January/February Newsletter - February 12, 2013 - www.thelovealliance.net

2013 has been flying by. We have been making adjustments to our new operation setup. Lauren will soon be actively involved again in day to day operations and we also have several new interns which will be helping us update our website, facts, projects and more. David and Lauren have also been getting ready for the arrival of their baby girl who is due this month. In celebration of this we are having a huge “Makin’ Room for Baby Sale” in the webstore. 40% off almost everything in the store. Shirts for $10.80; Hoodies for $18, etc.

We have added several baby items to the webstore for pre-order as well. We are starting with a heather gray onesie, black and white ¾ sleeve baseball tee and a heather pink ¾ sleeve baseball tee all sweatshop free and printed with kid friendly, lead-free, pthalate-free ink.

Make sure to check out the sale and new items while supplies last. www.thelovealliancestore.com

ACTION PROJECT

Last months action project was to give blood for National Volunteer Blood Donor Month. Just because January is over doesn’t mean that you still cant give. Click here to read last months project and find out how you can easily save a life.

We are now in the month of love and this month we want to love the sick. Often times long-term care patients in hospitals or nursing homes are forgotten and neglected. We want to show some love to these individuals this month.

We encourage you to volunteer and/or visit someone sick in February and show them love. One of the easiest ways to do this and one of the places that needs love the most is to visit a nursing home. So many people in nursing homes never have visitors or if they do it is few and far between. Having human interaction and receiving love can help give these individuals a better quality of life. There is also much that we can gain by spending time with these individuals. Many have lived full lives and have amazing stories to share.

Other places that are easily accessible are your local hospital, children’s hospital, Ronald McDonald house, assisted living facilities, etc. When you visit one of these places, ask one of the head nurses or activities coordinator who hasn’t had a visitor in a while or who would be best to visit and they can direct you from there.

Or another place to visit might be a friend or family member who is under the weather this month. Maybe make them some homemade soup, bring over a movie or just spend some quality time with them. The possibilities are endless. Lets make a difference and show some love this month to those that are sick and lonely. It more than likely will mean more than we will ever know.

Our January/February Focus is Sickness. We wanted to start the new year by giving you an easy way to make a huge impact for the sick in your community.

January is National Volunteer Blood Donor Month. January has proved to be the month that presents the most challenges in recruiting people to give blood. Changing weather, busy holiday schedules, increased cold and flu symptoms and even the winter blues can keep the most dedicated blood donors from making or keeping an appointment to give.Yet winter weather can lead to more traumatic injuries on icy roads and may increase the need for blood.

The American Red Cross needs to collect 22,000 units of blood each weekday and around 15,000 units each weekend to meet patient needs. Every two seconds, someone needs blood.

This month’s Action Project is to donate blood at your local blood bank. This is such a simple, cost free way to be a part of saving someone's life. One pint of blood can save up to three lives. Visit www.redcrossblood.org or search “Donate blood” along with your cities name to find a local place to donate. We would recommend calling ahead to see if you need to make an appointment.

We do understand that not everyone can give blood because of one reason (primarily age) or another. If this is the case, we encourage you to get at least one eligible friend or family member to donate in your place. Another alternative is to volunteer at your local blood bank.

[LOOKING BACK ON 2012]

Thanks for your continued support.

Sincerely, 

David, Lauren and The Love Alliance Team

Summer is winding down and fall is around the corner. We ended our summer with 3 more festivals: Soulfest in New Hampshire, Kingdom Bound in New York and Lifelight Festival in South Dakota. Owen joined David and Chris for the northeast festivals and we had a great time. Soles4Souls with Give Shoes. Give Love. was a main sponsor at Kingdom Bound this year and the response was overwhelming. So many people learned about the basic necessity of shoes and wanted to get involved in providing those for children around the world. In total we were able to provide over 4,000 pairs of shoes for children in need at the festival. After this summer’s push we now have been able to provide over 12,000 pairs of shoes for children around the world. It has been amazing to see our organization’s vision acted out through this campaign: It is our hope that few voices will turn into many and that these voices can band together to change the atrocities of the world. In this case we’re doing it one pair of shoes at a time.

We want to thank Chris Plunkett for all of his hard work this summer as well as Owen Jones, Lee Salevan, and Robbie Green for traveling with us throughout the summer and our new friends LET GOd Work for spending the summer with us and running our booth for us at Lifelight. (We collected a ton of names and will be announcing the winners of our iPad/Paul Frank Bike Giveaway later this month.) Thanks to all of the volunteers, bands who supported us and everyone who stopped by the booth this summer. Summer is our favorite time of year because of all of you.

Summer was also great this year because we (T.L.A. founders David and Lauren Ranzino) found out that we are having a baby! We are expecting a little girl in February and couldn’t be more excited. We can’t wait to meet our little world changer. Love Alliance onesies are already in the works with a debut in early 2013 (Seriously, they are).

Lastly, with Summer coming to an end we are having a huge sale on our tank tops. $12 Tanks for the end of Summer 2012. Visit the webstore today and get your tanks while supplies last: www.thelovealliancestore.com

ACTION PROJECT

This month we will be holding our 6th Annual Love Alliance Fall Cleaning. We cannot believe this is our sixth fall cleaning! It is always one of our favorites and we look forward to hearing about the impact it makes this year.

We encourage you to go through your piled up stuff this month and give away anything you no longer wear, use or want. Be sure to not confine your giving to just clothes. Think about any household items, appliances, electronics that you no longer use. Many times we look at the needs in the world and feel like they are so big that there is nothing we can do to help. But this simply is not true. This month you have the ability to give away things that are cluttering your life to someone who is in dire need of it. Whether that is a pair of shoes you never wear (Check out Soles4Souls to see if there is a drop off location in your area: http://www.soles4souls.org/about/locations.html), or an old computer that is collecting dust. Lets be sure to have just as much fun with this year's Fall Cleaning as we did the last five years.

If you would like to make an even bigger difference, you can organize a clothing drive.Friendship Used Clothing Collection offers suggestions for organizing a used clothing donation drive, as does this guide to campus clothing drives and this guide on organizing a clothing drive in your office. Charity Guide also has an easy 5 Step Guide.

It is your decision as to where you would like your donations to go. Find a local non-profit that accepts and distributes clothing and other items. Every town should also have a local thrift store that accepts donations, if not you can donate to nationwide non-profits like Salvation Army and Goodwill.

It has been a while since we have been able to send out an update. As always the summer has proven to be our busiest time. This past month we attended Ichthus Festival, Creation Northeast, and Sonshine Festival for The Love Alliance. It was our first time at Sonshine and we were excited to run into people who are already involved with The Love Alliance and met many others who we were able to introduce to The Love Alliance and our message of using our everyday lives to impact injustice. We currently have a team at Creation Northwest in Washington state for the first time. We would love to connect with anyone in The Love Alliance community that will be attending and would more than welcome your help at the booth. From Washington, we head back to the east coast to Soulfest and Kingdom Bound Festival.

As you may know, this summer we are focusing quite a bit on signing up monthly subscriptions to our “Give Shoes. Give Love.” campaign. We are excited to report that alongside Souls 4 Soles we were able to get 50 signups for the campaign at Ichthus Festival. That allows us to provide a minimum of over 1,000 shoes to children in need! If you are attending any of the other festivals we will be at we encourage you to come by the booth and sign up to provide shoes to children in need. If you will not be attending any of these festivals or just can’t wait to sign up never fear, you can sign up online here and view our video that explains how life changing a pair of shoes can be to a child who lives without them.

ACTION PROJECT

In July we remember those living in poverty within our own communities. With kids on summer break many are gearing back up to go back to school in the month of August. We as The Love Alliance community want to rally behind these kids to support their efforts to get an education and hopefully break the cycle of poverty.

Often times in low-income areas, school supplies are a luxury that many students go without. Teachers are given limited supplies for their students and it is very common for the teachers to take this burden on themselves and purchase materials on their already small salary. In fact, teachers spend an average of $659 out-of-pocket on school supplies every single year. If the teachers don’t have the means, the students often go without. Children deserve better than this. They deserve to have access to the school supplies they need to learn. They should be surrounded by good books, convenient supplies, and the materials necessary to conduct projects and experiments.

