wham bam, thank you ma'am

Does the Susan G. Komen organization's reversal of their new (now old) grant funding criteria that would make Planned Parenthood ineligible for future grants really change anything? I'm not so sure - time will tell, I guess. I'm going to be paying attention and I bet a lot of other people will too - it will take them eating a bit more of that old humble pie in order to wash the bad taste out of my mouth.

According to an article on today's Huffington Post:

To be clear, Komen's apology is not a promise to renew Planned Parenthood grants. It's a promise to "continue to fund existing grants" to the organization -- which it was already planning on doing -- and to make it eligible for future grants. At no point in the press release does Brinker promise that Komen will renew grants to Planned Parenthood.

The upside: Planned Parenthood received a lot of donations to be used for healthcare and perhaps people, and voters, had a wake-up call about transparency in the organizations we support and the corporate and political alliances that might be influencing their missions.

pay it forward

I have been inspired by another blogger, the awesome & widely-read Crabmommy, who recently turned her blog over to daily auctions to help two very deserving families. You can check them out here and here. I was lucky enough to win two auctions of cool stuff and help out at the same time.

If you're like me, you can't help but worry about the families caught up in the aftermath of terrible storms like Hurricane Ike or Katrina. Of course you can make a donation, if it's in your budget, to a charity that will give aid, but I think it's nice to be able to do something more direct.

Well here's your chance...
A neighbor's sister, Jane, is from the Galveston area. Her family (which includes a young toddler) lost everything. They came to stay with their family here for awhile and were very moved by neighbors (via notice from our very active town message board) helping out by donating all sorts of baby gear, toys, clothes etc. for them. In fact, Jane is so moved that she has decided to try to help her TX gulf coast neighbors. Here is a recent note she had posted by her sister here:

"I got a Verizon Wireless card - so I have internet access now. There is still no TV or internet access any other way in my area. We have power (thank God) and they are starting demo and debris removal of our area. It is quite a mess here. John, Johnny & I have found a home to rent on our island next door to our rental home. It is small but nice and good for Johnny to be stable and not floating from hotel to hotel far from his daycare and places he is familiar with. We are lucky. Some folks are not. None of the FEMA voucher hotels are vacant and many people are living in their cars and tents. It is sad. Really sad. American Red Cross comes around 3 times a day with food and water. They are a fantastic organization. Salvation Army as well. They are providing people with clothes and getting them into shelters.

Please thank all the wonderful and kind people who gave to us. I can never thank them all enough for their generosity, thoughts and prayers. We'll get through this and those awesome MOL people have made it easier for my family to do it. Thank you all. I am setting up a donation center here for baby stuff and children for folks who have nothing. Absolutely anything is appreciated."

Send donations of clean, usable items to:

Jane Patin
660 Pine Road,
Clear Lake Shores, TX 77565.

Also, if you're local, her sister will be sending donated items too. I'll put you in touch if you like.

So this could be a great thing...having a garage sale is a drag (imho)...this is a way to make space in your home and feel good about passing on the things you enjoyed but no longer need to people, people with little kids like yours and mine, who have nothing.

Of course you can also click on any of the above links and make a donation to the people and organizations that speak to your heart. We are entering a period of tough times and I really believe that if we try to keep our hearts open and look out for each other it will be so much easier for all of us.

Are you with me?

Thanks for considering helping out.