beaches of Thailand were like? Go experience them! Ever wondered what a dreary spring day in London is like? Go find out! Ever want to see how children can enjoy themselves even though they own literally nothing? Go see with your own eyes.

My international endeavors began right after graduation from the University of Washington when my buddy and I decided to hit the trail and backpacked throughout Europe during the summer of 2005. Going on that first trip abroad was easily the best decision I ever made; I was away for 2 months (my friend stayed 4) and I haven’t looked back since. Prior to that first trip to Europe, I had no idea how vast, complicated, and diverse the world really was. Sure, I had read books, seen images on television and pictures online — but there’s still no substitute for seeing something with your own set of eyes. It was a shock to see business owners who really didn’t care about growing their business and instead were perfectly content with the life they were living. Never before had I seen stores close from 2-6 everyday for siesta. I’m from Seattle where bars close at 2 am and there is no real club scene, so massive clubs with 7 dance floors in places like Spain open all night were certainly something new. Never had someone attempted to steal my wallet WHILE shaking my hand. Never had I been locked out of my hotel room on a balcony on the top floor of a 10 story building at 2 am with no way to communicate with anyone. Never before had I taken a ferry across the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean. Never had I sat in the middle of a shouting match between grown men where I couldn’t understand a single word (on the ferry to Morocco). I had never seen the streets of Tangiers, Africa and been to a beach where people were completely shocked to see two white people on the beach. The list of firsts goes on and on.

I believe it was largely as a result of that first trip to Europe that I’ve shed the materialistic mindset that controlled much of my thought process growing up and throughout high school. Raised by a single mom, I have never been rich, but – that said, I was surrounded by materialism (particularly when I got to high school) and, not unlike most teenagers, my extra spending money used to go toward a new stereo, chrome rims for my car, some DVDs, or computer parts. Nowadays, as a result of traveling and coming to the realization of how truly privileged I am, extra money goes towards traveling, going out and creating lasting memories with friends and travelers, and toward nonprofits such as Kiva, Mothers Fighting for Others, and Vittana.

It took me two years to get back out on the travel trail, but my next international endeavor was visiting my friend Kayla Villnow in the Dominican Republic in fall of 2007 (and again in 2008). There, I got my first up close look at poverty for an extended period of time and saw the impact microfinance has on real people below the poverty line in a gorgeous developing country. That first trip in November of 2007 got me completely hooked on microfinance and its ability to help raise people out of poverty. In 2008, I had the pleasure of backpacking through Southeast Asia for 3 weeks. Cambodia is easily one of the most amazing countries I’ve been to. The people there genuinely cared about me as an individual, whereas in Thailand and Vietnam, people were helpful and kind but seemed to just be after my money. The other highlight from that trip was undoubtedly going to the Hong Kong Sevens and watching rugby for the first time in my life. Since that trip to Southeast Asia, I’ve been to Europe twice again. Once in September of last year for Oktoberfest in Munich (the real one) and I’m residing in Santorini, Greece this summer.

Getting out of your shell and experiencing the world is the single best thing you can do for yourself in you want to live life to the fullest and with meaning. If I had stayed in my shell and never experienced other cultures, I most certainly would not be as avid a supporter of microfinance and other philanthropic work as I am today. The combination of my 2007 Dominican Republic trip and this email from Kayla are the two primary reasons myKRO.org exists, and hence a huge reason I’ve met so many amazing people from the microfinance industry. Without traveling and the impact it’s had on me to live a more meaningful and full life, I wouldn’t have met amazing people such as Sloane Berrent (who certainly needs no introduction here), Casey Wilson at Wokai, Ryan Calkins at SeaMO, Sammie Rayner of Lumana, Kushal Chakrabarti of Vittana, and many other passionate people accomplishing amazing things on a daily basis all over the world.

My travel experiences have led me down the path I’m currently taking traveling the globe and working from my laptop, and I’m loving every second of it.

Don’t just THINK about traveling. Do it; the world is waiting for you.

*****

Drew Meyers in co-founder of OhHeyWorld, a multi-author blog focused on backpacking and travel for Generation X & Y that advocates voluntourism. He is also the co-founder and managing editor of myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. He worked 4 and a half years for Zillow.com. He currently serves as the marketing manager for Virtual Results and YouReach Media in the real estate vertical and does social media consulting for small businesses on the side. In his free time, he enjoys traveling the world and spending quality time with passionate people.

