Shot, Anyone?

Five million children. Ten Days. One Massive Epidemic.

Zimbabwe has officially made its mark on medical history. In an effort to help eradicate measles, leaders in Zimbabwe recently agreed to an all-out clinical fest where over five million children received a measles shot in just under ten days. Why such haste you ask?

Since last September, the plaguing disease has been reported in over fifty-five of Zimbabwe’s sixty-two districts, taking the lives of over four hundred children and leaving another seven thousand desperately ill.

Backed by a bountiful amount of money coming from international organizations such as the World Health Organization, U.N. Children’s Fund, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (in addition to an abundance of NGOs), Zimbabwe’s aggressive and successful response has demonstrated the intricate coordination between governments and organizations when it comes to children’s lives at stake.

With over 1,500 vaccination stations and 4,000 employees strategically placed throughout the country, Zimbabwe’s tenacious response is a sure “shot” to obliterate such a disabling and deadly disease. Have YOU helped save the world today?


For more information, visit: takepart.com

Want to become a Social Firestarter? “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ BrushfireMG

Creating a “Happily Ever After” One Child at a Time!

“And they lived happily ever after...” This is the phrase heard by many children before they close their eyes for bed. Bedtime stories are both important and fulfilling factors in many kids’ lives. Truth be told however, many children often fall to sleep without a bed, let alone a fantasy story.

The Pajama Program was created with those unfortunate children in mind. With its origins beginning in New York City, the now nation-wide program provides new pajamas and entertaining bedtime books for children in need. The PJ Program also works voraciously with various agencies that house children who are waiting to be placed in permanent homes.

Currently, over 800,000 children are in the Foster Care System across our country. That translates into many lonely and vulnerable nights for parentless and homeless kids. The PJ Program seeks to bring a piece of home into these children’s dreams every night. Having given over 500,000s pajamas and over 250,000 books and counting, I’d say they’re right on track! Have YOU saved the world today?

For more information, visit: pajamaprogram.org

Want to become a Social Firestarter? “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ BrushfireMG

Cancer-Free Chatty Cathies!

Ok people! Time to get serious! We have all heard that excessive cell phone use has been linked to brain cancer, and most of us simply “poo-poo” the idea and carry on with their prior conversations. But, what if you could appease the overly cautious nay-sayers (and your brain) by adding a fashionable icon to your phone?

ZeroPA is now offering a stylish new “bug.”also known as ZEROFON, that will stick to the face of your phone, while simultaneously protecting yours.

Although it may be small, it’s job is everything but! The tiny gadget is made of patented ceramic material that reportedly reduces electromagnetic radiation from electronic devices (ie: your cell phone) by as much as twenty-nine percent!

To suit even the pickiest of trend-setters (ie: your tween), ZEROFONs come in a wide array of colors and patterns and can be customized with corporate or brand logos.
The bugs are easily attached to the phone (where you place your ear) and are said to hold their function for years on end.

And for only $12.95 per bug, what’s not to lose? After all, once science catches up with technology, we think your brain will thank you later!!! Have YOU helped save the world today?

For more information, visit: takepart.com

Want to become a Social Firestarter? “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ BrushfireMG

If Sex Sells, Then Money Talks

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

IHBS is Demonstrating That “There’s No Place Like Home!”

Talk about making some real waves! The Institute for Business and Home Safety has recently developed a weather chamber that can simulate Category 3 hurricanes, hailstorms, and wildfires, all with the click of a button!

Standing in Richburg, South Carolina, the center was created in order to demonstrate and test the structural integrity of homes and buildings during times of inclement weather. The research from these “crash test houses” will provide scientific evidence that will hopefully influence residential and commercial design and spur construction improvements.

While the primary mission of the IHBS testing center is to compile useful scientific data for designers and builders alike, it’s uncanny ability to produce the most severe of weather conditions is what makes the facility so state-of-the-art. Through the use of 105 individually controlled fans, each nearly six feet in diameter, creating life-like wind gusts is no longer just “over the rainbow.”Lions and tigers and...gigantic, man-eating fans, OH MY!

Since disaster related costs totaled over $25 billion just last year, one can assert that these scientists are striving to seek out ways of improving our homes against the wrath of Mother Nature. And who knows? Perhaps the good folks at IHBS may even save a few more Dorothy’s and Todo’s along the way! Have YOU helped save the world today?