You can help kids have a better education by donating school supplies to a classroom in need. In just a couple hours, you can make a huge difference and will probably even find donate-able school supplies sitting unused in your own home.

It's easy to donate school supplies. Here are some different ways to do so:

Do a School Supply "Drop and Run"

Search your house for any usable office supplies that you no longer need. Don't worry if your supplies are slightly used – teachers will be so happy to have the school supplies that they won't be too picky about their condition. If you are feeling like organizing some people try to get friends, family and co-workers to join you. Here are a few basic items you may want to look for:

• lined paper 
• pens and pencils 
• erasers 
• highlighters 
• dry-erase markers 
• overhead projector transparency sheets 
• overhead projector markers 
• paperclips 
• binders 
• report covers 
• staples and a stapler 
• construction paper 
• glue sticks 
• markers 
• tape 
• art supplies (for elementary and art classes) 

You may also want to pick up some school supplies from your local dollar store. Then, put your donation in a bag and drop it off at a local school. You can leave the bag at the main office or you can give the school supplies to the teacher of your choice.

Give Kids the School Supplies They Really Need

Call a local classroom ahead of time and talk to a teacher to find out what school supplies her students really need. Aside from the basic supplies, keep these common needs in mind:

• various books for classroom libraries (check your garage or stop by yard sales) 
• class sets of a particular book curriculum 
• resources that the district cannot or is not willing to pay for 
• materials for special projects 
• skills and talent donations (a printer might be able to make copies of a student-created book; a scientist might provide the opportunity for a fieldtrip to a lab) 

Let the teacher know what your resources and abilities are. You're sure to come up with an easy way to help kids get the school supplies they need.

*Information taken from: http://charityguide.org

Donate Towards School Supplies Online

DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. Public school teachers from across the US post classroom project requests on the site. Requests range from pencils for a poetry writing unit, to violins for a school recital, to microscope slides for a biology class. You can then browse project requests and give any amount to the one that inspires you. Once a project reaches its funding goal, DonorsChoose.org delivers the materials to the school. Donors then receive pictures, updates, etc.

At DonorsChoose.org, you can give as little as $1 and get the same level of choice, transparency, and feedback that is traditionally reserved for someone who gives millions. They call it citizen philanthropy. The site is great and you can serach by location, project type, cost, poverty level, etc.

Today we are celebrating five years as an organization! Five years ago, Lauren and I (David) were visiting New York dreaming about how we might help the average person to use their time, talents and passion to impact injustice in the world. We are humbled to have been a part of sparking a desire for change in the hearts of so many through these past five years.  So much has happened in five years. We have traveled across the country, connected with incredible people, have supported great work being done to impact injustice and now we are living in New York, seeing the tangible fruits of our labor in some key partnerships. Thank you to everyone who has been on this journey with us. We could never have dreamed The Love Alliance would take the shape it has today and cannot begin to guess what the next five years will look like. But we are thrilled to take some time to pause and celebrate where this organization has taken us so far. 

In honor of our 5 Year Anniversary and start of our Summer Festival Tour we would like to share with you a video of one of our heroes, a group leader, supporter and someone involved with the organization for the last three years, Owen.  He bravely spoke with us about the person he was and the drastically different person he is since connecting with The Love Alliance and learning to care for others. We gladly would have worked the last five years to affect just one life. Thankfully, Owen is just one story representing many more lives that have been affected by The Love Alliance. Today we celebrate Owen and the many more like him. Click the video below to watch Owen’s Story.

If you would like to celebrate our five year anniversary with us and support the important work we are doing you can make a donation towards this summer’s festival tour allowing us to connect with more people like Owen. We will be traveling to 9 festivals this summer, handing out thousands of educational flyers, having countless conversations all to hopefully spark a fire in countless people’s hearts. Click here to Donate.

As mentioned, we are gearing up for our Summer Festival Tour. Most of the information was mentioned last month, but to quickly recap. We are scheduled to travel to 8 more multi-day festivals around the country to promote The Love Alliance and the issues we represent. This month, Chris and I will be traveling to Ichthus Festival (June 20-23) and Owen will join us at Creation Festival (June 27-30). For more details and our schedule click here. We could also still use some more volunteers at all the festivals. Reply to this email if you are attending any of these festivals and would like to help.

We will be promoting our Give Shoes. Give Love. campaign with Soles4Souls this summer as well as traveling and partnering with LET GOd Work. We will be raffling off 4 Paul Frank Bicycles and a new i-Pad with LET GOd Work. Simply stop by the booth at any of the festivals to sign up for the free raffle!

Speaking of Give Shoes. Give Love. The cast of TV Land’s “The Exes” (Donald Faison, Wayne Night, Kristen Johnston, Kelly Stables and David Alan Basche) are showing their support for the campaign. Check out the pictures here and join them in your support. For only $7 a month you can provide 7 pairs of shoes to children in need. Click here to watch the video and sign up.

ACTION PROJECT

In celebration of our Five Year Anniversary, this month’s Action Project is to simply celebrate someone who has made a difference in your life and in the world. It can be someone you know or don’t know. Post a picture or story on your social networks, blog, website and/or our website, etc.

This month we celebrate all those who have been a part of The Love Alliance, past and present. We celebrate and thank Owen and others like him; our Group Leaders past and present; Marjie and all the kids at No Limits Academy. Those who helped us get our start, Craig Gross; The Ranzino, Buckingham and Frenke families; and our board members, Curt and Jesse. Our tour family, Candice, Brian, Hade, Matt, Chris, Bryan Kemper, Eric Samuel Timm, Emma and others. All of our generous donors, supporters and volunteers. The list could go on. Your support has impacted more lives than you know.

Lets celebrate these unsung heroes together this month. 

This month we celebrate all those who have been a part of The Love Alliance, past and present. We celebrate and thank Owen and others like him; our Group Leaders past and present; Marjie and all the kids at No Limits Academy. Those who helped us get our start, Craig Gross; The Ranzino, Buckingham and Frenke families; and our board members, Curt and Jesse. Our tour family, Candice, Brian, Hade, Matt, Chris, Bryan Kemper, Eric Samuel Timm, Emma and others. All of our generous donors, supporters and volunteers. The list could go on. Your support has impacted more lives than you know.

Lets celebrate these unsung heroes together this month. Post your stories below.

We were able to connect with many new people at the one day Purple Door festival last month. We heard what they are doing in their cities to impact issues like homelessness and hunger as well as helping open many new people's eyes to injustice in the world and their ability to make a difference towards it. We were gratefully able to provide 84 more pairs of shoes to children in need through our Give Shoes. Give Love. campaign!

We are now gearing up to head out next month to 7 more multi-day festivals around the US to promote The Love Alliance and the issues we represent. Our tour team member from last year Chris Plunkett will be taking the helm and managing our summer tour along with our new team member and committed group leader Owen. We are scheduled to attend three festivals for the first time this summer: Creation Northwest in Washington, Sonshine Festival in Minnesota and LifeLight in South Dakota. We will be returning to Ichthus Festival, Creation Northeast, Soulfest and Kingdom Bound. We are excited to reconnect with The Love Alliance community around the country as well as engage new people in making a difference towards injustice.

Not everyone can commit to being out on the road for us full time like Chris & Owen. But each summer countless people who are already attending these festivals graciously volunteer at the booth part time. We rely on our festival attendee volunteers to help at the booth and promote The Love Alliance throughout the festival. We are so grateful for all of our summer volunteers. They help us engage more people and practically allow our full time team members to take much needed food and rest breaks. Volunteering at the booth is a great way to get involved with The Love Alliance. In fact, we met our current tour team member Owen years ago at the booth during Creation Northeast. From there he has volunteered with us at numerous festivals and is now hitting the road full time. If you will be attending any of these festivals and would like to volunteer we would love your help. Simply send an email to info@thelovealliance.net with the festival you are attending as well as your phone number.

