What You Can Do Presents: Prostate Cancer Support

Prostate Cancer Support

Action Link: http://www.mybridge4life.org/pcf

Starring: R. Ernie Silva
Written by: Jessica Arinella and Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistics provided by: The Prostate Cancer Foundation, http://www.pcf.org

Special Thanks:
Sean Grimes, Cara A. Lasala and everyone at the Prostate Cancer Foundation
Dennis Arinella

What You Can Do Presents: Athletes for a Cure

Athletes for a Cure

Prostate Cancer Foundation:
http://www.pcf.org/site/c.leJRIROrEpH/b.5822029/k.FD5D/Athletes_for_a_Cure.htm

Starring: Josh Zitomer
Written by: Jessica Arinella and Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission


Statistics Provided by: The Prostate Cancer Foundation, http://www.pcf.org

Special Thanks:
Sean Grimes, Cara A. Lasala and everyone at the Prostate Cancer Foundation
Dennis Arinella

What You Can Do Presents: Family History Prostate Cancer

Family History
Prostate Cancer Foundation: http://www.pcf.org

Starring: Stephen Jagde
Written by: Jessica Arinella and Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistical Information provided by: The Prostate Cancer Foundation, http://www.pcf.org

Special Thanks:
Sean Grimes, Cara A. Lasala and everyone at the Prostate Cancer Foundation
Dennis Arinella

What You Can Do Presents: Prostate Cancer

Prostate Cancer Foundation: http://www.pcf.org

Starring: Desmond Dutcher
Written by: Julie Tortorici & Jessica Arinella
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Consulting Producer: Mary Micari
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistics Provided by: The Prostate Cancer Foundation, http://www.pcf.org


Special Thanks:
Sean Grimes, Cara A. Lasala and everyone at the Prostate Cancer Foundation
Dennis Arinella

Our interview with the Prostate Cancer Foundation, Part 1

PART 1
We couldn’t have done this week without our friends at the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
In addition to being an invaluable resource Dan Zenka, Vice President of Communications, took the time to share some illuminating facts and statistics with us.


From Vice President of Communications Dan Zenka

Please tell us a little bit about the Prostate Cancer Foundation and what it does.
• The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) is the world’s largest philanthropic source of support for accelerating the world’s most promoting research for discovering better treatments and cures for prostate cancer.
• PCF was founded in 1993 and has raised nearly $400 million and provided funded to more than 1,500 researchers at nearly 200 institutions worldwide.
• PCF advocates for greater awareness of prostate cancer and more efficient investments of governmental research funds for transformational cancer research. Our efforts have helped produce a 20-fold increase in government funding for prostate cancer.

Could you give us an idea of who Prostate Cancer affects? How widespread is Prostate Cancer?
• Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in America, affecting 1 in 6 men.
• In 2010, more than 218,000 new prostate cancer diagnoses will be made and more than 32,000 men will die. That’s a new diagnosis every 2.4 minutes, and a death every 16.4 minutes.
• The older you are, the more likely you are to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Although only 1 in 10,000 men under age 40 will be diagnosed, the rate shoots up to 1 in 38 for ages 40 to 59, and 1 in 15 for ages 60 to 69.
• Approximately 65% of all prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over the age of 65; 35% are diagnosed in men younger than 65.
• African American men are 60% more likely to develop prostate cancer compared with Caucasian men and are nearly 2.5 times as likely to die from the disease.
• A man with a father or brother who developed prostate cancer is twice as likely to develop the disease. This risk is further increased if the cancer was diagnosed in family members at a younger age (less than 55 years of age) or if it affected three or more family members.
• For men in the U.S., the risk of developing prostate cancer is 17%.

If someone is diagnosed with this illness what support can the Prostate Cancer Foundation offer?
The Prostate Cancer Foundation is committed to advancing research to discover better treatments and cures for prostate cancer. PCF provides information regarding the disease, facts and statistics, treatment options, side effects, recent discoveries, advances in the field and more for patients and their families. For more information, visit www.pcf.org.

