Farewell, Fred Voodoo

Been reading Amy Wilentz’s ‘Farewell, Fred Voodoo’ on life in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake. If you’d like to immerse yourself in Haitian communities and their legendary resilience, this is the avenue – and the agony and the ecstasy. There’s an openness to new ideas in our communities there that consistently inspires. We’ve introduced a full plate of programs to some of Haiti’s most neglected communities – schooling, adult literacy, adult vocational training, orphan reunification, computer labs and training, English classes, dance, chorale, yoga, meditation – many of which were utterly foreign to our participants at the onset. Nevertheless these programs have been met with…

Team Aid Still Required heads to The Big Easy

ASR Events • Current Events • Environmental Sustainability • Katrina

One of the people we met with in New Orleans said that her city is more like “the Little Difficult than the Big Easy” but we found in our jam-packed week there that there is a lot to be hopeful about in the Crescent City. We were all in New Orleans about 6 months ago and it just felt like a different city then. This time we met with 4 powerful after-school and extra-curricular youth development programs at both the middle and high school levels. Charter schools now represent 85% of the city’s public education system and for the most…

ASR Supporter Payton Taylor needs our support

Current Events • Katrina • Media

Up and coming country music star and ASR supporter Payton Taylor is working on the release of her new EP and she is using Kickstarter to do it. Payton has talked about Aid Still Required programs at her concerts and even made a PSA to call attention to the work that still needs to be done in New Orleans. Last year, she even wrote a song about the great storm, Katrina, that left New Orleans battered over 8 years ago. And now, she needs your support. Go to http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paytontaylor/payton-taylor-new-ep-release and chip in to help Payton put out her latest record.…

In support of Mary Pat Christie and the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund

Uncategorized

Mary Pat Christie, wife of New Jersey governor Chris Christie, put her job on hold when she started the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund. Since that time, the Fund has collected over $32 million which will be used to support long-term recovery rather than short-term relief. The Fund has been careful about having a proper vetting process in order to ensure that money is used wisely, effectively and efficiently. But, as a result of this prudent approach to recovery, Christie is being lambasted for not doling out the funds more quickly. We support Ms. Christie’s approach and encourage other…

Andrea at UN Conference on Women

Current Events • Women

ASR founder Andrea is in NYC this week for the UN Womens Conference on Women connecting with female leaders from around the world as they seek to create a more just society for women. One of the women Andrea met this week was Hania Moheeb, an accomplished Egyptian journalist who is speaking out to call attention to the plight of women in her home country. Hania has related her personal experience of the sexual assaults on women in Tahrir Square. According to an ABC News report last month, Tahrir Square has become a hotbed for violence against women with dozens…

Another Way to Celebrate Valentines Day

Uncategorized

Today, we celebrate love. Not love of money or sports or country, but love of each other. Throughout the world, many organizations are also focusing specifically on love of women. Part of love is protection against danger and in a world where women are often at risk of domestic abuse, we also see Valentines Day as an opportunity to think about working to end violence against women. V-Day, as it has come to be called, is meant to be a catalyst for increased awareness of the issues around violence against women and a call to action wherein communities rally around…

Creative Approaches: Pop Up Libraries

Uncategorized

From the Daily Good comes an article on a new kind of urban library. Pop Up Libraries are meant to utilize public space, provide access to books, and encourage people to read at times and in places they may not have read before. As you may have noticed, pay phones are becoming obsolete and even when pay phones exist, they rarely work! Yet many times, the booth itself is still there taking up valuable public space in downtown areas. Architect John Locke from the Department of Urban Betterment has risen to the challenge of utilizing these spots. Locke thought that…

How You Helped the Community Tsunami Early Warning Center in Sri Lanka

Current Events • Tsunami

We just received word that the funds Aid Still Required sent to the Community Tsunami Early Warning Center (CTEC) in Sri Lanka have been put to good use! CTEC is an incredibly important facility for the people of Sri Lanka. If the system had been in place before the 2005 tsunami, many of the 2500 lives lost that day may have been saved. The Center is helping to protect the villages of Peraliya, Thelwatta, Seenigama and Dalwathamullah and the goal is to expand the warning system in order to protect the entire coastline. In addition, there is an educational component…

8th Anniversary of the Southeast Asia Tsunami

Current Events • Tsunami

It has been 8 years since the tsunami that hit Southeast Asia took an estimated 230,000 lives. It was one of worst natural disasters of our time and the region is still recovering from the devastation. Even as the physical structures are rebuilt and the land is cleaned up, the impact on the hundreds of thousands affected by the tsunami will never go away. This week, the team here at Aid Still Required went and saw the film The Impossible, starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts. It documents the true story of the Belon family’s experiences in Thailand on December 26,…

Holidays Shopping for a Cause!

Uncategorized

Everyone here at Aid Still Required is incredibly grateful for our wonderful Business Angels. This holiday season, please consider purchasing some of your gifts from these Aid Still Required supporters. Some of these businesses, including Lova Tea and Lakewood Candle Company, have designed specialty products to support ASR’s work in New Orlean while others are donating a percentage of all business from ASR supporters. Please visit our Business Angels page at http://www.aidstillrequired.org/business-angels for more information! Lova first developed The Big Teasy in preparation for our Big Easy Juke Joint (organized with the incredible commitment of Lova founder Stephanie Cence). The Big…

A Great Project For Ghana by an ASR Supporter

Current Events

Keith Goddard follows ASR on Twitter and hails from the beautiful city of Toronto. Keith reached out to us for some help with a project he is working on developing. The following is an explanation of his project that is focused on providing books to students in Ghana who otherwise do not have access to the materials they need. Many schools in Ghana have NO access to appropriate reading material for educational purposes. Keith is looking to change that for the kids at Bright Future School which is in Keta located in the Volta Region of Ghana. Check out the…

“A Part of The World” – short documentary examining how volunteerism both helps and hurts in Haiti

Current Events • Haiti • Media

“A Part of the World” premiered online today. Executive produced by Keir Moreano, nephew of Aid Still Required supporter Mark Olmsted, the film offers an intimate perspective of volunteering in Haiti by medical worker Dr. Lisa Denny. In just 13 minutes, the documentary team manages to provide key insight into the complexities involved in international aid relief. Please click here to view: A Part of The World

ASR hits 3,000 followers on Facebook!