This summer we will be promoting our Give Shoes: Give Love campaign. If you haven’t heard, we launched this campaign in partnership with Soles4Souls where for only $7/month you can provide 7 pairs of shoes to children in need. Through everyone’s combined efforts we have had over 3,400 pairs of shoes to children in need. That number is growing everyday through your help. Click here if you would like to sign up to give shoes, to spread the word, or to learn more about the campaign or if you are attending any of these festivals sign up in person to provide needy children with such a basic necessity as shoes.

We will be traveling and partnering with our friends LET GOd Work this summer. Through this partnership we will be holding a free raffle at our booths. We will be raffling off 4 Paul Frank Bicycles and a new i-Pad. Simply stop by the booth and sign up for the raffle!

In other news.... we went out and saw the fantastically action packed Avengers film this past weekend that featured Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk. We are so excited to see such a socially active individual starring in a blockbuster film. Mark sat down with us last year to share his heart and mind about issues of injustice. Click here to watch those short video's with Mark Ruffalo.

Our May/June Focus is on the Clean Water Epidemic. ‘Remember the Thirsty’ merchandise is more than 15% off with ‘Remember the Thirsty’ shirts at $15 and ‘Remember the Thirsty Flyer Cards’ (50 Pack) for $1. Click here to order your discounted merchandise.

ACTION PROJECT

While access to clean water is arguably one of the largest world needs it continues to be a need that is greatly unknown. This month we encourage you to freshen your knowledge on the clean water epidemic and to more importantly educate others on this issue that affects 800 million people in the world. Although this number is still large and overwhelming, it was recently reduced from nearly 1 billion people. Because of actions from individuals like you the clean water epidemic is one of the few major world needs that is decreasing in number.

We encourage you to visit some of the great websites and organizations that are fighting this injustice. Charity:Water, Blood:Water Mission, Water Partners International, Living Water International, our partner Seeds of Hope International, to name a few. As always we have facts and ways to get involved in the Remember the Thirsty section of our website. Our organization is here to serve as a tool for you to be educated and empowered to make a difference towards injustice in the world. Be sure to pick up a 50 pack of our 'Remember the Thirsty' flyer cards in the webstore for only $1 to help you spread the word about the clean water epidemic this month.

Our "Give Shoes. Give Love" campaign is going fantastically. If you haven’t heard, we launched this campaign in partnership with Soles4Souls where for only $7/month you can provide 7 pairs of shoes to children in need. We are grateful for all of you who are signing up and spreading the word including Jessica Simpson who gave the campaign a shout out on her social networks this past month. Through everyone’s combined efforts we have had many more people sign up to give shoes monthly allowing us to provide over 3,300 pairs of shoes to children in need. That number is growing everyday through your help. Click here if you would like to sign up to give shoes, to spread the word, or to learn more about the campaign.

As spring time rolls in so does our festival season. Our goal this summer is to give away as many shoes as possible through new sign ups to the "Give Shoes. Give Love" campaign. Next weekend (April 21st) we will be heading to our first music festival of the year, Purple Door. This festival normally falls in the summer but has moved to the spring this year. We have attended Purple Door in Pennsylvania for the past five years and are excited that this date change will allow us to connect to a whole new crowd of people including students from the many area universities that are usually out of session during the festival. If you are going to be at the festival, make sure to stop by the booth. For more information and to buy tickets visit www.purpledoor.com

We officially confirmed this summer's tour manager, Chris Plunkett, this past week. He graciously volunteered to tour with us all last summer. He called us excited to do it again and we couldn’t have been more thrilled. We are also thrilled to welcome our good friend Owen to the tour team this summer. We met Owen years ago at a festival when he was 14. Since then he has become a group leader and an active participant in educating his community on injustice and their ability to impact it. He has volunteered at the booth for many summer festivals. Now that he’s 18 he will be hitting the road as a full fledge member of our tour team. We are so honored to have a tour team that is so eager to educate and activate people to make a difference towards injustice.

Next weekend, on April 20th, Invisible Children is having their Cover The Night event for their Kony 2012 campaign. Since 1987, Joseph Kony has abducted more than 30,000 children in Central Africa and forced them to be child soldiers in his Lord’s Resistance Army. Their goal is to join in the efforts to bring Kony to justice by bringing mass world attention to the matter. On April 20th supporters can join with Invisible Children in this effort by posting Kony 2012 posters. Be sure to ask the permission of shop owners, in their words “keep it legal, and go huge.” Learn more about Kony 2012 and Cover the night here: www.invisiblechildren.com and www.kony2012.com

Our Focus this next month continues to be on the Environment. Enter the discount code: Environment at our webstore during April to receive 10% off your order. We will also be offering ‘Remember the Environment’ flyer cards (50 Pack) for $1. Click here to order your discounted merchandise.

ACTION PROJECT

We continue to focus on the Environment in April with our 5th Annual Community Cleanup. This month we encourage all of our groups and supporters to join a community cleanup or plan their own. Many cities put together their own community cleanups for Earth Day (4/22) and Arbor Day (4/27). Check out www.earthday.org and www.kab.org to see if anything is going on in your community.

No matter where you look, we guarantee you will be able to find trash that needs picking up. For an interesting story about what happens to a great deal of trash that does not get picked up listen to the prologue of this archive episode of This American Life called “The Middle of Nowhere”: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/253/the-middle-of-nowhere

It is also easy to plan your own community clean up. Choose a day and time and then invite your friends, family and co-workers. You can provide or ask people to bring garden or latex gloves and trash bags or reuse grocery bags to collect your trash. Past community cleanups have been done at the beach, parks, neighborhood streets, highways, etc. Of course we urge you to be extremely careful if you decide to do a road clean up.

Don't forget to recycle all of the garbage that you can. Let's be a part of making our communities and the world we live in a safer, cleaner and more beautiful place for ourselves and the generations after us that will be inheriting our mess. Be a part of not only changing the environment in a positive way, but of also changing the perceptions of the people around you.

If you haven’t seen, we launched our new campaign “Give Shoes. Give Love.” last month. “Give Shoes. Give Love.” is a micro-giving campaign of The Love Alliance and Soles4Souls where just $7 a month will provide 7 pairs of shoes to children in need. When you signup for the program, you receive a FREE Love Alliance t-shirt that was designed by us exclusively for this campaign.

Our goal is to provide shoes for as many children as possible. After less than two weeks from the official launch, we have already provided almost 2,500 pairs of shoes through the campaign. We need your help to provide even more. Please check out the video below and then visit and signup at the site: www.giveshoesgivelove.com

Our friend Albert Martinez has released his first book An Amalgamation, Volume 1. Albert is a self-described "activist for love" who will be donating half of the book's digital sales to The Love Alliance. Visit Albert's site to view a sample of the book as well as purchase the book to help support independent art and The Love Alliance. http://bit.ly/y9khfv

Our Focus these next two months is on the Environment. Because we do not have any specific “Remember the Environment” merchandise, we want to offer a 10% discount on the entire store. Enter the discount code: Environment during the next two months to receive 10% off your order. We will also be offering ‘Remember the Environment’ flyer cards (50 Pack) for $1. Click here to order your discounted merchandise.

ACTION PROJECT

When asked how to help the environment the usual suspects are probably thought of: recycling, litter clean ups, reducing our water intake, etc. But have you ever thought of going meatless to help the environment?

For this month’s action project we will be going meatless one day a week. We eat a lot of meat.. on average ½ lb a day. Did you know that meat causes more emissions than all transportation combined (nearly 1/5 of all man made emissions)? Beef production in particular uses 100 times the water than most vegetables do - It takes 2500 gallons of water for 1lb of meat! By choosing to go meatless even one day a week you will reduce emissions, and conserve approximately 1250 gallons of water that day. Not to mention the health benefits, as well as financial savings. Will you join us this month by going meatless one day a week to benefit the environment?