Ten Eco-Tips from the Daily Green

Recently, in doing some research, I found the below link on The Daily Green’s website. They call it the “Top 10 Idiot-Proof Eco-Tips”. I thought I would pass it along since they are the experts and the tips are both easy to follow and include some great statistics! For example, according to www.thedailygreen.com: “Americans idle away 2.9 billion gallons of gas a year, worth around $78.2 billion.”

Woah.

Check out their tips here: Top 10 Idiot-Proof Eco-Tips

For more tips, check out our What You Can Do videos to Go Green this Fall (if you haven't already): www.whatyoucando365.com

What You Can Do presents: Fall Paper

Starring: Amanda Kay Schill
Written by: Jessica Arinella and Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistics Provided by: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/paper/faqs.htm

Special Thanks:
Dennis Arinella

What You Can Do presents: Fall Decorations

Starring: Alex Marshall-Brown
Written by: Jessica Arinella and Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission


Statistics Provided by: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/reduce.htm


Special Thanks:
Dennis Arinella

Protect our Forests

Think there's nothing you can do to Protect our Forests in 1 Minute?

Starring - Alicia Arinella & Jack Halaby
Written by -  Jessica Arinella & Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistical Information provided by: American Forests, www.americanforests.org

Special Thanks: Sarah McVicar and everyone at American Forests, and Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

Acid Rain

Think there's nothing you can do to Go Green this Fall in 1 Minute?

Starring - Jason Xay
Written by -  Jessica Arinella & Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistical Information provided by: The EPA, www.epa.gov

Special Thanks: Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

Shop Responsibly

Think there's nothing you can do to Go Green this Fall in 1 Minute?

Starring - Maria Christina Perry
Written by -  Julie Tortorici & Jessica Arinella
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistical Information provided by: Green America, www.greenamericatoday.com

Special Thanks: Tod Larsen and everyone at Green America , and Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

WYCD Guest Blogs on Tiny Green Mom

Click here to check out our WYCD list of one minute activities you can do with your family to go green. Thanks to TINY GREEN MOM for featuring "What You Can Do" on her website!

Check it out here: WYCD with Tiny Green Mom

Go Green Fall

I am not crafty. And by crafty, I’m not referring to whether I’m wily or cunning (though I don’t really think I’m those things either). I am referring to my ability to make and/or build crafts – you know – knitting, decoupage (I’m not even really sure what that is), crocheting, scrapbooking etc… I, in fact, have been known to staple my pants instead of having them hemmed (or god forbid, hemming them myself).

So why indeed was I the one to write the Go Green Fall Decorations script? Is there a touch of ‘do as I say, not as I do’? Perhaps. It’s true that I’m not making any promises to take found materials and “make” something. For a while I was going to try to learn how to knit but that faded as soon as the reality of actually knitting hit.

But there is a BUT… and here it is…

I LOVE things that have been made by friends and family. Somehow, I’ve managed to surround myself with people much craftier than myself and I’ve certainly been the better for it. In my apartment are blankets, drawings, sketches and photographs created by the people I love most in my life. So, although I may not be searching for fallen leaves this Fall to put into my latest art project, I can speak to the benefits of surrounding yourself with homemade, personal items that you could never buy from any store.

I Am BP

I’m tired of hearing about BP. So tired... and angry. So angry! But what am I doing? Well, not being anywhere near the Gulf and not having the ability to travel there for any length of time, I'm doing what many people are doing: I'm very busy hating BP.

Then recently one evening I was draining my son's bathwater and taking a moment to breathe as my 4-year-old did a naked lap around his room. For those who know me, what you're thinking is exactly right. What? You were draining the what from the what? That’s right. In yet another admission of being a seriously flawed person, I was in fact watching gallons of grey water go to waste. Yes, knowing that I was doing the wrong thing, knowing that I was living in a state with a water shortage, knowing there was something I could have done to prevent waste, I watched every last drop get sucked down.

Then I had a thought: I am BP.