Uncategorized

Aid Still Required just reached 3,000 followers on Facebook–here’s to getting 10,000 before the end of the year! Can you help us get there by forwarding our Facebook page to all of your friends and family and consider adding our link to the signature of your e-mail? We need an army of ASR Angels out there spreading the word about what we do! Getting the word out about the real need that faces people who have experienced environmental disasters and human crises is half the battle and our Facebook and Twitter followers help us make that happen. With 3,000 (now…

Jason Mraz Donates Tickets to Hollywood Bowl + Meet and Greet w/ Jason for Big Easy Juke Joint!

Uncategorized

Thanks to Jason Mraz for joining with dozens of other celebrities to support the work that Aid Still Required is doing around the world. Today, Jason donated tickets to his upcoming concert at the Hollywood Bowl as well as a chance to meet up with Jason. The tickets & meet and greet will be auctioned off with other great items at The Big Easy Juke Joint on Aug 22 at Bugatta in Los Angeles to support Aid Still Required’s work in New Orleans. Please go to www.AidStillRequired.org/thebig easy for tickets and pass along the link to friends and family! Hailed…

Returning from the Viva World Cup

Uncategorized

Last week, Hunter and Andrea returned from Kurdistan Iraq after cheering on Darfur United in the Viva World Cup. It is hard to imagine getting on a plane to fly out of the country for the first time, staying in a hotel, walking through a buffet line for your meals, playing in uniforms with cleats and on grass ALL for the first time and being able to, at the same time, feel the pride of representing all of your family, friends and fellow refugees a half a world away. I can not wrap my mind around it and yet this…

Rosemarie McCaffery Antiques Hosts Benefit for Aid Still Required

ASR Events • Darfur • Haiti • Katrina • Tsunami

Thank you to all those who made it out to Rosemarie McCaffery Antiques last week to support ASR’s existing projects in Haiti, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, in Chad with the Darfuri refugees living there, and in New Orleans. It was a beautiful event thanks to Robert Ross who gave a moving talk on why ASR’s work is so important (maybe we will be able to post a copy of his talk on the ASR blog!), to Cathie Ross, Irene Mink and Rosemarie McCaffery for their tireless work in preparing the beautiful setting and to all the volunteers who made the evening so enjoyable. In…

An Update from Hunter and Andrea from the Viva World Cup

Darfur

Greetings All, Just got back from Game 2. I’m afraid our boys were given another whipping, this time at the hands of Provence. Our backs seemed always out of position and their front line had a field day. At game’s end our lads were noticeably exhausted and deflated, but what a learning experience. One poignant moment came in the elevator on the way up to our rooms when one of the DU players put his hand around his underdeveloped bicep and said to me, “We’re too weak.” It’s true. They are too physically weak from years of undernourishment. Couple that with…

Heading to the VIVA World Cup!

Darfur

If you have not been following our updates on Darfur United, check out our latest blog posts here and here. Over the next two weeks, we will be posting a series of updates as Darfur United competes in the Viva World Cup in Erbil, Iraq. Last week, Gabriel Stauring over at iAct headed to Djabal, Chad to meet with the 16 players that make up Darfur United. After a great send off by the community in Djabal, the team left for N’Djamena, Chad this morning. Aren’t these pictures incredible? The community has been watching the team practice for weeks and…

An Update on Darfur United

Current Events • Darfur

If you did not get a chance to see our first blog post on Darfur United, please check it out here. Briefly, iAct is putting together an all star soccer team comprised of the best players in the Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad. From roughly 280,000 refugees spread out over 12 camps across Chad, the top 5 players from each camp were invited to try out for Darfur United, the team that will represent Darfur in the Viva World Cup in Iraq in May of this year. Darfur United is coming together! Over the last several days, the Darfur…

Aid Still Required and World Water Day – Send a Tsunami of Love to Indonesia

Environmental Sustainability • Media • Tsunami

-from the desktop of Maureen Charles, ASR Board Secretary Today is World Water Day, and in Aceh, Indonesia, where an estimated 160,000 people perished and over a million were displaced in the wake of the 2004 Tsunami, thousands of people have been without safe, clean, accessible water for over 7 years. Imagine all that ocean water rushing over your land, taking the leaves of your loved ones, and leaving you with no livelihood, and ironically, without water. Imagine going 7 years without a shower, unable to pour yourself or your child a glass of water without first hauling it for miles in heavy jugs or buckets……

Haiti Social Media Campaign Follow Up

ASR Events • Haiti

First, we wanted to thank EVERYONE who was involved in our Haiti Social Media Campaign on January 12th to mark the 2nd anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti. There was an incredible outpouring of energy that worked to refocus the public’s attention on the work that still needs to be done there. As a result of so many’s concern and effort, we got great feedback and an incredible amount of attention on the projects that Aid Still Required is spearheading. We gathered a team of volunteers at the Coffee Connection in the Venice/Mar Vista area of Los Angeles for a…

Aid Still Required Collaborator Alison Thompson Featured in Guideposts Magazine

Haiti • Media • Tsunami

In January’s Guidepost inspirational magazine, ASR collaborator and friend Alison Thompson shares the story of how she found her new vocation of passionate volunteer and shines the light on five areas around the world that she feels need our help the most. Hunter and Andrea met Alison in 2007 as they got more deeply involved in the work that became AId Still Required. Utlizing her nurse’s training as a first responder in the months following 9/11 changed Alison’s life and when the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami hit, her two week trip to offer aid turned into a 14 month Sri…

