The New York City-based United Spinal Association encourages wheelchair users in the metropolitan area, and any individual who uses a wheelchair or scooter while visiting the city, to call 311 to request a wheelchair-accessible taxi via a new central dispatch system.

INDIANAPOLIS (Dec 4, 2008) – The American Legion, the American Legion Auxiliary and the Sons of the American Legion have launched a fundraising effort to purchase comfort items for hospitalized troops recovering in U.S. military and VA medical centers around the world.
“The government does a good job of providing the essentials,” said American Legion National Commander David K. Rehbein. “We want to be able to provide items that usually don’t appear in the budget, such as personal sweat suits, I-Pods, DVDs and other comfort items. The American Legion family is challenging its members and all caring Americans to raise $50,000 by the holidays so we can brighten the season for those who have given us so much.”
The American Legion family raised nearly $350,000 during a similar effort for wounded military members recovering at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany last year.
The project is called Operation Comfort Warriors. Donors can make online contributions by visiting www.legion.org/ocw or by sending a check to Operation Comfort Warriors, P.O. Box 1055, Indianapolis, IN 46206. Administrative and promotional costs for Operation Comfort Warriors are paid by The American Legion, allowing all of the donations to be spent directly on the troops.
With a current membership of 2.6-million wartime veterans, The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and patriotic youth programs. Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation.

(Ann Arbor) - Local children from The Community School of Ballet, 617 East
University Dr., Suite 222, Ann Arbor, will perform in Moscow Ballet's "Great
Russian Nutcracker" at the Michigan Theater on Tues., Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m.
For more info, call dance coordinator Camilla Chiapruis at 996-8515.

The Border Wall

AT&T and Senior Net host one-on-one sessions to educate seniors on their wireless device– regardless of service provider

Women Writing the West Announces
Fall Conference in San Antonio
(SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS) – Women Writing the West (WWW), a national writers’ organization, is bringing headliner writers, editors and publishers to San Antonio for its national conference on October 24-26, 2008, at the Omni Hotel at the Colonnade on IH-10 West.

The St. Vincent de Paul Stores of Austin, Inc. will open a new north location with the recent acquisition of The Storehouse, a non-profit thrift store in Round Rock. The store is located at 1601 S. IH 35, #305. The Storehouse had been in operation since 2002, the creation of Tim and Chris Abels, who saw the need for a store that could provide basic needs assistance serving the North Austin area. After a job-related relocation to Portland, Oregon, the Abels were looking for a business to take over the store.

Manchaca—On May 20, at the Texas Disposal Systems Exotic Game Ranch in Creedmoor, 200 volunteers joined in a safari celebration of their gift of time supporting Marbridge residents.  Marbridge recognized the contributions of all its volunteers at its annual Volunteer Appreciation Event.   In 2007, more than 130 volunteers donated in excess of 11,000 hours to help the residents of Marbridge.
Marbridge is a non profit residential community located in Manchaca dedicated to providing residential care and job and life skills to more than 225 adults with cognitive challenges.
Awards were presented to the Volunteer of the Year, the Volunteer Group of the Year, and the volunteer who contributed the most hours.

Central Texas Dachshund Rescue is in need of qualified foster homes for rescued Dachshunds and Dachshund mixes.  Any pets currently living in potential foster homes must be spayed or neutered and on heartworm prevention.  For more information or to apply to be a foster home, visit the Central Texas Dachshund Rescue website at www.ctdr.org  

Chester, Pa. -- Pictured left to right are Chester Community Charter School (CCCS) CEO Steve Lee, One Laptop Per Child Founder Nicholas Negroponte and Vahan Gureghian at an event December 10, 2008 celebrating the purchase of 1,400 laptops for CCCS students in grades three through eight.

Vahan and Danielle Gureghians’ purchase of the 1,400 laptops represents the largest contribution of Negroponte’s XO laptops within the U.S. The XO laptops are the cornerstone of Negroponte’s worldwide One Laptop Per Child program, a nonprofit organization that is likewise committed to children’s education. CCCS students will use their new laptops in school.

Students of The Maryland School for the Blind Raise Funds for Blind Texas Student Impacted by Hurricane Ike

The Historic AGE Building Celebrates Past, Present and Future Service

Founded by a former US Army Reserves officer in the Cole’s Crossing subdivision of Northwest Harris County, Cypress Cares is a group of community volunteers, dedicated to providing community support for the troops who protect our freedoms, through care packages and letters of encouragement from those of us who are proud to be Americans.

Volunteers of the Art of Living Foundation Launch a Week-Long Initiative to
Create a "Violence-Free Stress-Free America"
Austin- Cathleen Sippel was no stranger to high pressure situations and stress. The Houston/Clear Lake resident was the owner of an interior design business in Houston and a European antique business in Dallas, a volunteer with numerous community humanitarian projects, and the mother of a troubled teenage son.
"I was successful professionally, but was enjoying it less and less. I was stressed out about expanding and maintaining it all. The crisis with my son pushed me into major stress overflow," Sippel said. "As I forced myself to relax, I suddenly realized that I had forgotten how to. That was a decisive turning point. I realized something had to change."

International Human rights activist walking to abolish the death penalty reaches Texas, last State Andre Latallade, hip-hop artist and prison rights activist also known as Capital-"X", started to walk from New Jersey to Texas to advocate for the abolishment of capital punishment in the United States. Latallade began his "Walk 4 Life" on March 31, 2008 at 5AM at the state house in Trenton, NJ, the first state to abolish the death penalty in the last 40 years. He will walk 1700 miles through 10 of the highest executing states and arrive at Governors mansion in Austin, Texas, "the busiest killing state in the country". He was supposed to be in Texas to await the Supreme Courts' ruling on the constitutionality of lethal injection, but after the Court ruled last week, Latallade is urging for a stronger protest to drive attention to legalized homicide. Latallade estimated it would have taken 54 days walking 8 hours/day at 3.5 mph and he is on schedule. He took a break to participate on a panel at the Hip Hop Association's HHEAL Festival in the Bronx, New York April 18-20.

CEL's Emotional Literacy Program is proven to produce positive, proactive behaviors and reduce harmful ones such as violence and abuse. Let's make America safer, healthier, and smarter by creating a place for Emotional Literacy Education alongside other crucial, basic disciplines like academics, physical fitness, and financial skills.