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Holiday Giving

Published at December 10, 2009 in Awareness, Donation, Resources and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

As the year wraps up, the US prepares for the holiday season and many non-profits look to secure funding for their next year; many non-profits offer consumers a way to do more with their holiday giving. Here is a list of great products and amazing organizations who are offering a way to make an impact with your holiday purchase!

Charity:Water

The Little Black Box. | $24
This small box makes a big impact. This gives clean water to one person in a developing nation for 20 years. Each bracelet is a reminder of the person your gift will help.

Acholi Beads

The Holiday Set | $50
This set includes three of our favorite pieces: 1 Long Multicolor Necklace, 1 Bracelet, 1 pair of Earrings.
Each piece is hand-selected to create a matching set, and a beautiful card telling the story of Mama Esther is included, along with our collectible hang tags. It’s the perfect gift.

LiNK | Liberty in North Korea

TheHundred Package | $55
Give a LiNK gift and directly contribute to “TheHundred”, LiNK’s new program to bring 100 North Korean refugees out of hiding from the underground. We want to begin this initiative as soon as possible, but we can’t do it without your support.

Krochet Kids International

Hats | $24.99
Join with us as we give love to North Uganda. Purchase a hat and play a major role in this story of hope.

Invisible Children

CINCH Bag plus three $20 items | $95.95
This Christmas: It’s a Cinch. 100% of your purchase supports those in need in warn torn North Uganda.

Schools for Salone

The Christmas Card Set | $18
Proceeds from the sale of our note cards fund new school construction, school supplies, books and teacher salaries in small villages of Sierra Leone. Drawings on these cards were made by students in Maforika in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone.

Falling Whistles

Gold Whistle | $100 / $30 for Original
100% of proceeds are used to rehabilitate war-affected children in Congo and advocate for their freedom.

The Humane Society of the United States

HSUS Rugby Hoodie | $39.50
Help spread the word and make a bold statement for celebrating animals and confronting cruelty with our new logo stripe hoodie. Constructed of soft cotton/poly fleece, our full zip hoodie with roomy fit and side pouch pockets may very well be your new best friend. Features our animal map logo on the front chest which represents our most active campaigns and speaks to the diversity of our mission.

I’m back, I know it’s been awhile.

Published at December 8, 2009 in Awareness, California and Information. 0 Comments

Charlie: Dog Walking for Rover Rescue

Where have I been? What have I been doing? Will I keep posting?

Well lets start off by answering a few of these questions. At the beginning of 2009 I relocated from Pittsburgh, PA to Los Angeles, CA to work full time for an organization called LiNK or Liberty in North Korea. Yes, I took half a pay cut to move to a city that cost twice as much where I work non-stop and I couldn’t be happier about the choice

What am I doing there? Well, I’m basically using every skill I was born with and acquired over the years to help rescue and protect refugees who are fleeing North Korea because of humanitarian and human rights abuses. I help lead and creative visually appealing media and print work that will help connect the youth of the US to those in need. I’m also volunteering any chance at great organizations like Rover Rescue.

Am I going to keep posting? I’m going to try my darnedest to. This past year has consisted of working 7 days a week, non-stop but over this time I’ve met some amazing people and befriended a lot of great organizations. So I’m planning to post and talk about a lot of what viewers can do to accomplish One Nice Thing a Day.

Please keep checking back and thanks to everyone who has over this past year of absence.

Invisible Children Event

Published at September 4, 2008 in Information and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Creative TreeHouse is teaming up The International Children’s Art Gallery to use it’s space for the 3rd Invisible Children Fundraiser it’s hosted. Please come out and show your support for this wonderful cause.

When:

September 13th. 6pm: Shirt sale & food, 8pm: Go documentary, 9pm: live music

Where:

The International Children’s Art Gallery in Pittsburgh (Garfield)

How much can I donate:

$5 at the door, $20 silk screen and artist made tshirts, Invisible Children goods will also be for sale

Why:

To help those Children effected by the 22 year war that has ravaged North Uganda and to learn how the youth of the US are rallying together to bring this suffering to an end.