2nd Anniversary Mega Social Media Campaign: Maroon 5, LA Kings, you and SNOBALL

ASR Events • Current Events • Haiti

Please join us in cyberspace today from your comfy armchair at home, laptop in hand…or maybe during your lunch hour or tonight after the kids are in bed and you’re enjoying Jon Stewart. Watch our new Maroon 5 PSA and the LA Kings PSA- Haiti is Not Forgotten. and…….. make a SNOBALL for Haiti! Read on….. Aid Still Required has galvanized 43 celebrities with 155 million FaceBook and Twitter followers to FB post, Tweet, make challenges to raise awareness and funds starting today, January 12th, the 2nd anniversary of the devastating Haiti earthquake. Hundreds of thousands are still living in…

Steal to Your Heart’s Content: The Incredible Edible Project

Current Events • Environmental Sustainability

We just heard about a town in West Yorkshire, England where you can steal to your hearts content without being arrested!!!!! Steal fresh fruits and vegetables, that is. The town of Todmorden has created Incredible Edible, a program to make their town completely food self-sufficient by 2018. Citizens plant fruits and vegetables in approximately 70 large fruit and vegetable beds planted around the town. Broccoli is planted by the railroad station in honor of a much-beloved recently deceased ticket master, raspberries, apricots and apples grown next to the canal towpath, beans and peas are planted by the area college,…

Aid Still Required Honorary Coach for iAct’s Darfur United Soccer Team

Darfur

As we begin 2012, Aid Still Required is proud to be a part of Darfur United, a project created by our NGO colleague Gabriel Stauring at iAct, and which Aid Still Required is supporting as Honorary Coach. People the world over are united in their love for soccer — or “football’ as it is called everywhere except in the US — and the Darfuri refugees are no exception. Life in the camps is difficult. There is little food and limited water. There may or may not be a school for the children. Firewood is scarce and unless they have a…

7th Anniversary of the Southeast Asia Tsunami- We Remember

Tsunami

Today we remember all the lives that were lost seven years ago…and Aid Still Required is proud to stand beside survivors as they move forward in their lives. In Aceh, we are working with local NGO partner Yayasan Lamjabat to develop self-sufficency and ecological awareness through reforestation, small business training for women, and clean water. In YL’s work with village farmers, the tree planting not only provide fruit and spices for nourishment and sale, it also improves water tables, stops soil erosion, and assists in halting climate change. ASR also supports local women’s empowerment through handicrafts and small business training.…

Mount Hebron Congregation invites ASR and Sister Marjorie Shelvy for Thanksgiving Service Program

Uncategorized

Founders Andrea and Hunter spoke at Mt. Hebron’s annual Thanksgiving Sunday Service to give the congregation an update on ASR activities, in particular the recent Haiti trip (link to Haiti page). Over three years ago, during the 2008 Darfur campaign, Mt. Hebron Congregation in South Central Los Angeles found Aid Still Required online and contacted us about being part of their service program. The congregation believes strongly in the importance of providing service both at home and abroad. We were so honored that the congregation selected Aid Still Required to be the recipient of its international service grants. As one…

Jody Williams Event at UCLA

Current Events • Darfur

On November 16, Hunter, Andrea and their new assistant Dan Parziale attended a lecture by 1997 Nobel Peace Prize winner Jody Williams at UCLA’s Burkle Center for International Relations, presented by the International Human Rights Program at UCLA Law School. Her lecture, entitled “Rape as a Crime Against Humanity & War Crime: Accountability & the International Criminal Court,” was a powerful expose on the prominence of rape in war zones and areas of low government oversight. Williams received the Nobel Peace Prize for her work to ban landmines. Since then, she has taken on countless projects, most recently chairing the…

Return from Haiti: Trauma Relief and Healing in Wharf Jeremie, Cite Soleil

Haiti

From our ASR Newletter…. We returned from 12 days in Haiti last month and it has taken these past weeks to distill our experience there. Our focus in Haiti was to implement a stress-reduction program for the women of Cite Soleil, Port au Prince’s notorius slum and to vet child services and reforestation projects. While we were there, Haiti got under our skin. Wharf Jeremie- Our project neighborhood Haiti feels overwhelming. It has something to break everybody’s heart: utter poverty, alarming rates of unemployment, illiteracy, rape, orphaned and abandoned children; and a once-lush countryside which has been almost entirely deforested.…

Family Fun Day Event Benefiting Aid Still Required and The Garden of Eatin’

ASR Events • Environmental Sustainability • Katrina

Hello Pismo Beach! Playful Planet Co-founder Karen Duggan called ASR a couple of months ago and asked us to be the beneficiary of a wonderful event she is co-hosting in Pismo Beach July 30th with Harmony House Yoga and Honeymoon Cafe. Why, yes, of course, Karen, THANK YOU, we’d love to participate! There will be something for everyone: Whole Family Cookbook author, Scholastic 2010 Parent Blogger Award winner, mom, and former high-school teacher Michelle Stern will be signing copies of her new cookbook. Clark Valley Organic Farms is providing healthy snacks, Storyland Yoga is presenting a yoga class, Kids Entertainer Jody…

Amazon #1 Bestseller Get Your Woman On with chapter by Aid Still Required co-founder

Media

A year and a half ago, ASR co-founder Andrea was approached by transformational business coach Kimber Lim to participate in a project with 38 other visonary women. The result is Get Your Woman On: Embracing Beauty, Grace, and The Power of Women, an anthology of 39 women sharing their heartfelt personal stories of transformation. Andrea’s chapter” Be Bold on Behalf of Others ” chronicles the actual and metaphorical journey which led to the founding of Aid Still Required. Other featured authors include peace activist and Jungian psychiatrist Jean Shinoda Bolen, eWomen Network founder Sandra Yancey, actress Barbara Niven, and…

ASR meets up with Mark Mustian

ASR Events

On May 1st at the LA Festival of Books at USC, Andrea and Hunter were happy to meet up with celebrated author and childhood friend Mark Mustian. Mark’s most recent award-winning novel Gendarme is a powerful exploration of prejudice, love, transformation, loss, and memory set against the background of the Armenian genocide and deportations of 1915. Gendarme moves back and forth through time between an elderly gentleman facing mortality and his younger self, a Turkish officer “doing his job” . The novel captures the officer’s amazement as he falls in love with an Armenian deportee, challenging all his previously held…