Okay, so I'm not an oil company. I'm a mom who lives in a rented apartment with her family and blabs on a blog occasionally and at times eats more ice cream than she should. But all this energy I'm expending to be mad at BP is doing about as much good as reenacting some drama queen moment from Gone With The Wind. I may not be an oil company, but if I'm not doing what I can to prevent the next disaster, than aren't I a microscopic version of BP? I know the risk I'm taking every time I am too lazy to recycle or waste water just like BP knew the risks they were taking. Heck, I hate them, right? So don't I want to be better than them?

Every day is a chance to not only recommit ourselves to save water and help the environment, even if it’s just so we don’t pull a BP. Sure, I would say that we have been doing a lot in this house. But every now and then, it's time to take it up a notch just like BP should have a long long long long time ago. When the next disaster happens, I would really feel terrible if the one I was hating was myself.

Conserve Water at Restaurant

Think there's nothing you can do to Conserve Water in a Restaurant 1 Minute?

Starring - Jason Xay
Written by -  Karen Hartline
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistical Information provided by: The City of Boulder Colorado, www.boundercolorado.gov

Special Thanks: Maureen and Curry and the City of Boulder, Tom Casatelli and everyone at The Kettle Black and Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

Car Wash

Think there's nothing you can do to Conserve Water in 1 Minute?

Starring - Matt Nared
Written by -  Karen Hartline
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistical Information provided by: The EPA

Special Thanks: Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

Conserve Water Bathroom

Think there's nothing you can do to Conserve Water in your Bathroom 1 Minute?

Starring - Julie Tortorici
Written by -  Karen Hartline
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistical Information provided by: The EPA

Special Thanks: Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

Conserve at Your Bathroom Sink

Think there's nothing you can do to Conserve Water in your Bathroom 1 Minute?

Starring - Alicia Arinella
Written by -  Karen Hartline
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistical Information provided by: The EPA

Special Thanks: Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

What You Can Do presents: Kitchen Sink

Starring: Tom Morwick
Written by: Julie Tortorici & Jessica Arinella
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistics Provided by: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pubs/indoor.html


Special Thanks:
Dennis Arinella

Going Against the Flow

My husband came home from work one day and told me they showed an award-winning film called Flow. http://www.flowthefilm.com. When I asked him what it was about, he said, “Babe, do not see this movie.”

Let us get past the fact that my husband gets to watch movies in the middle of his workday and contemplate his explicit instructions. Why? Well, those who know me know the extent to which I worry. Even the Bible has nothing on the doomsday scenarios that play out in my head at the slightest hint of trouble. My poor husband was simply trying to save us from weeks, perhaps months of Victorian Era fainting meets Debbie Downer kind of stress.

Too late. I went to the film’s site and read the synopsis beginning “Irena Salina's award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century - The World Water Crisis…” Gulp. My husband was right. Nevertheless, more research: “more than one out of six people lack access to safe drinking water,” and “36 states are facing water shortages by 2013.” Oy. What did I do? I shut down the computer! I just couldn’t take it. I’m one person. I get maxed out just thinking about what to make for dinner for goodness sake. Karen, out.

A few months later, I came across a Brazilian commercial suggesting that people pee in the shower to save water - a cute little cartoon that made it sound like the best thing since roller-skating. Now, while it’s none of your business as to whether or not I did it, I did. And even though that means that you will never accept an invitation to take a shower in my home, I saved 5-6 gallons of water by not flushing my toilet. That felt great.

I started developing new habits. The more habits I changed, the more I examined other routines. Did I really need to run the water while I brushed my teeth? Did I really need to rinse my dishes before putting them in the dishwasher? Did I really need to wash my vegetables in a colander? No. No. No. Slowly, one thing led to another and before I knew it, we established a household policy of not buying bottled water, just as Ms. Salina’s documentary warns. Not so scary anymore.

