Giving Back Archives - All The Single Girlfriends

The Hardest Part of Changing the World...

Feb 13, 2012 by Mary Schmidt

I had a post almost finished. All about how for (less than) 40 cents a day you could help save at least a small part of the world. Our big “ask” for our readers (and my fellow atsgfers) to step up and help us help others. But…you’ve heard it all before, haven’t you? If not from me, from about a thousand other worthy causes. (I’ve been writing about our Adopt A Village project for several weeks here, on my blog and on Lipsticking.) Then, I talked to Leslie Kahihikolo of GHNI and scrapped the post. Started over. I asked Leslie why she got involved with GHNI. Long story short, because the people touched her heart. She saw up close what GHNI does. Met the people behind the pleas. Got her hands (literally) dirty. (That’s her,...

What Can I Do? I Only Have So Much Money!...

Feb 6, 2012 by Mary Schmidt

Some quick math for the ATSGF Adopt-A-Village project: $12/month X 12 divided by 365 = 39.5 cents Over the past – um – three decades or so, I’ve blown a lot of money, on good things and bad. When working in corporate America, I tried to buy my way to happiness($65 for a make-up brush? No prob! I didn’t even look at price tags. Gulp…) My mid-life crises always seemed to involve some combination of men and new cars. (Oh Ah! A convertible!) Then there were the biz deals that didn’t work out (I’ve been worth a million or two, a time or two…on paper. Good thing I didn’t run out and spend it.) I could easily have several hundred grand in the bank (I don’t)…but ah well, I did have some good times....

It’s Time For Susan G. Komen To Experience a Pink Transfer Day...

Feb 6, 2012 by Elana Centor

It seems that one of the underlying reasons that Susan G. Komen Foundation decided to stop funding Planned Parenthood was because pro-lifers were creating all kinds of mischief at local Race For The Cure Events. Okay, that is probably a simplified version of the story. Obviously, there was more to the decision than the hassle of having to deal with a bunch of pro-life activists. The truth is, If the executives at Komen were not pro-lifers, the threats of the activists would have remained just that,threats. Laura Bassett of The HuffingtonPost is reporting that Karen Handel, Komen’s Vice President of Public Policy, came up with the cocky-mamie plan to disqualify organizations “under investigation” from receiving grants. Like a really dumb criminal who thinks his plan for murder is full proof, Handel actually believed that the public...

Saving the World Is Boring.

Jan 30, 2012 by Mary Schmidt

Following on my post from last week, We ALL Need A Village. Tedious. Overwhelming. Numbing. And oh-so-terribly depressing…However, we have to start somewhere…or there’ll be no “where” to save one of these days. That’s why I’m working on the Adopt A Village project with Global Hope Network International. Yeah. You’ve heard it all before, all over the place. (How many pleas did you pitch in the recycle bin this month, unopened? My count is at least 10.) So why am I continuing to write about this? Here’s why: Empathy. Forget the videos, photos, and heartfelt pleas for a second. (Not to worry. No sad photos of starving kids are in this blog post.) Let’s face it, we’ve all pretty much become numb to the woes of the world. EVERYTHING has become an outrage. Oh-hum. (If we...

We ALL Need a Village.

Jan 23, 2012 by Mary Schmidt

…Virtual, real, or some combination thereof. We extremely single women have “villages” of friends who may or may not live close, but are always there for us when needed. These villages become even more important as we age. (I LOVE living alone, but what happens if I fall and really can’t get up? No joke or punch line there.) Despite what some of us would like to think, nobody survives, much less thrives, totally alone. We need our villages. But what happens if the village itself needs help? Last fall, in my ongoing qwest for community (and how to help communities), I attended SOBCon Northwest in Portland. Its entire theme was about how to give back, help…do well by doing good. I learned a lot, laughed even more (yes, martinis were involved), and came...

Girlfriends Helping Girlfriends...

May 23, 2011 by Girl Friends

We’re excited to launch a very special interview series on All The Single Girlfriends — “Girlfriends Helping Girlfriends.” Through creating a forum to tell the stories of girlfriends, who are making a difference in the lives of women and young girls, we hope to honor these amazing women and inspire us all! Please join me in welcoming … Lya Sorano, CEO The Oliver/Sorano Group, Inc. Favorite Quote: One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship and compassion. ~ Simone de Beauvoir atsGf/Toby: Who are you beyond your professional resume? Lya Sorano: A mother, a grandmother, a gardener, the happy owner of a cat named “Praline” (uh, actually, I think she owns me . . .), and a person very concerned about the preservation...

International Women’s Day: Honoring The Less Famous...

Mar 8, 2011 by Serena Kovalosky

In honor of International Women’s Day, I was tempted to write about famous women who have inspired me, like Oprah or SARK. Or perhaps I’d share moments from my own achievements as a professional visual artist. But there’s a woman whom I hadn’t thought about in years who suddenly kept coming to mind as I was deciding what to write. Her name was Rita* and I met her over a decade ago at a women’s shelter in Montreal, Canada. She wasn’t one of the volunteers, she was one of the women who came to the shelter from time to time for a hot meal and a place to rest. In the beginning of my career as an artist, I had created a project where I would take plaster casts of people’s faces and hands...

The Hardest Part of Changing the World...

What Can I Do? I Only Have So Much Money!...