Viva la Feminista

I get a lot of requests to share crowdsourced projects, but this is one of the best ones... a children's book that addresses the way Trump treats people . After watching the pitch video I was intrigued...So instead of sending off money, I sent off some questions for Carol Steuri, the author, behind what could be a popular children's book. Steuri is not a US citizen and says that the aim of the book is to empower kids to stand up against bullies and protect one another. Once costs are covered, all remaining funds (roughly 20%) will be donated to a nonprofit that inspires women and girls to run for elected office in the U.S. 1) You're not a US citizen, so why are you invested in our story? Steuri: The U.S has such a huge impact across the globe, it's hard not to be invested. As a Canadian, I don't want to see harm done to my neighbours. As a Canadian living abroad in Europe, I see how U.S politics affects us here with far-right candidates gaining momentu...

Thanks to Bitch for running an excerpt of my essay from  Love Her, Love Her Not: The Hillary Paradox ! I'd love to hear what you think too. Other excerpts can be found at Newsweek and Huffington Post. Yeah...a total cheat blog post for today, but sometimes you gotta blog what you gotta blog. ALSO...I am on the board of Bitch Media and I am kicking off my end of year fundraiser for them! My goal is to raise $1,000 by the end of the year. You can help me reach that goal by: Simply donate . $10 or $100. If you each send $10, I'm 40% of my way to my pledge. Subscribe ! Right now subscriptions are 20% off AND you get a geeky pencil set. Gift a subscription ! Perfect for your favorite feminist pop culture junkie! Join me in being a sustaining member of Bitch Media by giving a small amount every month. Thank you!!

To finally make it to Space Camp! And when I let friends know they asked how they can help, so I'm posting this in case anyone reading this also wants to help me make my dream come true. I set up a GoFundMe page for my trip . As of my writing, I'm already over 20% towards my goal! That's a selfie of my Mother's Day gift Ella made me. I had told her to not buy me anything, but to just put the money she would spend in a jar. So she made the jar. And yes, added some money. So why Space Camp? Well, I've always been a big nerd for one. But what is curious about my nerd story is that my love of space and the space program did not get started until the Challenger disaster in 1986 (warning, auto-play video of event) . I remember that my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. K, talked that mission up to us. I guess that was the point of the mission, right? Anywho, I knew it was coming up and that Christa McAuliffe was to be the teacher in space. But the day of the launch we were o...

Yes, it's that time of the year again when the Chicago Abortion Fund holds its annual bowl-a-thon! Sadly this year I can't make the actual event, but I'm still fundraising for them. I started the day out waaaaay behind in fundraising, but got a good number of donations to bring my total up to $390. So I'm only $110 from my goal of $500! So I'm hoping that I can count of my readers here to bring me over the finish line! How do you help do that? IT IS EASY! Simply head over to my fundraising page and click donate next to my avatar. I got a $200 donation on my team page & $50 off page, thus the thermometer thing will always be $250 off. But who cares as long as I reach my goal of $500. OK, Ok, you want to know why you should donate to the Chicago Abortion Fund? This nifty infographic tells the tale... The stat that always bowls me over (see what I did there?) is that 79% of the women who call CAF for assistance are mothers. They know what bringing a ...

When I visited Honduras almost a year and a half ago, I was struck at the poverty. I vividly remember as we were driving to our hotel seeing two young boys on the street corner. One was sleeping while the other appeared to be keeping watch...in the middle of the day. Heartbreaking. Considering the violence, corruption and lack of democracy in this beautiful country, I felt less than hopeful. That was until I got to meet some of the amazing women's rights activists. I left the country knowing that there are many people fighting for a better future. This is why I signed up to help promote the World Food Program USA's Lunch Money Challenge . WFP USA has a goal to raise enough money to fund 300,000 school meals in Kenya, Niger and Honduras. Today, an estimated 66 million students across the developing world will go to school hungry. And these meals are not just shipped in from the USA to the "needy people" of the world, rather they are home-grown school meals t...