For more information, visit: theepochtimes.com

Want to become a Social Firestarter? “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ BrushfireMG

Going Green is No Longer a Self-Balancing Act!

It’s official! Now ANYBODY who owns a top hat and a baton can be in the circus thanks to the new electric unicycle. And when I say anybody, I mean ANYBODY. Whether you’re a modern day Lance Armstrong or a regular Larry, Moe, or Curly will not matter since the unicycle automatically balances itself!

With it’s one thousand watt motor, three gyro sensors, and modern foot pegs to replace pedals, Focus Designs’ Self-Balancing Unicycle is a green motorist’s dream! And what better way to travel? At nearly ten miles per hour the one-wheeled wonder is perfect for quick trips to your neighbor’s house!

However, being ecologically friendly AND technologically savvy comes at a cost. With it’s first orders expected to ship starting this November, the Self-Balancing Unicycle will cost you a whopping $1,499! A miserly price to pay to be a game changer in the world’s first green circus! Have YOU helped save the world today?



For more information, visit: inhabitat.com

Want to become a Social Firestarter? “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ BrushfireMG

Home is Truly Where the Heart Is

Being a single parent is hard. Being the child of a single parent, can even be harder. Many children face extremely emotional situations when a parent is deployed to combat and shares the risk of never returning home again.

In order to alleviate some of the child’s emotions, the Dog Tags for Kids Project (DTFK) is dedicated to helping US Service men and women who are sent abroad on high risk projects connect with their children at home. Specially engraved dog tags in their appropriate service color are sent to the child of the parent serving, FREE of charge. As of September 2010, DTFK has delivered approximately 572,879 tags into the hands of hopeful children!

While the tags can have some personalization, all are engraved with “Mom” or “Dad” and display their military branch and the location of where they are serving. While the DTFK Project cannot completely alleviate the trauma from a child facing separation issues from its parent, it serves to re-connect the parent with the child to demonstrate that home is only where the heart is. Please bring our troops home safely! Have YOU helped save the world today?

For more information, visit: www.dogtagsforkids.org

Want to become a Social Firestarter? “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ BrushfireMG

A Silver Lining For the Coffee Sack!

America’s favorite drink just got tastier...well sorta! As if Starbucks needed another excuse to ring in the business, it is now unveiling its new seat upholstery made strictly of recycled coffee sacks! Talk about having a second chance at life!

In an effort to go green, Starbucks is pushing its new line of chairs that recycle, reuse, and reduce old, unloved and unwanted coffee sacks. However, the process of translating a regular, drab sack is more complicated than it seems. With their research spanning over eighteen months, one of the largest challenges the Starbucks chair engineers had to overcome was keeping the jute fibers from shedding which they accomplished by blending them with wool! Sheer genius!

When donating to other philanthropic causes isn't quite enough, Starbucks kicks their green program into another gear by offering our rears plush and comfortable support in addition to reducing waste atop our great globe. Now THAT leaves a good taste in our mouth! Have YOU helped save the world today?

For more information, visit: inhabitat.com

Want to become a Social Firestarter? “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ BrushfireMG

A "Miner" Miracle

Talk about a miner miracle! Today, all thirty-three Chilean miners who were trapped underground for over sixty-nine harrowing days were rescued from the darkness.

Trapped nearly 2,000 feet below our feet due to an earthquake, the Chilean men learned how to adapt to their new environment underground until they were saved. Many of the men had noted that teamwork and constant push from one another is what led to such a successful rescue mission in addition to the countless doctors and volunteers on hand to aid in any way needed.

On the more technical side of things, the miner’s rescue has skyrocketed up to the number one spot of most-watched Web events in recent history. In fact, the inspiring stories of the miner’s path to freedom is so epic that the online traffic in which it created beat out the World Cup matches, Wimbledon, and Barak Obama’s presidential inauguration!

The fascination in which the world has for these men most definitely lies in their courage and will to never give up. To all of the doctors, nurses, volunteers, television anchors, journalists, and anyone else who aided in their safe return home, Chile, their families, our families, the rest of the world, and Brushfire applaud you! Have YOU helped save the world today?


For more information, visit: cnn.com

Want to become a Social Firestarter? “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ BrushfireMG

Playing God or Devil’s Advocate: Which one is the lesser of all evils?