An Evening with Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Mu Sochua

Current Events

Hunter and Andrea had the opportunity to meet Mu Suchoa, Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Cambodian parliamentarian and human rights activist at an Artists for Human Rights event co-hosted by Anne Archer and Donna Isham last night. What an incredible evening and what an amazing woman. If you are not familiar with Mu Sochua’s work, she is considered the most prominent woman in Cambodia’s leading political opposition, the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP). SRP is leading the fight for access to equal economic opportunities for the people of Cambodia and for the implementation of effective social programs and political participation. For more…

Haiti Aid Still Required Launches; #HealingHaiti Campaign on First Anniversary

Haiti • Media

On the first anniversary of the Haiti 2010 Earthquake, Aid Still Required is launching our Haiti initiative with #HealingHaiti, a Twitter campaign involving top musicians, athletes, and celebrities in Twitter outreach to their followers, numbering in the millions. Campaign participants include Paul Pierce, Blake Griffith, Kevin Love, Kevin Durant, Lamar Odom, Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler, Greg Oden, Pau Gasol, Sting, Bonnie Raitt, Maroon 5, Tom Morello, Erykah Badu, Mia Farrow, Lauren Conrad, Maria Bello, Ed Begley, Jr, Stephen Collins, Madeleine Stowe, Paul Haggis, Spike Lee, Hans Zimmer One year later estimates place rubble removal between 2 to 5 %. A…

Send A Tsunami of Love Around the World with Aid Still Required

Media • Tsunami

Today marks the 6th anniversary of the December 2004 tsunami, 230,000 people across 12 countries killed in minutes, whole villages lost, millions displaced. Sitting in our kitchen in Santa Monica, CA, the day after Christmas, waiting to hear if friends in Thailand were alive, Hunter and I asked the question “What can we do to help?”, the question which turned into the creation of The Aid Still Required All-Star CD compilation, and the question that set us on the adventure to ultimately founding Aid Still Required as a 501c3 nonprofit. Our mission: championing forgotten people and issues and keeping the…

“Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus” speaks to the essence of the Holiday Season

Media

An eight year old girl in 1897 New York City begins to wonder about the existence of Santa Claus. What does an adult say? Here is a reprint of New York Sun editor Francis P. Church’s eloquent response, which never fails to move us…and happens to be the most reprinted editorial ever! Merry Christmas Happy Hannukah Happy Kwanzaa…Peace and Blessings to All. “DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, ‘If you see it in THE SUN it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?” VIRGINIA…

All-Star Volunteers Provide Fuel for the Aid Still Required Mailing

Media

As December and Aid Still Required’s year-end mailing approached, we were faced with the task of writing personal notes, stuffing, and addressing 900 letters to donors, colleagues and friends. Santa sent three of his elves early, in the form of two wonderful volunteers, Vasuda Bhutani and Michele Williams, and Michele’s son, Jovan aka Ray of Sunshine. Vasudha is an optometrist, multi-lingual, and a budding realtor; Hunter met her in an emergency eye doctor visit and when she heard we needed help she said “What time shall I come”? Vasuda knocked our socks off with her efficiency and willingness to leap in.…

Aid Still Required Celebrates Early Thanks-Giving with First Tuesday LA

Media

Last night, at First Tuesday LA’s inaugural Thanks-Giving event, ASR chairman and co-founder Andrea Herz-Payne was invited to share the podium with five other charities to speak about their mission and projects. The event took place at Venice’s G2 Gallery, a beautiful and eco-friendly art gallery run by Susan and Dan Gottlieb, which donates 100% of proceeds to environmental causes and provides a meeting space for like-minded groups. Fellow speakers included Zebiba Shekhia of Healing Bridges, building the first school for girls in a Sudanese refugee camp; Terry Mason of The Peace Alliance, working to create a US Cabinet Department…

FOUR YEARS. GO. – ASR joins the Alliance!

Environmental Sustainability • Media

The last day of the Bioneers Conference began with plenary speaker Lynne Twist. Lynne is a passionate and compassionate advocate for the planet! She has revolutioned the world of money and philanthropy with her book The Soul of Money. She co-founded The Pachamama Alliance which is leading a crusade to constitutionalize the Rights of Nature ( see last year’s Bioneers Blog with Margi Margil and Ecuador)

The Four Seasons, Poker, and….the UN?

Media

Last night, ASR moseyed on down to The Fours Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills to help raise monies for the Second Annual United Nations Global Creative Forum. Spirits were high as the crowd played Texas Hold’em and munched on corn dogs, french fries, and pizza. ASR is now registered with event sponsor www.buy4.com, an internet shopping site, which allows shoppers to donate a portion of purchases to charity. Earlier this year, we attended the first United Nations Global Creative Forum brought together The United Nations and the nonprofit and entertainment communities. We were inspired by UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon, Anti-Slavery and Anti-Human…

Thank You, George Clooney!

Media

On Sunday night at the Emmy’s George Clooney was presented with the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award! He gave the following speech that we at ASR thought was pretty remarkable. In a matter of 2 minutes – he reminded millions of viewers of ASR’s mission! Thanks, Mr. Clooney.

Fifth Anniversary – Katrina

Katrina

Our hearts are especially full this week, remembering our brothers and sisters of New Orleans who have gone through so much. A city, a region, and its people still need our help…Aid is Still Required.

Update: Haiti!

Haiti

Today, more than 6 months after the earthquake in Haiti, there are 2 million people still displaced. That really isn’t all that surprising when we think about places like Darfur where millions have been displaced for more than 7 years. But, there are huge differences between these situations that have to be taken into account. Namely, the collective sum (as of July) of 1.3 billion dollars that has been donated to the Haitian people. The story we’re now hearing is that the money people have given is not reaching the people of Haiti the way that we expect it to when we donate.

