Did you know that when Lance Armstrong received his cancer diagnosis 13 years ago, he didn’t have health insurance?  No one should have to battle cancer while worrying about health insurance coverage.  That’s why we just signed the LIVESTRONG Action petition, to tell our leaders in Washington that any health reform bill must include two principles:  Read the rest of this post...

• No American should be denied health insurance coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
• No American should lose their insurance due to changes in health or employment.

Since we focused a lot on indoor things to do with your kids this week, we thought a good challenge for everyone would be to take your kids outside this weekend.  The International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) will celebrate its sixth annual International Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day tomorrow, Saturday, October 3, 2009.  This is a great opportunity for you to pass your passion for pedaling on to kids!

We’re sure this year’s event will be even bigger and better than ever.  Here are some things you can do to participate:  Read the rest of this post...

In honor of the Smithsonian giving away a free day at their museums, maybe there’s something we can all do to repay our local museums.  Museum funding, especially for smaller museums, is really difficult. Even the major established institutions, unless they are well-endowed, are having a hard time figuring out how they are going to continue their operations.  Some museums are being forced to make the hard decision between shutting down for good or selling off portions of their collections to private collectors.  That means, we, the public lose access to timeless art, culture, and knowledge.  Read the rest of this post...

Hooray for free chocolate from Mars. Now you can help Mars do even more in this week’s “Do Good” Challenge. Mars is making a big commitment to sustainably harvested cocoa for their chocolates. They recently contracted their first batch of sustainably harvested cocoa beans certified by UTZ. Similar to other sustainable certifications, UTZ “helps coffee growers to be more professional and competitive in production and selling, and it enables coffee brands to incorporate and credibly demonstrate responsibility in their entire product range,” according to the company’s website. Mars also plans to source cocoa for all of its products from sustainably harvested farms by 2020. In addition to working with UTZ Certified cocoa, Mars announced it will source some of its cocoa from suppliers that bear the Rainforest Alliance Certification symbol, which also certifies agricultural crops grown in an environmentally friendly manner.  Read the rest of this post...