Activistas

Share Books with Children in Foster Care

My kids love books.  My one-year-old likes to hold them, turn the pages, look at the pictures and point at the things she recognizes.  My 3-YO is really starting to get into the stories.  He often references something from the stories in his day-to-day life.  He also enjoys the language and has developed an ear for new words or rhyming patterns.  Our nightly ritual is to cuddle up with a good book or two, and I think it is safe to say that their childhoods would not be nearly so rich without books.   

That's why I love the Books from the Heart program.  If you are like me and believe books should be a part of every child's life, you can donate some to children in foster care who may not have any of their own.    The donated books should be new and can be dropped at any Barnes & Noble store in town before the end of the day on May 31st (Saturday).   Pick out a few titles your kids loved and share them with a little one who is likely to love them, too.  Why not?

Can't do it before Saturday?  Post something in the comments and we'll contact you about picking them up and dropping them at the state Department of Human Services, which runs the Oregon foster care program.

Know of any other children's book donation programs? We'd love to know so we can help in the future, especially if we're too late with this one! 

05.28.08 Guestivista No. 9: Cat

Now here's a mama I met far, far off-line, in distant Tampa, Florida where we were both born.  Our families have been friends for decades, and us reconnected 30 years later here in distant Pdx.  Go figure. 

Now Cat has a little boy and our moms still e-mail each other back on the east coast.  In this day and age when so many of us are flung so far from our beginnings, it's really nice to have what we call 'family friends' in town.  When there are no relatives, it's the next best thing.  Especially when our internal family dynamics are so similar (way conservative, outspoken parents and way liberal daughters) - I always run to her for input after a parental visit.

So of course I am curious what Cat has to say about all this family-friendly stuff.  She juggles running her own business along with caring for little Sam (whom my daughter made bleed last encounter). In her own words:

Describe your family.  My family is a family of five - man, woman, small boy (no longer infant), dog and cat.  The interactions - hilarious.

Name one thing America is doing right for parents. Parks.  America's national parks are a wonderful things for families to explore.

Name one thing America is not doing right for parents.  Universal healthcare tops my list of complaints.

What's one parenting issue that really riles you up, makes you ready to work for change?
Paid parental leave.

Speak Up to Ban Phthalates in the U.S.

Just today I was thinking about phthalates.  Why?  Because I attended the county's Toxic Tuesdays talk at the Main Library over lunch, where staff from the OR Center for Environmental Health and a co-founder of Rachel's Friends discussed personal care products - mainly their (scary) ingredients and effects on human health.  Yikes is my general reaction.  Turns out phthalates aren't just limited to toys.  Of course, they're hard to avoid because they're not labeled as phthalates.  Why not?  Because that would be far too clear, mamas, and in this country, the idea of a clearly written product label is about as likely as reasonably priced gas.  But beyond the doom and gloom, I am glad to report that there's actually some good news in all this! 

Congress is currently working on the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act ('bout time!), and in it they might actually ban phthalates.  Yes, you heard correctly.  But before you do a jig in the street and prepare to shop without fear, let's focus in on the word might, mamas.  This is not at all a done deal.  But it can be.  I think we can turn might into will - don't you? 

Stand Up and Be Heard.  Thanks to Moms Rising, you can act fast and easily.  Simply e-mail a letter directly to your Congressperson asking her to support this ban.  It'll protect your children and anyone who uses soap, lotion and hair conditioner.  Go ahead, send it now, mamas: From Pdx to DC, with love.

Why Now?  Because the clock's a tickin'.  Congress has until June 10th to add this ban to the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act.  They need to act fast to make the amendment, and they're far more likely to do it if their constituents make very clear how tired we are of fearing our grocery and toy store aisles.  It's simple, mamas: our products have been unsafe long enough, don't you think? 

Reminder! Playdate for Climate Change Wednesday 5.28.08

Got some free time @ 10 AM Wednesday????  Great - then grab the kids and join Eric Miller for a playdate for climate change.  They'll be downtown on Wednesday, 5.28 @ 10 AM sharp  - at the World Trade Center 2 on the Mezzanine Level, to be exact (not coincidentally, Senator Gordon Smith's office is there).  Eric and his kids (1 and 3) are participating in a media event to raise awareness about the Climate Security Act, a bill that congress is scheduled to vote on next week.

Eric tells us this is the most powerful global warming legislation to come to vote in Washington, and we need all of our leaders behind it. Let's send a strong message to our Washington representatives that we parents really do care about this.  Our children's future is at great risk from global warming, and this is an opportunity to pressure our leaders to move forward on this issue.  E-mail Eric with questions or to meet up.  He's got a waterfront picnic in mind after the event. 

Calling all Part-time Working Parents!

I love that there's an organization called A Better Balance that works solely to improve this whole work-family balance conundrum.  They describe themselves this way:

A Better Balance is a legal advocacy organization dedicated to empowering individuals to meet the conflicting demands of work and family without sacrificing their economic security.    We are engaging government and the private sector to bring about systemic change.  Since 2005, we have been working to help people across the economic spectrum care for their families without losing their jobs or suffering other discrimination because of their family responsibilities.  Workers should not have to face impossible choices between earning a paycheck and caring for their loved ones.

Like, I couldn't have said it better myself, mamas.  So when they come calling, I wanna help.  And they are calling.  They are asking people who work a reduced schedule to complete a questionnaire about their experiences, which they describe like this:

If We Had Time to Read...

