The Salvation Army Alegria is launching a new HIV/AIDS campaign called The Red Balloon Walk

The Red Balloon Walk is an awareness campaign to be launched in Downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday December 1st 2010. Held on World AIDS Day, the walk is a fun and creative way to educate the public about current issues surrounding HIV/AIDS.

Hundreds of volunteers will spread out Downtown distributing education material. Each volunteer will be carrying a large red balloon. Serving as a visual reminder and a fun ice breaker, the Red Balloon is also a symbol of hope. Hope for a cure; hope for more resources to expand prevention and treatment; Hope for people living with HIV/AIDS. Volunteer participation is totally free.

We are holding the event because around the world poverty, inequality, and mental health conditions are obstacles to treatment for many people with HIV/AIDS. Their hope rests on our willingness to overcome these challenges and invest our time and resources in improving access to treatment and medication. The Red Balloon Walk is a creative and fun way to let people know what the needs are and how we can work together to improve the quality of life for people leaving with HIV/AIDS.

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Earlier this year, Fast Company reported a surprising outcome of the economic downturn: more people were volunteering.  Perhaps this is understandable because as more people were out of work, they had greater opportunities to lend their now abundantly free time to causes that they deemed worthy. Interestingly, the category that had the highest percentage of volunteers was those who were engaged in some type of religious charitable work. More than any other option, when people chose to spend their time on helping, they choose to do so with an organization who's mission was not limited to this temporal life.

Perhaps the economic downturn was to blame for this as well. Perhaps, as times our tough, people want to invest their time in something that is of seemingly higher value. When I worked for a church curriculum publisher, we found that sales of Sunday School material went up when the economy went sour. Persummably the less people could count on money, the more willing they were to turn to God. 

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We're about halfway through  the month. We are stuck around 34th for last few days, so we need a little boost! I made this video to remind you of your power to make a difference in this world.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyEXp7WxboA

We are getting some more media attention. We were in the Post on Saturday.(http://bit.ly/bAJEjr

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In the middle of all the hype and angst about Anne "Interview With a Vampire" Rice leaving Christianity, a new story has emerged, albeit with a little less fanfare. It seems as though Katy "I Kissed a Girl" Perry has decided to tell the world, "I'm still a Christian." Or at least that part of the world that read her recent interview, "Sex, God and Katy Perry," in Rolling Stone magazine.

Talk about a spiritual cage match made in, er, heaven. Wouldn't you just love to get the 68 year-old Rice--raised Catholic, turned atheist, Catholic again, and now somewhere in between--in a room with 25 year-old Perry--raised Pentecostal by tongue-speaking parents, not rejecting her faith, but not exactly serving as a wholesome role model for all of her music fans? Wonder what these two spiritual titans would say to each other? 

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Imagine for a moment you find yourselves at a crossroads. You have a decision to make. One that will change everything you’ve ever known and one that will ultimately determine the course of your future. You can stay where you are and continue your life as a slave, or you could risk everything; including your life and set out on an unknown journey in hopes of a better life; a free life.

What would you do?

It was the year 1849 and Harriet Tubman “Moses” fled from a life of slavery on a Maryland plantation and after a long and rigorous trek, reached freedom in Canada. Tubman did something remarkable. She returned to her plantation and led others out and into freedom as well.

The Underground Railroad was a remarkable and complicated system. It took the collaboration of brave abolitionists and the determination of those who knew they deserved a better life to carry out this organization of freeing Americas slaves of the mid-1800’s. And they succeeded. Slavery in the slave states eventually ceased.

Over 150 years after Harriet Tubman tasted freedom and helped countless other do the same, history books refer to her as an American hero. She stands tall with other hero’s of that movement such as Fredrick Douglas, William Stil and Susan B. Anthony.

Fast forward to today and you’ll find 15 cyclists who just finished riding along the Underground Railroad, stretching 1800 miles (see videos of the cyclists). The same miles former United States slaves walked. The cyclists are part of The International Justice Mission Five Weeks of Freedom Campaign. The campaign, which wrapped up end of July, focused its efforts on awareness and advocacy in support of IJM’s work to give a voice to the slaves of our world today and those facing unbelievable injustices.

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President Obama has his hands full. On one end, if he presses too hard for equality and justice, he will be crucified for “playing the race card.” On the other side of it, if he sits still and says very little, at the end of his presidency not only will Blacks remonstrate but many other ethnic minorities will bawl for justice and equality against the beast of racism. In the recent weeks, we have seen the struggle President Obama has had; Shirley Sherrod is case in point. Moreover, now you have Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters being probed by the ethics committee; both are African American. Does race play a role in all this? Of course.

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Teaching at a Christian univeristy, it's not uncommon for someone to doubt the validity of a business school. I've written before about it here. People think business equals profit and greed, and for a Christian that must mean business is bad. However, suddenly business is hot again and that's because of this nifty little word called social entrepreneurship, which is also known as Business as Mission (BAM).

Social entrepreneurship is when a business uses for-profit means to accomplish a social good. This usually happens in one of two ways. A non-profit starts a for-profit enterprise and uses the proceeds to fund their philanthropic activities. Or a for-profit decides to put some of its business proceeds towards a good cause. An example of the first is the Salvation Army retail stores. An example of the second is Tom's Shoes, which donates a pair of shoes to children in need for every shoe that is sold. 

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Its been a long time coming, but we finally have an updated trailer for our film. The thing is, if you want to see it, please vote for us to win $50,000 through the Pepsi Refresh Project here:  http://pep.si/bPy7mt . You'll see the trailer on our page.

WE NEED YOU TO VOTE ONCE EVERY DAY! WE NEED TO GET IN THE TOP TEN SOON B/C THOSE WHO START IN THE LEAD IN THIS COMPETITION USUALLY STAY IN THE LEAD. We have already went from 320th to 84th in the competition in just a matter of hours, please help us continue!

This money will go to finishing the film and having the funds we need to get it seen! I have been working full-time for the last 3 months ever since recovering from surgery (which was the result of the plane crash exactly one year ago today.) With David's help this past month, we have gotten our 150 hours down to a 5 hour rough cut. The movie should be incredible and have a huge impact on the world. SO PLEASE VOTE!!!!!!

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