World Habitat Day was celebrated on October 7th. Some chapters held Lego Build competitions. Not all of the entries are online yet but New Zealand has a few that we can look at and vote on if we so desire. They are all winners!

Eight year old Adrian who built the house shown above says “This mansion is in the city for a whole family. It has water and solar power. The family has no car; they use a plane. They have treasures hidden inside.” Guess nobody told Adrian that a private plane negates the solar power savings, but it’s cool. Who wouldn’t want a plane?

Sanskruti Zaveri, age 11

Sophie McLean, age 11

Amos, 6, with his waterproof houseboat

Joshua Reynold, 6 years

The post Habitat Lego Build Challenge appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

It’s time to stop letting the NRA and gun enthusiasts get away with murder. It’s beyond upsetting. It’s infuriating that this has become a common occurrence in the USA. Yes, video games are violent. Yes, we need to look at mental health issues. 22 kids were attacked at knife point in China the same week. Guess how many died? Zero.

It’s time to get rid of the fuckin guns! Second Amendment my ass. Things have changed since our forefathers wrote that up. Let’s get it done before the next tragedy.

Please visit Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and do what you can. Just because stricter gun laws may not work 100% does not mean it shouldn’t be tried as part of the solution.

The post Playing Politics? Hell Yes. appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

You’ve gotten through Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Wait. It’s not over yet. What about Giving Tuesday? Yeah, it’s a new thing, but it’s the next big thing.

What is Giving Tuesday? Well, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you give some money to charity, although that’s totally acceptable. You can give back to society in the form of volunteer work, raising funds for others or spreading the word about giving. The only thing you need to remember is that although it starts today on Tuesday, November 27th, it’s something you can do all year long.

Again…

Easy way out: Donate money.

Almost as easy: Spread the word via Facebook and Twitter or earn points for a blog post. (I was too lazy to sign up for points.)

Take some time: Find more ideas here. Hold a bake sale or cook a meal for others. Go through your pantries and closets and give away the items you don’t need. Teach your skill to others or volunteer it for the day.

It’s a beautiful thing, no?

The post Giving Tuesday appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

Huffington Post recently featured images by photographer Carlos Javier Ortiz. I was so impressed that I followed the links back to Facing Change, a not for profit organization. Their aim is to document critical, yet under reported issues facing America. You may license images, donate money or propose a story on facingchange.org.

Below are some images that brought tears to my eyes. And some that just made me roll my eyes.

27 year old Sargent Manny Hornedo was killed near Tikrit when a suicide bomber attacked his humvee. Military funeral services were held in Greenwood Cemetary.

One year old Crystal lies dying of an intestinal disease while her mom Bridgett and housemate Wendy watch the monitors moments before her passing. Insurance would not cover the $500,000 operation that Bridgett couldn’t afford.

Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot and Military Gun Show, Westpoint, KY. Nearly 16,000 people attended the show. There has been a surge in civilian firearms since Obama’s election. Draw your own conclusions.

Troy, NY. I know what you’re thinking. Well, look, at least she’s turning her face away from the kids.

The post Facing Change. Documenting America appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

I’m sure we all know someone who has been affected by the Haiti earthquake. When we heard about it, my husband and I went through a list of Haitians we knew and wondered if their families were ok.

We forgot about Darnelle.

Darnelle is the cheerful young woman who meets and greets everyone at Kush Cafe in Clinton Hill. She lost several family members, including her mother, when her childhood home was destroyed.

Kush is holding a fundraiser this Wednesday, February 3rd. All profits go to the Dasne family. It’s $20 for an all you can eat buffet.

If you cannot attend but want to contribute, I’m looking into how to do that. I’ll leave it in the comments.

via Brownstoner

The post Haiti Earthquake Hits Home appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

Bored of all the talk about Haiti donations yet? Well, stop your bitching. You’re alive and well and you have a home and family. Or at least a computer.

Congratulations to Laura of Shore Chic for placing the winning bid on the necklace I was auctioning off. Yeah, she’s the same Laura I stole the idea from. It went for $50 and I’m matching her $50. Sooo,$50+$50=$100.

But I was thinking. I could’ve done more.

Etsy doesn’t have the wonderful software that allows the seller to automatically donate a percentage of the sale to a charity of their choice. But Ebay does! And so yesterday I performed the excruciating task of opening an Ebay store. I spent most of the day working on it and ended up posting only 10 listings. Plus, it doesn’t look pretty yet.

It. Is. The. Most. Boring. Thing. In. The. World. To. Do.

