A message from Josephinum Counselor, Dr. Mary O'Reilly:

Through Dream Machine Recycle RallyTM, Josephinum Academy is involved in a fabulous campaign to recycle clear plastic beverage bottles and aluminum cans. At this moment, we are in 14th place among 500+ schools across the country. However, we want to be #1. In order to move up, we need lots more non-alcoholic cans and bottles.

“We want to be #1! We want to be #1!” Drop off your cans and bottles at Josephinum Academy, 1501 N. Oakley Blvd, Chicago during school hours.  Be part of the solution. All those cans and bottles don’t need to rest in landfills or along streets and highways; they can be recycled right here. Check out Dream Machine’s web site for information and for our up-to-date ranking on the Leaderboard: www.DreamMachineRecycleRally.com . 

Parents, guardians, and friends of Josephinum, get onboard. The April 30th deadline is approaching. There is $50,000 riding on our efforts, plus $3,000 quarterly awards! In addition, Josephinum can earn points redeemable for rewards such as sporting goods, electronics, gift cards, educational events, and music, books and videos. The more we recycle the more rewards we can earn!

If you have any questions, please give counselor, Dr. O’Reilly, a call at 773 276 1261 x 245. Thanks very much.

From April 15, 2010

It sounds crazy, but we might just pull this off!

We started this company in 2006, and for the past four years we have been working like dogs to make our projects happen! We dream big, that can’t be denied, and our ACTIONS are even bigger.

In 2006, Jesse said, “Let’s take actors to Zimbabwe”… so we did. Then, in 2007, we thought, “How about South America?” we decided on Ecuador, and off we went. In 2008, we thought, “we should do a big project in Ecuador, let’s bring students as well,” so we packed up our bags and traveled the country meeting students from all over and inviting them to travel with us. In 2009, after our first company retreat, we knew, with all this support from these fabulous artists, we could start thinking bigger. We planned another ACTion: Ecuador project, as well as a return trip to Zimbabwe. When we heard about this Pepsi Grant, we knew it was also time for our first American Based project, and we all agreed, Louisiana was the place to do it.

I have tears in my eyes, thinking about this new project. What an honor it will be to have the chance to volunteer our teaching HERE on our home soil.

One of the best things to come out of our work abroad is the connection we are able to make between the schools and the local art groups. It’s interesting to me that oftentimes, those two communities don’t intersect. For example, after working at Amakhosi Theater in Zimbabwe, the artists were so surprised to see all the interested children who signed up for our free workshop. (Sadly, we had to turn kids away because there were just SO many of them, and only 7 of us 4/US, 3/ZIM. I hope they were able to start a kids club there after we left, we’ll see when we return in the fall.). This is one thing we hope to accomplish in Louisiana, either utilizing and supporting collaborations which already exsist, OR, to create new collaborations between art groups and local young people.

I was also watching an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition last night and I started to think about some different service projects we could volunteer for during our time in Louisiana (next March/April).

I guess the point of all of this is to say, that we are ready to do this project. Just like everything else we have put our minds to, this is going to happen. I’m so sad to say, that without the Pepsi Refresh Everything Grant, I don’t know how we are going to fund it!

This company is Grassroots! We have pushed ourselves for the last 4 years, through every project, just with our will to make this happen!!! We need this grant to help us push to another level, and we need your VOTES to get the grant! We’re at #40 right now, and we need to be in the top ten at the end of the month in order to win!

Please vote, and share our story! We are doing great things together, none of this could happen without your love and support!

From April 1, 2010

We made it!!!  Dramatic Adventure Theatre is in the running for a REFRESH EVERYTHINGGrant from Pepsi!

This is how it works, if you, YEAH… YOU, vote for us everyday in the month of April WE WILL WIN $50,000 for our new project, “Voices from Louisiana”!  SO PLEASE VOTE!

Here’s how:

1. Go directly to the Refresh Everything Pageand click VOTE FOR THIS IDEA.

2. Join our mailing list and get reminder updates sent to your email (only for the month of April).

3. Are you on Facebook?  Become a fan ofDramatic Adventure Theatre and get daily reminders in your news feed.

You may have seen me posting about Eco Pharmacy on here, Twitter and Facebook trying to get them a $50,000 grant in the Pepsi Refresh Project. I was doing social media for them at a rate we agreed upon and a $1,000 bonus to come if they did indeed win a grant. When I started they were in 125th place. The top 10 organizations in the Pepsi Refresh Project $50,000 category get grants. As of last night I had them in 22nd place. They climbed 103 spots while I was doing social media for them and voting ends December 31st. Which means they were in pretty good shape to get that grant and I was in good shape to get that $1,000 bonus. 

