Feeling that Holiday spirit of giving? Not sure who to help? Well look no further. We're highlighting 10 worthy, national charities and encouraging everyone to give what they can.
Welcome to the third installment in our 10-part Charity Blog Series. Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States, once said that "the nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten." It's a quote that came to mind when writing about this next charity, Homes for Our Troops. Founded in 2004, the Massachusetts-based charity has committed to building specially adapted homes for severely injured veterans all across the country. Over 40 homes have already been built and 20+ more are in the build phase (see the project map), each one designed to meet the specific needs and challenges of its wounded American Hero occupant.
The cool thing about Homes for Our Troops is that it gives builders, businesses and individual volunteers a way to contribute beyond the customary donation. Licensed professionals can volunteer their service on a nearby HFOT home to go up; businesses--like manufacturers or distributors--can donate building materials; and individuals can sign on to coordinate food and fundraising for each home building project. Of course if your inclination is to make a financial contribution, donations are taken as well.
Not surprisingly, the Charity Navigator lists Homes for Our Troops as one of the fastest growing charities.
If you believe in coincidences, you might call it one that, only days after we blogged about a $99 LED bulb, the shopping-savvy folks over at The Consumerist would feature a short piece about these HD Light bulbs for sale.
Made by OttLite, the "High Definition Natural Lighting™" bulbs come in 13, 15 and 18 Watt versions and run anywhere from $12.95 to $24.99 for a single replacement bulb. Not quite as expensive as the GeoBulb III, but then again I doubt the OttLite bulbs last 50,000 hours either.
But that's not what this is about. This is about a bulb that's going to change my life. Have I been living a life of Standard Definition this whole time, lighting my home with 480i bulbs? What clarity of vision have I been missing out on? Just imagine how the ping pong ball would look if I used OttLite's HD bulbs in the fixtures over head. I would see every imperfection in the ball, every tiny black mark left by the paddle, every subtle change in spin, right?
You know who this bulb is perfect for? The same people who walk into a Best Buy, look at the 1080p HD LCD playing a basketball game and say "it looks better than if you were there at the game." People, nothing looks better on a television than actually being there.
A bulb won't change my world from SD to HD. Credit to OttLite for preying on the gullible, but I'll be shopping around for less expensive CFLs or LEDs...even if they only illuminate my world in 480i.
So the new Blu | Origin pre-fab homes from Blu Homes aren't necessarily introducing us to any new concept. But that should take nothing away from what is new about the company's Blu | Origin line. Built to be used in a wide variety of manners, the Blu | Origin spaces are eco-friendly, factory built living modules that can be affordable shipped within weeks -- anywhere in the country -- and assembled on site within days.
The units feature open layouts, numerous windows for natural light, renewable bamboo floors, recycled paper countertops, low-flow fixtures and energy star appliances, no or low VOC paints and finishes, and even hybrid or electric car plug-ins. This is green living, for sure.
The website is worth the visit, just to check out the images of the new line of living spaces.
Feeling that Holiday spirit of giving? Not sure who to help? Well look no further. We're highlighting 10 worthy, national charities and encouraging everyone to give what they can.
Welcome to the second installment in our 10-part Charity Blog Series. Here we're taking a look at a national charity focused on helping low-income families achieve financial independence and stability. The organization is called Family Promise. Based in New Jersey, the charity attacks the multiple causes of poverty with a multi-pronged approach. Family Promise focuses its efforts through five separate but inter-related programs: Interfaith Hospitality Network, Family Mentoring, Just Neighbors, Community Initiatives and Voices Uniting. The combined goal of the five programs is to deal with the immediate effects of poverty -- including the prevention of homelessness -- and address the root causes of poverty in our society.
Volunteerism and community awareness/involvement plays heavily into the effectiveness of the Family Promise purpose. This is a charity that depends on giving time and effort, not just donations. The Family Mentoring program piece of Family Promise, for example, trains volunteers to work one-on-one with "economically vulnerable families" to help them achieve goals, successful deal with the stress of a low-income lifestyle and prevent homelessness.
The Family Promise website has an Affiliate Locator to help you find a local Family Promise Affiliate, so you can get involved.
Have you participated in a Family Promise program, or one like it in your area? Share your experience.
GeoBulb just introduced its latest in a line of LED bulbs, the GeoBulb III. Using a scant 7 Watts of power, the GeoBulb III puts out about as much light as a 60-watt incandescent. You do the math there, folks.
And here's some more math to factor in: The GeoBulb III uses half the energy of a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) and has a life of 50,000 hours. I actually have done the math on that. Take the light bulb on my bedside table: I figure it is on for a maximum of 2 hours a day. That's 25,000 days of life, or 68.5 years. It is safe to say that the light within this writer's soul will flicker and die before the light from the GeoBulb III does. Did a lightbulb just turn on above your head? Yeah, it did for me, too.
Now here's another figure for you: the GeoBulb costs $99. Ok, so that dimmed said bulb above my head, but only for a moment. Is a bulb that lasts my lifetime, costs far less to run than an incandescent or CFL, runs cooler and doesn't contain mercury or lead worth $99? I have my opinion--what's yours?
GeoBulb expects the price to drop in the near future. There's also an under counter option. 1 bar (light), AC adaptor and connectors costs $44.95, and a 2-bar expansion kit with connectors costs $74.95.
Absolutely nothing is as important as home safety. Emergency Preparedness for any situation is vital for happy, healthy and worry-free homeownership. That's why we felt the need to blog about this new Werner Fire Escape Ladder. Easily tucked away into the wall below a second floor window, the ladder releases in seconds, providing a safe and quick egress from the upstairs in the case of a fire.
The two story ladder retails for a mere $99 -- not that you can put a price on saving lives, but that's pretty inexpensive peace of mind. There's no misplacing the ladder, installment needs during a fire or purchasing a new one after each use. An easy 3-step installation process is doable by even the most novice of DIYers. Just be sure to test out the ladder after installation to make sure it has been installed properly.
Feeling that holiday spirit of giving? Not sure who to help? Well, look no further. We're highlighting 10 worthy, national charities and encouraging everyone to give what they can.
Welcome to the first installment blog of our 10-part Charity Series. Here at BobVila.com we deal with all things home-related. Amidst the chaos surrounding foreclosures, underwater mortgages and contaminated drywall it's easy to forget the millions of those who don't have a home at all. It seems fitting, then, that a site devoted to home improvement hold up the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) as the first worthy charity in our Charity Series.
The NAEH does just what its name suggests: works to prevent and end homelessness in the US. It is non-profit, non-partisan and no-nonsense. In addition to mapping out a 10-step plan to put -- and keep -- a roof over everyone's head, the NAEH provides resources for local organizations to shape policy and implement homelessness prevention practices that work. The Alliance's policy focus includes families, the chronically homeless, the youth, rural homelessness and veterans.
Although many programs have received Stimulus Money to advance their cause, the Alliance does not receive any federal money at all; it benefits largely from the generosity of others. So if you are in the spirit to give, consider the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