Anyway, 15% of any Ebay sale goes to Doctors Without Borders. Furthermore, since it’s going to take me forever to upload everything, so check out the Etsy or Reclaimed Store and let me know if there’s anything you want me to post on Ebay.

Oh, but wait! There’s more! Check out Jean’s auction over at Renovation Therapy! She’s auctioning off a handmade bad, a Pucci journal and a Grey Gardens keychain. All to benefit Red Cross.

The post More Shopping for Haiti. appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

You can send “Haiti Relief” donations to any disaster relief organization and feel good about what you’re doing. Or you can give money and get something in return.

Laura at Shore Chic came up with an amazing idea to donate a handmade item and I copied that. But those are just two efforts in a sea of crafty and bloggy folks who don’t know what to do with their excess creativity and lack of funds.

They donate items and services. And you can partake while still helping those in need. Here are just a few places to “Shop for Haiti”. Some are donating percentages and some are giving 100%.

Indie Fixx is holding a Haiti Relief Fundraiser silent auction. There will be 3 unique items listed each day and you can bid on them via the comments.

Jenny of Simply Delightful Designs started a site called “Hope for Haiti“. She is raffling off donated items and 100% will go to Red Cross or Compassion.

You can donate money by shopping on eBay! Browse by item, percentage given or non-profit organization. Just follow this link to get you to the charity page.

The post Shop for Haiti appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

In a effort to get donations for Haiti, Laura from Shore Chic is auctioning off a lovely handmade tote over on her blog. I thought it was an awesome idea, so I just stole it. Below, I copied and pasted Laura’s rules and I’ll substitute the necklace shown above.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you paid it forward and donated your own piece too? I’m just sayin’….

The necklace is a single antique washer that hangs from a new 16.5″ chain. That would be a choker for a large person. New glass blue bead makes this a piece of jewelry instead of uh…just a washer on a chain.

And now to the cut and paste……

In the comments section on this post, leave the amount you’d like to bid. Remember the cause and please bid generously.

Bidding will remain open until Monday, January 18 (Martin Luther King Day here in the U.S.) at midnight, Eastern Time.

At that time, I will ask the highest bidder to make a donation to the Haitian relief charity of his or her choice in the amount of their bid, and ask them to forward me a copy of the receipt as proof the donation was made.

I will gladly ship (at my cost) anywhere in the world.

Separately, if you are looking to make a donation on your own here are some organizations:

• Doctors without Borders lost three hospitals in the quake, and could really use our help to bring vital medical support to the victims
• Haiti native Wyclef Jean’s non-profit Yele
• Mercy Corps
• UNICEF
• And, you can text “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross relief efforts. Or text Yele to 501 501 to donate $5.

The post Auction for Haiti appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

I received an email from a Caroline Woolard and nosy little devil that I am, I clicked on a link within her signature. Well, I’m glad I did, because Caroline has an awesome new barter site in the works called OurGoods.

The work dress above, developed along with Jen Abrams, is the first project (soon to be one of hundreds) on OurGoods. Although I would die for this dress and shovel dog poo to obtain it, the truth is, with my work habits, I’d have the dress looking like drek in no time.

Caroline gave me the story on OurGoods.  So let’s just go to the cut and paste:

“OurGoods is a peer-to-peer online network that facilitates the barter of goods and services between artists. The site matches barter partners, provides accountability tools, and offers technical assistance resources to help artists complete their barters and their projects successfully.

OurGoods emerges in response to the current economic crisis. To some extent, the arts have always existed in a recession economy. Independent artists in particular are experts at making do with very limited resources. As it becomes clear that even those limited resources will be scarcer in the coming years, OurGoods enables us to leverage what we already do well in order to create a support system for ourselves.”

The post New Barter Site and Stylin Work Dress appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

Jude Chavez was born with 5P- Sydrome aka Cri du Chat. Fortunately for him and others like him, his parents are taking positive steps to educate the public and increase awareness about the disorder. So, how did they get The Beat to play their benefit? Jude’s mother, Barbara, a long time fan, just approached the lead singer, Dave Wakeling and asked him after a concert last year. And he said yes!

Dave Wakeling will be on hand for photos and autographs for a donation. You can also bid to perform with the band! How cool is that? Tickets are $75 for this event and $25 for the regular concert on other nights. But I know you’ll splurge for this because you’re not selfish bastards.

So come, see a great concert (They are terrific in concert!), meet the band, dance, nosh, schmooze and do it all in the name of a good cause!

The post The English Beat for a Good Cause appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

Just because the whole country is in the crapper doesn’t mean it’s ok to ignore the less fortunate. You still need to treat yourself right and you can help others while you’re at it. Here are four fun things you can do to clear your conscience.