Click this link to watch a short video about the Meatless Monday movement: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/why-meatless/

If you want to take it a step further you can become a weekday vegetarian for the month. Click the link below to watch a short video about how the founder of Treehugger.com made the decision to become a weekday vegetarian
http://www.ted.com/talks/graham_hill_weekday_vegetarian.html

An Amalgamation, Volume 1 is a poetic exploration of the way we live, laugh, and love in a sometimes confusing world. It asks of the reader: "What if our greatest passions joined hands with intentional ways of choosing and living? Could our choices then orchestrate a life we once had only hoped for? What if we stepped out into a moment where our deepest longings were no longer fantasy but actuality? Moments are all around us, and we are invited to step into them. If time is a tyrant, and surely it is, then may we dream wide awake. When we choose life in one moment, our desires become engaged with reality."

Check out the video below and visit Albert's site to view a sample of the book as well as purchase the book to help support independent art and The Love Alliance. http://bit.ly/y9khfv

We are excited to announce Give Shoes. Give Love. a micro-giving campaign of
The Love Alliance and Soles4Souls.

Over 300 million children worldwide are without shoes. Walking barefoot puts their bodies at major risk of contracting life threatening illnesses caused by parasites. Such as hookworm and threadworm.

Without shoes, many of the world’s children will never be allowed to walk through doors of a school. And therefore may never escape the cycle of poverty.

These children have walked without shoes. Until now.
Just $7 a month and you will provide 7 pairs of shoes to children in need.

That adds up to 84 children a year! That’s 84 children avoiding major illness. 84 children now welcome in school. 84 children walking towards a brighter future.

Register to donate $7 each month at www.giveshoesgivelove.com and you’ll receive a FREE Love Alliance t-shirt. This shirt was designed exclusively for this campaign by The Love Alliance.

Our goal is to provide shoes for as many children as possible. But we cannot do that without your help. Please join along side us by signing up and spreading the word. Share the video and campaign site on your social networks.

We love the work that Soles4Souls is doing and we are excited and honored to be able to partner with them to provide for children in need. We have already provided over 1,500 pairs through the campaign and we are just getting started! This is really such an easy way for all of us to make a difference.

Educate Yourself. Take Action.
www.giveshoesgivelove.com

Newsletter #56 - February 11, 2012 - www.thelovealliance.net

We are excited to share some more information about our partnership with Soles4Souls, “Give Shoes. Give Love.” a micro-giving campaign of Soles4Souls and The Love Alliance. Without giving too much away (before our official launch), we have designed a limited edition, exclusive shirt for this campaign that you will be able to get for free whenever you sign up to join us in providing shoes for children in need. The campaign had a soft launch this past week and our limited edition, exclusive Love Alliance shirt debuted at several concerts in Texas with John Mark McMillan and Robbie Seay Band. The response was amazing providing over 1000 pairs of shoes to children in need! That is over 1000 children protected from life threatening illnesses! This is just the start of what we know will be a life changing campaign. We are extremely excited for the official launch and can’t wait for The Love Alliance community to join us in providing countless pairs of shoes to children in need. We will be sending out an additional email in the next few weeks when the site goes live with all the details. Like “Give Shoes. Give Love.” on Facebook to stay up to date, spread the word, and check out the campaign exclusive shirt we designed.

If you have been keeping up with our partner organization Love-Water or if you are a fan of The Bachelor, you would have seen that several of the girls have been sporting some Love-Water gear on the show this past month. Love-Water is currently underneath The Love Alliance non-profit umbrella and we are so excited for the exposure that they have received this month to help them fulfill their purpose to provide clean water to those in need through the merchandise they sell. Check out Love-Water’s Facebook page for some pictures.

We at The Love Alliance love giving our community the chance to be a part of something bigger by participating in simple ways to make a difference. Here is a simple way to do that this month. Every time someone watches and shares the trailer for Tyler Perry’s new movie, Good Deeds, Lionsgate is making a donation to Covenant House. Covenant House is an amazing non-profit housing homeless teens around the country. By taking two minutes to simply watch and share this trailer you can be a part of making a financial donation to a fantastic organization. There are also other ways you can get involved like sharing your good deed for the day with others (see site for more details) as well as sending in Gift Cards to benefit Covenant House. Take a minute to do a good deed and visit www.gooddeedsgreatneeds.com

We will continue our Action Project Sale this month. ‘Remember the Sick’ merchandise is more than 15% off with ‘Remember the Sick’ shirts at $15, ‘Remember the Sick’ bags for $10 and ‘Remember the Sick’ flyer cards (50 Pack) for $1. Click here to order your discounted merchandise.

ACTION PROJECT

We are in the month of love and this month we want to love the sick. Often times long-term care patients in hospitals or nursing homes are forgotten and neglected. We want to show some love to these individuals this month.

We encourage you to volunteer and/or visit someone sick this month and show them love. One of the easiest ways to do this and one of the places that needs love the most is to visit a nursing home. So many people in nursing homes never have visitors or if they do it is few and far between. Having human interaction and receiving love can help give these individuals have a better quality of life. There is also much that we can gain by spending time with these individuals. Many have lived full lives and have amazing stories to share.

Other places that are easily accessible are your local hospital, children’s hospital, Ronald McDonald house, assisted living facilities, etc. When you visit one of these places, ask one of the head nurses or activities coordinator who hasn’t had a visitor in a while or who would be best to visit and they can direct you from there.

Or another place to visit might be a friend or family member who is under the weather this month. Maybe make them some homemade soup, bring over a movie or just spend some quality time with them. The possibilities are endless. Lets make a difference and show some love this month to those that are sick and lonely. It more than likely will mean more than we will ever know.

Wow! 2012 is here. Its hard to believe. We are excited for this year and plan to focus on some key partnerships to make our impact as an organization even greater. As we have mentioned before, Love-Water is our newest partner and project and we can’t wait to see how many people Love-Water will be able to provide clean water for this year.

We are also partnering with Soles4Souls this year in a new micro-giving campaign to provide as many pairs of shoes as possible for children in need. The finishing touches are being put on that partnership and it should be rolling out at the beginning of next month. Expect this partnership to be in full force this summer.

Speaking of summer, we are already planning for our Summer Festival Tour and cannot wait to get on the road again. Once the schedule is pinned down we will be posting about festival volunteer opportunities.

A new year means a new chance to analyze how we view the world. We all are uniquely gifted to use our talents to change the world. What is it that you love to do? How can you use the things you love to do this year to make a difference towards injustice. Comment on our Facebook page and reply to our Twitter various ways that you are or plan to use the things you love to do to make a difference towards injustice this year.

Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Educate yourself on the issues via our website here: http://bit.ly/AC3caU

We will continue with our Focus Calendar this year as well as our monthly Action Project Sales. This month’s focus is on the Sick. ‘Remember the Sick’ merchandise is more than 15% off with ‘Remember the Sick’ shirts at $15, ‘Remember the Sick’ bags for $10 and ‘Remember the Sick’ flyer cards (50 Pack) for $1. Click here to order your discounted merchandise.

ACTION PROJECT

Our January/February Focus is once again Sickness. We wanted to start the new year by giving you an easy way to make a huge impact for the sick in your community.

January is National Volunteer Blood Donor Month. January has proved to be the month that presents the most challenges in recruiting people to give blood. Changing weather, busy holiday schedules, increased cold and flu symptoms and even the winter blues can keep the most dedicated blood donors from making or keeping an appointment to give.Yet winter weather can lead to more traumatic injuries on icy roads and may increase the need for blood.

The American Red Cross needs to collect 22,000 units of blood each weekday and around 15,000 units each weekend to meet patient needs. Every two seconds, someone needs blood.

This month’s Action Project is to donate blood at your local blood bank. This is such a simple, cost free way to be a part of saving someone's life. One pint of blood can save up to three lives. Visit www.redcrossblood.org or search “Donate blood” along with your cities name to find a local place to donate. We would recommend calling ahead to see if you need to make an appointment.

We do understand that not everyone can give blood because of one reason (primarily age) or another. If this is the case, we encourage you to get at least one eligible friend or family member to donate in your place. Another alternative is to volunteer at your local blood bank.

This year has flown by. We can’t believe it is already December. Excited for the holiday season and to once again celebrate with a “Recycled Holiday.” Read below for more information.

