To you doers of good, we say thanks. You clean up after yourself. You say kind things in YouTube comments. Your DIY projects make killer Christmas presents, and you always know where to get the best arepas. But sometimes, we really wish that you’d give it a rest. Need us to get more specific?

7. The Advice-giver. In his mind, he’s the only person in the world with access to the internet. And it’s his responsibility to make sure that you know everything he does. He’s just trying to help, so why are you getting so defensive? His favorite response to any good news is “Actually, did you know [that can kill you and everyone you love]?” For example, you just posted a video from your phone of your baby taking his first step. He writes: “Actually, did you know that the radiation from cell phones are probably the leading cause of peanut allergies today? Just a thought before you point that death ray at your baby’s head.”

6. The Experimenter. If you can cleanse it, she’ll pour lemon juice on it. If she reads an article about the evils of shampoo (“My God, they put chemicals in it?”), she’ll dump every bottle she has and buy a lesser evil. A pair of $90 running shoes designed to mimic the experience of not wearing shoes? She wears them to the farmer’s market. She drank raw milk every day until she gave up dairy, and whether she’s Paleo or vegan, you can bet she’s going to tell you exactly what she had for lunch today, whether you asked her or not.

5. The Petitioner. Every Facebook status is a link to another atrocity you have to learn about right now, followed by an online petition that will halt said atrocity immediately by adding your name to an instantly-generated email that will be sent to your local state representative. “You guys really need to sign this, or else they’re going to close Planned Parenthood forever and replace it with farm factories staffed exclusively by violent police officers and plastic bags.” Her profile picture is lilac today, in a mark of protest against a recent crime against human rights, and if you don’t know what crime that is, you’re clearly part of the problem.

4. Gwyneth Paltrow. For cupping, for GOOP, for cheating on poor Matt Damon and then killing everyone in Contagion – take your pick.

3. The Label-Free. “I don’t think labels belong on people. I’m pansexual. But honestly, even think that term doesn’t really begin to capture my shimmering, omni-gendered nature. It’s such a shame that we have to use such limiting means of communication like language to express something as fluid and subversive as sexual orientation. I actually prefer to identify as a ball of glitter that pulses and contracts with the cycles of the moon. Or a dolphin made of teamwork. I haven’t decided. Oh, I own four pairs of custom-made fairy wings; why do you ask?”

2.The Fundraiser who Needs Fundraisers for Self-Worth.

“Don’t forget that my 10K/Ironman/cross-country bike trip to fight/raise awareness for/cure AIDs/breast cancer/global inequality/child slavery/non-GMO seed banks is next week!”

“Oh, can I not just write a check?”

“Can a check fill my Facebook Charity Walk 2011 album with 50 unique crowd shots? Can a check send me monthly emails thanking me for doing my part and reminding me that this year we’re going to exceed our goal and they couldn’t do it without me?”

“I guess I just don’t see how giving to charity and exercise are related, other than they both generally seem to be good things. You don’t do push-ups to resist global food distribution inequality or anything.”

“So are you going to donate or what? 50% of all donations will go to race-day expenses and staff salaries, but the rest directly funds life-saving research. And Cancer Awareness apparel. But 3% of all sales from the apparel goes back into the research fund! Which is evaluated and redistributed at the end of the year by a team of paid accountants.”

1. The Office Watchdog. We’re not sure who you are, because you seem to operate under the cover of darkness, but we see the trail you leave behind. The suspiciously chipper notes in the kitchen (“PLEASE BE SURE TO WASH ALL DISHES AS SOON AS YOU’RE DONE USING THEM – THANKS!!!!” and “DO NOT PUT FOIL IN THE COMPOST BIN; SOME OF US HAVE TO GO THROUGH IT AND CHECK FOR NON-BIODEGRADABLE ITEMS ”) belie an undercurrent of rage and bile so potent it nearly chokes you. Please seek help.

Image: Fanpop

It takes four travel writers to raise a village.