So, good for me. Pat pat. Thumbs up. But here’s the problem. When I spread the word about changing habits, I usually see the kind of frozen smiles that make me sure that if there were an ejection seat, they would push the button. I get it. This is scary stuff, and it’s much easier to go on running the sink at full blast to push a kernel of corn down the drain than it is to be in a constant state of awareness about the water crisis. But this crisis is ours only if we want it. You don’t have to be an activist, a hero or Bono. So, here’s a challenge. Watch the upcoming episodes and pick one thing. Just water your plants with ice cubes. Just don’t buy bottled water. Just pee in the shower, for goodness sake, we don’t even have to know about it! Make one commitment. One. Everyone can do that. Any one of those things could save gallons of water. Do that and believe me it will spread. Trickle! It will trickle into everything else that you do. Hey, any subject that ends on a pun that cheesy can’t be all that scary, can it?

In Honor of September 11th

Although today would normally be our closing blog for Go Green Back To School, today is September 11th and we all felt it was an important day to acknowledge. Recently, we asked writer, Tommy Casatelli, a retired firefighter with the FDNY if he would serve as a guest contributer. His firehouse - 226 - was called to the World Trade Center that day. Tommy has begun writing a book about his experiences in the aftermath of September 11th and has kindly written a personal essay for us, available below.


Words I'll Never Write, in a Diary I'll Never Keep

Six years ago today, I drank Guinness Stout and Jameson's whiskey in O'Hara's Bar, a low ceilinged place with brass rails, checked tile floors, yellowed white walls, and stools with worn green fake leather cushions. O'Hara's is tucked neatly on the corner of Cedar Street in the shadow of the Liberty Street firehouse, directly behind and one half block from where the World Trade Center once stood.

I'd been there six, maybe seven hours when I ordered a tenth Guinness and fifth whiskey. Neon shone above me and I remember raising my face to bask in the gaslight, enjoying the charming buzz only men who'd quaffed nine beers and four whiskeys could know.

It was a perfect drunk---one that slowed time, yet allowed me to remain sharp and bright as that neon. It was not the kind of sloppy drunk that encouraged men to piss their pants or fall off bar stools.

And even if it had been, I wasn't worried---I'd never been that kind of drinker.

The pants I did not piss that day were what I called “buffet” pants: itchy black polyester with a band of elastic at the waist. A proper fireman's uniform required quartermaster issued dark navy blue trousers with a crisp crease and loops for a real belt. My official trousers lay crumpled in the bottom of my closet or buried in the backseat of my truck.

My uniform jacket fit, as long as it remained unbuttoned. The jacket's left chest bore medals I'd collected during my nine and a half years on the job, all won the summer of 2000 when a blown pilot light and an innocent flick of a switch took down three floors of a Brooklyn brownstone yards from my firehouse on State Street.

Three people died.

I'd found a fourth, alive, in the cellar---an old man mumbling, “Miles, Miles, where is my Miles?” His hair was snow white and stood pin straight from his bloodied head. “Where is Miles?” he asked. I'd laid my hand on his arm and remember wanting to tell him something-anything---when Miles appeared over the old man's shoulder. He was doing dishes in a pristinely cluttered kitchen. And brushing his teeth in a white tiled bathroom. Or was he walking a dog in Prospect Park?

I saw Miles never hearing the explosion that knocked dishes off the wall in my firehouse half a block away.

A great fireman from Ladder 110, one I'd always admired, bulled through the rubble from the rear into the cellar. I smiled at him and thought about Miles reaching for that light switch but never about the brick, wood beams, pipe, beds, clothes, doors, knives, forks, plates, and cantilevered floors that balanced over our heads. The fireman from 110 lifted the old man then carried him into the safety of hundred-year-old Brooklyn elms in the yard. Other firemen began wading into the debris.
I remember thinking that I should move, that I was in their way or that I might be standing on Miles. I pictured him flat as a pancake with jaunty cartoon X's for eyes. I began searching for Miles when something, or someone, grabbed my leg. I tried to scream. Gas from the leak coated my tongue. I was afraid to look down. When I did, I saw that a gray tomcat had curled himself around my black leather fireman's boots.

Weeks later I learned the cat's name was Miles.