LAST MONTH - HAPPENINGS

David traveled to Nashville last month to meet with Soles4Souls, an amazing non-profit who has to date given over 16 million pairs of shoes away around the world. We are excited to announce that we are partnering with Soles4Souls on their first ever micro-giving campaign. The Love Alliance has designed an exclusive shirt which will be included in the campaign and will also be helping promote the campaign to provide as many shoes as possible to children in need. The campaign is set to launch at the first of year and we will have much more information for you then.

 We added our Summer Tour exclusive merchandise to our webstore last month. This included a new shirt, pullover logo hoody, tank, and wristbands. In case you missed it, you can check out all the products and more at our store: www.thelovealliancestore.com

Last month we announced our new partner and project, Love-Water, a non-profit clothing and merchandise organization providing clean water to those in need. Things are moving forward and they have launched their official website and webstore. You can check it out at: www.love-water.org

LAST MONTH - ACTION PROJECT

Last month we focused on the issue of homelessness in the United States. We asked you to put together Hygiene Kits to donate to your local shelters or to give out to people you may encounter on the street. Many of you put together kits by yourself while others got together in groups to assemble the kits.

Our Action Group at Capital University, Pi Phi Epsilon, had a demonstration on campus where they held up cardboard signs with facts about homelessness. They also collected hygiene products and money for products. They raised $315 in the first day alone!

We are so proud of our Capital University group and would love to hear your Action Project stories. Email info@thelovealliance.net

THIS MONTH - HAPPENINGS

We launched our Holiday Sale yesterday. You get $5 off your order for every $25 spent in the webstore. This sale is for all products in the webstore. Our Action Project Sale will continue as well. ‘Remember the Homeless’ merchandise is more than 15% off with ‘Remember the Homeless’ shirts at $15 and ‘Remember the Homeless Flyer Cards’ (50 Pack) for $1. Click here to order your discounted merchandise. Also read this month’s Action Project below for our thoughts on spending and giving this season.

The rest of this month will primarily consist of tying up loose ends for the year and planning for 2012. As mentioned, our partnership with Soles4Souls will be launching in January so a lot of work still needs to be done for that. We will also have an all new newsletter layout next year along with some other exciting changes.

THIS MONTH - ACTION PROJECT

So this season we’re making an effort to Remember the Environment, Remember the Homeless, Remember the Poor, and Remember the Enslaved by having a “Recycled Holiday.”

This means make it your project this month to give vintage or homemade gifts rather than buying just to buy. Instead of placing a demand on new products that were made under questionable conditions, we can reuse or repurpose previously used products. Purchase items from estate sales, and antique, vintage or thrift stores. You can give them as is or you can revamp/repurpose the items. Not only will this likely help your wallet, but it will also be a much more meaningful gift to the person receiving it. You will also be reducing waste and energy as old products will be saved from landfills and new products will not need to be produced. Here are some fun gift ideas, do them yourself or hold a recycling gift party to make them with friends:

- Get a wide array of items locally from furniture, electronics, sporting goods to clothing onfreecycle.com
- Decorate a box or tin and give baked goods
- Give an old bag decorative stitching to make it one of a kind
- Find beautiful vintage jewelry online or at local estate sales and antique/vintage stores
- Make bowls or mail holders from old records (click here)
- Repaint used furniture to make it one of a kind
- Make new things out of old magazines (click here)
- Give a unique jewelry organizer (click here)
- Make something out of old blue jeans (click here)
- Give a gift in someone's name to help people in third world countries live self sustainably (click here)
- Wrap old wire hangers in yarn with bows to give beautiful custom padded hangers (click here)
- Make plastic bag yarn and knit or crochet recycled goodies (click here)

These are just a few ideas to get the wheels turning in your heads. We are asking you to get more involved by posting on our site any other recycled holiday gift ideas you may have along with links to how people can achieve these ideas if available. You can do so here.

If you are still wanting to purchase new items for the holidays we encourage you to only purchase socially conscious items. Buy fair trade, sweat shop free, items made from recycled products etc. Check out The Love Alliance webstore: www.thelovealliancestore.com as well as our friends at Shop To Stop Slavery’s Ethical Holiday Shopping Guide here: http://www.shoptostopslavery.com/shop-now/gift-guide

Click here to read our extended blog on this project and issue.

The holidays are a time filled with laughter, LOVE, and, yes, gifts. But the holidays can often be a time for excessive consumerism. This year we’re making an effort to Remember the Homeless, Remember the Poor, Remember the Enslaved, and Remember the Environment by changing the way you think about buying gifts this season

1) Remember the Poor, Remember the Homeless

Unfortunately there are many who can’t afford to give a big pile of presents to their loved ones. Poor families depend on projects like Operation Christmas Child and the USPS “Be an Elf” program for donated gifts. Donating gifts to your local shelter is also a way to give to those in need.

2) Remember the Enslaved

One thing we focus a lot on here at The Love Alliance is knowing where the products we buy come from. In our global world it’s too easy to unknowingly buy products made by slaves. Paying attention to the items we buy and making the choice to buy Fair or Direct Trade, slave-free products can make a huge impact on ending slavery in our world. It’s simple supply and demand. If we don’t buy products made by slaves, companies will stop using slaves to make their products. So think about making the switch to slave-free this holiday season.

3) Remember the Environment

Buying things just to buy them and then throwing them out in a year fills up landfills and leaves a huge impact on our environment (learn more about where waste goes here. And a short video about a project that tracked where our garbage goes).

ACTION PROJECT

So this season we’re making an effort to Remember the Environment, Remember the Homeless, Remember the Poor, and Remember the Enslaved by having a “Recycled Holiday.”

This means make it your project this month to give vintage or homemade gifts rather than buying just to buy. Instead of placing a demand on new products that were made under questionable conditions, we can reuse or repurpose previously used products. Purchase items from estate sales, and antique, vintage or thrift stores. You can give them as is or you can revamp/repurpose the items. Not only will this likely help your wallet, but it will also be a much more meaningful gift to the person receiving it. You will also be reducing waste and energy as old products will be saved from landfills and new products will not need to be produced. Here are some fun gift ideas, do them yourself or hold a recycling gift party to make them with friends:

- Get a wide array of items locally from furniture, electronics, sporting goods to clothing on freecycle.com

- Decorate a box or tin and give baked goods

- Give an old bag decorative stitching to make it one of a kind

- Find beautiful vintage jewelry online or at local estate sales and antique/vintage stores

- Make bowls or mail holders from old records (click here)

- Repaint used furniture to make it one of a kind

- Make new things out of old magazines (click here)

- Give a unique jewelry organizer (click here)

- Make something out of old blue jeans (click here)

- Give a gift in someone's name to help people in third world countries live self sustainably (click here)

- Wrap old wire hangers in yarn with bows to give beautiful custom padded hangers (click here)

- Make plastic bag yarn and knit or crochet recycled goodies (click here)

These are just a few ideas to get the wheels turning in your heads. We are asking you to get more involved by posting on our site any other recycled holiday gift ideas you may have along with links to how people can achieve these ideas if available. You can do so here.

If you are still wanting to purchase new items for the holidays we encourage you to only purchase socially conscious items. Buy fair trade, sweat shop free, items made from recycled products etc. Check out The Love Alliance webstore: www.thelovealliancestore.com as well as our friends at Shop To Stop Slavery’s Ethical Holiday Shopping Guide here: http://www.shoptostopslavery.com/shop-now/gift-guide

As we mentioned in the newsletter, Chase has once again launched their Community Giving Program on Facebook.  This time, the top 100 non-profits will receive $25,000!   If you are on Facebook it will only take you 30 seconds and of course it is free and easy for anyone to vote.  Just click on this link http://bit.ly/sL46rW and vote! The voting ends Tuesday, November 22nd so please vote today.

Then, spread the word.  Doing this can take as little or as much time as you want to give.  Spreading the word can be as simple as clicking the “share” button after you vote, but here are some ideas for spreading the love and letting all of your friends know about The Love Alliance:

• Bring a laptop to your school/workplace/church/etc. and set it up with the voting page during a break to make it easy for people to vote 
• Share about it on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc… 
• Copy and paste the sample email at the bottom of this page and send it to everyone you know

Also just to clarify, if you have already voted for another organization you can still vote for us (You have up to 10 votes to give for up to 10 different non-profits).