Maroon 5 PSA for ASR!

Media

We would like to say a special thanks to Jesse, James, and Maroon 5 for their time, attention and many gifts over the years! This is their latest contribution! Congratulations on the new album, Hands All Over, which you all can pre-order here!

Ladies! Wake up, Grab Your Wallet, and Cast Your Ballots!

Environmental Sustainability

Today, when we go to the market or Target or even the convenience store we are asked 9 times out of 10 if we would like to add a donation to our purchase to save the whales or feed the children or save little Timmy’s music education program. That’s pretty new. (There have been donation boxes for as long as I can remember, but this is still pretty new). It is an easy, near effortless way to make a contribution to an organization that is working to make someone, somewhere’s life a little better while buying our (toxic) laundry detergent or tonight’s (gentically modified) dinner. NGOs have learned how…

Green Ways to Cleap-up an Oil Spill

Environmental Sustainability

We’ve all been inundated with the news, more news, live feeds, and contentious debates surrounding the oil spill (gush?) in the Gulf of Mexico. Since we can’t all sell our belongings and relocate to help clean up the mess there are some things we can do (alongside Kevin Costner’s nifty little invention, of course)! And, some interesting things to know when having those pesky debates about whether or not those (toxic?) dispersants are necessary…. Alternative #1 Donate your hair, your pet’s hair, or go on hair collecting missions around your city! Yep, it’s true, our hair collects and retains oil…

Today’s the Day -Great Music for A Great Cause Now Available Here and on the Web

Media • Tsunami

The Aid Still Required CD shines the spotlight on Tsunami Recovery and issues that have fallen out of the headlines. The Deluxe Super Green CD (veggie dye n everything!) is available on The ASR website and is now downloadable from your favorite digital online retailer!

Father’s Day Pledge

Media • Tsunami

At Aid Still Required, part of our mission is that fathers everywhere have the resources to provide for their families. Would you help? Honor your dad and Be an Angel – pledge $10 monthly minimum – and receive our All-Star CD as a gift. Purchase the Deluxe Eco–Edition CD for $15 plus tax and shipping. Download the CD June 22nd from iTunes/Amazon and other digital retailers.

Ways You Can SkyRocket Our CD Launch!

Media • Tsunami

Hello, World! The CD release is only 9 days away!!! Can you help us make a difference? We cannot underestimate the passion of people making a difference, to feel empowered that they can transform lives by buying a CD, by sharing their excitement with everyone on their list and encouraging them to download, buy a CD, and contribute. WAYS YOU CAN ASSIST: Engage email databases – your own or someone elses’s who is willing to do a personal appeal on behalf of the forgotten people ASR represents. Ask people to download/purchase the CD and spread Ask people to Be an…

The CD is On Its Way!!!!

Media • Tsunami

We are in the throes of preparing for our CD launch June 22nd. It is such an exciting moment, the opportunity to bring Aid Still Required onto the national/international scene so that we may have the privilege of truly fulfilling upon our mission…making a real difference for those no longer the latest media headline….and in particular with this CD, lending a hand to the tsunami survivors of SouthEast Asia. For those of you who are new to us……this project is five and a half years in the making – from a thought which bubbled up from hearts opened by tremendous tragedy…

Save an Angel – ASR Teams with Hans Zimmer and Rosey Grier for Mother’s Day!

Media

Composer and philanthropist Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Foundation has selected Aid Still Required as one of seven beneficiary organizations to participate in the Save An Angel Mother’s Day fundraising campaign. Former football Pro, humanitarian, and minister Rosey Grier steps forward as Save an Angel spokesperson for ASR. Save An Angel was composed by rising songstress, humanitarian- and Los Angeles -area high-school student!- Rachel Eskanazi-Gold to bring awareness to the suffering of women and children around the globe. ASR’s proceeds from the campaign will go towards funding our projects in Southeast Asia in honor of the women and children who were either victims or…

Milken Institute – Global Conference 2010

Current Events

Aid Still Required was thrilled to be a guest at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference – Shaping the Future. We attended the third day of the conference which hosted over 3,000 attendees and represented 60 nations. There were 140 panels in just 3 days! The conference was focused on “jump-starting progress” to find tangible, sustainable solutions for modern social problems, as well as broadening of opportunities through providing greater access to capital, healthcare, & knowledge. The panel on Philanthropy in Early Childhood Education featured Mark Shriver, Vice President and Managing Director of U.S. Programs for Save the Children whom we met at the Britweek gala dinner honoring sir…

Britweek: Fundraiser for Save the Children & Virgin Unite

Current Events

Britweek is dedicated to celebrating the very special relationship between the UK and Southern California. One of the highlights of week is the gala dinner which we were able to attend as the guest of Martha DeLaurentiis, board member of Save the Children. This years guest of honor was Virgin mogul, environmentalist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, Sir Richard Branson. All proceeds of the event are going to support Save the Children and Virgin Unite. We were shocked to learn from Save the Children US program chair, Mark Shriver, that California’s Central Valley could comprise the 12th largest state in the US, but it would also rank as the poorest…

Dirt! Featured on PBS Independent Lens

Environmental Sustainability

In honor of Earth Day, April 22, PBS Independent Lens will be featuring Dirt! a film produced and directed by ASR friends and supporters Bill and Laurie Benenson and Gene Rosow! Jamie Lee Curtis narrates. A few of the featured environmental rockstar interview subjects: Andy Lipkis of LA’s TreePeople, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maatthai, Bioneers Paul Stamets aka Mushroom Guy, ecological designer John Todd who makes waste-managment the most fascinating topic in town, South Bronx advocate Majora Cater, and biomimicrist Janine Benynus. Wine guy Gary Vaynerchuk and Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame represent the foodies. Congratulations, Laurie, Bill,…

Physicians Commitee for Responsible Medicine

Current Events

On April 10, 2010 the ASR founders attended the Physicians Commitee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) Gala Dinner. ASR is committed to learning about ways in which we can all make changes in our personal lives to promote larger, social change. PCRM is focused on, among other things, finding techniques to replace animals labs in teaching hospitals and working to end use of animals in pharmaceutical and skin care testing. Thorough the leadership of Dr. Neal Bernard, PCRM has reduced the number of animals used in teaching hospitals 95% by proving their techniques (which include using simulators) are often more efficient…

ASR Interview in the Los Angeles Business Journal!