Six or seven years ago, I'd sat on that barstool and looked at the medals on my chest. They were washed green and red and neon blue and I drank more and tried to ignore the ghost of my Marine Corps drill instructor screaming insults every time I sat, stood, or stretched in my ridiculous pants. An angry red stripe had cut tight across my lumberjack belly despite the elastic. The bartender tossed a wet, sour rag on the bar in front of me. I picked it up by the corner and dropped it on the floor. I didn't want to stain my pants. They had served a purpose. The jacket, too. They were part of a costume. They were the scuffed black Keds poking out of the bottom of a small boy's plastic Superman costume--- the kind of shoes never shiny and red enough to make a boy truly believe he was a superhero.

O'Hara's was packed with firemen from all over the globe that day. They drank like moonshiners and fawned over a spattering of FDNY firemen holding court in the corner. When I looked at my brother firemen, I imagined we looked like the random few native New Yorkers who reveled in Times Square on New Year's Eve, necks stretched skyward like wide-eyed science teachers from Ohio or stay at home moms from Wichita, Kansas.

I'd buried my nose in the black stuff and did my best to ignore the party hats and noisemakers I saw shimmering in the barroom haze. Fire company patches from California and Spain and Minnesota were ripped off uniform sleeves and stapled to the low ceiling and the crowd roared every time like it was the first time.

The harried bartender had pretended he didn't hear me when I asked about the old man who'd been working the bar on the 11th. Ignoring him ignoring me, I'd waited for someone to inform him that six or seven or eight years ago, I was there too.


I'd stroll outside the bar from time to time to take phone calls, real or imagined, or to look up and down the block with narrowed eyes as if searching for a tardy friend. I'd leaned against the scaffolding surrounding the still damaged building and breathed great mouthfuls of second hand smoke until my eyes watered. Then I waited, red faced and coughing for someone to nod solemnly, to know the cough was from the ash and smoke and grit and sweet baby Jesus who knows what else I'd swallowed that day.

I'd spat in the gutter hoping the smokers knew it was from the cancer I prayed wiggled through my body like termites.

The glasses piled up. By 10pm, I believed it really was New Year's Eve. I'd traded the 226 memorial bracelet, the one I took off only in the shower, for a sweat stained London Fire Brigade hat. I'd rambled about the men memorialized on the small bracelet, how they were more than tiny scratched names on a black metal band. I told the English fireman about the old bartender I'd seen that day six or seven or eight years ago, how we were now sitting in that very bar and how the old man's face was covered in dust, streaked wet with sweat or tears as he struggled to close the heavy door and metal gate.

I pointed through the bar's window to the back of the firehouse across a street that was really more alley than street and told how I'd pulled crying civilians and one damaged fireman from the broken back window of the firehouse.

I remember the fireman from England, or was it California or Wichita? nodding politely before gushing about how brave we were. I nudged my pint to the floor reaching for the second or third whiskey he'd bought me. The sound of shattering glass made me jump and I'd wished I hadn't switched positions that day and I drank more. I knew the Englishman wanted to be involved, wanted to really know. He yearned to touch me so he could touch that day--- to be part of it--- and I'd point to the bracelet on his wrist, not mine, and say no, no they were the brave ones, they charged into those buildings I stayed outside doing my job and they went up those stairs and I'd twist his arm and point to the bracelet and say you see this name right here? that's the man I switched with, the man who saved my life, and my shoes ground the broken pint glass into the checked tile floor and I would have went up too I swear I tried to go up but it was my job to stay and pump water into the building but they were in the building and I ran when they came down but I never left, I never left my friends and then I retired and then my stomach fell into my shoes and my balls crawled into my fat goddamn belly and I hated the Englishman for wanting to know for wanting to touch me to be me to have my medals and my FDNY patch and memories and I'd drink and try to raise hell to remember/honor my friends and I ran for the door barreled through the visiting firemen random bagpipers and bikers wrapped in American flags clogging the street that was really more alley than street and sometimes I'd get the bracelet back and sometimes I wouldn't and sometimes I'd stay and sometimes I'd leave and always I raged broke windows teeth small bones in my hand and I'd try to remember how many bracelets remained from the handful I kept wrapped safely in felt in the top drawer of my dresser at home a thousand miles away.

