Tag Archives: clowns

This Blogger Neighbor Doesn’t Clown Around about 52 Ways to Change the World

Or does she? 17 year old Julie Zauzmer is more than you’re average high schooler, and she’s more than your average clown. She’s working to change the world one way at a time, and hoping to inspire you to do the same. Enjoy!

Note: Soon, a badge will be available for past and future Blogger Neighbors to place on their site if they choose, so stayed tuned for updates. =)

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Blog/Site Name: 52 Ways to Change the World!logo

Blog Topics: I feature one quick, fun, and easy way to bring charity into your daily life on each episode of my weekly podcast, 52 Ways to Change the World!

About the Author: Julie Zauzmer is a seventeen-year-old high schooler who lives in Pennsylvania. Along with community service, she loves reading, writing, and languages, and she hopes to be a writer someday. Her podcast, 52 Ways to Change the World!, has currently been downloaded over 1,600 times, both from her website, www.52ways.org, and from iTunes.

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

Family Drive. My brother and sister are really my best friends, and I hope that we will all live near each other when we grow up.

Who would be your dream real-life neighbor?

I would love to meet one of my favorite authors in person someday. Some of my favorite living authors are Andrew Clements, Dan Brown, Jodi Picoult, and Susan Vreeland. Other favorites include L. M. Montgomery, Jane Austen, and Leon Uris.

If you were in charge of the planning the neighborhood’s block party, what entertainment would you plan? fun and happy clown with clown wig

I am a volunteer clown, so perhaps I would entertain guests by making balloon animals! I would also include a charitable element to the party. For example, I might set up a table with postcards and markers where kids could create cards for children in hospitals. My podcast features ideas like these — you can make charity a fun and easy part of just about any daily activity!

Photo Credit: Flickr, SmileyTD

What first prompted you to blog?

I first came up with the idea for 52 Ways! when I learned about the website Goodsearch.com. It’s a search engine like Yahoo! or Google, but it donates to the charity of your choice every time you search. I thought this was amazing, so I sent a Facebook message to about 100 friends telling them about this website. I was thrilled when several of my friends started using Goodsearch! This made me start thinking about other ways to use modern media to promote charity, and I realized that I had a lot of other ideas for “ways to change the world” that I wanted to share. Therefore, I decided to create 52 Ways! beginning in January 2008.

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

ZIPPY. That’s my clown name! Being a clown is one of my favorite unique ways that I help others. With Clowns ‘R’ Us, the clown organization that I am a member of, I visit nursing homes to cheer up the residents and volunteer as a clown at charitable events for many organizations.

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

I would bake cookies for them.

What’s your favorite blog post and why?

So far, I have especially liked the episodes “Helping the Homeless,” “A Good Yarn,” and “A Gift From the Heart” because these episodes feature some of my favorite ideas that I really hope people will use in their daily lives; “Bowled Over” and “Shop ‘Til You Drop!” because these episodes feature some of my most creative ideas; and “A Talent for Helping Others” and “Let the Games Begin” because these episodes include a more personal touch and some humor.

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

There are always more ways to make a difference! When I first thought of the idea for 52 Ways!, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to come up with 52 ideas for changing the world, one for each week of the year. However, when I sat down to make a list of possible episode topics, I came up with 20 or 30 off the top of my head! I am constantly looking for more ideas for the show. As I create each episode, I always come across topics in my research that give me more ideas. Also, at the end of each episode, I ask my listeners to send me their ideas. Right now, I have 75 ideas on my list of possible episode topics! I have learned that there is an inexhaustible supply of “ways to change the world.”

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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.


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