ASR Events • Media

Afternoon Tea with CodePink

Current Events

We recently attended Afternoon Tea with CodePink and Phyllis Bennis at CodePink founder Jodie Evans’ home. Jodie always provides a thoughtful forum for insight and discussion which is much appreciated. Phyllis, fellow at The Institute of Policy Studies discussed her book Ending the U.S. War in Afghanistan: A Primer. Also a fellow at the Transnational Institute, Phyllis has been an advisor to many senior-level officials at The United Nations. We were excited to hear her take on a situation that is far more complicated than we could have imagined. We were also privileged to meet up again with Daniel Ellsberg…

Los Angeles Business Journal Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony

Current Events

On March 9, 2010, the women of ASR attended the Los Angeles Business Journal’s annual awards luncheon. We had the privilege of meeting personally 2010 Business Person of the Year and LABJ Hall of Fame inductee Patrick Soon-Shiong. Surgeon, researcher, inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, he is a remarkable, humble man with an equally remarkable story. Born and raised in South Africa at a time when apartheid was still epidemic, Soon-Shiong began his medical career at a very young age in South Africa. Receiving half the pay of his Caucasian counterparts, he shone in his endeavors, overcame the oppressions of apartheid,…

United Nations Global Creative Forum

Current Events • Media

We were so pleased and excited to be able to attend and contribute to the United Nations 2010 Global Creative Forum in Los Angeles. Held March 1, 2010, at The Armand Hammer Museum in Westwood, The Forum was chaired by Chicken Soup for the Soul CEO Bill Rouhana, and was created to bring together Hollywood, The United Nations, and a variety of world organizations. The morning began with an intimate, thought-provoking conversation between United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and actor Michael Douglas, who also serves as a United Nations Messenger of Peace. The UN Secretary -General made a special request…

Ben Skinner at Youth for Human Rights International Event

Current Events • Media

On February 28, 2010, ASR attended an event for Youth for Human Rights International where we were honored to meet Ben Skinner, author of A Crime so Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern Day Slavery. A Carr Center for Human Rights Policy fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School and winner of the 2009 Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Skinner is both academic and activist. Skinner’s own first-hand experience with slavery began in 2003 while in Sudan on an assignment for Newsweek. He met a young man, Muong Nyong, a former slave who was Skinner’s own age but who had spent half his life…

Loyola Marymount presents Greg Mortensen

Current Events • Media

Last night, ASR Special Projects Manager Lindsay Huff took ASR Founders Hunter and Andrea and ASR Friend Laurie Benenson to her alma mater Loyola Marymount to hear author and humanitarian Greg Mortensen speak about his latest book “Stones Into Schools.”. Mortenson, author of the bestseller “Three Cups of Tea”, has been working in Pakistan and Afghanistan since 1993 after recovering from a hike up K2 – the world’s second highest mountain. In the weeks he spent recovering in the far reaches of a Himalayan village, Mortenson noted that the village children had no school and had to study on exposed…

Aid Still Required Board member Dorothy Breininger honored at NAPO Awards

Current Events

Saturday, January 30, 2010, we joined ASR Board member Dorothy Breininger, organizing guru, at the National Association of Professional Organizers Awards dinner. Dorothy, producer and consultant for A& E’s hit show “Hoarders” was honored as Most Innovative Organizer of the Year. Actress Kim Coles, of “In Living Color” fame, hosted the event and kept everyone in chuckles. We were pleased & excited to meet Dorothy’s business partners at Delphi Digital, Debbie and Ken Bitticks.

VRAI’s Rebirth – An Evening about Darfur

Darfur

VRAI for Darfur – Peace Through Prosperity- The Village Reforestation and Advancement Initiative – Aid Still Required and Christie Communications – 11/7/09 Two months ago, we spent a weekend with a former UNHCR Chair on Darfur and two of her colleagues, experts in reforestation, agriculture, and humanitarian activities in Western Sudan. We spent Saturday brainstorming about how to create the most effective project to make a difference in this complex and beautiful region. On Sunday, we invited 20 friends of ASR to share our thoughts and learn from their questions. In the following blog, ASR volunteer Eileen Kim speaks eloquently…

5th Anniversary of the Dec. 26th Tsunami

Tsunami

Today, we create space… …to remember those lost 5 years ago this day due to the tsunami. ASR’s heart, thoughts, and prayers go out to those who are, for any and all reasons, grieving the memory of that day. We want to take this moment now to grieve with you, to remember, and to rededicate our commitment to the undeniable truth that…aid IS still required.

Invictus Screening Honoring the Work of NGO’s – 12/9/09

Current Events • Media

As a part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Campaign, Clint Eastwood graciously donated his new film, Invictus, for an advance screening at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, two days prior to opening. The gala evening, co-sponsored by the City of West Hollywood in addition to thecommunity.com, recognized various NGOs, honoring the work that they do in light of Human Rights Day [December 10th]. About 400 guests were in attendance – over 1,200 were on the waiting list! Aid Still Required was asked to participate with other NGOs that included the One Campaign, Artists for Human Rights,…

UDHR Campaign Continues – Lakers Photo Shoot

ASR Events • Media

As part of its continuing participation in the UDHR Nobel Peace Laureate Campaign, ASR organized a photo shoot with Lakers Andrew Bynum, Luke Walton, and Jordan Farmar at the Lakers’ practicing facility. The three athletes held up signs representing the various articles numbers from the UN document, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as signs that say, “Join Us!”, written and signed by each of them in their own handwriting. Luke’s dad, basketball hall of famer Bill Walton is also participating in the campaign. ASR had the pleasure of seeing photographer Zoe Zimmer again, whom we had met at…