That was six, or seven, or maybe, just maybe eight years ago.
I don't know. It's hard to remember.
It's even harder to forget the things you remember.

Last year, I didn't go to O'Haras. I locked my door and pulled the shades.
I busied myself reading a thin book about men carrying things in Vietnam.
I didn't drink stout. I didn't sip whiskey.

The pants with the elastic band? Stuffed in a black plastic trash bag.

A girl who'd refused to let me hurt her also refused to let me to crawl under my bed. When I wept, she ran sweet, soft hands over my ugly knuckles.

She is a wonderfully freckled southern girl and she smells like sunlight and I thought she might be my love. She whisper-cooed in my ear when I tried to run into the street, run to O'Hara's or a place that wasn't O'Hara's in the shadow of where the World Trade Center once stood.

The girl held me tight when men in the book died and held me even tighter when the author of the book about men carrying heavy things in a jungle a thousand miles from home spoke of watching men die.


This year, I don't want to go to O'Hara's. I don't know where I'll be. Maybe under my bed, alone, or in the mountains of upstate New York with the girl. Maybe I'll run a trail through the woods. Or fall asleep in the girl's arms.
Most likely I'll read.
Maybe I'll cry.
Wherever I am, I will try not to think of my friends.

This year, I pray to honor these men by ignoring them.

What You Can Do presents: Fight Childhood Obesity

Starring: Josh Zitomer
Written by: Jessica Arinella and Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission


Special Thanks:
Dennis Arinella

What You Can Do presents: Go Green College

Starring: Melissa Jernigan
Written by: Jessica Arinella and Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Special Thanks:
Dennis Arinella

What You Can Do Presents: Go Green Lunch

“Green School Lunch”

Starring: Karen Funaro
Written by: Jessica Arinella and Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission


Special Thanks:
Dennis Arinella

Green School Commuting

Think there's nothing you can do to help your child Go Green in 1 Minute when they go back to school?

Starring - Stephen Jadge
Written by -  Julie Tortorici & Jessica Arinella
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Special Thanks: Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

Go Green School Supplies

Think there's nothing you can do to help your child Go Green in 1 Minute when they go back to school?

Starring - Grace Tortorici
Written by -  Julie Tortorici & Jessica Arinella
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Special Thanks: Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

Go Green Back to School - an Opening Blog

This week, our focus at “What You Can Do” is about being more environmentally conscious during the school year. In producing this week, one particular video sparked some debate. In a video about school supplies, we suggested that if parents have more time, they organize a clothing swap with their community. While we all agreed that the idea is a good one – buying new clothes every year for school can get expansive and also be wasteful – we wondered whether this was an idea few families would follow through on. When I was a kid, back-to-school shopping was one of the few upsides to returning to school in the Fall. It was always fun to have a few new outfits for the school year. I wonder how it would have felt if my mom, in lieu of the shopping trip, organized a clothing swap with my friends. Would I have felt slighted or would it have been more fun to sort through my friends’ clothes?

Now, I love the idea of a clothing swap. In fact, twice a year, Alicia goes through her closet and pulls out the things she no longer wants or just never wears and everyone in the office picks through her giveaway pile and takes whatever they want. For me now, the idea of saving money on clothing by taking what my friend no longer wants, is quite a bargain. Can children understand that concept; or is new always better to them?

What do you think?

An Interview with HandsOn New Orleans' Executive Director, Kertrina Watson Lewis

When we were researching our week to honor New Orleans, we found some wonderful organizations. One highlight for us was our video with HandsOn New Orleans. Please read on for my interview with Executive Director Kertrina Watson Lewis.

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Please tell us a little bit about HandsOn New Orleans and how it started?
When Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast, HandsOn Network made an immediate and serious commitment to address the devastation and support Gulf relief and recovery efforts through targeted volunteer action. With a Challenge Grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, HandsOn New Orleans and HandsOn Gulf Coast (in Biloxi, Mississippi) were launched to serve the vast needs of communities directly impacted by the storms. The focus, then and now, was utilizing our project management expertise to more effectively deploy volunteers eager to help.