Come September 13th to the International Children’s Art Gallery for a Silk Screen & Artist Made Tshirt Sale, Live Music, Appetizers, BYOB and the Screening of the new Invisible Children’s Go documentary. The fall tour of Invisible Children is starting soon and they will be back in Pittsburgh in early September. On September 13th the Creative TreeHouse and The Heart of Pa will be putting on it’s third fundraiser at the International Children’s Art Gallery and Invisible Children will be there to do the screening. The gallery will also have the “Photographs of a Haitian Orphanage” on display by Laura Pertrilla & Eva Mueller.

Learn more about Invisible Children at www.invisiblechildren.com. Get involved.

Tshirts for sale from:

rusty water clothing
95 designs
bombshell boutique
reverend dasher
jessica heberle
mary michael
jet boy jet girl
Cut Here Clothing
Awaken Clothing

more to come….

Food Catered by:

Flavorville Cafe

Live Acoustic Sets by:

The Smiling Lion
The Jim Dandies

Trailer:

Upcoming Invisible Children Fundraiser

Published at August 7, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

I’m currently in the progress of planning a fundraiser for Invisible Children while they are in Pittsburgh on their new tour this fall. The fundraiser will include the sale of local silk screened/handmade shirts, live music, food, and the screening of the new IC “Go” Documentary. It will be taking place on Septembers 13th at the International Children Art Gallery in Pittsburgh (Garfield). If you are interested in helping out, donating goods or attending, please contact me at jessehambley (at) gmail.com.

For up to date information about the fundraiser please visit www.theheartofpa.com.

my delicious hummus recipe

Published at June 29, 2008 in Information, Kindness and My Skills. 7 Comments

I’ve had a few people ask me for my hummus recipe after eating it, so here it is. This recipe is the mix of about three different recipes I found and then experimented till I got a taste that I loved. You’ll notice applesauce in this recipe, that will help for all of you who have had stomach problems with hummus because beans are not part of your daily diet.

Ingredients:

8oz garbonzo beans/chick peas
4 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
3.5 tbsp tahini (ground sesamie seeds – incase you didn’t know, also add to taste since flavor of tahini can vary)
3 gloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
3.5 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cumin
good dash salt – to taste
good dash pepper – to taste

Instructions:

Open a can of garbanzo beans and drain the contents over a bowl. Allow to drain while you prepare other ingredients. A key to smoothing out your hummus to to keep the juice from the can. So make sure you drain it over a bowl or container to save for later use.
Peel your garlic and chop/mince.
Pre-process/chop your garbanzo beans. A common problem of using your regular blender for hummus is that it thickens up too much and is hard to blend. Pre-processing them in a food processor will help eliminate this problem.
Now comes the time to add it all to the blended. This is usually the order that I put them into the blender to help with mixing: minced garlic, garbanzo beans (to more of one side of the blender and the rest on the other side), apple sauce, tahini, cumin, salt, pepper, olive oil and finally lemon juice.
Put your lid on and use the puree setting. I occasionall use the liquify setting also to try to make sure it’s smooth.
You’ll notice that it starts to thicken up and has somewhat of an opening in the center of the mixture. Add some of the save ganbanzo beans juice to this little opening to help smooth it out to preference and mix with a spoon to make sure all ingredients get pureed.
Garnish with parsley and paprika to your likings.
Hummus is usually served at room temperature so make sure you leave it sit out before serving. Tastes great on pita bread, pretzels, wheat bread and wonderful with a side of dried apple chips.
Enjoy!

How I spent my tax refund.

Published at June 12, 2008 in Information and Uncategorized. 2 Comments

With a goal this year to be a little more self efficient and some spare change from the governments surplus tax refund, here is how I spent my tax return:

Urban Garden – $120 for pots, seeds and a few pre-grown plants purchased from Urban Gardener here in the North Side of Pittsburgh. Plants include 10 heads of lettuce, raspberry bush, zucchini, green beans, tomatoes, cabbage, hot peppers, sweet peppers, basil, oregano, chives and parsley. This garden may not be enough to feed me all summer but it’s enough where I can get a salad or two or more a week out of it.