When Seattle-based Michelle Duffy met up with three friends for a coffee and a chat in 2008, she had no idea they were about to change the world. But if it weren’t for that fateful coffee, a village in Cambodia would not have a school and an entire village in India would not exist. That’s just for starters.

The four friends all happened to be travel writers – Michelle writes at Wandermom, Debbie Dubrow is the brains behind family travel blog Delicious Baby, Pam Mandel the eponymous nerd of Nerd’s Eye View and Beth Whitman the founder of Wanderlust and Lipstick.

“It was literally four friends having coffee,” Michelle recalls. “I think it was Debbie who originally said ‘why don’t we see if we can raise money using our blogs?’” That first year, the friends rounded up a few fellow travel writers to host some raffle prizes and raised $7,400 for Heifer International without too much effort. Thus Passports with Purpose was born.

Fast forward to this year and the stakes are somewhat higher. The goal is to raise $80,000 to build two libraries in Zambia with Room to Read. There are dozens of travel sites participating by hosting prizes – everything from a Kindle Fire (several, in fact) to bungee jumping in New Zealand. You have until midnight Seattle time on December 16 to enter the raffle for the prize of your choice by donating $10 at www.passportswithpurpose.org/donate. All proceeds, aside from PayPal fees, go directly to Room to Read.

In 2009 Passports with Purpose raised almost $30,000 to build a school – with a vegetable garden and other enhancements – in rural Cambodia. The school is now complete and Michelle visited earlier this year and wrote this post for Passports with Purpose. The kids previously would have finished school at fifth grade but can now go to eighth grade in their village, qualifying them for high school in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. “My husband and I were wondering why we needed a driver and why we couldn’t just show up without all the formalities,” Michelle says. “Then we got there and there was an honour guard of all the kids from smallest up to 15 years old and we realized that it was a really big deal. It impacted on a very visceral level because I never thought I could make that kind of difference to anybody’s life.”

In 2010, the tally was $64,128 for LAFTI to build a village in South India for people of the ex-untouchable caste. Beth has written about her visit to the village, which is currently under construction.

The four spend from February to May each year deciding which charity to work with. Since the four of them come from diverse backgrounds and represent a diverse bunch of travel bloggers, they try to select an organization that is not religious. They prefer to work in developing countries where the fundraising dollars can have a greater impact and they like to work for causes that focus on women and children. Room to Read has a focus on educating girls, which research suggests benefits wider society. ”As bloggers, we’re people who like to read and people who like to write so Room to Read hits that sweet spot of something we love to do and bringing it to kids who would not have had the chance,” Michelle says. “I was totally shocked by the lack of education infrastructure in Laos when I traveled there and I know Pam has similar stories about Tanzania.”

You can personally make a difference by making a $10 donation in exchange for a raffle ticket for a prize of your choice. You can also spread the word to your networks – last year Facebook was the biggest referrer of traffic. Passports with Purpose is built on the back of $10 donations but since the second year there have been a few larger sponsors as well – in 2011, the sponsors are Round The World With Us, TravellersPoint, Home Away and Good2Go Travel Insurance.

“It’s brought home to me how much you can do as an individual, even if you can’t write a check like Bill Gates” Michelle says. “What I believe from being involved with Passports with Purpose is that… it’s more important to be involved, find a cause you’re passionate about and leverage your network. If you do that it can be life changing.”

Editors note: Writer Caitlin Fitzsimmons is a participating blogger in Passports with Purpose and hosting two prizes - accommodation at the beautiful MacCallum House Inn in Mendocino, California and a cookery workshop at Freestyle Escape on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia.

Images: Room to Read, Wandermom

A centuries-old mill gets back to work at last.

When you’re on an urban hike around your own neighborhood, you don’t expect to find a windmill being built in the middle of the road. Holgate Windmill was here before this area of York (England) was smothered in housing. Long before. This humble brick tower is older than the United States of America, and it milled grain into flour for a century and a half before a storm damaged its sails beyond repair and it was shut down for public safety.