Once more, just follow this link: http://bit.ly/sL46rW to vote for The Love Alliance and please share with your friends and family.  Let’s do this!

Thanks for being our hands and feet,

The Love Alliance Team

--
Sample Email:

Hey friends!  I just want to send you a quick email about this organization I support called The Love Alliance (thelovealliance.net).  It’s a non-profit that seeks to educate individuals about social justice issues and then help them take action to fight world injustices.  They’re in the running to win a prize of $25,000 and they need just a few more votes to put them in the top 100. If you are on Facebook it will only take you 30 seconds and of course it is free and easy for anyone to vote.  Just click on this link http://bit.ly/sL46rW and vote!  The voting ends Tuesday, November 22nd so please vote today.

Thanks for your help!

Some big things and major shifts happening with the Love Alliance.  Check out "This Month - Happenings" for more details.  We are also focusing on Homelessness this month.  Check out our blog and read “This Month - Action Project” to learn more.

LAST MONTH - HAPPENINGS

Thanks to your help this month spreading the word about the organization on social networks. We were able to hit our goal of 4,000+ Likes on Facebook and we also saw an increase in Twitter followers. Please continue to share our page and ask your friends, family and coworkers to “Like” us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter. As our social networking reach grows so will our voice to be able to educate and activate large amounts of people to make a difference towards social injustice.

LAST MONTH - ACTION PROJECT

Last month was Fair Trade Month and as always we focused on human trafficking and fair trade. This year we focused specifically on chocolate. We asked you for the month of October to only purchase and eat fair trade chocolate. We created a resource for you to learn more about the chocolate we eat as well as fair trade chocolate brands and where you can buy them.

Click here to learn more and view our list of Fair Trade Chocolate.

THIS MONTH - HAPPENINGS

We are excited to announce a new partner and project of The Love Alliance, Love-Water, a non-profit clothing and merchandise company providing clean water to those in need. Love-Water was started and is run by our good friend Jake Sherley. After years of running Thorn Clothing, Jake started focusing his philanthropic efforts on raising funds and providing clean water for those in need. Jake has been raising money for clean water through various Thorn products for several years now and after two trips to Zambia he decided he wanted to start a non-proFacebook, Website and Etsy store which has some great necklaces, one which is handmade by the people in Zambia that Thorn/Love-Water has provided clean water for.
 
Speaking of partnerships, David will be traveling to Nashville this week for meetings with Soles4Souls. He will be discussing our partnership and going over a specific campaign that The Love Alliance is partnering with Soles4Souls for. Expect more details and the campaign to launch in early 2012.
 
We have added our Summer Tour exclusive merchandise to our webstore. New merchandise includes: an amazing Mother Teresa shirt designed by our good friend Joel Gasper and printed on a soft blend shirt; a much requested Pullover Hoody, grey with our logo printed on the front; our classic Black Logo Fade design on a tank; “Make a Difference” fat wristbands in both black and blue; and a small Love Alliance bracelet (just $2). Check out all the products and more at our store: www.thelovealliancestore.com 
 
This month’s Action Project Sale will coincide with our Action Project Focus as always. This month’s focus is Homelessness. ‘Remember the Homeless’ merchandise is more than 15% off with ‘Remember the Homeless’ shirts at $15 and ‘Remember the Homeless Flyer Cards’ (50 Pack) for $1. Click here to order your discounted merchandise.
 
Last but not least, this month Chase is launching their Fall 2011 Chase Community Giving Campaign. The great thing about this year’s contest is that it is only for organizations with operating expenses under $1 million, which is definitely us. Being that it is specific to smaller budgets hopefully the competition won’t be as stiff. Our goal is to simply make it in the top 100, who will receive $25,000 each! The contest starts November 8th and goes through November 22nd. We will be sending more details out on our social networks once the contest starts. In the meantime add the Chase Community Giving FB Page to stay up to date. This is a free and easy way to make a huge impact for our organization. Be thinking of ideas on how to garner more votes for The Love Alliance. Thanks in advance for your support.

In November and December we’ll be turning our focus to the issue of homelessness in the United States. This month we’re asking you to Remember the Homeless first by educating yourself and others about the real facts, so that we can work together to dispel the myths that have led us to act without compassion on those who are less fortunate.

Second, this month our action project will be to provide those in need with some of the basic necessities for living. Most homeless shelters are able to utilize personal size hygiene items and cold weather clothing necessities for the homeless and in-need community they serve. During the Thanksgiving season, many shelters make a special appeal for these items and package them into bags as a practical gift for those who seek their services.

We encourage you to get together in groups to put together “Compassion Bags” to donate to your local shelters or to give out to people you may encounter on the street. Get together in groups to assemble the bags. Assign individuals to bring a certain item and throw a compassion bag assembly party. Some ideas of what to include in your bags:

· Soap

· Shampoo

· Deodorant

· Toothpaste

· Toothbrush

· Shaving cream

· Razors

· Underwear (all sizes)

· Socks (white and black)

· Hats

· Gloves

· Individually wrapped, healthy snack

Get creative! What sorts of things do you think should be added to this list? Dream it up and show some love to those who may need it most this season. Make sure you let us know how it goes and send us [info@thelovealliance.net] pictures of the assembly parties you throw!

To locate local homeless shelters near you try typing in your zip-code on this website: http://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/

Other ways you might consider to Remember the Homeless this month:

Get Educated

Remember the Homeless Fact Sheet: www.thelovealliance.net/education/homeless/index.html

National Coalition for the Homeless: www.nationalhomeless.org
National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty: www.nlchp.org
Habitat For Humanity: www.habitat.org
Homelessness Resource Center: www.nrchmi.samhsa.gov/Default.aspx
Home Sweet Homeless: www.hshomeless.com
National Alliance To End Homelessness: www.endhomelessness.org
Salvation Army: www.salvationarmyusa.org
Shelter Listings: www.shelterlistings.org
Shores Of Grace: www.shoresofgrace.com
St. Bernard Project: www.stbernardproject.org
The Doe Fund: www.doe.org

Want to do more?

Get Involved – 7 Easy ways you can make a BIG impact:

Remembering the Homeless is largely about remembering that they’re people too and therefore they should be treated as such. So here are 7 easy ways that you can help out a life by remembering just who they are:

1. Understand Who the Homeless Are - Help dispel the stereotypes about the homeless. Learn about the different reasons for homelessness, and remember, every situation is unique.

2. Respect the Homeless as Individuals and act with kindness towards them - Give homeless people the same courtesy and respect you would accord your friends, your family, your employer. Treat them as you would wish to be treated if you needed assistance. We can make quite a difference in the lives of the homeless when we respond to them, rather than ignore or dismiss them. Try a kind word and a smile.

3. Bring Food - It's as simple as taking a few extra sandwiches when you go out. When you pass someone who asks for change, offer him or her something to eat. If you take a lunch, pack a little extra. When you eat at a restaurant, order something to take with you when you leave. You can also give a bag of nonperishable groceries and donate it to a food drive or food bank in your area. If your community doesn't have a food drive, organize one.

4. Give Recyclables - In localities where there is a "bottle law," collecting recyclable cans and bottles is often the only "job" available to the homeless. But it is an honest job that requires initiative. You can help by saving your recyclable bottles, cans, and newspapers and giving them to the homeless instead of taking them to a recycling center or leaving them out for collection. If you live in a larger city, you may wish to leave your recyclables outside for the homeless to pick up -- or give a bagful of cans to a homeless person in your neighborhood.

5. Give Clothing - Next time you do your spring or fall cleaning, keep an eye out for those clothes that you no longer wear. If these items are in good shape, gather them together and donate them to organizations that provide housing for the homeless. You can also check our list of organizations that accept donated goods.

6. Donate Toys - Children living in shelters have few possessions --if any-- including toys. Homeless parents have more urgent demands on what little money they have, such as food and clothing. So often these children have nothing to play with and little to occupy their time. You can donate toys, books, and games to family shelters to distribute to homeless children.

