Tusk Strategies, founded by Bradley Tusk, works with a variety of corporate and advocacy clients.  One example of the latter is StudentsFirst, an education advocacy group.  In recent news, the group appointed former Des Moines School Board member Patty Link as its Iowa state director.  Link said that this new position indicated an enhanced Iowa presence from the national group.

StudentsFirst seeks increased accountability from educators.  It believes in teachers being evaluated based on student performance as opposed to “rigid education bureaucracies.”  Along with Bradley Tusk and Tusk Strategies the organization has been succeeding in implementing education reform nationwide, along these lines.  Former chancellor of the Washington DC school district, Michelle Rhee, in acknowledgement of the difficulties in implementing such changes (given the criticism against their approach towards reform), entitled her book “Radical.”

With Link now on board, it is hoped that StudentsFirst’s efforts in the Iowa region will address the concerns of parents and base its work on the results.  Link said, “I think the biggest thing is just reaching out to all of the interested parties on education reform and getting a temperature on where people are and trying to continue to implement education reform.”

Infants Can Grow to Be Children with the Help of the Bell Family Foundation Infants in Crisis Program

In Burkina Faso, West Africa, the Bell Family Foundation is working hard to make a difference to children and their families. With donations from people like AJ Discala and his wife Dounya, the Foundation is able to provide the crucial supplies needed, which in many cases can mean the difference between life and death.

West Africa has the highest mortality rate in the world. With no shops to purchase supplies in the villages, it means that mothers do not have easy access to baby bottles or formula. And with no readily available supply of clean water to mix the formula, the only alternative feeding method for an infant to survive is through breastfeeding. If, however, the mother cannot breastfeed, her child is in danger.

This is where the Bell Family Foundation Infants in Crisis milk program plays its life-saving role.

With financial support from generous donors like AJ Discala, the Bell Family Foundation can intervene through local missionaries who are on-site, bringing life giving baby milk to those sorely in need.

Grace is the first baby whose life was saved through the efforts of the Infants in Crisis program.  Obviously grateful, Grace’s family had this to say about the program.

“How else could we have saved her life? We are very content because with this aid our children are saved. If you would not have saved our children, what would we have done so that they would become the children of tomorrow?”

In addition to supporting the Infants in Crisis Program, The Bell Family Foundation is also involved in helping bring fresh, clean water to the residents of villages who would otherwise have no easy or convenient way to obtain potable water. The following are photographs from a recent opening of a water well for the people of Burkina Faso.

Yesterday, CareOne CEO Daniel E. Strauss continued the distribution of $1 million of relief funds to the company’s hurricane-affected employees at a ceremony in New Jersey. The premier senior care company was able to benefit 100 employees and their immediate relatives thanks to ongoing fundraising efforts.

Daniel Strauss awarded $30,000 to community-based relief funds Hope for Highlands and Middletown Disaster Relief Fund. He was joined by Highlands Council President Rebecca Kane, Highland Council Woman Tara Ryan, Highlands Business Partnership President Carla Cefalo-Braswell and Former Mayor and Founder of the Middletown Disaster Relief Fund Anthony P.

The money will support families as they renovate and rebuild new homes and replace lost items, as well as help prepare for future crises. An application process and damage assessments helped to ensure fair fund distribution.

May 1 marks the opening night for the 2013 Spring Show NYC (by invitation only) at the Park Avenue Armory.  This particular event will be used to benefit the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. A room – designed by Brett Beldock of Brett Design – will showcase artworks with animal motifs.  From the sales of these, $25 will be donated to the ASPCA.

The actual Spring Show NYC is open to the public the following day until the 5^th May, at the same address. It is being orchestrated by the Art and Antique Dealers League of America (AADLA) and sponsored by 1stdibs.com.

Exhibition perusers can select a variety of items brought to the show from over 50 galleries and dealers.  These include: Kendall Fine Art (Stand 120), Phoenix Ancient Art (Stand 323), European Decorative Arts Company (Stand 310), Schillary Fine Art, Inc. (Stand 111), Jayne Thompson Antiques (424), etc.  Fifteen of these will be bringing their exhibit to the show for the first time.

Contained in Beldock’s room on opening night will also be her personally-designed wallpapers.  She explained that these really make “the glorious antiques sing,” which in turn have a significant impact on the strength of the items.

In the face of tragedies like those that occurred recently at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, many schools around the country are scrambling to improve their safety policies. Some schools simply talk about changes, while others are actually taking action. There are many resources available for schools and community groups that want to improve upon their security measures, and one of these was just produced by Frank Storch, a Security Consultant and Coordinator for CERT in Baltimore.