Large Portable Solar Power Kit – $380 for 17 watt solar panel, upgraded 12v 22amp hour battery, 400 watt DC to AC converter and various other connection wires for converter and solar panel. Kit purchased from siliconsolar.com. This kit is my first attempt at using solar power and more of a learning experience for me. From this kit and a full days charge I’ll be able to power lights and other devices for a good bit of time. My plans are to purchase more batteries and while others are in use then more will charge. I hope to grow my knowledge base on it and the applications it can be used.

Redline 925 Commuter Bike – $100 with trade in at Thick Bikes in the South Side of Pittsburgh. I’ve been riding bmx for 12 years now and have rode my bmx bike everywhere for the last year I’ve lived here in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately riding a bmx bike for more than a few miles because hard on the back, legs and the single low gear ratios aren’t that great for the hills of Pittsburgh. So I finally committed to trading in one of my bmx flatland bikes to purchase this commuter bike which is still a single speed with a coaster cog and fixed gear on the other side but is really quick because of the ratio. This bike will help me eliminate driving my car to only once or a few times a week now.

Do Something

Published at May 31, 2008 in Information. 0 Comments

Looking for something to do, some way to help others but don’t know where to look locally? Take a second and visit DoSomething.org.

Eat and buy local

Published at April 25, 2008 in Resources and Support. 0 Comments

(example of 1 weeks share)

With gas and food prices increasing, it’s time to start to eat local and purchase your goods locally. One great resource for purchasing organic and local foods is www.localharvest.org.

“LocalHarvest is America’s #1 organic and local food website. We maintain a definitive and reliable “living” public nationwide directory of small farms, farmers markets, and other local food sources. Our search engine helps people find products from family farms, local sources of sustainably grown food, and encourages them to establish direct contact with small farms in their local area. Our online store helps small farms develop markets for some of their products beyond their local area.”

One local collective of growers called the Penn’s Corner Farm Alliance has pick up points all across the Pittsburgh area when you purchase a share of their crops. For about $20 a week you get 7-8 different crop items, anything from vegetables, fruits, cheese and local raised live stock. For more information about their pricing, seasonal crops and to order your 10, 20, or 30 week share of crops check them out here or vist their website. This is a great way to eat local, support your local economy and help end the need for importing so much of our food.

Please Help!!!

Published at April 23, 2008 in Awareness and Support. 0 Comments

Please take a second to send a newsletter to Bush before world poverty is set back 7 years because of rising food prices. This has to be addressed NOW!

Urban Gardening

Published at April 20, 2008 in Pittsburgh and Resources. 0 Comments

With gas and food prices projected to keep growing, I’ve begun to look for more ways to become more self efficient. Things like setting time aside to allow for alternate transportation (walking, biking), eating less unneeded food, growing vegetables and cutting back to just the more essential needs of living, and shopping independent and locally. Over the past two weeks I’ve started to plant my veggies for the year. I’ve planted 9 heads of various lettuce, two heads of cabbage, tomatoes, green beans, herbs (basil, chives, oregano, parsley) and zucchini in various size potters.

Each day I water them twice a day with added plant food, move the pots from my locked porch out onto my porch steps to get their 6 hours of sunlight and then stash them back away in the evening. That’s pretty much all you need to do in and in a few months I’ll have enough lettuces to eat salads daily, which is usually the hardest thing I have keep good in my fridge because it goes bad before I can eat it.

Much of the soil, plants, seeds and pots I used came from a independently and locally owned Pittsburgh (North Side) garden center called Urban Gardener. They had a great selection right now and have even more coming in. So I suggest stopping by there if you want to get some plants started while it’s still spring. On a side note, they were really knowledgeable and if you wanted to get started with planting at your apartment then stop by because I’m sure they’d be able to get you started.

