'One Warm Coat' Drive Begins

'One Warm Coat' Provides a Winter Necessity for Children, Adults For many families, winter poses especially serious financial problems. Added fuel costs, vehicle and home maintenance and other expenses drain a family's budget. Sometimes, the budget just won't stretch to cover winter clothing. Every winter, thousands suffer for want of a something that many take for granted: a warm winter coat. One Warm Coat is gearing up for the 2011-2012 winter season. Read more...

Free Hurricane Mobile Tracking Apps, Printable Emergency Kit Guidelines

Free Hurricane Tracking Apps, Emergency Kit Guidelines Hurricane Irene is battering the Outer Bank in North Carolina and has New York and the entire eastern seaboard in her sights. The word of the day is emergency preparedness. Here are resources for making emergency kits and free cellphone hurricane tracker apps. Let's help each other and spread the word about hurricane safety. Read more.

Mental and Emotional Health Resources for Earthquake, Oil Spill Disaster Victims

Mental and Emotional Health Resources for Disaster Victims
The first concern in any emergency or disaster is, of course, physical safety. But what about emotional and mental health? Here are free resources from the APA and FEMA for families in crisis and disaster victims. Read more.

Homelessness and What Taxpayers can do about it

We use vague terms about "needy people," "the poor" and "homelessness." Are people poor and homeless by choice? Do our help efforts enable people to live outside society's boundaries or empower them to make change? Do poor, homeless people really want help? Read more...

Good News from Haiti Updates One Year Later

Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the massive earthquake that rocked the island country of Haiti. Haiti was already the most impoverished nation in the western hemisphere when the devastating quake left 1.5 million people homeless. What progress has been made in clean up and relief efforts one year later? Read more...

7.1 Earthquake Hits Southern Chile

January 2, 2011: The U.S. Geological Survey reports that an earthquake measuring 7.1- 7.2 on the Richter Scale hit Araucania in central Chile Sunday at 20:20:16 UTC (3:20 p.m. EST). Read on...

Easy, Inexpensive Holiday Gift Baskets

You've seen the expensive holiday goodie baskets; they're lavish and lovely.  But even if you choose the items to fill them with, they still seem mass-produced, impersonal...And you don't want that, not for your loved ones. Here are quick, easy, inexpensive gift basket ideas for anyone on your holiday shopping list. Read on...

Best Giving Tree and Toys for Tots Gifts

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is choosing gifts for the Marines Toys for Tots drive and church missions Giving Tree childrens' gifts. Here are best gifts for domestic and overseas missions, giving tree and Toys for Tots. Read on...

Free Printable 'Stone Soup' Activities to Teach Kids Sharing

The legend of "Stone Soup" is timeless. It's been retold many times, notably by Marcia Brown, Ann McGovern and Jon J. Muth. Stone Soup is sacred text in preschool and elementary classrooms. If you are teaching Stone Soup, here are free printable activities.  Read on

Thanksgiving Lessons for Children in Sharing and Friendship from 'Stone Soup'

'Stone Soup' is a wonderful old legend that has been retold most notably buy John J. Muth, Ann McGovern and Marcia Brown. You can make 'Stone Soup' with children in school or homeschool to teach them about sharing, giving and friendship. Perfect for holidays, especially Thanksgiving when we focus on the Puritan Pilgrims' relationship with the generous Native Americans. Free printable activities and recipes included. Read more