Modern housing developers crept into the area, but by joining the ranks of Britain’s Grade II Listed buildings, Holgate Windmill successfully fought them off, forcing the builders to divert around it. Scarred and crumbling, it has stood derelict for 70 years as sign of a technological age we’ll never see again.

The windmill is not only a beautiful piece of historical architecture, it’s also a highly unusual one.

It had five sails, a design by John Smeaton of Eddystone Lighthouse fame. It’s the best choice for maximum efficiency of converting wind power to mechanical energy, yet rarely used because one broken sail could have shut the whole mill down. (Windmills need balanced sails: if the same happened to a four-sail windmill, it could be stripped down to two sails and still keep working). Coupled with the fan projecting backwards off the roof that kept it pointing into the wind at all times, you have a unique piece of engineering.

Because of recent efforts by The Holgate Windmill Preservation Society, this mill is being restored to working order. The walls have been repaired and rendered, the stone floor relaid, the ground floor machinery (above left) cleaned, repaired and reassembled, and locally-sourced materials have been used to replace perished materials including the millstones (below) and the windmill’s colossal upright shaft (above right).

By 2008 the Society had secured £250,000 in grants, prizes and donations – and in winning the People’s Millions award in November 2010, they finally have the money to rebuild the sails.

After decades of neglect, this mill will mill. Using locally produced grain, the Society will provide bakers with specialty flours milled in the traditional way, allowing them to make specialty breads with a 250-year-old heritage. Any profits will be reinvested in the mill so it pays for its upkeep by doing what it does best.

Factor in the educational value of a fully-functioning windmill (the last of York’s 20+ working grain mills), and the tourist-wowing sight of its white sails turning gorgeously against the skyline, and you have something very special indeed.

Images: Mike Sowden; Holgate Windmill Preservation Society

Know of a local restoration project that is rocking your community? We’d love to hear about it! Send us a note at tips@ecosalon.com.

A sensibly chic take on the fiber and jute peasant footwear made in Catalonia since the 14th century – and popularized by designers in the forties and eighties – I like to think of TOMS Shoes as the little espadrille that could:

It could be the most popular shoe second to Uggs for American teenage girls (and fashion crossover dudes). The basic black TOM is now accepted as part of the uniform at schools nationwide in sun, rain, sleet or snow. Who knew canvas was year-round? The choices keep growing, from sparkly sequin and high wedgie editions to earthy vegan and even a new wedding collection.

It could be the most ingenious idea to date for a company giving back on a one-for-one basis to help barefoot populations risking cuts and sores, infections and disease from exposure. On April 5, TOMs raises awareness with its One Day Without Shoes, advertised in a celeb splashed video featuring uplifting images of shoeless throngs across the nation getting into the act.

And it could be catching on big-time as other shoe and apparel marketing execs look for sexy giving campaigns that attract younger generations seeking trends and causes. Ralph Lauren co-branded Rugby TOMS donating a matched pair with every pair sold; Element Skateboards introduced limited edition TOMS+Element shoes with a One for One skateboard benefiting the Indigo Skate Camp in Durban South Africa.

The TOMS movement began in 2006 when Blake Mycoskie was traveling in Argentina and discovered too many poor children were going without shoes. He started his company and returned to Argentina later that year armed with 10,000 pairs of shoes made available by TOM customers through the program. To date, more than one million pairs of new shoes have been issued to children thorough Giving Partners around the world.

Was the idea unique? Well, in 2005, a year before the trip to Argentina and following the 2004 tsunami in southeast Asia, Soles4Soles was born based on the concept of giving without receiving. Wayne Elsey saw the need and spurred on shoe makers to donate a quarter million of their shoes to devastated locations. A year later, another million were shipped to the gulf coast following Katrina. So in 2006, Elsey made it official and founded his non profit.

Shoes2Share sprung from a couple’s adoption of children from Haiti. Described as a grassroots ministry, its humble beginnings have involved distributing suitcases of shoes to relieve the plight of children and families in orphanages, shelters and rehabilitation and feeding programs. In addition to the Caribbean effort, the charity is now targeting children of fallen soldiers, police officers and firefighters.

