Posts Tagged ‘Richard Branson’

24 Jan

Download to Make a Difference–FairShare Music

Posted by Andrew Mersmann in Inspiration, Support. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

This is a great idea, based in the UK. FairShare Music does good things with great music. Just like all the rest of the music download sites on the web, they offer tons of songs (over 13.5 million tracks with new releases coming out all the time) legally–not pirating–and for every song you download, they give half the profits to the charity of your choice. They embed generosity into music–one of the inspiring and comforting things you already do for yourself. It’s so simple, really. They currently partner with 18 great charities (Amnesty.org.uk the British arm of Amnesty International, the British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross, Cancer Research UK, Centre Point for homeless youth, Friends of the Earth, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, Marie Curie Cancer Care, NSPCC to end cruelty to children, Oxfam, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Sue Ryder Care for people with life-changing illness, the Teenage Cancer Trust, V-Inspired to get youth involved in volunteer service, Virgin Unite the charitable arm of Virgin Airlines and Sir Richard Branson, War Child protecting children from war and helping the recover from its effects, World Wildlife Fund, and Youth Music to empower young people through the arts.

Next time you find a brilliant new band on Spotify or Pandora or from a friend’s recommendation, think about spreading the wealth for something you would do anyway. It is effortless giving…we can all afford that.

7 Nov

The Divine Miss M

Posted by Andrew Mersmann in One click helping, Support. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

bette-midler

Cruise down the freeway in Los Angeles or look along some New York roadsides, and you’ll see signs saying that this particular stretch of road is cleaned and maintained by Bette Midler. I’ll have to say I was pretty doubtful that Bette, well meaning as I’d always heard she was, would actually ever be out there with her Hefty bag and gloves grabbing up cigarette butts and Dr. Pepper cans. Now I know better–her commitment to the greening of the places she calls home is almost unparalleled. Bette’s New York Restoration Project (about which I’ve blogged before) is a hugely important player in the greening of the Big Apple. So many people find the inspiration to get involved due to her star power and name…and now she’s gathering, ohhh, about a hundred or so of her most famous friends, to up the ante.

Ms. Midler has pulled together an ONLINE CHARITABLE AUCTION at CHARITYFOLKS.COM to raise funds for NYRP. Once in a lifetime opportunities to meet and hang out with celebs are being auctioned to the highest charitable bidders. Some of the opportunities of which you can avail yourself (and feel good about being philanthropic and making New York better for everyone) include:

· Sit front row at Bette Midler’s Las Vegas show and meet her backstage

· Lunch with Richard Branson during your week-long getaway at Necker Island

· Lunch with Jann Wenner – Founder & Publisher of Rolling Stone Magazine

· Private tennis lesson with John McEnroe

· Walk on Role with Steve Carell and Paul Rudd in “Dinner for Schmucks”

· Meet Daniel Craig with house seats to A Steady Rain on Broadway

· Meet John Stamos backstage at Bye Bye Birdie

· Spend a Day in the Studio with Legendary Musician Jackson Browne

· Meet Robin Williams with VIP tickets to his NYC stand-up show

· Meet Cher with VIP tickets & backstage passes to her Las Vegas show

· Meet John Mayer at one of his concerts along with VIP tickets

· Intern at Rolling Stone Magazine – the ultimate source for music & pop-culture

· Walk-on Role & Lunch on Set of  It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

The auction is live until Friday the 13th (November 13, 2009) at www.charityfolks.com, highlights from the fabulous 100 lot auction include:

4 Sep

Changers:Profile-Alexander Souri, Relief Riders International

Posted by Andrew Mersmann in Profiles. Tagged: , , , , , , .

souriI’ve decided to add a new element to the blog. I will be posting occasional interviews with people I’ve met who are “Agents of Change,” folks who have done or are doing astounding work making a difference in lives or sometimes providing the structure and opportunity for us to make a difference. I hope you’ll find them as inspiring as I do.

