"It's Our LA, Keep It Clean!" Program

In my apartment, we have a small mountain of plastic bags stored in the cabinet underneath the sink. It seems to perpetually stay the same size and never shrink, no matter how much we try to make good use of them in our trashcans or for storage purposes. We have a stash of reusable shopping bags that we use for grocery shopping but on the days when I decide to stop by Ralph's on my way back from class and I am without a reusable bag, I always cringe internally at the thought of adding yet another plastic bag to our collection.

In the face of LA being ranked one of the top cities with the worst ozone pollution and just pollution in general, I was glad to see various green organizations and programs being implemented and one of them is the "It's Our LA, Keep It Clean!" Plastic Bag Recycling Program. The program encourages residents to return plastic bags to stores for recycling and coincides with the passage of the Plastic Bag Recycling Act of 2006 (AB 2449), a new statewide law that requires certain retail and grocery stores to set up an at-store recycling program for customers to return plastic bags to accessible, visible bins for collection.

Stores meeting AB 2449 are required to print or display, on their plastic bags, the words PLEASE RETURN TO A PARTICIPATING STORE FOR RECYCLING. They must also provide a collection bin that is clearly marked for the purpose of collecting and recycling plastic bags. In addition, the store will maintain records describing the collection, transport, and recycling of the bags for a minimum of three years to demonstrate compliance and assess program success.

In this first year of the program, the pilot program commitment will be for one year in which it will focus on areas in LA designated as "high trash areas." After a year, an assessment will be carried out. The state law expires in 2013.

For more information, you can go to http://www.plastics.lacity.org/index.htm to find out more about the program. There is also a new "Take Action!" section on the website, encouraging the public and schools to look at this effort as simple and effective, from knowing what goes into their recycling bin to volunteering for a cleanup, to helping local stores start a recycling program.

Amor Ministries

I have been a part of Amor ministries in the past, and the profound effect it had on me is, in essence, why I have chosen to blog about it. Now, I know what you're thinking...this is one of those organizations that pushes an overly-religious agenda...and you know what, maybe that is somewhat true. Yes, I am religious, and yes I have conviction in my beliefs, but before I continue let me just say, it doesn't really matter what an organization is founded in, as long as it is doing good. At least that's my selling point for this.

What it does

"Jesus calls us to a continuous life of service. Therefore, we choose to serve with love. Join Amor Ministries in our efforts to change the world, one family at a time." The goal of Amor ministries is invested in love, not necessarily Christian love, although it is strongly encouraged. The mission is two-fold: by building homes for impoverished families in Tijuana and South Africa, individual congregations get a taste of spiritual fulfillment, and through building new relationships, families who desperately need new living conditions acquire them. The Amor team has a variety of recruitment sessions with both family and church ministries. All the building materials are provided (via a small fee, well worth it) and once there, hard work takes over. The process takes about a week, and it is truly a humbling experience. I will never forget seeing the mom of my family sweeping her freshly poured concrete floor as if it was the most expensive mahogany.

How it works

The organization is truly targeted as a grass roots approach to issues that God calls his followers to acknowledge. You go with your friends, and you do what Peter outlined in his lecture: You chill out. That isn't to say you don't work. I look at the process almost like a ritual routine. By the end of the trip fatigue and exhaustion usually get the best of you, but what is more shocking is that people live in these circumstances every day. As Peter says, they don't just live, they LIVE, and they learn to enjoy what they have. As members of the UCLA community, based in Southern California, Tijuana is so close...we don't have to go to Africa to spread love and quality of life. It's here in our own backyards.

Recently, the organization has grown tremendously, as the need for housing has become more and more acknowledged by the global community. In the last 50 years, orphanages in Mexico have experienced huge growth...I originally attributed this to crime and unwanted pregnancies, but what I found was astonishing. Parents gave-up there children in order to give them better lives. What I had seen as a lack of love was actually an overabundance of it. Often times, first hand experience goes unparalleled, and in this circumstance, I can't say I would have recognized the ability to LOVE, to AMOR without face-to-face contact.

You don't have to be super religious to participate, Amor is always looking for interns and participants, however a degree of spirituality is essential. As it is for a fulfilled life.

Amor Ministries Global Headquarters

1664 Precision Park Lane
San Diego, CA 92173 U.S.A
Phone: 619.662.1200

WWOOF

http://www.wwoof.org/

Ever long just to get off the grid, flee the city. I'm sure you have. Living in L.A. is stressful. Sometimes you might think t0 yourself, "gah, I just want to go live on a farm." But you can't. Cause you don't know any farmers. Well all that can be changed, easily, with WWOOF.

WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. What they are is a third party between you and organic farmers. All you have to do is sign up for a membership (there's some small fee, but this is a non-profit) and choose a part of the world you want to work in. Once that's all done WWOOF puts you in contact with a farmer in that area. You and the farmer make the arrangements. What you get out of this deal is free room & board, food, and valuable knowledge. All you have to do is work on the farm during the week.

In this consumer culture we live in, we often forget where our food is coming from. Or maybe it isn't that we forget. We simply don't know. This program puts people in touch with a movement for sustainable agricultural practices that can't be learned in the supermarket. Moreover, the volunteer work helps organic farmers keep their businesses up and running. It may seem like a bunch of mundane field work, but what about at the end of the day. It would be pretty cool to see what goes on after hours on a farm in Costa Rica.

CaringConsumer.com

Our topic last week related to ethical consumerism, and recognizing the ways in which everyday decisions impact not only ourselves, but a global network of others. For my post, I wanted to emphasize the idea of consumerism as a form of political action.

I recently began using this sight called caringconsumer.com, which has compiled lists of corporations that do and do not test on animals. Before this sight, it never really occurred to me that buying lotion or something from Johnson-and Johnson the trusted "family company," make-up from L'oreal, or other everyday brands common in drugstores, could contribute to animal abuse. Personally, whenever I see those commercials (which i'm sure many of you have) on tv depicting those hard to look at photos of animals who have been beaten, neglected, and abused in most every way i think to myself "what kind of messed up people can do this?" and it didn't occur to me until recently, that by being an uninformed consumer i was enabling people to continue this abuse by financially supporting their corporations and cruelty.

I know that many people are busy, and if you don't want to go out and invest a lot of time, you can make a difference just by going to the store and choosing to purchase from companies that are not cruel to animals, and neglecting companies that resist changing their ways... i want to leave off with the notion that just changing a brand could save lives, Ihope this post was informative =)


http://search.caringconsumer.com/

Locks of Love

My friend Brooks Allen Paul was diagnosed with bone cancer (osteosarcoma) when he was 15 years old. Just 3 months later, after a strict regimen of chemotherapy, the army of doctors treating him decided to amputate his leg to stop the cancer from spreading throughout his body. Brooks lost his left leg, his hair, and months of his life to cancer that first time. Chemo was nothing less than hell for him. He would be in the hospital for two weeks at a time with five day breaks in between so that the medicine that was meant to save his life wouldn't poison him. The cancer came back 5 more times, and Chemo became a routine part of Brooks' life. Though the Chemo took his hair, his strength, and his energy, Brooks maintained an overwhelmingly positive outward appearance. He loved talking about his leg and the cancer he had because he liked to educate people and because he liked to "sound like a hero." I loved his shamelessness. But Brooks, unfortunately, is an exception to an overarching rule of depression, self consciousness, and fear that often overcomes children and young adults who are diagnosed with cancer.
I want you to think for a moment of losing your own head of hair--going through months upon months of chemotherapy--a drug that not only makes you lose your hair but also makes you sick to your stomach and so weak that even getting out of bed seems beyond your capacity for endurance. The process, for some of us, seems unimaginable, but there are young people--children--enduring it every single day. Some of these children without money for the procedures and drugs which can save their lives, much less small comforts like a wig which can restore, in part, a child's sense of self and normalcy. Brooks hardly ever complained about losing his hair, but I know there are many children out there who are deeply affected by the loss of theirs, but have insufficient funds to buy hair prosthetics. This is why the Locks of Love foundation exists.
Locks of Love is an organization which makes wigs for children under the age of 21 who suffer hair loss from any kind of medical diagnosis. They take donations of money or hair from people around the world. Most people would not think of their own head of hair as a miracle--a gift that could be given--but this organization allows everyone who can grow their hair to give a gift that is not based in the cash-economy, but the love economy. By donating your hair to Locks of Love, you give a part of yourself without the expectation of anything in return, without even knowing who the gift is going to.
Donating is simple-- all you have to do is cut off at least 10 inches of healthy, non-bleached hair, put it in an envelope addressed to Locks of Love and send it off. More specific guidelines can be found at http://www.locksoflove.org/donate.html but the process really is that simple! I donated my hair 2 years ago and now have the blessing of knowing that I helped make a difference in someone's life.
Brooks died on March 26th of this year, but the memories of his struggle remain just as vivid as the happiest of my memories of him. I want everyone to know that what people in his situation need most are gifts of love and self and understanding. Brooks used to say-- "I'm like a duck, calm on the surface, but Paddling like hell underneath." It's important to recognize the struggle--mental, emotional, and physical--that is happening underneath everyone's calm exterior, and to give the gifts that represent the love and compassion that people need most.

http://www.locksoflove.org/index.html

Mentors for Academic and Peer Support

What is MAPS?