7. Volunteer - Shelters thrive on the work of volunteers, from those who sign people in, to those who serve meals, to others who counsel the homeless on where to get social services. For the homeless, a shelter can be as little as a place to sleep out of the rain or as much as a step forward to self-sufficiency. There are literally dozens of ways to volunteer. Here are a few:

- Play With Children In A Shelter - Many children in shelters are cut off from others their own age. Shuffled from place to place, sometimes these kids don't attend school on a regular basis, and have no contact with other kids. Bring a little joy to their lives by taking your children to a local shelter to play. Plan activities such as coloring, playing with dolls, or building model cars (take along whatever toys you'll need). Your own children will benefit too.

- Serve at a Soup Kitchen - Soup Kitchens provide one of the basics of life, nourishing meals for the homeless and other disadvantaged members of the community. Volunteers generally do much of the work, including picking up donations of food, preparing meals, serving it, and cleaning up afterward. To volunteer your services, contact your local soup kitchen, mobile food program, shelter, or religious center.

- Donate your talents and skills - No matter what you do for a living, you can help the homeless with your on-the-job talents and skills. Those with clerical skills can train those with little skills. Doctors, psychiatrists, counselors, and dentists can treat the homeless in clinics. Lawyers can help with legal concerns. Students can help in much needed ways by tutoring the children living in shelters in basic skills like math and reading. The homeless' needs are bountiful -- your time and talent won't be wasted.

- Volunteer Your Hobbies - Every one of us has something we can give the homeless. Wherever our interests may lie -- cooking, repairing, gardening, photography -- we can use them for the homeless. Through our hobbies, we can teach them useful skills, introduce them to new avocations and perhaps point them in a new direction

(Adapted from “35 Ways You Can Help the Homeless” www.justgive.org/ways/50wayshomeless.jsp)

Blog Written by Alison Patch - The Love Alliance Fall Intern

The Love Alliance Newsletter #52
www.thelovealliance.net
October 3, 2011

Fall has fallen. We continue to be in a season of growth. We are excited to share with you some of what is going on. 

LAST MONTH – HAPPENINGS

We welcomed our first official office intern to the team this past month. Alison Patch is a senior at Columbia University and is studying in the departments of Religion and of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies. She has traveled extensively and lived in Russia for two years. She has a huge heart for people and is well versed in foreign affairs. She has already been a huge help and we are excited for her to settle in and take a bigger role this fall.

We were honored with the opportunity to attend the New York premiere of Gerard Butler’s new film “Machine Gun Preacher” this past month. The premiere was at the Museum of Modern Art and was attended by the main cast, crew, etc. The movie is based on a true story of a former drug addict/criminal turned Christian and eventually preacher whose eyes are opened to the war in Sudan and Uganda, more specifically the children and families who are being affected. He refuses to turn a blind eye to the issue and builds an orphanage in the middle of the war-affected area and also fights the LRA to free child soldiers.

We had the opportunity to meet the real life “Machine Gun Preacher,” Sam Childers, at the premiere after party and he told us about all he is doing in Africa and here in America, a truly inspirational man.

We are excited about this movie as it is opening eyes to the oppression currently happening in Africa by the LRA and Joseph Kony. Whether you agree with Childers’ tactics or not, your heart will be touched by the stories that are shown in the movie. You can watch the preview here: http://youtu.be/25sM_72wEBI The movie is now playing at select theatres nationwide. Go to http://www.machinegunpreacher.org/movie/ for more information.

LAST MONTH – ACTION PROJECT

Last month many of you continued with our House Cleaning Project. It is amazing to think of what the impact so many of you are having on communities nationwide.

We also focused on Human Trafficking last month by looking at “The Products We Buy.” Unfortunately exploited workers, many of which are enslaved, in sweat shop conditions, and/or children, have produced many of the products in our stores. We provided several resources to research “The Products We Buy.” Visit the blog post to find out more.

THIS MONTH – HAPPENINGS

This month we continue to focus on the growth of our organization. A tangible way that all of you can help is by helping us increase our social network numbers. If you have Facebook, please “Like” The Love Alliance page. Please share the page and ask your friends and family to “Like.” If you are on Twitter please follow The Love Alliance. Please #FF us and encourage your friends and families to follow us. Think of creative ways to increase our social networking numbers. Maybe set up a computer at your school, church, etc. for others to quickly follow us. We are not looking to simply gain numbers but rather to be able to educate and activate a larger group. “Our hope is that few voices will turn into many. That these voices can band together to change the atrocities of the world.”

We are also working on several big projects. Unfortunately, things aren’t quite ready to be revealed. It is killing us to keep this from all of you. Be on the lookout for more news via our website and social networks.

We also wanted to give you all the heads up that our merchandise prices will be going up in November. The cost of cotton has drastically gone up over the last year or two and therefore our cost has gone up. We have held this price increase off but unfortunately this change needs to be made. We do not want to decrease the quality of our shirts and want to continue to print on high quality, fashion fit tees. The cost of our shirts will go from $15 to $18 each. We are proud to say that even with our price increase our shirts will still be lower than most non-profit/cause based shirts. In our research the average cost is $20 a shirt and we have seen as high as $30 a shirt.

With this increase in mind, we will be offering more incentives for discount codes in the webstore. We will continue our monthly Action Project Sale with 15% off that month’s focus shirts (This month ‘Remember the Enslaved’ merchandise is 15% off and ‘Remember the Enslaved Flyer Cards’ (50 pack) are just $1). All that to say, you have this month to stock up on Love Alliance shirts before the prices go up. Click here to visit the store today.

THIS MONTH – ACTION PROJECT

October is Fair Trade Month and as always we want to focus on human trafficking and fair trade this month. Last year we focused on coffee and this year we are focusing on chocolate.

Did you know that Americans spend 17 billion dollars a year on chocolate? And did you know that 40% of the world's Cocoa comes from the country of Cote d'Ivoire (The Ivory Coast) where in 2002 the industry of that country employed more than 15,000 child slave laborers?

In the last 10 years restrictions on the production of cocoa - the main ingredient in chocolate - have grown by leaps and bounds.  Countless organizations are partnering with governments, candy corporations, and small farmers to ensure that from cocoa bean to chocolate bar it is a sustainable, fairly produced product.  Still, cocoa is sourced from hundreds of thousands of farms across the world. With such a variety of growers in often hard-to-reach locations it is nearly impossible to regulate how and who is growing, picking, and producing the raw product of our favorite treats.  The only way to ensure 100% that the chocolate you're buying is free from slavery and that real funds are going to the farmers is to buy Fair Trade.

With all that in mind, we are asking you for the month of October to only purchase and eat fair trade chocolate. Ask your local grocery store or candy shop if they have a fair trade option (they often do). We have created a resource for you to learn more about the chocolate we eat as well as fair trade chocolate brands and where you can buy them.

Click here to learn more and view our list of Fair Trade Chocolate.  A few examples include: Equal Exchange, Green and Black’s, Newman’s Own, Cloud Nine, etc.

Did you know that Americans spend 17 billion dollars a year on chocolate? And did you know that 40% of the world's Cocoa comes from the country of Cote d'Ivoire (The Ivory Coast) where in 2002 the industry of that country employed more than 15,000 child slave laborers?

In the last 10 years restrictions on the production of cocoa - the main ingredient in chocolate - have grown by leaps and bounds.  Countless organizations are partnering with governments, candy corporations, and small farmers to ensure that from cocoa bean to chocolate bar it is a sustainable, fairly produced product.  Still, cocoa is sourced from hundreds of thousands of farms across the world. With such a variety of growers in often hard-to-reach locations it is nearly impossible to regulate how and who is growing, picking, and producing the raw product of our favorite treats.  The only way to ensure 100% that the chocolate you're buying is free from slavery and that real funds are going to the farmers is to buy Fair Trade.

We continue our series on The Products We Buy by looking at chocolate. Here are some resources to help you learn more about the chocolate we're eating.

Learn about...

The History of Chocolate

Fair Trade Standards for Cocoa

Chocolate and Human Trafficking

Child Slavery in Your Chocolate: Steven Millman wrote letters to over 200 chocolate companies. These letters asked whether the companies were sure their chocolate did not contain slave-produced cocoa. At this site, he posts their responses (or lack there of).