I like to think that someday we will all read again.  And I mean more than Dr. Suess and the Oregonian headlines, puh-leese.  But until that miraculous day, I can dream, right?  Or at least create a virtual pile to delight over, to have at the waiting for those mornings I am blessedly awake before the rest of the living beings in my house and the laundry is already done.  Maybe you, too, have a virtual pile?  And while my growing stack is not limited to books on activism around the current events and public policies that affect U.S. families, Activistas is. 

So, here is the perfect place to create just such a virtual reading list.  We're calling it If We Had Time to Read. Check it out on the left side of Activistas.  We hope you'll add to it and tell us about any of the books you've read from the list.  No need for a full-on, official review or anything, just your thoughts.  Did it motivate you?  Seem impossible?  Off the mark?  If we share our own reading experiences here on Activistas, we'll all feel like we're keeping up a little, getting something from these authors when, truth be told, we have no time to read!  Reading without reading.  Works for me!

And don't forget to check Literary Mama for real reviews by real mamas of a whole host of books.  Our goal here is to limit it to books specifically about parent activism and the issues we are working to change.  And, hopefully, to invite you to share your thoughts about these books without the pressure of writing a full book review.

Say What's in my Lipstick?

It's illegal to paint your house with it but it's A-OK for me to apply it directly to my lips.  Dare I say: only in America?   Lead, mamas, lead.  No, we're not kidding.  In. your. lipstick. True, this is not an issue unique to mamas.  And I don't even wear much of the stuff.  But still.  It's the principle.  My lips are not an OK place to rub lead.  They never were.  Yours?

And you know, I'm quite grateful that there are folks willing to sort through ingredients (thanks to the famed Skin Deep Cosmetics Database) so I can choose wisely, avoid poisoning myself while I'm shopping. But.  It's a band-aid.  A holdover until something can be done to prevent it in the first place.  There oughtta be a law, mamas, there oughtta be a law.  And I shouldn't have to say that so often.  Really.

So do something.  Aside from ditching the toxic lipstick and buying safe ones, check out the Campaign for  Safe Cosmetics.  They have loads of resources for taking action, like sending an e-letter to Avon asking it to remove toxic chemicals from its products.  Sometimes all this feels like pushing water uphill.  Like asking for something I just shouldn't have to ask for.  But I'll ask, because no-one, in any country, should be rubbing lead on their lips.  Is it really that hard to do the right thing here?

The Maternal is Political: Read It, Hear It

We've discussed before how becoming a mother transforms us.  And as I recently overheard, it does so instantly, completely, and forever.  Agreed, mamas, agreed.  And we've read Guestivista Kristin's article on the important role of women  - most of whom are mamas - in politics.  Now we have another opportunity to read the impressive words of a local mama on this topic. It's Shari McDonald Strong's upcoming book, The Maternal is Political, sure sounds on point, huh?  You might know Shari's writing from Literary Mama and Mother Talk.  We're  planning to review it and interview her right here on Activistas in the coming weeks.

If you're like me with far too little time to read, head over to Powell's on Hawthorne Thursday 5.29 @ 7:30 for a reading.  Shari and four of her contributors will be there to read excerpts from the book.  And grab a copy, while you're at it.  I can't wait to have a look - even if it takes me 40 weeks to get through the 40 essays!  If anyone's interested in jointly tackling an essay a week and discussing it here, e-mail us.  We're game if you are. 

Here's a quick description of the book, from the editors - so very much of this sounds familiar, doesn't it? 

Playdate for Climate Change ~ 5.28.08

Eric, our resident environmentalist, is doing something about global warming  - with his kids - and invites you to join up.  He writes:

There is a bumper sticker on a car in my neighborhood that I really love: One People, One Planet, One Future.  It highlights the fact that all people are more similar than dissimilar, and that we have limited and dwindling resources moving into the future.  It is ironic that this bumper sticker is on a V8 Land Rover SUV (surprise!).  You know, one of those tanks on the road that gets maybe 12 MPG rolling downhill - with a tailwind - and 10 MPG idling in the driveway?  I point out this irony not to point fingers or guilt trip anyone who owns an SUV, but to show how difficult it is for us humanoids to change our oil-thirsty ways. 

I'm guilty--I live in one of those old bungalows with no insulation and a 120-year-old furnace and I pay what feels like $1,000 a month in heating.  I would bet that every single one of us have more than a few things we could do to Act Locally in order to match our Think Globally mindset.  Well, here is one simple local act we all can do that will have a powerful effect nationally, as well as globally. 

Join Eric, Liam (3) and Kai (1)!  They'll be downtown on Wednesday, 5.28 @ 10 AM sharp  - at the World Trade Center 2 on the Mezzanine Level , to be exact (not coincidentally, Senator Gordon Smith's office is there).  Eric and his kids are participating in a media event to raise awareness about the Climate Security Act, a bill that congress will vote on the following week.

Wanna See More Green Streets in Portland?

This just in via Community Nonprofit Resources Group - I'd be so out of the loop without them! 

Are you interested in seeing more Green Streets around the city?  Attend the Friends of Green Streets (FrOGS) Community Meeting this Wednesday, May 21 at PSU. FrOGS is a team of PSU Community Development Students working with the Community Watershed Stewardship Program (BES). For the past six months the FrOGS team has been exploring various ways in which citizens can get involved to plan, create and maintain Green Streets.

Learn more about the process of building Green Streets, costs, project funding, and ways to get involved. Meet fellow Portlanders excited about Green Streets and find out how you can help to move this project forward.

Friends of Green Streets Community Meeting

Location: Urban Center PSU 2nd Floor Gallery (506 SW Mill St)

Date: Wednesday 5.21.08

Time: 6:00-7:30pm

Bus Lines: 1, 8, 9, 19, 44, 12

Wanna Know More?  They've got a blog, natch!