Can you talk about some of the programs you offer?
Since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, HandsOn New Orleans has evolved from a disaster response project into a thriving volunteer action center for grassroots service projects, providing local and visiting volunteers with the tools, housing and training necessary to strengthen and revitalize their communities. HandsOn New Orleans continues to transform communities through volunteer service and leadership development. We offer: a Tool Lending Library, Volunteer Bunkhouse, Volunteer Leadership Training, Annual Days of Service, a Network of Committed Volunteers, a Flexible Calendar of Volunteer Projects, Non-Profit Partnerships/Resources, and a Corporate Projects Program/Hands@Work.

If someone wanted to volunteer what should he or she expect?
Volunteering with HandsOn New Orleans is as simple as 123. First, search our online project calendar for a volunteer project that piques your interest(s). Next, register for the volunteer opportunity online. Then, follow the instructions provided in a follow-up email, detailing the time, date and location of your volunteer opportunity. We even include what to wear, what to expect and information related to the impact area you’re addressing.

If someone had more time and wanted to help HandsOn New Orleans what should he/she do?
Contact our Volunteer Coordinators at (504) 483-7041 ext. 107 or volunteer@handsonneworleans.org for more information on long term volunteer opportunities in New Orleans.

How is New Orleans recovering 5 years after Katrina?
We’ve come a long way but there’s still plenty of work to do. Donations and volunteers are welcome.

Is there anything else you would like people to know about either New Orleans or your organization?
Much of the progress that has been made since Hurricane Katrina would not have been possible if it were not for the hard work and dedication of our volunteers, donors and friends from around the world—representatives from varying racial, religious and socio-economic backgrounds—who stood shoulder to shoulder with us to rebuild this great city. The impact that we have made together is nothing short of incredible.

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For more information, please visit, HandsOn New Orleans

Help the People of New Orleans

Think there's nothing you can do to help the People of New Orleans in 1 Minute?

Starring - Amanda Kay Schill
Written by -  Julie Tortorici & Jessica Arinella
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistical Information Provided by: The Greater New Orleans Foundation, www.gnof.org

Special Thanks: Marthan Landrum and everyone at the Greater New Orleans Foundation, and Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

Help New Orleans Rebuild

Think there's nothing you can do to help New Orleans in 1 Minute?

Starring - Josh Zitomer
Written by -  Julie Tortorici & Jessica Arinella
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistical Information Provided by: Common Ground Relief, www.gnof.org

Special Thanks: Thom Pepper and everyone at Common Ground Relief, and Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

When I think of New Orleans...

When I think of New Orleans…

New Orleans has long been one of my favorite cities in America. I am a New York City girl, but there is something about the atmosphere, texture and ambiance of New Orleans that intrigues me. You walk around the city and you can feel it.
When Hurricane Katrina hit, I remember feeling so helpless. What was there that I could possibly do to help the city and the people living there?
It took five years, but I was so happy to devote a week of What You Can Do to helping the Big Easy continue its rebirth.
In closing I wanted to share some of the things our friends and fans say they think of when they think of New Orleans….
Jazz
Beignets
Music
Mardi Gras
The indomitable spirit against adversity
The Food!
The forgotten but strong
The fleur de lis
Café du Monde
Voodoo
Being in love!
Bourbon Street
The Saints
Pat O’Brien
The Big Easy
Preservation Hall
Creole
Pralines
Gumbo
Faulkner
The heat!
Emeril
John Besh
River boats
Ann Rice
Wynton Marsalis
The King Cake
Louis Armstrong
The French Quarter
Marie Laveau
The World War II Museum


If you have anything to add – please feel free!

Help Rebuild the City of New Orleans

Think there's nothing you can do to help New Orleans in 1 Minute?

Starring - Iliana Inocencio
Written by -  Julie Tortorici & Jessica Arinella
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistical Information Provided by: Hands on New Orleans, www.handsonneworleans.org

Special Thanks: Ketrina Watson and everyone at Hands on New Orleans, and Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com