Universal Declaration of Human Rights Campaign – Sunset Gower Photo Shoot

ASR Events • Media

Thecommunity.com had invited ASR to participate in its Universal Declaration of Human Rights Campaign featuring Nobel Peace Laureates including the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created by Eleanor Roosevelt and adopted by the UN in 1948. Its 30 articles spell out the fundamental facets of human rights for all people. UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon said, “The Declaration was the first global statement of what we now take for granted – the inherent dignity and equality of all human beings.” ASR is honored to join a campaign that speaks so true of…

The Most Famous Woman in Afghanistan

Current Events • Media

Andrea is seen here with Malalai Joya, also known as “the most famous woman in Afghanistan.” In 2003, at the age of 25, Joya stood up at a constitutional assembly and denounced the NATO-backed warlords. She was elected to parliament in 2005 at age 27, and in 2007, she was suspended for her persistent criticism of the warlords and the government. Currently on tour of the US to promote her new book, A Woman Among Warlords, Hunter and Andrea met Joya at the home of CODEPINK Co-Founder Jodie Evans. Joya is petite and soft-spoken until she starts speaking about the…

In the Works: IB Internship for High School Students in New Orleans

Katrina

Dirt The Movie – Getting Dirty at the Dirt The Movie screening @ the 2009 Bioneers Conference

Media

After seeing Dirt! The Movie, you will never think of the ground beneath you in quite the same way. Sometimes red, sometimes chocolaty brown, sometimes black, sometimes beige, we usually think of dirt as something we want to clean up and get rid of. However, Dirt! The Movie was an eye-opener for the Paynes. ASR thanks producers Bill and Laurie Benenson and Gene Rusow for getting the word out…and for making the film a lot of fun as well as informative and inspiring. Dirt! The Movie has been chosen as PBS’s 2010 Earth Day special. The DVD is now available…

Clippers vs. Maccabi Event – Oct. 20th, 2009

Darfur • Media

“For the children” – Aid Still Required Joins the Clippers and Maccabi Tel-Aviv for Migdal Ohr Benefit In 2007, the New York Knicks and Maccabi Tel Aviv sold out Madison Square Garden in the first basketball benefit game for Migdal Ohr, the world’s largest orphanage located in Northern Israel. As the benefit was such a success, Migdal Ohr created two pre-season exhibition games for 2009, one rematch in NYC and the other at the Los Angeles Staples Center with the LA Clippers facing the Maccabis. Migdal Ohr Executive Director Robert Katz had heard about ASR’s work with the NBA players…

Bioneers Conference 2009

Media

This year’s Bioneers Conference, held in Marin County from October 16-18th, was Aid Still Required’s fourth year in attendance, in conjunction with Andrea and Hunter’s wedding anniversary. The Paynes were fortunate enough to be joined by Board member Maureen Charles, who found the conference equally inspiring, a gathering of amazing people focusing on visionary solutions to preserve and revitalize the planet in addition to restoring social justice to a broken world. One of their favorite workshop presenters was Dr. John Todd of Todd Ecological Design and Engineering – the 2008 winner of the Buckminster Fuller Challenge. He spoke about his…

Daniel Ellsberg is the Most Dangerous Man in America.

Current Events • Media

When CODEPINK Co-Founder Jodie Evans told the Paynes about an upcoming screening of The Most Dangerous Man in America, they changed their schedule and showed up for the Thursday night screening and Q&A session with film subject Daniel Ellsberg and his wife, Patricia. For those of you who might not know this important piece of history, the film documents Ellsberg’s transformation from Defense Department analyst to whistleblower concerning the government cover-ups about the Vietnam War and finally to anti-war and anti-nuclear activist. Ellsberg is specifically known for releasing what became known as the Pentagon Papers, detailing the United States’ involvement…

The Third Wave – Volunteering in Sri Lanka after the Tsunami

Current Events • Media • Tsunami

September 22nd marked the LA premiere and Academy Awards qualifying screening of the documentary, The Third Wave. Made by ASR friend, Alison Thompson and her producing partner Oscar Gubernati, The Third Wave chronicles their experiences volunteering in Sri Lanka after the tsunami. It is a spectacular cinema-verite film, depicting the human reality of what it was like in the days, weeks, and months following the disaster. In 2008, after seeing an early cut of the film, Sean Penn asked for a special screening at Cannes when he was head of jury there. The film is scheduled to open nationally in…

ASR’s FIRST MAJOR FUNDRAISING EVENT – “A Night of Culture for a Cause”

ASR Events • Darfur • Katrina • Media • Tsunami

“June 20th” quickly became an ASR household buzzword with weeks of tireless preparation, culminating into A Night of Culture for a Cause. Actress and ASR friend Barbara Bosson hosted the fete at her stunning Pacific Palisades home. Thanks to Marble Arch Fine Afts and the Cracking Art Group, guests were greeted by eco-friendly, larger-than-life animal sculptures made out of recycled plastic, highlighting ASR’s commitment to environmental issues. Animals included giant bulldogs and terriers, oversized sneaker-wearing chihuahuas, goats, giraffes, and alligators. ASR’s various projects in the tsunami region in Southeast Asia, Sudan, and New Orleans were featured on displays in the…

Cocktails and Karaoke for a Cause – June 3rd, 2009

ASR Events • Darfur • Media

On June 3rd, in conjunction with hiving.net, philanthropist Sarah Nicole Dolgen hosted a Cocktails for a Cause Karaoke Night in honor of Aid Still Required at her lovely apartment off of Sunset Strip. It was a night of great Thai food from Sarah’s favorite neighborhood Thai joint, great drinks, and vivid discussion, with many young socialites in attendance, engaging Andrea and Hunter with incisive questions. We hear the singing went on until the wee hours. Thank you to Sarah and all the attendees!