More on the scale of the one-for-one platform, Payless ShoeSource has introduced the Good Shoe Project, partnering with World Vision to peddle a knock-off of the TOMS canvas boater, called theAirwalk Hope Shoe, for $19.99. For every pair sold, Payless will send a pair to children in Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua or Guatemala. Pitched to customers as the “buy one, give one” deal, they offer not only hope to barefoot victims but to consumers who want to do their part to give without footing the $54-$80 bill for a pair of TOMS.

Eventually, TOMS range may widen as well to make giving opportunities more abundant, reaching kids on U.S. turf who want to get on the bandwagon . Perhaps then, the little espadrille that could will really be too cool for school!

Experienced that overwhelming feeling of holiday stress yet? You know, the one that hits you the second you see Christmas displays at your local grocery store not even a few seconds after the Halloween candy has been moved to the discount shelf?

The holiday season is full of an array of wonderful things: good food, family, friends, candles, kitchens filled with the smell of baking, the potential for snow, vacation – the list goes on. But there’s also the consumer-induced stress that’s indicative of the season, and even if you yourself have given up the tradition of conventional presents and gifting, getting away from the onslaught of “buy buy buy” can be difficult. Sometimes downright impossible.

That’s why it’s refreshing to see all those holiday initiatives that are focused on something bigger. Taking the spirit of the season and getting people really excited about doing something good instead of stressing over when and where they’re going to pick up last minute presents. Passports With Purpose (PWP) is making that happen with social media.

Started as a way to rally the power of travel bloggers – who all believe in the “power of travel to change the world” – PWP has evolved into a major social media giving campaign, involving not only bloggers, but online travel companies and corporate sponsors. The money all goes to a selected non-profit, this year, LAFTI, an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of the Dalit (untouchable) population in India.

“As bloggers, travel or otherwise, we seem to live in a bubble – sitting behind our computers as we talk AT the world. Passports with Purpose allows for engagement between the other participants, the companies that have donated items for prizes and our readers, who are thrilled to be part of such an effort. And we can feel oh-so-good in the process,” says co-founder Beth Whitman.

The initiative, in its third year, is simple: bloggers host a prize on their site, and a $10 donation gets you a raffle ticket to enter to win the prize of your choice. That makes giving not only simple, but doable.

“Personally, I like the idea that instead of spending ten bucks on a stocking stuffers, you can make a ten dollar donation. Maybe it’s a ten dollar donation, that’s all it is, and it goes towards our beneficiary this year. But it could also be a ten dollar donation AND a luxe hotel stay or some cool gear or any number of great things. Maybe we mitigate some of that mad frenzy of holiday shopping stress by tying the funds to a significant cause,” says co-founder Pam Mandel.

As of the end of November, PWP has already raised $41,000, putting them even closer to their ultimate goal of $50,000.

To find out more and make a donation, visit the PWP website.

Image: mckaysavage

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1. Dating back as far back as 2006, several states have reported water shortages near water-bottling plants across the nation – including Florida, New Hampshire, Texas, and Wisconsin. Any chance the underground water situation has improved over the past four or five years? Not likely.

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2. Less than one percent of all the world’s fresh water is available for human use in the form of lakes, underground sources, and reservoirs. The rest is soaked into the soil, too deep underground to reach, or manifests itself in the icecaps of the world’s polar regions.

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3. Props to the folks that spend a long time tracking down clothes that are manufactured responsibly, but don’t forget that much of the environmental damage occurs after you’ve bought that gorgeous new dress. Between thirsty washing machines and the half-loads we throw in when we’re pressed for time, we send gallons of wash water down the drain every time we run the spin cycle. Let’s face it, none of us have time to scrub our clothes on a rock over a rain puddle, but do take a few steps to reduce the amount of water you use washing your clothes.

