Tag Archives: africa

Be Inspired by this Week's Blogger Neighbor: Stacey Monk @ EpicChange

Continuing my weekly “Blogger Neighborhood Series” in honor of the great Mr. Rogers, who called us to “Get to know our neighbor,” I welcome Stacey Monk from Epic Change, who continues to leave me inspired.

Stacey is an amazing writer, showing both her contagious passion and gracious, sincere personality through every word, so I’ll let her tell you about her journey, mission and how she’s gotten to where she is…

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Blog Name:

The Epic Change Blog

Blog Topics:

The Epic Change Blog is a diary of our experiment in social entrepreneurship and an organization I recently founded called Epic Change. We started it just after we received our 501c3 determination last September, and we blog whatever we’ve experienced on the journey since then, including:

We try to give a complete, transparent picture of what we’re working on so that our supporters can feel engaged in what we’re doing, and so other folks can learn from our mistakes and successes. We also try to provide regular opportunities on our blog for folks to get involved. Last week, for instance, to celebrate National Volunteer Week, we provided daily opportunities for our readers to perform 10-minute volunteer activities.

About the Author:

I’m a nerd, a recovering military brat, a perpetual nomad and a total sap. I believe the world is what we make it. I started my career managing a performing arts series, moved into public sector consulting for Deloitte, then worked in IT strategy & change leadership at Genentech and, finally, launched a small change management consulting firm called Funken Consulting. Last year, I left for Africa, came back, stopped working for money & founded Epic Change, a nonprofit that “helps hopeful people in need tell their epic true stories to acquire the resources they need to create change in their communities.” I have a BA in Philosophy and a grad degree in performing arts management from the public policy school at Carnegie Mellon. I like to think that artsy background helps me be more creative in my approach to social change. You can check out my street cred on LinkedIn.

If you could live on any street, what would that street be named and why?

I’d live where Hope, Audacity, Authenticity, & Gratitude intersect because I know I’d like the other people who live there. [This is my favorite quote of the week!]

Who would be your dream real-life neighbor?

Any man who can sing. For today, let’s say John Mayer. His song Say is stuck on my brain. Or maybe Josh Groban. His voice makes me feel like I’m in the presence of an angel.

If you were in charge of the planning the neighborhood’s block party, what entertainment would you plan?

Ditto, previous question. Or I’d plan a performance by a dance troupe that I love like Alvin Ailey or Momix. Or we’d dance ourselves, which might be the most fun. Despite my chubbiness, I love to dance. I’m certified to teach ZUMBA and Shake Your Soul.

If you customized your own license plate, what would it say and why?

FEARNOT, URHOPE or THANKU

What would you gift to a new neighbor as the perfect welcoming gift?

Blueberry Pie. Despite 1950s connotations, pies = love.

What’s your favorite blog post and why?

I’d like to point to something brilliant by someone else, because I’ve taken so much as inspiration. Right now, today, though, I’m really wrapped up in what’s unfolding as a result of my recent, totally random, guest post on the Go Big Always blog of Jive CMO Sam Lawrence. I met him totally randomly on Twitter, and last Wednesday after midnight, when he was tweeting that he didn’t feel like posting to his uber-popular marketing blog, I offered to take his place. He, probably in jest, wrote back “Go for it ;)” and I did. That single post has led to a flurry of others, including one on ZDNet, a tweet by @Scobleizer, and a connection to social media giant Jeremiah Owyang, as well as a drastic increase in the number of people interested in our cause. So for today, the Go Big Always post is surely my fave, despite the fact that it begins with a reference to feces.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned from blogging?

Be authentic.

Past Blogger Neighbors Include:

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This continuous weekly series highlights different blogs and their respective bloggers in the blogosphere neighborhood. Following the great Mr. Rogers, who tells us to ‘Get to know your neighbor,’ this series introduces us to our blogger neighbors, making for a more unified, collaborative voice for the social sector. Like to nominate someone or be featured yourself? Contact me @ socialbutterfly4change@gmail.com.

100 Years of Clean Drinking Water says WHO

“According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water. Unsafe water and inadequate sanitation kills nearly TWO MILLION people each year, mostly children under the age of five.”

One of my responses to the Changeblogger meme was to get more involved and educated around issues surrounding clean water and access to water. Here is one step towards that goal.

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September 26, marks the 100th Year of Safe Water according to the American Chemistry Council, and we can help continue and supply safe drinking water to others.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQcAOjFLGoE&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0]

Timeline

  • 100 years ago, Jersey City became the first U.S. cities to routinely chlorinate municipal drinking water supplies. Over the next decade, more than a thousand U.S. cities adopted chlorination, helping to dramatically reduce infectious diseases.

About Chlorine

  • Today, about 9/10 U.S. public water systems rely on chlorine in some form for safe drinking water.
  • Chlorine can destroy disease-causing microorganisms.
  • Chlorine removes many unpleasant tastes and odors, as well as certain metal contaminants like iron and manganese.
  • Chlorine also providedes a residual level of disinfectant to keep water safe while in transport from the plant to a consumer’s water tap.

Quick Facts

  • U.S. CDC calls drinking water chlorination “one of the most significant public health advances in US history.” In that same vein, in 1997, LIFE magazine hailed the filtration and chlorination of drinking water as “probably the most significant public health advancement of the millennium.”
  • Drinking water chlorination has helped to virtually eliminate waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever, and played a major role in increasing Americans’ life expectancy from 47 years in 1900 to 78 years in 2006.
  • Where piped water supplies are not available, simple techniques to disinfect and safely store water in individual households can dramatically reduce waterborne disease. A recent study by the WHO found that household-based chlorination is the most cost-effective way to reduce these waterborne illnesses.

Call to Action :: Disinfect 100 liters of Water with 1 Click

For starters, we can partake in ACC’s Clean Water Challenge Quiz. For every correct answer, the ACC with support from others, will donate $0.20 (up to a total of $200,000) to support household water chlorination programs in West Africa.

Your 1 Correct Answer + $0.20 = the cost of five chlorine tablets –> designed to disinfect 100 liters of water!

The Downside of Chlorine

  • Some environmentalists urge that chlorine is a short-term solution arguing that cleaning up our rivers, lakes and streams is more sustaining
  • Some health researchers argue that with all the benefits of adding chlorine (such as decreased Typhoid cases), there may be side effects of other increased health problems.

Alternatives

  • Some say that Canada and Europe have switched from using chlorine to using ozone to ensure safe water. A handful of U.S. cities like Las Vegas practice this as well.
  • Before using tap water, leave the water uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours for the chlorine to leave the water.
  • Invest in a filtration system (which I have heard debates on this issue as well).
  • Practice recycling and treat our water resources with care.

I would have to agree that I want us to find long-term, sustainable ways to have clean water and to increase water accessibility to others. I think as a base-line, we can all start by educating ourselves and learning more about where our water comes from and how we are impacted.

What’s your experience?

I admit I’m no expert, and invite the discussion here in the comments. If you have more ways to get involved in the accessibility to safe water issue, please post in the comments, as it’s an issue I’m increasingly educating myself on as well. Thank you!

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