After reading Denise's BlogHer post last week that the gift of maternal health is the perfect Mother's Day gift, I thought "this really is perfect!" I blogged it and suggested that not only is it a great cause, but it is also a great consumerism/stuff-free gift, something that I feel, in our consumerism-driven society, is so important, but so ofte

Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar last weekend devastating five regions. Channel NewsAsia reported that more than 22,000 people are dead with another 41,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands are now homeless. The media reports are horrific. "Witnesses described images of rice field littered with corpses." Save the Children, one of the few relief agencies allowed to operate in-country, said the toll would rise sharply in the coming days as more victims were found in difficult to reach areas.

The photos, videos, and blog reports are giving us vivid citizen accounts. Global Voices, South Asia Editor, Mong Palatino, offers this round up of what blogs in the region are reporting, including these eye witness accounts.

We've all read about the Okinawa and Mediterranean diets, usually promoted as weight-loss remedies. But in addition to their slim figures, Okinawans have a very low rate of breast and prostate cancer, while Cretans enjoy a low rate of heart disease. What in the diets prevents these diseases? Could we adopt these diets as our own to live healthier lives?

What does it take to make a difference in another woman's life? Especially if that woman is someone you've never met with problems you can't begin to imagine? In years past you would need to sift through a hundred organizations, pick one with a decent reputation, find your checkbook and send your dollars via the U.S. postal service. Six weeks later you would receive a three page typed letter in the regular mail telling you how you made a difference. With the bar set that high, too few people gave and too many women continued to suffer.

Butterfly by Beth Kanter

Social Butterfly writes about nonprofits and social change and social media. I got to
know her when she asked me to participate in her Blogging Neighbor Series

 
1. Tell me a little about you ...

I am a social marketing believer, blogger, researcher, practitioner and
enthusiast in the concept of Social marketing for good. This is not to be confused with social media marketing. Currently, my day job is a graduate student at the University of Missouri's School of Journalism where I will graduate this month. In June, I will start full-time at the social marketing firm based in Washington, DC where I've been completing a fellowship, working on the client team representing the National Institute on Drug Abuse. As of this moment, I am defending my thesis, graduating and taking a moment to breath. Academics and work aside, my passion is working with and on behalf of nonprofits. My family, myself and a small group of dedicated and committed individuals started a non-profit in Arkansas that benefits multiple sclerosis and works in partnership with the MS Society. In one year, with about eight people, no budget and two main events, we've raised over $275k.

Eco-foodie author Sandor Ellix Katz's certainly got his following.