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4. It may seem like there’s a new cure for whatever ails you but, in the end, water really is your BFF when it comes to battling everything from puffy eyes and insomnia to hangovers and candy overload.

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5. Reports estimate the average person uses around 160 gallons of water per day. Where does it all go? Two-thirds literally gets flushed away, set aside two gallons if you leave the faucet running while you brush your teeth, and another 55 gallons for that 10-minute shower.

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6. For a mere 20 bucks, you can join Charity Water in building the infrastructure necessary for clean water in developing nations where people often have to walk miles just to dip drinking sludge from a polluted swamp.

Now that you’re filled with information about water that you didn’t have 10 minutes ago, what are you going to do with your new-found knowledge? Pay attention to the way you use water and figure out where to cut back, even if you just shorten your shower by 60 seconds, or give your plants a drink with the water you just used to wash your lettuce.

Blog Action Day is an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking a global discussion and driving collective action. This year’s topic is water.

Images: FreeWine, mandiberg, reurinkjan, Shandi-lee, Conor Lawless, jeckert gwapo, Charity Water

Water: we bathe in it, wash with it, drink it, swim in it, and package it in ways destined to help kill the planet. Most of us even know it takes two hydrogen and one oxygen molecules to create water, but there’s lots more to the stuff that covers the majority of our planet. Read on to get wowed by six things you didn’t know about water.

1. Dating back as far back as 2006, several states have reported water shortages near water-bottling plants across the nation – including Florida, New Hampshire, Texas, and Wisconsin. Any chance the underground water situation has improved over the past four or five years? Not likely.

2. Less than one percent of all the world’s fresh water is available for human use in the form of lakes, underground sources, and reservoirs. The rest is soaked into the soil, too deep underground to reach, or manifests itself in the icecaps of the world’s polar regions.

3. Props to the folks that spend a long time tracking down clothes that are manufactured responsibly, but don’t forget that much of the environmental damage occurs after you’ve bought that gorgeous new dress. Between thirsty washing machines and the half-loads we throw in when we’re pressed for time, we send gallons of wash water down the drain every time we run the spin cycle. Let’s face it, none of us have time to scrub our clothes on a rock over a rain puddle, but do take a few steps to reduce the amount of water you use washing your clothes.

4. It may seem like there’s a new cure for whatever ails you but, in the end, water really is your BFF when it comes to battling everything from puffy eyes and insomnia to hangovers and candy overload.

5. Reports estimate the average person uses around 160 gallons of water per day. Where does it all go? Two-thirds literally gets flushed away, set aside two gallons if you leave the faucet running while you brush your teeth, and another 55 gallons for that 10-minute shower.

6. For a mere 20 bucks, you can join Charity Water in building the infrastructure necessary for clean water in developing nations where people often have to walk miles just to dip drinking sludge from a polluted swamp.

Now that you’re filled with information about water that you didn’t have 10 minutes ago, what are you going to do with your new-found knowledge? Pay attention to the way you use water and figure out where to cut back, even if you just shorten your shower by 60 seconds, or give your plants a drink with the water you just used to wash your lettuce.

Blog Action Day is an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking a global discussion and driving collective action. This year’s topic is water.

Images: FreeWine, mandiberg, reurinkjan, Shandi-lee, Conor Lawless, jeckert gwapo, Charity Water

The worst environmental disaster in America’s history is still happening right now – so where are all the benefit concerts, the televised fundraisers, the celebrities posing for photo ops in canoes? The truth is, despite the severity of the situation, very few people are willing to pony up the cash to help with relief efforts for a simple reason: BP is a billion dollar corporation, and it should be coming out of their wallet. But as BP hedges and fights, environmental organizations on the scene need emergency funds.

That, in a word, sucks. How long can we wait for a corporation that’s clearly in denial of its responsibilities to act, while we watch animals suffer, hard working people lose their livelihoods and an ecosystem change forever? Hopefully, more people will step up to the plate and come together to help a region that’s desperately in need. But in the meantime – even if you can’t (and perhaps shouldn’t) head down to the Gulf yourself to help out, you can contribute in these seven small, fun ways – like sipping on specialty cocktails, downloading songs and shopping for delicious-smelling soap.

