An exclusive photo essay from Shannon Galpin of Mountain2Mountain who rode through Afghanistan by bike and motorcycle.

It’s hard not to be inspired when you meet Shannon Galpin. At first look she’s your average smart, athletic woman, living in Colorado. Dig a little deeper and you’ll learn she’s a single mom. Spend a few more minutes talking and she’ll tell you the story of how she left her career, sold her house and launched a nonprofit, committing her life to advancing education and opportunity for women and girls.

Galpin focuses her efforts on the war-torn country of Afghanistan, and with her organization, Mountain2Mountain, has already touched the lives of hundreds of men, women and children.

As the founder of Mountain2Mountain, I’ve been lucky to travel often throughout Afghanistan, working with Afghans as they strive to rebuild their country. My passion is working with Afghan women and girls as they fight to prove their value and worth in this male dominated culture. Afghanistan is consistently ranked as the worst place to be a woman and yet women and girls are key to the future of the country.

As a woman, and specifically, as a foreign woman, I’ve had unique insights into this country thanks to the concept of the Third Gender. A concept that treats foreign women as honorary males, and allows them to interact as equals with men, while still being a woman and therefore have full access to the women. In essence, acting as their proxy when they do not have a voice.

Click on photos for larger version.

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and what better way to help support victims of domestic violence by getting some new (old) clothes?

Thanks to Swap for Good, a grassroots non-profit project encouraging people across the country to host clothing swaps, you can have some fun, support those in need and yes, even get new clothes.  At the site you can put in your zip code to see where the closest shelter is to you and get tips on how to plan your swap.

The site says during the recession, requests for help from domestic violence shelters has skyrocketed, while funding has plummeted. According to The National Network to End Domestic Violence just in March 2010, in one 24-hour period alone, more than 65,000 victims of domestic violence and their children received life-saving services from local domestic violence programs. Domestic violence experts answered more than 23,000 emergency hotline calls. In one day, 9,280 requests for services went unmet, largely due to lack of funding.

“Fashionistas have long known that clothing swaps are a great way to get new stuff, and save money doing it. Now, people can host swap events as a way to help raise critical funds for a good cause. This year spring cleaning is an opportunity to do more than clean out your closet – you can help save lives,” said Swap for Good co-founder Orli Cotel.

And for the double whammy eco-goodness of this, Swap for Good wants you to consider the environmental footprint of your clothes.

“The good news is that the water, dyes, energy, and pesticides (for cotton) that go into making new clothes are all reduced when you trade with a friend rather than buying something new. As part of this project, we hope to introduce more people to “˜freecycling’ – which is better for the planet as well as your wallet,” says the site.

Looking for a themed party to do some good? Here’s your answer. For more information on how to host a party go here to the site.

Celestial Seasonings has been blending healthy teas with environmental consciousness since 1969. Now, they are expanding their environmental consciousness to the planting of trees in developing countries.

They’ve teamed up with Trees for the Future (a non-profit organization that has planted more 70 million trees in Central America, Africa, and Asia in the past 20 years) and aim to sponsor the planting of one million trees. They’re nearly there, but how about a little love from EcoSalon readers?

Every box of Celestial Seasonings tea bought between January 1 and March 31, 2009 will ensure the planting of a tree. But you don’t have to be a tea drinker to participate. Anyone can stop by their online website and plant a tree in the virtual forest until the end of April. For each online tree planted, Celestial Seasonings will sponsor the planting of one real tree in a developing country.  Their interactive program that turns “virtual trees” into reality also provides information about why trees are good not only for the environmental but also the economies of the developing nations where they are being planted.