This first is with Alexander Souri, the founder of Relief Riders International and Relief Workers International. Full disclosure: I did a Relief Ride with Alexander in the desert of Rajasthan, India, where 14 of us traveled on horseback to deliver school and medical supplies, helped at free medical camps and cataract eye surgery camps, and delivered milking goats to poor families. In my field of travel writing, the description “life-changing” is bandied about loosely, but I could not be more sincere when I say this trip changed my life. (a stream of consciousness account of that trip can be found here: www.andrewmersmann.blogspot.com) That experience plays a huge part in what I am doing right now…

INTERVIEW: ALEXANDER SOURI, RELIEF RIDERS INTERNATIONAL, RELIEF WORKERS INTERNATIONAL

Mission Statement: Relief Riders International (RRI) is a humanitarian-based, adventure travel company that organizes horseback journeys through breathtaking areas in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, India.

Over the last four years Relief Riders International has held seven successful Relief Rides. During this period we were able to design and develop far reaching medical and educational programs providing school supplies, goats, medical care and cataract surgeries to rural communities in Rajasthan.

To date, our medical programs have given us the opportunity to treat over 15,000 villagers, including 7,800 children.

Building on the success of these programs we are always researching new ways to provide effective medical care to rural areas. Relief Riders International is pleased to introduce our free Dental Surgery Program. Villagers will be able to receive free dental care and minor surgeries on our Relief Rides scheduled for the winter of 2010.

This past year was spent launching Relief Workers International (RWI) offering a different travel experience while incorporating the same humanitarian programs without the use of horses.

WHAT POSSESSED YOU? THERE MUST HAVE BEEN EASIER THINGS TO START—WHY THIS?
Firstly it all had to do with where I was at in my life. I’d reached a point where I had been lucky enough to travel the world and do all sorts of colorful and interesting jobs—but there was no alignment. I was an observer and could do this skill here and that skill there, but it didn’t add up. I realized there was much more to life than what I was living. Mostly I looked to provide an opportunity to help other people, to give back, to start taking care of the planet, the place I lived. I started the journey of unraveling a wonderful childhood—no negativity or bad experiences—but unraveling the conventions of …childhood…getting back to myself. It was the real reason of me starting these trips. It’s been a five-year journey and it’s still continuing and it’s wondrous.

If we go into finding out why this, why did I try to create this experience, it has also to do with my sense of freedom. I have an interest in being free, both in the mind and the body and also on the planet. Being able to jump out of the mainstream and say I’d really love to go to a beautiful place and see if anybody needs help, and if so, create a system to provide that. It’s part of what I am, the archetype, the ability to jump on a horse or a motorcycle or [pilot] a plane always gives me a sense of replenishment and nourishment.

Continue reading →

27 Jul

The Elders

Posted by Andrew Mersmann in Inspiration. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

eldersWow do I love this. This auspicious group has been working since 2007, but they are new to me. The Elders is a group of global leaders, brought together by Nelson Mandela, to offer their influence and wisdom to the process of peace building and to address human suffering. In addition to Mandela, Kofi Annan, Jimmy Carter, Graca Machel, Desmond Tutu, and Aung San Suu Kyi are a few others of the elders.The group was gathered and launched by Sir Richard Branson and Peter Gabriel.

There are so few cultures that still revere the wisdom that comes with age, the life spirit and lessons passed down through generations–it’s almost as if we move too quickly and are so desperate to reinvent and improve that we end up re-inventing the wheel instead of building upon the knowledge of those who have gone before us. What a loss.

The Elders focus on international rights issues and take on new challenges as they arise. Their collective plate is currently full with initiatives focused on: the difficult and fraught transition to democracy in Burma; issues based on equality for women and girls and calling for an end to religious and traditional practices that discriminate (perhaps you heard that Jimmy Carter, after 60 years, recently left the Southern Baptist church over their institutionalized repression of women); the humanitarian tragedy in Sudan; the unrest and division on the island of Cyprus; the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe; and the Every Human Has Rights campaign—a wordlwide declaration.

Big, heady issues. Big heads taking them on. When was the last time you reached out to the generation before yours for guidance? Your parents, aunts and uncles, neighbors, family friends, business mentors, or anyone older needn’t be a world leader to have incredible gifts of wisdom that are yours for the asking.

Ask.