Red Plastic Cup - WFP

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the PRSA International conference in Washington D.C., where Bettina Luescher of the World Food Programme was a speaker. She didn't talk about public relations, nor do I think she was really there to. What she talked about was the way that communication was changing and how it makes it easier for people to hear each other from all over the world. Specifically, she told us stories about the Haitian relief effort and how she got the phone number of one of the hottest A-list actors in the industry, George Clooney. Although her story was very entertaining and included a laundry list of celebrities and how they helped in the effort. The message that social media played a large role in raising enough money in a short amount of time to help remote areas during natural disasters, really plugged the message.

Personally, I think a lot of non-profit organizations are pretty annoying and I don't care much for them. That may sound rude, but its just the truth. I had not found an organization that I really believed in or felt made a great impact, although, I'm sure most of them do. When Bettina began to discuss one of the items that she brought to stage, I finally heard something that reached me. What was it?... A red plastic cup!

Bettina said that she took it everywhere she went to remind her and others that filling that red plastic cup can feed a child for a day. "Fill the Cup" is an International campaign to raise awareness and funds for the 59 million children in the world's developing countries, who go to school hungry. What she said was that $5 can feed a child for a month. A whole month! That really hit me and I wanted to do whatever I could to spread the word. It is one thing to donate to a beautiful cause like this, but since I work in public relations, I figured I would volunteer my skills and voice to further promote this grand effort.

Perhaps my audience in limited now, but I will continue to find ways to promote the 'fill the cup' campaign continuously. So please, don't get annoyed, you can just skip those blogs, emails or tweets if/when I do share them, but if you would like to make a real difference, this is one program that can make a difference in the way we care for each other on a global scale.

Single or Married life?

I've been pondering the married/single life question for the past few weeks and am still to come to a real decision about what I want to do. Although I have always wanted to be married, have kids and a family I think that I may be too emotional for that kind of commitment.

Its not that I can't commit, but I've come to rely on myself. I feel like any disaapointments that come in a relationship are easier to deal with when you're unmarried. If you're married everything becomes more critical because you are legally bound to that person. I'm not saying that I wouldn't be in a committed relationship or even have children with a 'boyfriend' or 'partner', but if we weren't married, would things be less complicated? I don't want to end up divorced and bitter.

As a female, I'm less likely to have baby papa drama and I'm not even saying I wouldn't want to be in a relationship with the father of my children, but why should I legally bind myself to anyone. I have no problems with a common law marriage. The most relieving part is that if we WERE to separate, then it wouldn't be this great legal ordeal. Then again, maybe THAT is the true adventure/commitment of marriage, seeing if you can put up with someone for the rest of your life no matter what (damn! that sounds like jail, no wonder men have issues). I'm not saying this just for myself, I'm saying it for the other person too, my emotions may go nuts when I'm going through menopause, he doesn't have to put up with it.

Having the thought that there may be years of unhappiness in a marriage, but you stay together because you're married, doesn't really appeal to me. I understand that because you're in a deep friendship that you stick together, but what if it is unhealthy. I'm not keen on divorce, so I feel that the staying single may be an option that is viable. THAT and the fact that I have always taken care of myself and have no qualms about continuing to do so. I have yet to discover a person that I can rely on more than myself and highly doubt that I will ever find someone like that. Its a curious thought and a curious predicament. I guess only time will tell, but since I am so emotional, I'm sure that I will dive right in.