Get drunk for the animals! Tonight at Angels and Kings in the East Village.

Super Vegan sponsors the monthly Vegan Drinks. It’s a chance to promote and discuss your animal rights agenda. Not a vegan? Then you really need to get your ass over there! You’re sooo 2008. What are you waiting for?

Get creative for the elderly! Spread that Valentine love around.

Etsy is teaming up with Citymeals on Wheels to bring handmade cards to seniors around the city. No, they don’t really have to be handmade or even vintage. You can buy cards. What’s in it for you? Well, if bringing smiles to lonely old people isn’t good enough, you’ll get some free Etsy publicity out of it. Deadline: February 2. Hurry, no time to waste! PS: How cute is the woman with the “So many men…” shirt?

Shop for culture! February 5th.

A bunch of independent fashion designers have formed a group called “Fundraising in Style” and their very first event is to benefit FABNYC. Portions of every purchase will be donated to Fourth Arts Block in the East Village. More info on their site or Facebook. Shout out to one of the designers, Miss Wit, a Brooklyn Flea neighbor.

Laugh for the Children! February 9th at the Gotham Comedy Club in Chelsea.

The “Comics Care” event will benefit several organizations that help underprivileged children,  such as The Fresh Air Fund and NY Yankees Foundation. Your host for the evening will be Michael DeStefano, big macher accountant at Ernst and Young and comedian extraordinaire. I went to junior high with him and haven’t seen him since. Ah, what did we ever do before Facebook? Anyway, he was kind of a jerk back then so I might have to heckle. We’ll see.

The post Have Fun for Charity appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

Bid on tea cozy or vintage apron.

You may disregard this post if you’ve been hit by the recession recently. Otherwise, read up on ways to help others. It will make you feel good. I promise.

Renovation Therapy is holding an online auction to benefit homeless San Fransisco teen Katy Hughes. No, she’s not some loser who ran away from home and has money to dye her hair and get piercings but still begs on the street. Check out the auction and video.

The Polar Bears didn’t jump into the freezing cold water in the middle of the frigid winter just for the fun of it (Well, maybe some did). They were collecting donations for Camp Sunshine. There will be other polar dips coming up on the east coast. You can donate to a specific event or sign up to take the plunge yourself at Freezin’ for a Reason. There’s a “chicken dip” for those only willing to get their feet wet.

While we’re on the subject of doing nutty things for charity, if you raise $500 towards a charity of your choice, you can Skydive for Free.  There is a list of wonderful organizations to choose from. What I personally like about the list is that I don’t have to worry about animal testing with any of these organizations. The other thing I like about this is that skydiving is an incredible sport, but it’s close to $200 for a tandem jump. There are drop zones on Long Island and Upstate, NY. Look for me to do this in the spring. Free jump? For charity? I’m there!

The post Pay it Forward in 2009 appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

Bronx-based non-profit, The Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDCo), just launched an interactive website to help furnish apartments for low-income and formerly homeless families.

The Intervale Green housing complex will open next month to 127 families – several currently living in city shelters. Reclaimed materials and water/energy saving appliances have been used in the building. And here’s where I cut and paste: “The building utilizes smart growth elements, including proximity to public transportation and tenant-accessible green roofs and courtyards for gardening and exercise; it promotes community and economic development with 4 new ground floor commercial spaces, plus free computers and low-cost internet service for tenants; it brings more than 35 new trees and a public park to a former brownfield site; and it saves energy and reduces storm water runoff, all while creating a beautiful new landmark in a formerly vacant lot.” 

Through the MovingDay.org website, people can donate to fit their budget – from a single lamp to an entire furnished apartment. Gifts can be made in honor of someone for the holidays.

The post Help A Family In Need appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

If Newman’s Own didn’t donate all their after tax profits to educational and charitable organizations, I’d still buy their products. Why? Well, they ain’t half bad! The ingredients are fairly natural and healthy and they taste good too. What’s not to like?

The Westport, CT foundation and Paul Newman have given more than $250 million to thousands of charities worldwide. The company motto is: “Shameless exploitation in pursuit of the Common Good.”

“Hole in the Wall Camps” was Paul Newman’s pet project. In 1988 he opened a camp for children with serious medical conditions. The Association of Hole in the Wall Camps soon expanded into a worldwide movement. Campers benefit from supportive physical, mental and spiritual programs and it’s all free of charge.

Go here to contribute cash and here to see the NY camp wish list. Or just buy some Newman’s Own tomato sauce and popcorn.

The post Newman’s Own appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.