Great talk on Africa

Published at April 17, 2008 in Awareness. 1 Comment

This is a really great talk about Africa. It really makes a point that doing fundraising and providing aid both monetary and others is not enough to help a country. I think that the more business opportunities to help the economy we can offer the better. I know for one I’d like to start to take more business classes to get myself more knowledgeable about what opportunities I can open up in my local area to support the purchasing and importing of African goods. Does anyone know of any resource that brings together trade in Africa else than http://www.africantrade.com/? Does a campaign need to be started to bring awareness to the world that Africa is open to trade and that it’ll help grow its economy? That aid can only take it so far. This seems like a cry from within and sometimes we get caught up in what we think Africa needs from an outside point of view that we miss the cries from within.

To a more simple life

Published at April 16, 2008 in Awareness. 0 Comments

So my neighbor grabbed me yesterday and told me the reason behind my landlord changing the locks at my apartment. She explained that the homeless were getting in and sleeping in our community basement. While she seemed almost appalled at the thought of it, I kinda felt like well at least they had somewhere to sleep that night. This really got me thinking of where our culture is heading if we continue on the same path. Are we growing? Are we recessing with the constant price increase in gas and food? What can I do to become more self efficient? It’s crazy to think that by 2050 1 of 3 people on this planet will be living in a shanty town without what we consider the essentials of living. This form of simplicity in life almost seems appealing to me some days when you find yourself glued to the computer 16 hours a day and not getting to even be outside. I know for myself I’m going to start to take steps to become more self efficients. Garden vegetables on my windowsills, walk/bike even more to destinations, fill up a nalgene of water instead of purchasing bottled water, eat more basic fillers (rice, grains, pastas, bread) to fill myself up, and so on.

Being Born

Published at April 11, 2008 in Support. 0 Comments

A new way of thinking is afoot and I just wanted to give a shout out to the Global Oneness Project who is out there documenting this change. Check out some of their interviews to see what the world is up to.

Pangea Day

Published at March 14, 2008 in Pittsburgh. 0 Comments

As photographer and someone that likes to produce video content, I realize that images can bring people together, separate them, inspire them, scare them, and cause sooo many other emotions. One May 10th the world will come together to experience inspirational images from across the world. The Creative TreeHouse in Pittsburgh will open it’s doors from 2pm to 4pm for Pittsburgh creatives to come together to experience this historic day. For full information about Pangea Day please visit www.pangeaday.org but please keep checking www.creativetreehousepgh.com for more information if you live in Pittsburgh.

Blackspot Shoe Campaign

Published at March 12, 2008 in Information. 0 Comments

Did you know that Converse is now owned by Nike. There goes the symbolism of Chucks. Buy shoes from Blackspot Shoes and become a shareholder in a new company with meaning.

Change of direction

Published at March 12, 2008 in Maintenance. 0 Comments

So I’ve been trying to do this for the last few months and I’m starting to have less and less time to update as I’m trying to get involved more with non-profit work. So I may shortly change the direction of this blog over to helping supply information on topics and ways to help others. With my lack of time to update it’s more practical for me to update this when I stumble across cool and easy ways to make a difference. Plus it bothered me a lot when someone took my site as a way of glorifying myself doing one nice thing for someone instead of trying to show how easy and simple it is to do everyday. So I think this is a better direction to head with it now.

Invisible Children Benefit update

Published at March 12, 2008 in Fundraiser. 0 Comments

36. Today’s Nice Thing (Wednesday the 12th): Yay
Thanks to everyone that came out and was involved with the Invisible Children Art and Music Benefit. We had a great turn out for the event and had a combined total of $1115 from entries, donations, raffles and art sales. The Invisible Children East Coast Roadies were truly amazed at how great of an event it was and can’t wait to return to Pittsburgh in the future. Thanks again to all our sponsors, artists, musicians, attendees and volunteers for the night.