Twitter | Personal blog

I’m on tour! It’s not quite the Cause It’s My Birthday madness that Doug Campbell and I created last fall, but it’s an exciting opportunity to meet and connect with EXCEPTIONAL techies (along with friends new and old) in five cities this summer. It’s an opportunity to help promote a company and a product we believe in, and help make the launch as viable as possible by sparking conversation and creating content with influencers and those most apt to purchase and develop this product.

The concept went something like this. Erica O’Grady and I wanted to create a unique opportunity for a company to get in front of their target audience, minus the top-shelf sponsorship cost. After all, what does “sponsoring” an event mean? It’s creating a place to get in front of the people that matter to you, right? So if we could do that for you, circulate a room and find the influencers and voices you wanted to reach, evangelize your product, sing your praises and back your endeavors, provide your with leads to follow up with after events that can lead to the same quantifiable ROI, what kind of sponsorship opportunity would that create?

The Party Crashers was born. And for our first project, we are party crashing Mashable’s 5-city SummerMash where awesome-super-amazing-client Microsoft has sponsored us to promote the Windows Phone 7. At each party in Seattle, San Francisco, Washington DC, New York City and Chicago, we’re asking the question (and capturing your answer) to the question:

We’re posting updates on The Party Crashers site, but we’d love you to  Follow Our Adventures on Twitter, Fan Us on Facebook, and please if you’re in Seattle, San Francisco, DC, NYC, of Chicago come to a Mashable Event and say hi (we’d love to get an interview with you)!

You can also leave a comment below with what your dream mobile application would be, we’d love to hear from you!

I am sixty-one years old, have never done one blog, computer search or even gotten on line at all – My children and grand children are however fluid while using their computers. I don’t even own one.

I’m not signing my name because I am thousands that live on the Gulf Coast – we have lived here for 10 generations — our lives, all our memories, our recreation, our baptisms, our first kisses, our most intimate moments, our loved ones ashes and our income have always revolved around the Gulf of Mexico – we have never taken her for granted – with our husbands she has been “the other woman”, with our children jumping the “biggest waves” has been an age old right of passage, our luxury saving for a week on the gulf in the summer or a month on the Gulf in the winter at Christmas.

We have held hands walking down the beach at the brink of divorce, the budding of new love, the devastation of death and disease — and the Gulf, she allowed us to breathe in new breath and start again with new perspectives. This oil spill has devastated us.

Also, each of us – every family lives on some sort of inlet, the bay and on the creek – now our front yards are no longer a place of entertainment or consultation — no swimming, no skiing, no wake boarding, no tubing, no fishing, no days playing in the water with cousins by the dozens while our 90 year old plus grandparents watch with wonder and are occasionally dipped into the water or navigated by strong healthy grandsons in to our small ski boat to see the growth that is happening since they skied and fished these waters. Now no one can even breathe well when the wind blows a certain way. So some days we cannot even sit on the deck — the dock is totally out of bounds!

The Fourth of July – I can’t even imagine what it will be as I look out my back porch window – in the yard sits an above ground blue plastic pool – the flags that usually line the shore now line the back walk ways – the “pool” 15’ feet round by 3’ tall – only the smallest grandchildren can even get wet. While our normal Fourth of July – for generations – has been a family reunion – in the water swimming and skiing, hot dogs and hamburgers on the deck, watermelon on the dock – and the Fourth of July boat parade where everyone decorated their boat with everything red, white and blue and palmettos, reeds and with fishing net too. Then we form a parade from creek to creek culminating into an exorbitant fireworks display, each family spending a minimum of $150 on fireworks – no maximum has ever been determined (this year is bound to have an economic effect on out little seasonal fireworks stands in the area).

One of my children’s families owns a 4 generational business, a very well known bar and grill on the bay – a gathering place for tourists and locals alike – they are now operating well below 20% of their normal income at this time of the year – this business supports at least 12 families that can no longer pay their bills – this multi generational business so in grained in our community it hosts several fundraisers every year – its location surrounded by water is perfect to lure a very large crowd with big enough hearts and pockets to support them generously – now what effect will this have on those organizations.