Dine Out For the Gulf

From June 10th-12th, all you have to do to aid in oil spill recovery efforts is head to a local restaurant and enjoy some good food and specialty cocktails. Restaurants around the country participating in Dine Out for the Gulf will offer up Gulf seafood offerings and donate either a portion of total sales or the sales from specific menu items to organizations supporting the Gulf Coast fishing industry.

Get Anything You Want at Amazon.com

Got some shopping to do? If you spend some cash at Amazon.com via the Hope Vote website, a portion of your order will go to Gulf oil spill relief at no extra cost to you. HopeVote.com donates a portion of the profits it earns through the Amazon Affiliate program to charitable causes, with the recipients chosen through site users’ votes. Proceeds are currently benefiting the National Wildlife Federation and the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund.

Help Canada Get Clean with LUSH

All eyes might be on the Gulf of Mexico right now, but LUSH wants to remind us that Canada is in the midst of an oil crisis, too. The cosmetics company is not only parading its employees around in oil barrels, but offering shoppers a chance to clean themselves in order to clean up oil pollution. One hundred percent of the proceeds from LUSH’s Wild Rose Country Bath Bomb will go to the Rainforest Action Network in support of their tar sands campaign effort, or you can get smooth and deliciously scented with the ‘Charity Pot’ hand and body moisturizer, which benefits the Dogwood Initiative’s No Tankers campaign protecting Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest from oil spills.

Wear Your Support On Your Chest

Want to spread awareness of the spill? Say it loud and contribute to cleanup campaigns at the same time with the COAST Save the Gulf! t-shirt. COAST Apparel is donating 100 percent of the proceeds from the sales of this tee to two non-profit organizations: the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and the Gulf Restoration Network.

Download a Charitable Tune

Send some of your hard-earned pennies to the Waterkeeper Alliance just by downloading a new tune from Grammy Award-winning singer Sophie B. Hawkins, who’s donating all proceeds from “The Land, the Sea and the Sky”. Hawkins told US Magazine, “I don’t think there’s anybody else standing out in the forefront. I just performed a sold out show as a benefit for the organization Waterkeeper Alliance. It was a really good show and I met all these people, so [my outreach has] really been blossoming from there because what I realized is that everyone is looking for some way to do something. In addition to the concert, I am donating the proceeds from my song’s iTunes sales – I’m not taking a penny of this.”

Build a Bear, Help a Marine Mammal

Marine mammals may not be fuzzy and huggable as teddy bears, but Build-A-Bear Workshop is looking to spread the love. The interactive retailer, which allows customers to make their own custom teddy bears, donated $5,000 to the Louisiana Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Rescue Program within the Audubon Nature Institute and will invite guests to donate $1 at the cash register in any Build-A-Bear location in the U.S.

Help New Orleans, Wherever Your Travels May Take You

Booking a hotel sometime soon? No matter where you’re going, a portion of the cash you spend on your hotel could go straight to New Orleans to help with both Hurricane Katrina and Gulf Coast oil spill recovery. Expedia Inc. launched a new website and charity program, TravelRelief.org, that allows you to send eight percent of your total hotel booking price to the charity of your choice – including The Greater New Orleans Foundation.

When you’ve been out of work for a while, grooming is usually one of the first things to go. Also pants with waistbands and your hopes and dreams, but that’s another post for another day. Now that Maurice Tidy has launched Hair Care, a charity providing free, professional hairstyles to the unemployed, at least your head can look professional. You’ll probably want to put on pants afterward. One step at a time.

One of the most renowned hair stylists in the world, Maurice Tidy, and his partner, Gina Caruso, have launched a campaign to help those who’ve been let go turn a bad loss into a great hair gain.

Gail Michalak was engaged and had just turned 50 when she thought to herself, “Boy, it’s going to be a good year.” But instead, on that Monday, her fiancé called to end the relationship and on Friday, she got laid off from the administrative assistant job she had held for 31 years.

