Jude Law and a semester Abroad.

Whatever poison's in this bottle will leave me broken, sore, and stiff.
But it's the genie at the bottom who I'm sucking at; he owes me one last wish,
So here's a present to let you know I still exist;
I hope the next boy that you kiss has something terribly contagious on his lips

Good to be home. Home at last. 

Trying this blog thing on a consistient basis now. 

Maybe I'll snag some readers.

Call me Thomas.

Your life is Cyclical

It's full of People replacing People

Like riding an Airplane,

The air is recycled...

Breathe in Breathe out

It's the Breath of you Angels

That turns this world 'round...

The Time We've had,

Has been well spent

But I refuse to believe

that we'll soon reach the end...

I don't expect you 

to operate on hope,

Nor do I expect that 

somehow, you'll just know.

All I know,

is I'll be here when you get home.

Knowing all of this

Helps me sleep at night.

Because if not this breath,

Then maybe the next,

You'll eventually feel right...

I think I found something

Here's a possibility for my first paragraph... We'll see... I did this today in Class. I'll probably revisit this after BAnd tonight at like 6:30 or 7

One of the biggest trends that our nation is seeing is that of philanthropy. The Average family gives two thousand dollars to charitable organizations per year. This is a 6% increase from 1997.(Philanthropy) The interesting part is that in 1997 the economy was better, interest rates were lower, and Americans had more money in their pockets. This shows that even though Americans have less money they are giving more. The focus on AIDS research and breast cancer awareness has risen to phenomenal levels. Because numerous citizens are donating money, many of the nations leading businesses are sharing in the giving spirit. While at first glance, this may seem like a wonderful thing. More money is going to support great charities. Ford is selling a Mustang for breast Cancer, BMW is giving a dollar for every mile that their car is test driven. How do these things affect us? Lancôme lipsticks have refused to sign the Safe cosmetics act of 2005, and they are selling Lipstick to raise money for breast cancer foundations. What are we buying into?

Staying within the lines.

A. A. Philanthropy a Trend among Baby boomers/GenX/Hippies

a. Red Campaign

b. Breast Cancer

B. B. Businesses who donate to the above causes

a. Information on Carcinogens that cause Breast Cancer

b. Information on Gaps and Armani’s labor practices.

c. Information on the lack of donations by Red.

d. AMEX Credit Card Rates

C. C. The Effects of “Pinkwashing”

a. BMW, Ford, Lancome etc.

b. Estimated cancer cases from these causes

Thesis

Every month businesses are donating to a different cause, with a new color ribbon on the box. October is Breast Cancer Month, May is Childrens Cancer Month, Everything from Save Africa month, to AIDS research month. This donation seems like a good thought, but what if the products that consumers are buying are actually contributing to the problem?

New stuff

Annotated Bibliography: Buying for a Cause

Introduction: The Main question which guides my research is this: What affect do non-profit organizations have on Private businesses? This paper is meant to address undergraduate students in business. More specifically, those who are interested in making the world a better place. Students may be surprised at my findings, Taken together, the sources I have consulted so far on my research topic reveal that many Private organizations have non-profit organizations that they use to raise their profits. Most people wish to believe that by buying products that donate to charity; most of their money is going to the common good. Customers must be careful and ask how much of the revenue is going to the charity.

There is a large controversy in the industry right now. Is this usage of NPO's ethical? Does it help out the charities enough to warrant all the hype that comes with it? Do the businesses make a greater profit because they are supporting a popular cause? The body of my paper will review concerns of analysts and scholars as to the system of milking the theoretical cash cow through NPO's. My conclusion will focus on who comes out on top in the end, the business or the charity.

Ben-Ami, Daniel. "Why the New Amex Card Makes Me See Red." Spiked Online. 28 Sept. 2006. http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/1723/.

Another example of how Businesspeople are using the promise of helping the needy to further their cause. Again, I can use this to bolster my case against the business world.

Barber, Putnam. "Rule of Thumb Ratios." The Idealist. 24 Feb. 1996. 10 Nov. 2008 .

This is a website that provides standard numbers that companies should follow. (ie. What percentage of profit is it ethical for them to donate?) I plan to use this to bolster my case against many agencies who claim to donate to charities, when actually; they’re just raising profits and giving a tiny fraction to charity.

Richard,Kim. "Shopping is Not Sharing." CBSnews.Com. 17 Oct. 2006. CBS. 10 Nov. 2007 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/17/opinion/main2098633.shtml

Richard talks about how giving to charity is now the fashionable thing for everyone to do. This being the case, everyone starts buying up products that have that affiliation Ipods, cell phones, t-shirts, sunglasses. This writer points out that all we’re really doing is contributing to the consumerism culture and not really giving much to the charity. There’s something wrong with the system when one of the founders of the Red Campaign says “Gap in the beginning couldn't understand how they were going to make money. They wanted to do a T-shirt and give us all the money. But, we want them to make money. We don't want anyone to be thinking, 'I'm not making money on this thing,' because then we failed. We want people buying houses in the Hampton’s based on this because, if that happens, this thing is sustainable” The author then goes on to say “it's the whole notion that sustainability and success requires summer estates in the Hampton’s that really rankles me”

Stukin, Stacie. "Pink Ribbon Promises." Time 08 Oct. 2006. 10 Nov. 2007 http://www.time.com/time/connections/article/0,9171,1543947,00.html.

In this article, Stukin talks about the amount of companies who put pink ribbons on their products and donate money to breast cancer research, even though their products contribute to the epidemic of breast cancer. Ford is Marketing a “Breast Cancer Mustang” This is a car that has pink ribbons on it and pink stitching in the seats, Only $250 of this forty thousand dollar price tag goes to Breast Cancer Research. BMW is offering to donate a dollar for every mile that their cars are test driven.

"Information on Select Cause Marketing Campaigns." Think Before You Pink. 2007. Breast Cancer Action. 10 Nov. 07 http://thinkbeforeyoupink.org/Pages/InfoMktgCampaigns.html.

This is a list of products that wouldn't be beneficial to the charity if a consumer bought them . The example of Yoplait is a very prevalent one, they promise to donate ten cents per lid that is washed off and returned to them during the month of October. A container of Yoplait Yogurt costs between seventy-five cents and a dollar. This means that if people are trying to donate through buying, they are buying more and more Yogurt. Meanwhile, Yoplait is sitting back and raking in more profits in the month of October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month).

Watkins, Chip M. Idealist.Org. 27 Aug. 2002. 30 Oct. 2007 .

This article gives ethical answers about hiring a fund raiser for your nonprofit organization. Watkins talks about how hiring a fund raiser to help your nonprofit make money is ethical, but how you pay them is a different story. He points out that if they are paid by a flat fee, the charity will ultimately receive less (or almost no) money, because the fund raiser is getting paid the same amount, no matter how much the charity makes. Watkins says that it's better to pay on a percentage basis so that the fund raiser has more of an incentive to raise money. I plan to use this to point out the adverse affects of the private sector on Non-profit organizations.