An expert in the field of security for over 35 years, Frank Storch has specifically focused his attention on Jewish school throughout North American and has recently completed an essential guide called Keep Your School Safe. This new guide provides schools with a thorough review of their existing security measures and with a comprehensive way to evaluate new measures they should undertake.

As Frank Storch of Baltimore explains at the beginning of his guide, “Based on over 35 years of hands-on safety and security consulting experience, and my role as Coordinator of the Northern Park Heights CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), I believe that every school can benefit from re-evaluating and updating its safety and security measures. This is due to the constantly changing nature of outside threats, the increasing availability of new equipment and methods, and the need for staff and students to be up to date on their safety and security training.

In this light, I present this “Keep Your School Safe” guide. The purpose of this guide is to help your school ask the right questions, the answers to which will help you create a safety and security program customized to your own particular needs. After completing an assessment of your security needs and outlining a plan to address them (including the anticipated budget), consider applying for a Homeland Security grant, as well as to private foundations, charitable organizations, non-profit and for-profit companies, and local sponsors for funding.”

Yesterday, Drake University celebrated its bulldog mascot in the 34^th annual Drake Relays Beautiful Bulldog Contest. Held in Des Moines, Iowa, the contest participants include bulldogs of all ages. Creatively dressed as pirates, ballerinas, bikers and more, the bulldogs kicked off the Drake Relays event which will continue throughout the week. This year’s contest winner was Huckleberry, a four-year-old bulldog who belongs to Steven and Stephanie Hein of Norwalk, Iowa.

Here are some photos from the event:

Huckleberry Wins!

Addie

Zeus

Jazmine Josephine

Lots of young mothers are backing a new trend: jewelry made from breast milk. Though many have deemed the idea adorable and meaningful, others have called the creations “gross” or “creepy.”

The keepsakes, with include pendants and bracelets, were first offered on craft site Etsy.com by Mommy Milk Creations. Run by Allicia Mogavero, the online shop transforms breast milk into precious mementos by preserving it in resin and shaping it into figures like tiny hands or feet. All the buyer needs to do is provide two tablespoons of their milk in a zip-lock bag.

Mogavero was surprised by the enthusiastic response. She can “barely keep up” with orders, she said. Customers have called the jewelry a “gorgeous reminder of such a special time,” and a wonderful way to commemorate “the bonding experience you had with your child.”

Ms. Mogavero explained how she came up with the idea.

“You only make breast milk for such a short period and it was amazing to me that this milk that I made was able to make my child thrive as well as he was. This was simply amazing to me but the thought of him no longer nursing and be not making milk was sad in a way.

I thought long and hard about a way for me to preserve the short time that I made the milk. Through lots of trials and experiments I came up with a system to preserve my breast milk.

I made myself a bracelet and started making them for family members with their breast milk, word of mouth requests started coming in and the rest is history!”

What do you think of breast milk jewelry?

The clocks have been changed, and the weather is warming up, heralding the approach of summer.  Conserving energy during the warmer months is not as complicated as it may seem; in fact, it may be easier than in the winter. Longer, sunlit days allow us to use less artificial lighting, and the high temperatures can be used to your advantage as well by air drying laundry and dishes.

The main energy expense during the summer is air conditioning. According to energy companies like IDT Energy, there are several ways to minimize energy costs while keeping your home cool and comfortable.

New York City offers several guidelines for summer air-conditioning usage:

Window Air-Conditioners

• Filter maintenance on all window air conditioners is critical to the efficient performance of the
  air conditioner, and should be performed prior to the start of the air conditioning season.
•  Air conditioners shall be used only when rooms are occupied and when interior temperatures reach 78
  degrees F.
•  Maintain temperature settings on air conditioners at no lower than 78 degrees F.
•  Window air conditioners should NOT be set on the constant run position.
•  On extremely hot days, fresh air louvers should be in the “closed” position.
• Keep room doors and windows closed when air conditioning is operating.
•  If room air conditioners are to be purchased, it should be done through the DCAS Division of Municipal
  Supply Services when ever possible. These units are Energy Star rated or equivalent, as required by law.
• Purchase the unit with the highest energy efficiency ratio (EER) available.

Central Air-Conditioners

• All filters should be cleaned or replaced as frequently as required to maintain maximum system efficiency.
• Indoor temperatures should be maintained at no lower than 78 degrees F.
• All units should be serviced to insure maximum efficiency of operation. Special attention should be given to belt drives, controls and refrigerants.
• All control settings and time mechanisms should be checked and calibrated PRIOR to the start of the cooling season.
• Air-conditioning should be used only when the building is occupied.
• In non-hospital settings, outside make-up air should be reduced.