That was a year and half ago. She’s still single and still unemployed, but Monday, thanks to the initiative of Hair Care, a charity that provides free haircuts to people who are out of work, she has a new look – and a new outlook.

“I hadn’t gotten it cut in almost a year so I really needed some styling,” says Michalak (below, sitting), who lives in a Detroit suburb and worked in the auto industry. “It gives you new motivation. It’s like a breath of fresh air. You get your second wind. It makes you feel just so much better. It puts a smile on your face.”

Hair Care was launched about 10 months ago by Maurice Tidy (at right), who was Vidal Sassoon’s first artistic director, and his partner Gina Caruso after she lost her job consulting for medical spa businesses. She realized how important something as simple as a haircut can be for one’s sense of self – and for one’s job search.

“I got involved with Hair Care 10 months ago because I became unemployed and wanted to give back knowing the pain and sacrifices that have to be made when you lose the financial security of a regular paycheck. Most individuals lose self confidence and regular maintenance of a haircut is usually put on the back burner, but it is imperative to look great and give the best first impression at an interview,” says Caruso.

Tidy, a Brit known around the world as the go-to hair stylist for celebs ranging from the Beatles and Rene Russo to Patti Smith and Isabella Rosellini, was able to tap his hair salon network and recruit friends as volunteer stylists. Caruso posted on Tidy’s Facebook page an announcement about the Hair Care campaign and within 20 minutes, 20 salons were interested nationwide. And both Tidy and Caruso were surprised by the response to the first event last June held at Sassoon colleague Daniel Rizzardi’s Salon Secrets – 30 people were lined up before the doors opened at 9 a.m. and more than 700 people showed up during the two-day event in Charlotte, N.C., a hub in the banking industry which had been hard hit by layoffs.

“As the national unemployment rate has risen, so, too, has the competition for existing jobs. Staying well groomed and appropriately dressed is critical for job hunters,” says Tidy.

So far, there have been nine Hair Care events at which 4,500 people have had their hair cut and styled for free by 225 volunteer hair stylists. The most recent Hair Care event held Sunday and Monday at Hair Designs North owned by Alan O’Sada and Kimberly Briffa in Dearborn, Mich., an area of the country where automotive industry layoffs have been widespread, attracted 250 people in need of a cut and blow dry – not to mention a job. Twenty-two stylists volunteered to give haircuts, an area florist gave flowers to everyone who came in for a haircut, local community volunteers swept the floor, restaurants donated food and hotel rooms were discounted for out of town hair stylist volunteers.

Beverly Grau, 54, was among those who received a haircut, flowers and an emotional boost. A program manager in IT, she had worked for the same company for 24 years and had survived several workforce reductions since Hewlett Packard acquired the company. But, last Friday was her final day of employment. It was an emotional shock and although she realizes it’s just business, she says you can’t help but take it personally.

“This means everything to me. It’s extremely helpful to look your best. And it’s wonderful that these people have taken the time to do things for people in this situation. It’s a fun haircut for me and I think it makes me feel better and look good,” says Grau. “This has really been heartwarming that folks have done this. It is very much appreciated. It gives me a boost to go out and find that job.”

The first person to show up Sunday at the Dearborn event for a hair cut and styling was Dawn Bucko, a single mother who lost her job last June and hadn’t had a haircut since. “It really is amazing how just a simple haircut changed my mood. I know they said I would feel more confident, and it was the truth, as everyone is already saying I have a little extra swing in my step. And knowing there are great people willing to do something so great also makes me see the future with a brighter, more positive view.”

Editor’s note: Article by Anne Driscoll. Originally published by our friends at Tonic.com. Tonic is a digital media company and news source dedicated to promoting the good that happens each day around the world. Tonic tells the stories of people and organizations who are working to make a difference, by inspiring good in themselves and others. Be sure to visit them and say hi, and follow Tonic on Twitter, too!

Image: bzmillerboy

Christie’s auction house bets big on the environment.

