Category Archives: For a good cause

How To Be More Eco-Friendly

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When you think about being more environmentally friendly, it can sometimes feel a little overwhelming. It doesn’t have to be a massive lifestyle change overnight, but there are small, everyday practices that you can easily apply to your life today. There are many ways to help the planet, like composting and contributing to your local community garden, but here are some basic tips to get you started and inspired.

Photo by Zoe Schaeffer on Unsplash

Grow Your Food

While the idea of growing your own food might sound daunting, it’s actually a great place to start implementing more environmentally-friendly practices into your daily life. Just grab a packet of seeds from your local store, some nutrient-rich soil, and you’re halfway there. Read up on some basic gardening and growing tips and amaze yourself with some fresh tomatoes, peppers, herbs, etc. in time.

Reusable Bags & Shopping Locally

Taking a reusable bag to the grocery store will inevitably cut back on so much plastic waste. Think back to the last time you went to the grocery store, how many plastic bags did you carry to your car? When you shop at a local grocery store, you support your neighbors and less emissions.

Solar Panels

By switching to solar panel installation New Jersey, for example, you will not only save big on your electricity bill especially over time, but you are also enabling the conversion of the sun’s solar rays into power for your home, just from your roof.

Re-purpose or Donate Old Clothes

Before you toss your old clothes, consider turning that old t-shirt into a rag, or selling items with life still left in them online. You can always donate clothes to local shelters or organizations for homeless people.

By thinking about all the ways you can be more eco-friendly in your life, it’s important to remember why you’re making the switch to a more eco-conscious lifestyle. The earth will thank you, and in all likelihood, so will you.

Repost: Grannies want to spend Christmas as free individuals

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Old and weary.

It doesn’t matter if they don’t have a place to stay or relatives to welcome them with open arms. What is important for old persons, who have served more than half of their lives as inmates at the Correctional Institution for Women, is to walk as free individuals.

Some old folks who don’t have families to come home to were brought to the Home for the Aged for care.

I have met some old women inmates at the CIW when I was still with PJI.  They cried the moment they began telling their stories…I couldn’t help but cry with them too, especially when they talk about their children and how miserable their lives have become when they were sent to prison.

They’ve missed their children’s birthdays, graduation days…special events in the lives of their loved ones that they wish they were a part of…They even missed burial of their own children…so tragic, but true.

I still keep some of their photos. I’m not sure if these two grandmothers have been released from the institution. Both of them originated from the north and have been charged for drug-related offense.

If both of them have not been released yet, I hope that they will get their freedom back soon.

And if they were already reunited with their loved ones, I wish that they (relatives) have accepted them wholeheartedly so they could live the life they truly deserve as free individuals.

Photos taken by PJI photographers for People’s Tonight

Want to be a blood donor?

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edit cartoon 6-17-15

Image credit: N and People’s Tonight (June 17, 2015 issue)

Do you know that donating blood does not only benefit the recipient, but the giver as well? One great benefit of giving blood is that you help others live. You see, our blood has several components such as red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma. Each of these components is useful to someone needing them. As for the health benefits, you will be amazed to know that blood donation reduces the person’s risk to heart attack and cancer. Blood donation replenishes the blood production in the body and as a result it helps the body stay healthy and strong.

blood donation

There are foundations that sponsor blood letting project inside the mall. So if you happen to be at the mall where a blood-letting activity is taking place, you can visit them and see if you qualify to donate blood.

You can donate blood if you…

  • Are in good health
  • Are between 16 to 65 years old (16 and 17 years old need parents consent);
  • Weigh at least 110 pounds;
  • Have a blood pressure between: Systolic: 90-160 mmHg, Diastolic: 60-100 mmHg; and
  • Pass the physical and health history assessments.

Potential donors are carefully screened by the Philippine Red Cross Blood Services Facilities. The screening guidelines are necessary to ensure that blood donation is safe for you and that it is safe for the person who will be receiving your blood.

*World Blood Donor Day is observed every 14th of June to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank blood donors for their voluntary life-saving gifts of blood. This year’s theme: “Safe blood for saving mothers“. – wiki

Image credit: Sura Nualpradid – FreeDigitalPhotos.net