Posts Tagged ‘Twitter’
Domestic Violence Help: #BraveWoman #CBias
Did you know that ONE in FOUR women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime? That is an amazing statistic to me. I have lucked out, because I personally am not the one in four. However, I know there are women out there have to make those moment-by-moment decisions requiring brave choices and bold actions. You may not think this effects your life, but I can guarantee you that you know someone who has/had domestic violence in their lives. It is the hidden epidemic. I can’t be the only one who remembers the PSA commercials telling people to report domestic violence (I don’t see them anymore on TV, but I definitely remember them. I do wonder why they don’t show them anymore.)
It can be hard to believe in ourselves when we have been beaten down by circumstance, and that is where BraveWoman.org steps in. Brave Woman is a grassroots movement to shift personal and public perception of women facing domestic violence situations from a victim mentality to one of courage and strength. The ultimate goal is to create a community that supports difficult decisions involved in creating a new life of safety, healing, and independence. I wish we were there already. Every woman and child should have the supportive resources they need to live without fear in their homes and see themselves as courageous victors, finally free from family violence. I love that they have a link on the site called “click to hide site”. They get it that it can be dangerous to women to even be looking for a way out.
Even if you aren’t involved in a domestic violence situation, you can still become a Brave Woman Champion. You can take the pledge today and join other brave women. The pledge is:
I pledge to honor and respect brave women and children who tackle the difficult journey of change from domestic violence to a new life. I acknowledge my own moment-by-moment bravery, will remain aware of what is happening to others around me, and speak up against violence in any form. I will stand up for human dignity and safety for women and children.
I think this is something we can all do now and next year. Everyone who joins the Brave Woman community receives a free download of Jana Stanfield’s song, What Would I Do Today If I Were Brave and other sources of reflection and encouragement. You can also join them in a Brave Woman Twitter party on December 19th at 1:00-2:00 PM EST.
Will you be pledging to be a Brave Woman in 2012? Do you currently do anything to help those who find themselves in a domestic violence situation? (For example, we donate teddy bears to our church this time of year. Our church then gives those teddy bears to children in domestic violence shelters. It doesn’t seem like much, but those bears can mean the world to those children).
This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.
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Apolo Ohno, Me, and a $25 Subway Giveaway!
I just realized that I never posted about this! I got to meet Apolo Ohno! I also got to ask him a few questions too. I asked on Twitter and Facebook what people wanted to know, so here are his thoughts, ideas, and ramblings (and some of mine).
First, yes, he is just as cute in person as he is on TV. He is one of the most real and one of the nicest celebrities I have met.
Food
Apolo’s favorite Subway sandwich (for those of you who don’t know, he is a celebrity spokesperson for them) is Honey Nut Bread with Double turkey, chedder cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pepper, spinach, oil, and vinegar. He also is trying to get Subway to add some gluten free menu items. His favorite splurge item is ethnic foods.
Life Lessons
He believes in balance — everything has to be in balance.
His one piece of advice: There are many life lessons to be learned through sports.
In 1998 he didn’t make the US team. However, that gave him the drive he has today. Everything happens for a reason. We don’t control if we win or lose, but it is how you handle that.
Running/Athletes/Sports
His favorite running weather? Crazy weather! He likes to run when it is crazy hot or crazy cold.
His opinion on why athletes seem to do so well on DWTS (Dancing With The Stars)? Athletes are very use to being coached. They are use to schedules and training. Hollywood celebrities — not as much.
He runs 40 miles a week.
His nutrition changes depending on what sport he is doing. While training for the marathon (he just ran in Chicago’s), he gets to eat more carbohydrates. When skating, he has no to low carbohydrates. His normal weight is 160 lbs. However, his race weight is 141-142 lbs.
He only started training for marathon running in June. His goal time is 1 hr 45 minutes for the half marathon.
In speedskating, his longest race is only 2.5 minutes. So yes, marathon running is completely different. His training had to be customized to him. His trainer had to retrain him. He had to learn that “it’s okay that people pass you”.
What surprised me the most is how Apolo told us how sports saved his life. As a child, he did swimming, basketball, football, and boxing. In 1992, he saw speedskating in the Olympics. He tried it and thought it was fun, and he happened to be really good at it. At 14, he was recruited for a program. At that point in his life, he said he was a “bad” kid. He hung out with bad kids and did bad things. (And if you don’t believe people can change, I hope his story changes his tune). Now, this program he got in, they had made a special exemption to let him in. His dad dropped him off at the airport. Instead of getting on the plane, he called one of his friends and lived on his friends’ couches for around 2 weeks. The program then called his dad and were like “where is he?” Needless to say, his dad tracked him down and was not a happy camper. He then drove him to airport again, walked him to the gate, walked him to his seat, and flew with him. He made it to the program that truly saved him. He said it wasn’t easy. However, speedskating completely turned his life around. At 14 years old, he was #1 in US. 15 years later (at the 2010 Olympics), 70%-80% of the judges were people he has skated against over the years. (Now, how weird would that be?)
I had such a great conversation with him, so I have teamed with Subway to give one of my lucky readers a $25 Subway gift card. Here’s what you need to do:
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