Green. It means go. It’s the color of money. And, naturally, it’s the cause that’s bringing power players together to save Planet Earth. In response, Christie’s, one of the world’s biggest auction houses, dug deep into its mega-rolodex of artists, celebrities and collectors to produce A Bid to Save the Earth, the first-of-its-kind “Green Auction” in honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

Prior to their celeb-filled “Green Carpet” live auction scheduled for April 22 at Rockefeller Center, a companion silent auction in conjunction with leading online charity benefit auctioneers Charitybuzz, launched April 8. It runs through Thursday, May 6, at ABidtoSavetheEarth.org. Christie’s is waiving its commissions and fees and divvying the proceeds between four top-rated nonprofits: Conservation International, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Central Park Conservancy. As the event’s official media partner, NBC Universal is giving the auction airtime during “Earth Week” from April 19-25, as part of their ongoing Green is Universal campaign.

What’s up on the (online) block? For starters, plenty of earth-centric pieces from some of the art world’s biggest players, such as a panoramic photograph of Central Park by Michael Doven and a no-GMO farmscape oil painting by Karen Klimnik alongside works by Olafur Eliasson, Damien Hirst, Keith Tyson, Zeng Fanzhi and Subodh Gupta created exclusively for the auction. “Science and art are the most powerful forces in the world for changing perception and behavior. It’s a game changer to have the world’s most significant artists coming together in support of these leading environmental NGOs,” says arts patron and event co-chair Susan Cohn Rockefeller. “This is the kind of collective action that will help us meet the tremendous challenges our Earth faces.”

Also on offer in the online auction are a slew of once-in-a-lifetime experiences. “People don’t always want more stuff, but they do want experiences and access,” says Toby Usnik, VP and international head of corporate communications for Christie’s. With luxury vacations to Bali and Belize, a walk through Central Park with Candice Bergen, a tennis lesson with John McEnroe, lunch with Vera Wang followed by a shopping spree at her boutique, guitars autographed by Emmylou Harris, Kid Rock and other country music celebrities, a Star Wars collector’s item signed by Natalie Portman, exclusive outfits from Gucci plus tickets to its Milan runway show, a culinary outing with Alice Waters, a day on-set with Hugh Jackman, and many more packages up for auction – all going for tens of thousands – one bid can make a huge difference for the environment.

“Two years ago we tried to do this and the recession happened and it just didn’t seem like the best time, so we set it aside,” says Usnik. “Almost exactly a year ago, we revisited it and felt passionately that if we didn’t do it someone else was going to.”

Sure, Christie’s, like many other auction houses, regularly sends out its auctioneers to preside over other groups’ charity auctions, but it has never organized a wholly charitable endeavor by itself. “For the first time in our 250-year history, we created a charity and got our 501c3 designation, so we’re now able to legally process charity funds,” says Usnik. “Now we have the infrastructure which really lays the foundation for future charity endeavors for things that come up like Haiti and Chile, instead of having an ad hoc response.”

Don’t think you can afford VIP tickets to a Christina Aguilera concert or falconry lessons with Bobby Kennedy? There are lots of ways to get involved. Visit the site and learn how you can donate directly to the organizations, volunteer at a site near you and “Green Your Routine” with tips from eco-guru Elizabeth Rogers. Or, if you’re more fashionably inclined, purchase a special-edition Loomstate sustainable organic cotton tee at Barneys New York and at Loomstate, priced at $40 in honor of Earth Day’s 40th, with a percentage of proceeds going to green causes.

Check back here for Tonic’s coverage of the big event and visit Christie’s LIVE to follow the auction in real time.

Editor’s note: Article by Angela Gaimari. Originally published by our friends at Tonic.com. Tonic is a digital media company and news source dedicated to promoting the good that happens each day around the world. Tonic tells the stories of people and organizations who are working to make a difference, by inspiring good in themselves and others. Be sure to visit them and say hi, and follow Tonic on Twitter, too!

Image: FlyingSinger