But in talking to one of the crooks from Eco Pharmacy last night after I had invoiced him with my hours with details of services rendered for the social media I performed for that week (work that had already been completed, hours already logged). He decides to tell me that he won't be paying me because I can't get a company I used to work for to push votes for them. That's not how contracts work, oral or otherwise. I performed services at an agreed upon rate and billed you just like I did the week prior when you paid me. I'm not even up in arms about them probably doing this to screw me out of my bonus that I would absolutely deserve. If they wanted me to stop doing their social media because they're not satisfied with the results even though they're in 21st place today when they used to be in 125th, this is California, an at-will employment state and contracts can end for any reason. That said,  you still have to honor the contract if services were rendered under an agreement. And they are flat out not paying me. 

So I turn to you Internet. Fuck this company in its ear. Go to www.refresheverything.com and vote for EVERY OTHER COMPANY in the $50,000 bracket. A company with people like this at the helm do not deserve grants or charitable contributions of any kind. This conversation happened 4 days before Christmas and it was over money I was counting on to finish my Christmas shopping. I still have 3 people to shop for, most importantly my girlfriend. Will she understand given what went down? Probably, but that's not the point. She shouldn't have to understand. This shouldn't have happened. I deserved to get paid and she deserves a better Christmas because she's amazing. In addition to that, I now also have to file a forbearance on my student loans because of this money I'm not getting now. What's worse is that the amount they owe me is not a huge amount. 

I realize this may seem vengeful and maybe even immature. But at a time when so many people are struggling, around the holidays especially, for a company who's trying to get a grant in a charitable competition to do something like this is so completely unjust that I'm violently angry and I get angrier every time I think about it. I deserve better, Pepsi should be aware of the people they have in their competition and the people in my life that I love deserve a better Christmas. 

REBLOG THIS.

UPDATE:

To my followers: you’re all awesome. and as awesome people, you should help out this amazing organization that my sister works with. it takes no time and if they make top 15 (they're currently at #17!!!) they'll get the ENTIRE $25,000!!!! WOW. i know. big money. so let’s do our part to vote and make this fantastic camp possible. 

vote! vote! vote!

A good friend of mine, an alumni of SUNY Purchase and graduate design tech student at Yale University,just had her organization, The Global Sound Project selected to participate in the Pepsico Refresh contest. This is a grant contest in which the organizations who have the most votes are awared grants from PepsiCo foundation. The goal for the Global Sound Project is to obtain sounds from all over the world so people can click on a virtual map and hear those sounds. Cool right? 

My school's music department is trying to win $50,000 from the pepsi refresh project (http://www.refresheverything.com/sqhs) so that we can go to Washington DC to represent Washington state in the National Cherry Blossom festival. Wereallyneedthemoneybecausewe'reallpoor so please, all you have to do is text 109935 to 73774 to vote for us. PLLLEEEAAASSSE I WILL FOREVER BE IN YOUR DEBT IF YOU DO THIS PLEASE I LOVE YOU

Also it would be lovely if you reblogged this because we need all the votes we can get 

             I am involved in a student run organization at USC called Troy Camp which happens to be USC's largest and most diverse philanthropic organization that has helped inner city kids through mentoring since 1948. Since Troy Camp is student run, we have to raise our own funds for these kids in order to have programming and tutoring weekly as well as a week long camp at the end of May which gives the kids every bit of camp they could ever ask for (horse back riding, swimming, arts and crafts, sports, etc.) However, just like any other business in this economy, Troy Camp needs help raising more money for these kids because less money means that less kids go to camp.

So how can you help? Troy Camp has entered into a contest through Pepsi which grants whichever organization gets the most votes (through text and email) $25,000!!! You have no idea how far $25,000 can go for Troy Camp and these kids so please take the time that you would normally be watching some basketball and vote!!! Tell your friends to vote! Tell your friends moms and dads and cousins and cousin's cousins and sister's hairdresser! TELL EVERYONEEE!

Here's the info:

WEBSITE: http://www.refresheverything.com/usctroycamp

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