Poker Night with Hope Artist – May 7th, 2009

Current Events • Darfur • Media

ASR was invited to participate in HOPE Artist’s Vice for Nice Poker Invitational at Fred Segal Conveyor in Santa Monica, CA. The store was transformed after hours into a mini-Las Vegas with players crowded around gambling tables, gambling for good! Hope Artist Founder, Andi Scull Steidle is shown below with Hunter. Andi’s husband, Marine Capt. Brian Steidle, was one of the key influences who inspired Andrea and Hunter’s work on behalf of the people of Darfur. They met Brian at a 2006 traveling art exhibit, “Darfur, Darfur,” where Brian shared some of his experiences working as a photojournalist in Southern…

Thank You, Jay Leno!

Darfur • Media

Andrea and Hunter attended the ceremony for the Feminist Majority Foundation Global Women’s Rights Award at the Beverly Hills Hotel on April 29th. They had the pleasure of seeing Jay and his wife Mavis there. They first met Jay and Mavis in a parking lot a couple of years ago to talk about what happening in Darfur. Two days later, Jay had George Clooney on the Tonight Show and and they discussed the history of the conflict, giving Darfur its due air time. Also at the April 29th event, Andrea and Hunter had a run-in with Christiane Amanpour, who was…

Maroon 5 Adds Track to Tsunami CD!

Tsunami

A gorgeous, live, acoustic version of their hit “She Will Be Loved,” which will fit beautifully with the other live tracks on the record. Thank you to Adam, Jesse, James, Mickey, Matt and their manager Jordan Feldstein!

Reforestation Project Video

Darfur

Three minute video and description on why we need to do this. Village Reforestation & Advancement Initiative

CNN

Darfur

Christiane Amanpour’s documentary on genocide featuring Kobe’s Aid Still Required PSA aired tonight.

Village Life

Darfur • Environmental Sustainability

Just visited our project village for The Village Reforestation & Advancement Initiative and saw why 40% of the villagers have had to leave. The center of the village is now one large sand drift. Some of the houses have been crushed by the sheer weight of the sand. Other houses have added a second story which now serves as the ground floor. There is one area of the village which looks normal. It’s the area on the north end where a break of trees has been planted. The solution is so simple! http://www.aidstillrequired.org/media.html

How Do They Do It?

Darfur

We drove through the desert today in Sudan – and I mean “drove through the desert!” Seven hours ago we left Khartoum and have been traveling over flat, hot, relentless desert ever since. Just sand, sand, sand – forever. How the people survive here is beyond me. There’s barely a bush in sight, and no shade from the blasting sun. Just a few minutes ago, one of our hosts told us that much of this desert was forest just a decade or so ago. The 40-year drought has really taken a toll.

Darfur Now Roundtable

ASR Events • Darfur

Along with Derek Fisher, Don Cheadle, and Participant Media, ASR hosted a roundtable discussion for 87 invited celebrities, athletes, and dignitaries.

From New Orleans

Katrina

We have left these people behind. New Orleans is a very depressed city today and has a vacant feeling to it. I haven’t been here in years, but this town used to be flowing with life. The Lower Ninth Ward, once a fully populated neighborhood, is now a large field of weeds mixed with rubble from old foundations. There’s barely a building standing and only a few new homes started or completed. 90% of its population has stayed away. Frankly, we’ve given them little or no reason to come back.

Aid Still Required featured in Reuters…

Darfur

Aid Still Required is featured in today’s Reuters story “NBA will not gag players competing at Beijing Games”. Check out NBA Commissioner David Stern voicing his support of the players’ right to free speech. Reuters

Associated Press

Current Events • Darfur

This AP story was picked up around the world by USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Sports Illustrated, International Herald Tribune, CBC, and others. AP Wire

Ira Newble and Hunter on ABC News Now

ASR Events • Current Events • Darfur

VRAI gets a Taste of METal

Darfur • Media

ASR thanks METal [Media Entertainment Technology Alliance] for showcasing their VRAI video at A Taste of METal Media Festival on June 11th at the Los Angeles Center Studios. METal is a members only communications hub for the LA chapter of the Media, Entertainment, Technology Alliance. For more information on becoming a member, click here.

Los Angeles Times

Darfur

Always good to have our hometown paper chime in…. LA Times

Wall Street Journal

Darfur

LeBron joins the chorus! Wall Street Journal

LeBron James Speaks for Darfur

Darfur

This morning ESPN’s Outside The Lines aired an news segment on athletes and activism. LeBron James, who last spring (2007) had declined to sign former Cavalier teammate Ira Newble’s letter from NBA players to the government of China about their policies in Sudan, has come out voicing strong support for human rights and an intention to mobilize the NBA Olympic team to speak out regarding Darfur and other issues.

AOL Video, Yahoo…

ASR Events • Darfur

Kobe’s Darfur PSA streaming around the world – AOL, Yahoo, and, of course YouTube too…!

Kobe and 50 Cent Run Kobe’s PSA on Sites

ASR Events • Darfur

Now playing in the hood….!

Fox Sports Net

Darfur

FSN airs Kobe’s PSA and interviews him about Darfur.

ESPN

Darfur

Kobe Bryant’s and Steve Nash’s ASR public service announcements for Darfur are featured along with an ESPN interview with Grant Hill. The Darfur story is becoming a household issue.

New York Times

Darfur

Article on Ira Newble’s and Aid Still Required’s work for Darfur. NY Times

ESPN + NBA Players + Darfur

Darfur

We’ve finally launched our Darfur outreach campaign! And what a launch it was! Today ESPN featured public service announcements we shot with Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash about Darfur, and also interviewed Grant Hill on the subject. These past few months NBA stars have been speaking out about the Darfur conflict. Along with Kobe and Steve, ASR shot PSAs with Derek Fisher, Andrew Bynum, Trevor Ariza, Luke Walton, Baron Davis, Emeka Okafor, Ira Newble, Eric Snow and Matt Barnes. These guys are surprisingly focused on Darfur. Steve Nash said after his shoot, “I’ll do anything I can to help that…

Author: Aid Still Required