This past Friday a patient with a spinal cord injury underwent the world’s first injection of stem cells pulled from human embryos. The event was spurred by the need to cure those that would normally be perceived as incurable through human embryonic stem cell therapy which is now in its clinical trial stage.

In order to determine whether this process is safe for well, humans, ten patients with spinal cord injuries will be dosed with the stem cells and studied over the trial’s two-year time frame.

Although the reaction to this new scientific phenomenon has fallen on both sides of the spectrum, giving someone another chance to walk should always take precedence over another’s bias’ or views. With stem cell underway, who knows what could be next? The cure for cancer or AIDs? Have YOU helped save the world today?

For more information, visit: takepart.com

Want to become a Social Firestarter? “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ BrushfireMG

One Mammal’s Trash is Another One’s Treasure!

Keeping our beaches litter-free is important. Cleaning up disastrous oil spills is paramount. Cutting green house emissions is pertinent. Yes, all of these things are vital to keeping our oceans healthy and happy. However, we are omitting one very important piece of the puzzle: whale poop.

That’s right, you read correct, I said “whale poop.” The fact of the matter is (at least according to NPR), whale dung that floats atop of the ocean’s surface helps to nourish algae which in turn, feeds the fish.

According to Joe Roman, a conservation biologist at the University of Vermont, as whales defecate at the surface of the ocean, they are as a result, “fertilizing their own areas where they are feeding.” The whales' feces produces more algae, which is eaten by more fish, which are eaten by the whales...you get the gist.

Who would have thought that whales are the living fertilizers of the sea?! Come to think of it, how in the world did Joe Roman figure out that whale poop floats? Ahh, thus the saga continues. Have YOU helped save the world today?


For more information, visit: takepart.com

Want to become a Social Firestarter? “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ BrushfireMG

Animation Domination: How video games are making the world a better place!

After the insurgence of Nintendo and other gaming programs such as PlayStation and X-Box, who hasn’t had a go at a game or two...or three.

Most often than not, gamers have been perceived as both lazy and selfish, spending countless hours in front of the television rather than positively impacting the world outside of their living rooms.

However, since 2003, Child’s Play Charity has banded gamers alike from all around the world to help provide hospital play areas with video games, movies, and toys. Additionally, Child’s Play Charity is extremely involved with these hospitals during Christmas time, giving presents to sick children in order to brighten their day in the spirit of the holiday.

Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, both fellow gamers and founders of Penny Arcade, started Child’s Play Charity with the highlighted purpose of dispelling negative stereotypes around gamers and their culture. As more and more gamers became involved, ideas were exchanged (probably over a gory game of Halo), and the program flourished. Today, donors have sent over six million dollars in toys, games, and books to children’s hospitals all over the world! Talk about a modern-day “Super Mario Brothers!” Have YOU helped save the world today?

For more information, visit: childsplaycharity.org

Want to become a Social Firestarter? “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ BrushfireMG

I’m Too Sexy For My Cell Phone!

Always forgetting your cell phone charger when away on trips? Sick of spending hundreds of dollars on replacement batteries for your outdated cell? Are you exceedingly physically attractive to the point where you have to don sunglasses and scarves where ever you go because someone is always wanting to take a pic with a Jessica Alba or Brad Pitt look alike? If you can answer “yes” to at least one of these questions, then have we got the thing for you!

The Nokia E-Cu concept phone is perfect for the avid jet-setting smoking hot (optional) traveler who is constantly seeking a charge for his or her cellular. Developed by British designer Patrick Hyland, the E-Cu (E=environment and Cu=Copper) phone features a copper exterior and a thermogenerator integrated interior that translates heat energy into electric energy. Body heat is officially in power!

Who needs a power source when you’ve got your very own jean pocket to charge your celly? Although this phone is still a concept, we cannot wait to see more eco-friendly inventions directly correlated with piezoelectric power make their way into our hands...and pockets of course! Have YOU helped save the world today?

For more information, visit: inhabitat.com

Want to become a Social Firestarter? “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ BrushfireMG

Blog Action Day 2010: A Global Think Tank!

Fellow bloggers unite! On this upcoming October 15, thousands of bloggers that span worldwide will participate in Blog Action Day to brainstorm and debate issues around obtaining and preserving clean water around the globe. On this specific date (in less than ten days), bloggers like myself will write solely about the event’s chosen cause: drinkable water.

Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites bloggers as one cohesive group in order to solve problems of an underlying global issue.

This year’s issue, clean water, is an important but all-too-often overlooked cause. In fact, it is estimated that over one billion people across the planet do not have access to clean, safe drinking water! Approximately 4,500 children die each day from unsafe water due to lack of basic sanitation facilities. It is astonishing how something that both you and I take for granted, is also something that others less fortunate only dream of having within their daily lives.

Blog Action Day is placing the weight of the world’s problems, in your hands...or keyboard. This grassroots type of activism believes that with the help of many ordinary people, an extraordinary difference can be achieved that will soon benefit us all! Have YOU helped save the world today?

For more information, visit: mashable.com

Want to become a Social Firestarter? “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ BrushfireMG

A “Damn” Good Reason to Care

Everyone knows that when it comes to “survival of the fittest,” the playground is the one place where nothing is held back. Truth be told, kids can be mean. And because they are all at an age where they are constantly being influenced by their exterior environment, some of these kids are profoundly (and sometimes eternally) affected by the taunting and jeering from their peers.

The Give a Damn Campaign is for everyone and anyone who cares about equality amongst his or her peers, no matter their sexual orientation. The program seeks to educate and spread the word about daily issues throughout our country involving gay rights and how severely it effects the gay community when these problems are constantly brushed aside.

One of the Damn Issues, Youth Suicide, is highlighting the fact that we are constantly losing our children due to suicide from being made fun of in the class room. In fact, one out of seven people who commit suicide is a kid. To make matters worse, of those kids, those who are gay are perceived to be four times more likely to try suicide than their straight counterparts. These issues are real. These issues are horrific. Something HAS to give.

Powered by its strong message and A-list celebrity supporters and spokespeople, Give a Damn Campaign is taking matters into its own hands and turning the power over to you. The ball’s in your court. Who’s side are you on? Have YOU helped save the world today?

For more information, visit: wegiveadamn.org

Want to become a Social Firestarter? “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ BrushfireMG

Poopy Paper: World’s Smartest (and Cheapest) Method of Notetaking

Leave it to those crafty Canadians to come up with something resourceful out of something normally perceived as a “piece of crap”...literally. After all, with all their time spent indoors in cold, harsh winter months, what better thing to do than search for ways to make our world a better, more eco-friendly place?

Well folks, meet PooPooPaper: 100% Recycled and Odorless Products made strictly from...well, poop. And not just any poop: Elephant poop that is.

In fact, one elephant dropping can turn out about twenty five pages of PooPooPaper. And with as much as our gigantic elephant friends eat, we’ll have endless paper for life!

Accompanied with the fact that it has no odor, PooPooPaper is the next best thing since the Egyptians figured out that papyrus made a good tablet for writing. All we need is a few hungry elephants, some highly creative paper engineers, and some close pins, and “waa-laa,” we are sending letters to grandma until time’s eternal! Have YOU helped save the world today?


For more information, visit: takepart.com

Want to become a Social Firestarter? “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ BrushfireMG

Loaning is Loving: The Story Behind Kiva

In a world where money has become a scarce commodity, one would imagine that becoming a loaner is more of a pipe dream rather than a reality.

However, with the innovative and philanthropic thinking behind Kiva, loaning is something you want to engage in, rather than to receive. Kiva pairs donors (you) with pre-screened hard working entrepreneurs in developing countries with hopes of starting their own businesses.

The process is quite simple really. You set up your loan on the Kiva’s website (which can be as small as $25 or as large as you wish), and Kiva does the rest of the work by transfering the money to a hopeful entrepreneur. Within twelve to fifteen months, Kiva will collect the money you loaned, and give it back to you in smaller installments. What’s even cooler, over $1 million dollars have been loaned by 13,000 people and it’s not stopping anytime soon.

And it all comes down to: “A loan is a loan.” That is, you will get your money back so in essence, there is really nothing to lose. However, the idea behind Kiva is so much more than a risk-free investment. It’s giving someone else a chance in life who doesn't have the daily luxuries that you and I take for granted. It’s about changing someone’s life forever. It’s about caring for your neighbor despite his race, ethnicity, religion, or political ideals and placing him on an equal playing field as both you and I. Have YOU helped save the world today?


For more information, visit: kiva.org

Want to become a Social Firestarter? “Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ BrushfireMG