charity

Relay for Life 2012

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by Ryan Munns on March 21, 2012

Usually, my weekly column covers the latest in sports, but I decided to something a little different this week. Bear with me!

Next Friday, (March 30th) Relay for Life makes its annual trip to BSU. For those of you who don’t know, Relay For Life is the main cancer fundraising event put on my the American Cancer Society. People who sign up go to the Tinsley Center at 6pm on Friday, and then walk the track to raise awareness for cancer research. Don’t worry if you’re not big on doing laps, it is all at your own pace! This event is almost completely volunteer driven so it’s up to all of us to make it work.

What it’s about

Relay’s purpose is to raise as much money for cancer research as we can, in order to further the chances of finding a cure. Even if you don’t have a lot of money to donate, it only takes $15 dollars to sign up. I went to Relay for Life last year and it was truly a great experience. It’s a place where you can go to learn about cancer research or just to find people who have gone through similar hardships to relate to. It’s incredibly how many people come out for this event and it only gets bigger each year.

Events

Relay for Life is loaded with tons of events to keep you busy all night. The entire thing goes from 6pm Friday until 6am Saturday, but guests are not required to stay the whole time. The night starts off with the opening ceremony laps around the track. Different laps have different naps that you can find on the schedule of events. Some examples of laps are Accepted Lap where you wear BSU clothes. Sleeping Beauty lap is a lap in your pjs, and Fever Pitch lap is a lap representing your favorite sports team. There will also be various forms of entertainment such as a magician (the one last year was AWESOME) several DJs playing, an acoustic singer/songwriter, ms. relay pageant and much more. At the end of the night there are raffles for various gift boxes as well. Relay For Life is truly a great event to take part in and is for a truly wonderful cause. So if you’re not doing anything, or really think this sounds neat you should go ahead and register to come here!

Have you ever been a part of Relay for Life? Will you go this year?


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Celebrities & Politics

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by ashleytwigg on February 21, 2012

I don’t hate or even dislike celebrities. I value genuine talent in acting, music, crazy Youtube stunts- whatever propels people to earn fame. However, I also believe that people need to form their own opinions. It’s no secret that, these days, Celebrities use their platforms and status to promote political figures.

This is a free country and they are welcomed to do so, but if Lady Gaga tweets to her nine million followers that she’s going to vote for whomever, that doesn’t mean the rest of the “little monsters” should jump on that bandwagon. Anti-bullying bandwagon? Absolutely. Voting people into office you have no knowledge about? Please don’t.

Pro-Voting- YES:

When it comes to any type of power, people can use it for good or they can use it for evil. As much as I am not a fan of Puffy Daddy, P-Diddy, Shawn Puffy Combs- whatever his name is, he did a lot of work  with the Rock the Vote campaign and urged people to go out and vote. The celebrities involved in that campaign weren’t pushing youth in any political direction- they were simply promoting the importance of voting. Whether we like to admit it or not, a great deal of the population can be swayed by celebrities and the media.

For those of you who don’t think we live in a “monkey see, monkey do” society, you may want to take another look around. We all have minds of our own and I wish more people used them ALL the time, but if celebrities are promoting something GOOD- it will only benefit the rest of us “little people”.

Copy Cat Voting- NO:

People need to be informed on issues and about candidates. I’m sure some celebrities do take the time out to research and truly understand the candidates they support, however, just because you like their movies or music doesn’t mean you see politics on the same level. We are talking about celebrities with huge sums of money. How can we assume their political values would necessarily even compare to ours?  You are adults and I’m sure  (like me) you are more than familiar with our old friend Google. Learn about the candidates on your own and vote according to the TRUTH that you learned.

Welcomed Attention:

Now I don’t want to completely rag on celebrities because, like I said, power can be used for good. Instead of celebrities simply supporting a candidate, they sometimes use their power to support a CAUSE. The money celebrities have donated, the awareness they have brought, and the impact they have had on AIDS, cancer research, homelessness, and thousands of other causes in the past few years is incredible.

These are the things people should be jumping on board for and following. Politics and “your vote” should be a personal endeavor. Family members, celebrities, boyfriends, girlfriends- what have you, these people shouldn’t effect who and what you vote for! You are an adult, form your own opinion don’t take the easy way out by following someone else’s.

Do you vote based on celebrities? Do you gain political awareness from TV, Twitter, and the media? Do you think celebrities affect the way people vote?

 

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Many people would agree that, although presents are nice, it’s being home surrounded by family that makes the holiday season bright. Unfortunately over 600,000 people in the United States are without a home at any given time. As the weather turns cold and we’re bundled up in our homes, enjoying holiday dinner and the company of family and friends, we should keep in mind that this joyous time of the year for us, is the most challenging time for individuals who are homeless.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness

One of the highest ranked charitable causes dedicated to homelessness is the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH). “The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a nonprofit, non-partisan, organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States.” They do this by by improving national and local policies, building capacity, and educating opinion leaders. This large organization focuses not only on providing the homeless with a place to stay, but on researching and putting into place effective, efficient, long-term solutions for homelessness. They also have a variety of resources for helping people understand the causes and statistics associated with homelessness and the cost of homelessness for the American taxpayer.

How You Can Help:

  • As usual, one of the ways you can help is by being informed. You can do this by signing up for NAEH newsletters or simply by checking in with its website (and those like it) so that you’re aware of the most current policies that effect homelessness.
  • Once you’re informed, you can advocate. This is a democracy–we’re all fortunate enough to have a say. So why not say its time to end homelessness?
  •  Donate money. The NAEH offers a variety of ways for you to contribute, including special holiday gift cards that allow you make a donation in someone’s name.
  • There are also a variety of ways you can donate your time by volunteering. You can use your skills to help out an organization or even find a place to volunteer in your area.

Whatever you do, please keep in mind that while you’re roasting chestnuts on an open fire, Jack Frost may be nipping at someone else’s nose. Helping however you can to put an end to homelessness will make this a Happy Holidays for everyone!

 

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