MAPS (Mentors for Academic and Peer Support) is a volunteer program at UCLA that takes UCLA students to two different low-income high schools in the Los Angeles area. These volunteers assist at either Jordan High School in Watts or Al-Hiba in Crenshaw. This program is meant to provide these high school students with the resources and the drive to attend college and seek higher learning. Not only that, but we also provide students with peer counseling to understand their mindset and to help them understand the importance of an education as well as being a good influence in their lives.

Why MAPS?

Too often do students of low income environments feel trapped within the system in place. Often times it is not even the student's lack of ambition but the sense of helplessness surrounding them that inhibits their academic growth. Schools like Jordan High School give off a sense of imprisonment, as it has high gates surrounding them and police officers encircling them. These students then get the impression that they are not in a learning environment, but in a jail. This mentality will greatly influence their behavior both in and outside of school, which leads to trouble. We as students of UCLA have a privilege to attend an established university with an almost unlimited amount of resources at our disposal. We should not only take advantage of this ourselves, but provide for students who do not get the same treatment.

How does MAPS work?

MAPS divides their days with the two different sites, spending three days in Jordan and two in Al-Hiba. Volunteers will be briefed on announcements they make or if they need to host a workshop (workshops range on "how to get into college" to scholarships). The rest of the time is spent tutoring for different classes that the students are in, or having a mentoring session that discusses the different things occurring in the student's life, in hopes to positively deal with some of the student's conflicts.

How can I get involved with MAPS?

The MAPS office is located in the Students Activity Center at UCLA. If you want to sign up to be a volunteer, visit the offfice and speak to the project coordinator, Sabrin Said. You will be given the option of which days you are able to volunteer (you can either go to site in the morning or afternoon) and then you will be trained to work with the students.

Any last thoughts??

The crime rate in the city of Los Angeles is inexcusable. Too often the problem starts when the person is young, and susceptible to the influences around them. With MAPS, you are able to take an active role in a student's life, and often times these students truly strive to excel in education. We can really be the difference in someone's life. So join MAPS and help the community!

Student/Farmworker Alliance

I didn’t even think to realize where the food I ate everyday was coming from until I heard Raj Patel speak and watched all the videos on storyofstuff.com. When I was younger I didn’t feel like I was in control of the food I consumed because everything was provided for by my parents. Even here at UCLA I feel limited by the options given on campus. Just because a certain restaurant chain is highly popular and is located just about everywhere doesn’t necessarily mean it is a honest business. Being a popular food chain does not give the right to exploit workers, which many fast food chains do. There are many suppressed farmworkers that supply goods to fast food industries that are being stripped of social and economic justice.

Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA) is a national network of students organized in direct partnership with farmworkers to eliminate sweatshop workers and modern day slavery in the fields. SFA is partnered with the Coalition of Immokalee (CIW), which is a membership-led organization of mostly Mexican, Guatemalan, Mayan Indian immigrants, and other low-wage workers in southwest Florida.

The SFA sides with farmers to create a path to a better world. They do this through education, action, and leadership development.

SFA was part of the three largest victories against corporate greed:

• Taco Bell: Between 2002 and 2005 22 high schools and colleges prevented Taco Bell restaurants and sponsorships as a part of SFA’s “Boot the Bell” campaign. In March 2005 Taco Bell and its parent company Yum! A brand, which is the world’s largest restaurant corporation, accepted all of the boycott’s demands. They agreed to work with the CIW to improve the sub-poverty wages and working conditions of farmworkers in its tomato supply chain.
• McDonald’s: After years of intense campaigning, in April 2007 the CIW reached a landmark agreement with McDonalds, the worlds largest single restaurant chain, to take responsibility for exploitation of farmworkers.
• Burger King: In 2008 Burger King agreed to work with the CIW after relentless campaigning.

If you click on resources and then on action on the website, it lists a number of ways to get involved. Some ideas are:

· Hold a rally on campus

· Organize a delegation and present a demand letter

· Re-appropriate comment cards in your dining halls

· Host a film screening

· And much more!

http://www.sfalliance.org/action.html

http://www.sfalliance.org/index.html