Weekend World Change

I didn’t read Elie Wiesel’s Night in high school with everyone else. In fact, I just finished it the other night, shortly before Todd asked me what he should write about for this weekend’s Weekend World Change (though it’s kind of starting to be Every Third Weekend World Change, isn’t it?). Since Wiesel’s story was still rolling around in my brain, and probably will be for some time, I told him he should ask people to contribute to The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. The foundation had invested nearly all of its assets with Bernie Madoff, and so those assets are essentially gone. I know they’re not going to make back their $15.2 million based on the contributions from this blog’s readers alone (Hi Mom and Dad!), but every bit helps, so this weekend we encourage you to give $10 to the foundation. After that (or before; you choose) you should also read Night if you, like me, somehow made it out of the public school system without being assigned to read it.

If you’ve got a way to change the world, leave a comment with a link. Have a great weekend!

So last weekend I started a new blog series in which I highlight an easy way to make a difference in somebody’s life, and then encourage you to do the same. I didn’t get a ton of comments (ok, ANY comments), but I’m going to try again. I also didn’t link to the way to help, so hopefully everything will go better this week.

This weekend’s world-changing idea is incredibly easy and absolutely free. The Hunger Site has a simple button on its homepage. For everyone who clicks the button, the site’s sponsors contribute to helping feed those in need.

So, all you have to do is bookmark the site and go back everyday. Make it part of your morning ritual. Or your lunch ritual. Or your TMZ ritual.

It’s quick. Easy. And free.

If you’ve got an idea for world-changing, write a post on your blog and leave a comment below with the link.

What better way to spend the weekend than helping make the world a better place? I’m going to start a new weekend blog tradition (along the vein of Positive Post Tuesday and Watercooler Wednesday) where I’ll post one simple, practical way to make a difference in the world, and then you can do the same on your blog. 

This weekend’s world-changer is the Berkeley Darfur ultra high-efficiency cook stove.

For $20, you can purchase a high-efficiency stove for refugees in Darfur. The stove:

• Can be built in Sudan by locals, enabling them to earn extra income and become part of the solution
• Is suited to local high-temperature and high-wind outdoor cooking methods
• Emits less smoke than other stoves, minimizing smoke inhalation
• Uses up to 75% less fuel, enabling women to minimize the dangerous 7-hour treks outside the camps to gather wood
• Helps the denuded environment recover from severe overharvesting

Check it out. 

If you’ve got a better, catchier name for these posts, I’d love to hear it.