How to Tell if Your Chocolate is Slave-Free

World Cocoa Foundation Addressing Child Labor

Buy Fair Trade chocolate

Online @ Equal Exchange Coop

Theo Chocolate

Trader Joe's  

Whole Foods Market

Transfair USA Cocoa Products: This site contains a list of brands that have some products that are fair trade certified.

Fair Trade Candy Blog: Reviews of many brands of slave-free chocolate.

Guaranteed Slave-free chocolate brands:

 These brands and many more are often available at local organic food stores, grocery stores, etc.

Summer is over for the most part and fall is on its way in. We are excited to be back in the office so that we can start focusing more on our groups, projects and partnerships.

Last month marked the end of our Summer Festival Tour. Our very own Chris Plunkett manned the booth by himself at Purple Door Festival. Purple Door was the second event we ever did and this marked our fifth year at the festival. We were happy to continue our presence at such a great festival and hope for many more years to come.

Our last festival of the summer was this past weekend at iMatter Festival in Elmira, NY. This was our second year at iMatter and we were honored at the invitation to be there as only a handful of non-profits are asked to attend the event. We had a great time, met some amazing people and had some thought provoking conversations. We love the heart behind the festival and the people who run it. Thanks to the Lowmaster family, Jillian, and the rest of the staff for making it such a fantastic experience.

The Love Alliance was featured on 700 Club Interactive last month. David was interviewed and the episode aired on ABC Family. It was a great opportunity to reach a new and large audience. If you missed the interview, you can watch it online here: http://bit.ly/reQUSK

Last month’s Action Project was our 5^th Annual House Cleaning. This Action Project is one of our favorites and has probably been one of our most participated in projects. We asked you to go through your households and give away anything you no longer wear, use or want. We provided ideas and places to donate these items.

Because of the busyness of summer, school starting up and the delay in our newsletter and project last month we decided to continue our House Cleaning into the month of September. To review the Action Project click here.

Now that summer is over, we are getting back into the swing of things. As we mentioned last month, David is currently the sole person volunteering full time for The Love Alliance. The organization is experiencing a lot of growth, therefore we are finally seeking out office interns for the fall. We would love for our interns to already have a base knowledge of the organization so that is why we are reaching out to you first. All information about the internship can be found here: Seeking Fall Interns. If you are not in the NYC area but would still like to help out and get more involved, please reply to this email.

A big part of our growth has to do with new Action Groups around the country. Many of these groups have sprung out of conversations that we had this summer on our Summer Festival Tour. New groups have formed or are forming in Erie, PA; Waterbury, CT; Walnut Cove, NC; Appleton, WI; and Indianapolis, IN. We are excited to see what kind of impact these groups will make on their communities. And are honored to continue along with the groups that have been operating thus far across North America.

A lot of our focus this fall will be on partnerships and fundraising. We can’t reveal too much information right now but as we have hinted at, we are working on something really exciting with Soles4Souls. They are an amazing organization that collects new shoes to give relief to the victims of abject suffering and collects used shoes to support micro-business efforts to eradicate poverty. In total they have given away over 15.5 million shoes. We are honored to be able to partner with them and will share as things move along.

We are also in the process of partnering with some friends who are doing some big things to fight the clean water epidemic. We are really excited to be a part of what they are doing. More info. to come in the fall as that partnership develops.

As always, our Action Project Sale will continue with the focus being on Human Trafficking. ‘Remember the Enslaved’ merchandise will be 15% off and ‘Remember the Enslaved Flyer Cards’ (50 pack) are just $1. Click here to order your discounted “Remember The Enslaved” merchandise or check out our other social justice focused products in the webstore.

As we mentioned above, because of the busyness of summer, school starting up and the delay in our newsletters and projects; August's Action Project: House Cleaning will continue into the month of September. If you have not already participated in this project, we encourage you to do so. It is an easy way to make a big difference and an easy way to get others involved. To read last month's Action Project click here.

Although August's Action Project is continuing into September, we still want to provide an Action Project focusing on Human Trafficking. This project is low key and does not require much of your time.

When discussing Human Trafficking, we often say that a simple way that we can all combat trafficking is by looking at the products we buy. Unfortunately exploited workers, many of which are enslaved, in sweat shop conditions, and/or children, have produced many of the products in our stores. So this month, we are asking you to look at the products you buy.

In the past we have written about Fair Trade (click here to read) and Fair Trade Coffee (click here to read). There are also many sites out there that rate companies and products. Not For Sale, a great non-profit that we refer to often, has recently launched a site and app called Free2Work. The site and apps allow consumers to easily search specific products, learn more about various labor standards and corporate practices, and further their engagement through their consumption decisions. Another great rating site is Better World Shopper, a site dedicated to providing people with a comprehensive, up-to-date, reliable account of the social and environmental responsibility of every company on the planet AND making it available in practical forms that individuals can use in their everyday lives. There are also great blogs available such as our friends at Shop to Stop Slavery and recently found Fashion Loves People. These are just a few of the resources available. We will be updating our blog post "The Products We Buy" with more resources and would love to hear of any other resources that you all might find.

The Love Alliance was started by David and Lauren Ranzino and operates out of Brooklyn.

About the Internship:
The Love Alliance is in the midst of a growth spurt and the workload has become too much. We are looking for two enthusiastic individuals who can join us to not only help with administrative duties but also to help brainstorm, create and possibly take the lead on new initiatives. We want to work with you to see where your talents and interests are and then plug you into the organization where those skills can be used best. Work will be split between your own time and in-office time. This is an unpaid position, however this is a great opportunity for anyone wanting to get involved with a non-profit organization, make a difference, and/or observe how a small non-profit operates.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities (To Be Divided Between Two Interns):
Communicate with Love Alliance Action and Focus Groups across the country and Canada.
Recruit new Groups and supporters.
Compiling and drafting individual and Group stories to be used in newsletters, video's, grant proposals, etc.
Maintain working relationship with partner organizations and companies.
Assist in writing and coordinating of the monthly newsletter.
Assist in the planning and organization of events and Action Projects.
Develop and assist with fundraising strategies.
Maintain email, website and social media outlets.
Maintain webstore and online merchandise orders.
Possible travel to Groups to document the work that they are doing in their communities.
Possible travel to music events to set up and run info. and merchandise booth.
Using your interests and talents to impact and further improve the organization.

Knowledge and Skills:
Willingness to adapt to new situations and tasks and take initiative where needed.
Demonstrates organizational skills with great attention to detail.
Demonstrates interest in non-profit work.
Knowledge of Social Justice Issues.
Proficient with MS Office.
Proficient with Social Media.

Requirements:
Must be at least 18 years old.
Must be available 10-20 hours a week.
Must be authorized to work in the United States.
Must be able to commute to our offices in Brooklyn, New York.
Best if you had your own laptop or computer.

To Apply:
Please send an email to david@thelovealliance.net no later than 5:00 on September 19 with the following: 1. "Internship" in the subject line of the email 2. Short cover letter indicating your interest and qualification 3. Resume

The internship will run from on or approximately Wednesday, September 21 to early/mid December with the possible option to extend the internship into the spring. Applications are due September 19.

When discussing Human Trafficking, we often say that an easy way to combat trafficking is by looking at the products that we buy. Unfortunately exploited workers, many of which are enslaved and/or children, have produced many of the products in our stores. So this month, we are asking you to look at the products that you buy.

In the past we have written about Fair Trade (click here to read) and Fair Trade Coffee (click here to read). There are also many sites out there that rate companies and products.

Free2Work: A site that allow consumers to easily search specific products, learn more about various labor standards and corporate practices, and further their engagement through their consumption decisions. (Free iPhone and Android Apps available)

Better World Shopper: A site dedicated to providing people with a comprehensive, up-to-date, reliable account of the social and environmental responsibility of every company on the planet AND making it available in practical forms that individuals can use in their everyday lives.

Blogs

Shop to Stop Slavery

Fashion Loves People

These are just a few of the resources available. We will be updating this blog with more resources and would love to hear of any other resources that you all might find. Please list in the comments below.