Social Good Archives - The Culture Mom

12Feb

#HeNamedMeMalala To Premiere on National Georgaphic

Last year I wrote about Malala Yousafzai, an amazing young woman. Her story is so inspirational. Named for an Afghan folk heroine, the activist Pakistani teenager was shot in the face and left for dead by the Taliban in 2012 — but recovered and went on to speak out about the gross injustices in girls’ education in her country and around the world, winning the Nobel Peace Prize along the way. The Malala Fund, which she co-founded with her father Ziauddin Yousafzai, is building schools in Jordan, Pakistan and Lebanon. I was so inspired by the film made Read More

29Sep

Social Media is the New First Responder

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Social media is changing the delivery of humanitarian aid. The 2015 Social Good Summit spearheaded a session about this subject, led skillfully by reporter Lara Logan. The panel consisted of Naomi Gleit from Facebook, Dr. Pranav Shetty, Health Coordinator, International Medical Corps and Matt Petronzio, Social Good Editor at Mashable. They stressed that when social media is used to reach people, it makes people aware and sheds light on situations they might not otherwise understand or take as serious. With the surge of social media over the past few Read More

04Jun

Matt Damon is This Month’s Curator of @ONEGirlsWomen!

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As a proud supporter of everything ONE supports and pushes, it made me smile to see actor & Water.org founder Matt Damon is this month’s curator of @ONEGirlsWomen! He's my hero of the day. This is why he stands for women & girls: My daughters do not know what it is to spend hours collecting water. My girls may suffer the occasional stomach upset, maybe even miss a day of school because of it, but they will never lay dehydrated and dying with only the water available, the very same water that made them sick in the first place. Before I went Read More

08Mar

In Honor of International Women’s Day: Poverty is Sexist

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Now this is a campaign I'm thrilled to get behind...every step of the way. It has to do with girls, equality, equity and fighting extreme poverty to make the world a better place. The name of the campaign: POVERTY IS SEXIST. According to new analysis published by The ONE Campaign today, International Women’s Day, girls and women are hit hardest by extreme poverty across every area of life, but they also hold the key to change. ONE’s report, “Poverty is Sexist: Why girls and women must be at the heart of the fight to end extreme poverty” shows how Read More

04Mar

Becoming a Shot@Life Champion

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If you've read my blog before, you know of my passionate and fervent interest to help others. Using it and other streams over the years, I've raised large amounts of money for St. Jude Hospital and the Haitian Amputee Mothers Alliance. I've raised awareness for Every Mother Counts, Mothers 2 Mothers, Save the Children, Dress for Success and ONE. I write over at The Broad Side and BlogHer when given the opportunity and really try to raise the bar on issues I care about, most pertaining to women and children. Yet I am not known for this work. I'm the Read More

04Mar

10 Ways to Make a Difference on International Women’s Day (with Tips from GVI)

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How are you observing International Women's Day? I get to go hear Cherie Blair speak. She's the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a leading lawyer and committed campaigner for women¡¯s rights and the founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, which supports women entrepreneurs in developing countries. You can count on the fact that I'll be live tweeting and blogging about what she has to say right here on The Culture Mom. Having just come from the Shot at Life conference, I am more inspired than ever to make a difference in the Read More

15Feb

Fund The Skinny and Get People Talking About Eating Disorders

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A little over a year ago, I wrote a piece on Jessie Kahnweiler. Her video series called Meet My Rapist spoke to me on many levels. It was a blunt response to her own rape that occurred as a college student while in Vietnam by playing herself being followed by her rapist. She took an extremely bad moment in her life and used it to teach people through storytelling and it was really powerful. Since then, Kahnweiler has gone on to do more great things that wake people up, including me, every single time. Using the power of comedy and video, she produces Read More

09Feb

Highlights from the Athena Film Festival

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This past weekend I had the ultimate experience for a female culture vulture like myself at the Athena Film Festival. Several days prior to the festival, I interviewed Melissa Silverstein, editor of Women & Hollywood and co-founder of the festival, about the event. We were talking about why there is a need for a festival for and about women's equality in 2015 and she told me this: “There is not a lack of talent for women in film, there’s a lack of opportunity.” She and her co-founder, Kathryn Kolbert, weren't the only ones aware of the lack of Read More

21Jan

Advocating for Children’s Health is a Global Effort #MDGmomentum

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I can’t believe that I had my first daughter 11-1/2 years ago. It feels like yesterday, and for some reason, the images are more vivid than when I had my second child a few years later. It was an induced pregnancy, so we went in to the hospital rather leisurely on a week night. I laid on a table and was given medication to send my soon-to-be child a signal that it was time to come into the world. After nine months of carrying her around in my belly and readying the house and my life to include a new child, my husband and I were more than ready to Read More

08Dec

A Human Rights Film: The Long Night

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It's hard to believe that sex trafficking is happening in America. I always thought it was more prevalent in other countries, but I was very wrong. The crazy, painful truth is that human trafficking is one of the world's fastest-growing criminal industries and it's a monstrous issue in this country. In fact, 85% of confirmed sex trafficking victims are U.S. citizens, mostly runaway children. Often disconnected from family and friends, runaway and homeless children are particularly susceptible to traffickers who will lure them with the promise of food, Read More