Chicago Women's Health Center (CWHC) seeks community support to match a $35,000 challenge grant from the Topfer Family Foundation by June 30 to move into a larger space by the end of the year. CWHC was founded in 1975 to specifically and thoughtfully address the barriers to gynecological health care for women, with special attention to the experiences of those often marginalized by systems of power including the economically disadvantaged, LGBTQ communities and people of color. With an increasing need for quality, affordable health care, the organization sees moving to a larger location as an opportunity to better respond to Chicago?s health care needs. The goal of transitioning to a larger space has been in place since late 2008 when the organization launched its $150,000 capital campaign. Considering the tough economic climate for non-profits, the matching grant comes at a fortuitous time for the grassroots organization. CWHC is in the final phase of The Race for Space...

Thank you to the 25 fabulous people who supported my virtual house party to benefit the Chicago Abortion Fund. We raised $580.67. That's an average of less than $25 a person. That's not a lot of money, but as you can see, together it will make a big difference. I've been swamped with travel and getting back into the swing of things at work this week, so  apologies for this tardy thank you. But I know that CAF has already sent out thank you notes to you all! I like to keep them busy. In April I raised $700 for CAF through Bowling for Abortions and with this fundraiser my 2010 total is $1,280.67. That is about four grants worth of donations. Four more women in Chicago will be helped. Four more women will know that people care about her. There is one woman in the CAF leadership group who has told her story at public events. In her story she talks about feeling alone until she called the CAF hotline. THANK YOU!!!!

Yup, I'm bowling for abortions folks! My goal is to raise $500 and I'm at $410. Not too bad, eh? I've been volunteering with the Chicago Abortion Fund since January 2006. I was drawn to them because the executive director is a woman of color. At that point in my life, it was very important for me to work with an organization being led by a woman of color. It matters...It really does. And what a difference it has made to my activism AND to my drive to fund raise. I'm competitive. Plain and simple. $500 is where I want to start all my fund raising efforts from now on. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. I know this is a national bowl-a-thon, so if you have already supported a bowler or are bowling yourself, you are exempt from this plea. BUT if you aren't bowling, I am asking you to please support the Chicago Abortion Fund today. $10 will help pay for a public transit pass. $30 is 10% of the average grant. $100 is one-third of the average gr...

If you read my blog at my blog, you may have noticed a little box over there >>>> That is a ChipIn widget for fellow Chicagoan, feminist and in her own right, total bad ass, Anne Elizabeth Moore. So it's not me asking for your dollars for me or my own sake, but rather for Ms. Bad Ass. Here's what she's fundraising for: Advantage and Disadvantage of Zine is a long-term, multifaceted collaboration with a group of young women college students in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I first met these young women when I was offered a residency in their dormitory, where I lived for two months during the winter of 2007-2008. (To read more about this work, scroll down to the right-hand section of this blog, Camb(l)o(g)dia, Condensed.) During my time there I initiated a close relationship with all 32 residents, and together we created two seperate bodies of self-publishing work and initiated an international dialogue about human rights and young women in developing nations. I inten...

It's that simple people. I want to see that dachshund become the longest dog in the world! I'm dubbing her Annie after our own doxie. How can you help? If you aren't a subscriber, sign up now. When you subscribe, Bitch gets your money NOW not months from now after the bookstore takes their cut. Plus you save money when you subscribe. If you are a subscriber, why not become a sustainer ? Give on a monthly basis! That's what I do. If you are both or can't afford to do either, then just give. Skip your soy white chocolate mocha for today and send that $5 to Bitch. Join the Save Bitch Magazine group on Facebook and invite your friends! AND SPREAD THE WORD!!!! Read Bitch's plea for help on their blog .

My bud Amy is doing the 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk and needs your help. I'm so proud that she's even trying to do this...all the training...all the fundraising...all the walking! If you can, please support her...and yes, I know that we should think before we pink, but this is my bud. Thanks! Please support me as I take an amazing journey in the fight against breast cancer! The Breast Cancer 3-Day is a 60-mile walk over the course of three days. Net proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure and National Philanthropic Trust, funding important breast cancer research, education, screening, and treatment. My Aunt Rita passed away from Breast Cancer. Knowing this disease as I do, I can only hope that people can help me help them find a cure. This walk is much more than a physical journey...its a walk toward a cure....an end to the pain and suffering that this disease inflicts. So please...give...even if its just a little? It would mean the world to me!!