In 2004, Proctor & Gamble (P&G) partnered with a diverse network of organizations to create the Children’s Safe Drinking Water program, providing awareness of this significant global issue and enabling others to help solve this problem.
Contaminated drinking water is a major problem.

More than one billion people do not have access to safe water.
Diarrhea caused by drinking contaminated water remains a leading cause of illness and death among infants and children in the developing world.
About 1.8 million children die every year due to diarrheal diseases.
More children die from diarrheal illnesses like …

April is also National Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month!
If you or a friend or family member have been sexually assaulted and you would like to talk to someone, either call Rainn’s hotline at 1.800.656.HOPE OR check out their new ONLINE Chat Help!
Here are Rainn.org’s tips on Ways to Prevent Sexual Assault:

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It’s Ms. Modern, here, and I wondered if any of you could do me a favor. I do a lot of fundraising for pediatric cancer and one of “my” cancer moms would like her own webpage. I am able to pay for the domain, etc, but am TOTALLY not talented when it comes to creating site banners. I’m looking for someone who would be willing to DONATE a banner to this project. Perhaps you are an artist, or you have a friend who is. If you can help out, please …

I mentioned last week that I participated in the Day Zero Project from July 4, 2008 – April of 2010. One of my goals, that I haven’t yet met (which will go on my NEW Day Zero Project List), was to join the National Bone Marrow Donor List.
If you followed Ms. Modern last summer, you may remember that I do a yearly Blogathon to raise money for pediatric cancer research. Because of my dedication to this cause, and “watching” so many of “my” cancer kids go through surgeries and bone …

Next month, I, Ms. Modern, will have “completed” (read: should have) my first Day Zero Project. I joined this project on July 4, 2008, my 30th birthday, and have been plugging along on my tasks ever since.

The Challenge:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).
Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in …

As women, we like to believe we are safe and strong and independent in 2010. If I had a nickel for every time I heard a modern woman say, “If someone tried to [insert actions like - rob, rape, beat, attack, follow (etc)] me, I’d kick them in the groin! No one’s going to mess with me,” I’d probably have about $50 to spend on shoes. I really don’t want a pair of new shoes that badly.
Unfortunately, the truth is that:

1 in 6 women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime …

In case you’re still under your rock (where I’d sometimes like to be – um, not under yours, mine), we featured Fiona Robyn’s latest novel, Thaw, last week. I also gave a review of her book, The Letters, which I hungrily gobbled up last month.

This week, the talented Ms. Robyn gave us a shout-out on her writing blog, Planting Words. We got her to get her “Dude” on!
As a side note, I’ve since used my FREE AMAZON e-gift cards (earned via Swagbucks, ahem) to purchase both Thaw and The Blue Handbag, Robyn’s …

In 2005, the subject of Living Wills came up during the Terri Shiavo Case. Since the early 90’s, Schiavo lived in a persistent vegetative state which, according to her doctors, showed no hope of recovery. Shiavo’s husband, Michael, told the Florida courts, in 1998, that Terri would not have wished to live this way, while Terri’s parents, the Schindler’s, argued that Terri was exhibiting signs of life and that she be allowed to continue to live. The debate went on until 2005, when a judge ruled in favor of Michael …

Turner Classic Movies is counting down the 31 Days until the Oscars and they’ve invited Ms. Modern readers to join in on the fun!
From February 1 – March 3, TCM is showing 360 Academy Award Winning or Nominated movies Uncut and Commercial-Free! This year the films are scheduled in a format inspired by the ever-popular Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game – starting with Only When I Laugh and ending with Diner, it’s designed so that each movie is linked to the next movie in the lineup through a shared …

I’m picky, let’s be honest. I read A LOT of books, and there are 4 different things I will do with a book when I’m done reading it.

Stack it back up on my bookshelf, never to be read again
Vaguely recommend it to a friend, then stack on the bookshelf
Give a friend the book so she can enjoy its splendor
Email the author, telling her how much I enjoyed the real-life characters and how she surely MUST write a sequel to this book

Wanna guess how many times I’ve done 1-3? Plenty.
Want to …