My husband owns a second generation business – a boat marina – one of the best known in our area for repairs and sales, it is operating at almost 20% at its normal income 5 families are supported by this marina and lay offs are eminent – not to mention the dream of making it to 3 generations is becoming impossible – even though our oldest grandson has spent every summer since he was 10 years old (he’s 15 now) learning how to repair our board motors and run the business – and completely erases the dreams our other grandson has of following in his cousins footsteps in two years when he turns 10.

Another lifelong dream was finally realized when another one of my children completed a 3 year long renovation of a very large sailboat – they sold everything in order to live aboard this beautiful sea worthy vessel to travel the Gulf waters from the Louisiana coast down past the Florida Keys and every inlet in between. They put it in the water at their slip in February of this year – its June this area is now uninhabitable – the passageways closed – the Gulf filled with oil – their new adventure halted – their lives drastically altered.

Our family – we have survived damn near everything in tact: holding hands, praying, celebrating playing and looking forward with hope. This oil spill – the slow response to stopping the leak, the chemicals dispersed, the conflicting information, the fear of long term effects, watching the dolphins gather in the back of the smallest creeks in order to breathe, the schools of fish and minnows swimming slower (some upside down) dogs that still swim in the bay no longer have fleas and the sand has an orange tint right at the waters edge, businesses closing, boats with for sale sign on them on too many corners.

The Gulf Coast usually bustling, the traffic unbearable, the song of laughter from the sunny beaches – is no longer present. Hope is beginning to also be a feeling of the past. I believe from now on our live will be defined by referring to life as before the BP oil spill and after the BP oil spill. Kind of like this generation refers to life as before 9/11 and after 9/11 and how my generation refers to life as before the war and after the war. I do feel as if we are in the battle of our lives for our life.

Does running make you high? What do you think about when you run? Usually, for me, it’s the greatest endorphin and adrenaline high. I get thinking, creative, have big juicy ideas and in general feel any clouds lifting from my shoulders and feel like I’m back in charge. Back in control.

So yesterday when I went running, and found myself conflicted, I had to wonder why. And it was because I was thinking about the oil spill, thinking about what I could do, more ways that I could give back now that Gulf Coast Benefits has wrapped (and we successfully raised just under $50,000 for Gulf Restoration Network).

My friend Jolie worries that people are burning out on the topic, Citizen Effect is creating a platform where we can participate in ways to keep the topic current and on Monday (as I mentioned in my post yesterday) Pepsi’s Refresh Everything projects launches a special Gulf Coast edition giving out $1.3 million in loans.

I ran along the Mississippi (listening to Obama’s Hope speech as a DJ-mashup) and thought to myself, “I love New Orleans and American too much not to keep fighting and pushing forward in the name of humanity, of cause-filled living and of helping people.”

And so I shared those thoughts, raw and unedited, while they were fresh from my mid-day run.

Pepsi Refresh Everything Hits The Gulf! There is something very special happening on Monday and I encourage you to participate. The Pepsi Refresh Project is coming to the Gulf.  It’s called “Pepsi Refresh Project: Do Good for the Gulf,” and will award ideas that America likes the most to the tune of $1.3 million in grants.

On Monday (July 12th), RefreshEverything.com will open up for Gulf-specific submissions and stay open all week or until 1,000 submissions are received. Submit projects that “make a positive impact on communities that have been most directly affected by the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.” In other words: share your projects that will help out our city, neighborhoods and communities. (Editor’s  note: It doesn’t include environmental cleanup or wildlife recovery.)

They want our ideas. They want you to be creative and thoughtful and inventive. Submissions are open to anyone around the country; the impact must be within oil spill-impacted areas. You can be a nonprofit, small business an entrepreneur, a student, or an artist. Basically, I’m saying this is open to everyone and this means YOU! I know I’m thinking about what I can submit that would make a positive impact, something to follow up on the success of Gulf Coast Benefits that last week raised over $50,000 for the Gulf Restoration Network.

Voting will begin on August 2, finalists will be announced on September 2, and grantees will be announced on September 22nd. Full details on how to enter your ideas can be found here. Go get em’ changemakers!

Your cheerleader in change,
Sloane

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Edited from an original post published on July 9, 2010 as a NOLAlicious special edition called “Pepsi Refresh Everything Special Edition.” For more information on NOLAlicious or to sign up for the weekly e-newsletter, visit our website NOLAlicious.com.
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