Lack of updates doesn’t mean no nice things :)

Published at February 20, 2008 in Maintenance. 0 Comments

35. Today’s Nice Thing (Wednesday the 20th): Sorry for the lack of updates.
Wow I’ve been extremely busy but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been doing my nice things each day. It just just means I haven’t the time or ability to blog about it So this post I’m going to list out a few things I’ve done since my last post and promise that I’ll return to updating this daily here in the near future after I’m done with some event planning for the Invisible Children benefit show I’m working on. So here a few things I’ve managed to do in between working full time, Creative TreeHouse and event planning.

1. Send a friend chocolates and fruit to her work because she works really hard and feels unappreciated sometimes.
2. Cooked a nice dinner for someone on Valentine’s Day.
3. Suprised my mother by traveling out to see her on her birthday.
4. Left cans out again for the homeless to collect and cash in.
5. Offered to do barter design work for Mike from Flavorville Cafe because he is a hard working guy who is training disabled people food skills so they can get jobs.
6. Supported a local Bellevue business by purchasing catering items instead of buying from cheaper establishments.
7. Helped promote local Pittsburgh establishments doing Invisible Children Events by creating www.creativetreehousepgh.com/IC.
8. others I’ve forgot

Let’s Make Cape Wind Happen!

Published at February 7, 2008 in Support. 1 Comment

34. Today’s Nice Thing (Thursday the 7th): Sent a letter to congress.
So a lot of websites now offer an easy way for you to write to the government about a specific issue or causes. I fill these out as much as I can because it only takes a second and you are another person that shows your government you care. So I don’t becoming a statistic in this sense. Today I filled out one to support the installation of wind energy power in United States. So take a second, read the information and submit your comment to the government on this issue. Read more here.

There is something amatter with the weather.

Published at February 6, 2008 in Donation. 0 Comments

33. Today’s Nice Thing (Wednesday the 6th): Donation to Greenpeace.

So I just got in from my nightly walk in downtown Pittsburgh and I have to say that there is something a matter with the weather. It shouldn’t be 60 degrees in the beginning of February. Now I don’t have much money to donate this money because I’m relatively broke but I just donated $5 to Greenpeace. I’m not sure if they can figure out if global warming is causing this weather but I do know that I find it funny they were arrested for peacefully protesting in fake polar bear outfits in Washington DC. Click on the image to read the story.

Off to DC I go.

Published at February 4, 2008 in Friends. 0 Comments

32. Today’s Nice Thing (Monday the 4th): Spending time with friends.
So I’m finally starting to peek my head out of the shadows and join the rest of the world in normal activities. This was the first time I’ve been really sick in a long time and have almost fully recooperated else than a slight occasional cough. So I’ve moved once a year since I’ve been 17 and have lived in various areas around Pittsburgh, PA. During these times I’ve found a lot of friends in these towns, but unfortunately don’t get to see them as often as I like with working a full time job and doing Creative Treehouse after. So today I agreed to meet up with some friends and head down to Washington DC for the weekend. So if any of my long lost friends wants to catch up while I’m in DC please get ahold of me

I’ve been sick

Published at January 27, 2008 in Kindness. 1 Comment

31. Today’s Nice Thing (Wednesday the 27th): I’m in hiding.
I’ve been sick this past week and so my one nice thing for these days has been not trying to spread nasty cold. Please stay away from me till I’m better!

Using my Flip

Published at January 22, 2008 in My Skills and Pittsburgh. 1 Comment

30. Today’s Nice Thing (Tuesday the 22nd): General Tso by The Jim Dandies.
Last weekend was Lights! A Photographic Exploration at Creative TreeHouse which was organized by John Bodnar. One of the bands that was played was a new band called The Jim Dandies from Pittsburgh ,PA. Luckily I had my flip camera with me and grabbed a few videos of their performance. To help promote them, I’ve thrown this video up on a few sites.

General Tso by the jim dandies

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Chip In

Published at January 21, 2008 in Donation and Fundraiser. 1 Comment

29. Today’s Nice Thing (Monday the 21st): Raising Money.
So I just setup a www.ChipIn.com for raising $10,000 for Invisible Children. It’s a pretty awesome widget that basically lets people make a donation into an organizations paypal account and keeps track of it. So I’m hoping to raise $10,000 by the end of the year by having people make donations directly to them. Please take a second and donate a few dollars if you can.

Emmy Bracelot

Published at January 16, 2008 in Donation, Fundraiser and Pittsburgh. 1 Comment

28. Today’s Nice Thing (Wednesday the 16th): The Story of Emmy.
So I’ve been doing a bit of organizing and spreading the knowledge of Invisible Children visiting Pittsburgh this coming March. During their visit they will be showing the Sunday documentary which you receive if you buy one of their bracelets. Each bracelet you can purchase supports a different child in Uganda. Since I’ve already seen this, I decide to purchase one of their red bracelets to support Emmy. Here is Emmy’s story.

Sorry

Published at January 16, 2008 in Maintenance. 0 Comments

Sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve been working some long hours with my fulltime job, Creative TreeHouse and planning some upcoming stuff for an Invisible Children benefit show. I’ve been doing my one nice thing a day but not getting to update it here. Should be updating daily again in the next few days.

Texture Collection 2

Published at January 13, 2008 in My Skills and Resources. 0 Comments

27. Today’s Nice Thing (Sunday the 13th): Texture Downloads.
So I spent a few hours the other weekend scanning in everything I could find laying around at the Creative TreeHouse. This pretty much happened after working on a new websites for a tattoo artist when I got inspired to scan in some more materials I could use in the design process. So here is another goodie for anyone that wants them. Enjoy!

Host an Invisible Children Event

Published at January 12, 2008 in Donation, Fundraiser and Pittsburgh. 0 Comments

26. Today’s Nice Thing (Saturday the 12th): IC Coming to Pittsburgh.
So I just sent out information to all my contacts here in Pittsburgh about the Invisible Children World Tour that will be hitting Pittsburgh March 6th – 13th. Creative TreeHouse will be hosting an event during that time and I’m hoping many of the other organizations in Pittsburgh will be able to do the same. If anyone is interested in helping out with an event at the Creative TreeHouse or hosting your own, please contact me here to get more info.

Pittsburgh Photo Collection

Published at January 10, 2008 in My Skills and Pittsburgh. 0 Comments

25. Today’s Nice Thing (Thursday the 10th): VisitPittsburgh.com
So I got an email from a friend over at VisitPittsburgh.com today looking for some Pittsburgh photos they could use for a few presentations. So she inspired me to dig up some photos and do another free goodie giveaway over at MonkeysRunFree.com. So here you go for all of you people out there that work for Pittsburgh based companies and occasionally need some photos of events that promote Pittsburgh. The images are of decent resolutions. I hope everyone finds them useful and it’d be great if you credit Jesse Hambley if you use them, but not needed if you can’t.

Creative TreeHouse

Published at January 9, 2008 in Pittsburgh. 0 Comments

24. Today’s Nice Thing (Tuesday the 8th): Non-profit it is.
Tonight was the first meet up for the Creative TreeHouse’s new board of directors. I’ve been doing the Creative TreeHouse for a year now as an LLC and it’s time to finally make the push to turn it over to a 5013c non-profit. The decision was pretty much made tonight that this is definitely the route we want to head with the Creative TreeHouse and the best direction for its future. I’m happy to finally be able to bring everyone on board and make even a greater push here in Pittsburgh to enrich the community.

Your Right to Blog

Published at January 7, 2008 in Donation. 0 Comments

23. Today’s Nice Thing (Monday the 7th): Electronic Frontier Foundation.

So I just made a $5 donation to the Electronic Frontier Foundation and added one of their badges on the One Nice Thing site. For all of you who don’t know what the EFF is, the “EFF is a donor-funded nonprofit group of passionate people—lawyers, technologists, volunteers, and visionaries — who depend on your support to continue successfully defending your digital rights. ” They have done a lot already to protect the rights of bloggers & contributors on the internet and with everyones support they can do more. So please check out their website and add a banner in support on your blog.