Our healthiest, greenest, most inspiring challenge EVER!
In Honour of International Green Smoothie Day
August 15th, 2010
Something BiG is coming...
with BiG green celebrities, a BiG green smoothie challenge,
a BiG green cause, and BiG BiG prizes...
10 Joyful Reasons to Believe in Green
You know that feeling... the one you get when you've just done something good? Where a choice had no down side? Where something you do for yourself has positive, valuable ripple effects for other people?
It kinda starts in your chest and then creeps into your throat, all the while expanding, bubbling, blossoming... and that feeling bursts into a grin, and if you're a big ol' softy like me, you feel your eyes glass up with even more joy because you can't help but see the good, and there's some kinda self-satisfying humbling glee in being part of something bigger than yourself.
It just. feels. soooo. good! That's how I'm feeling these days leading up to BiG!
I love that feeling... and it's one worth sharing! And I challenge YOU to join me in the joy bubble! So here are 10 reasons for you to consider... pick your joy, any joy, and become part of something BiG!
1. For Personal Health
If you make a $10 donation to BiG, you'll be taking part in a LIVE 10-Day green smoothie challenge that I'm putting together on behalf of The Green Smoothie Queen. If you're already a member of GSQ, you may already be aware of how good green smoothies can make you feel - the extra energy, the weight loss, the changes in skin, and the healthy benefits of all the fiber, vitamins, and nutrients loaded in each glass!
Everyone can use a green boost, and whether you want to drink just one green smoothie for the 10 days or 30 green smoothies for the 10 days, you'll find the encouragement you need to feel good about your food choices!
2. For Setting an Example
We've noticed that it takes people who benefit from green smoothies to make an impact on other people. For most, the idea of putting bananas and spinach together in a blender seems outrageous. Heheh... I've seen the "yuck" in peoples' eyes as they stare at me with my green jug of glory. BUT, they also always ask because they're curious! So I keep going out in the world, and I take my green smoothies with me, knowing they'll attract someone who needs them!
You can open the door for someone by taking part and introducing them to the idea. Maybe they try a green smoothie, maybe they don't. But the more of us who start the process and share the concept, the more some people will try... It may be the answer someone needed to fight Diabetes, or obesity, or cancer, or emotional eating, or, or, or... You just never know. But the testimonials keep coming!
3. For the Girls
If you haven't been to the BiG site and watched the video about The Girls Club , then take a few minutes to do so. You'll see that this is an organization making amazing changes in peoples' lives. These girls are learning about CSA's, running their own farmers' markets, running a "blender on a bike" program, and becoming leaders! And 100% of your $10 registration and any extra donations will go to support the girls!
What inspires us most is how the girls take the positive messages they learn about nutrition and the environment and then spread those messages to other children in their local neighborhoods and schools. It's a positive message and experience that expands to touch others, and that's what we believe in too!
AND... we'd love for you to hear from the girls themselves about their experience, their hopes, and the things that they believe in and are working towards. Tera will be interviewing them on Tuesday, August 10. Please click here to listen in during or after the call: Getting to Know the Girls of the Lower East Side
4. For the Planet
Tera says it best: "The best foods for us are the best foods for the planet."
It can be pretty overwhelming to listen to the news and hear about the environmental impact of human actions on the planet. You may feel like curling up in a ball and pulling the shade on the windows down. The trick is not to be paralyzed; but rather, turn fear into your own personal flame of hope. Okay, so we're not all born to be David Suzuki! But we do all have impact with our individual choices each day.
And you can make change gradually. You can start with just your food choices. Including more vegetarian, vegan, and raw food meals has a HUGE impact in terms of water consumption, energy consumption, and green house gas emissions. Click here to see the difference in eating a pound of lettuce versus a pound of beef! Skipping your usual eggs and toast for breakfast and coming along with us for 10 Days of green smoothies would already be a hug for the planet, and that's just one small change!
5. For a Blendtec Blender
Noble and philanthropic causes are great, but hey! As a member of the human race, I too am motivated by things I'd love to have... and a Blendtec blender is pretty high on my wish list! We'll be offering a Green Ripple Maker contest to those who donate, so you'll have a chance to win a free Blendtec Blender!
We love the folks at Blendtec, and we see they even have Blendtec founder, Tom Dickson, sipping green smoothies now! Yaaaaaay! Now the folks at Blendtec know how to spread a lot of joy. They know how to have fun, how to create a fantastic product, and how to give back to their communities with projects like this one!
So BiG joyful hugs to them for being such great sponsors!
6. For Local and Organic Farmers
We love promoting the little guy! It can be a tough row to hoe, so to speak, to compete with factory farms whose produce looks as perfect as plastic fruit bowl products (with similar nutritional value). Maybe it's not in your budget or particularly easy where you live to get your hands on organic or local produce, so maybe you seldom try or you stopped looking. Maybe it's not something you can do every day, but maybe it IS something you can do for 10 days!
Maybe you'll make your first trip to a local farmers market and talk to somebody who actually grew the food you'll eat. If you've never had this experience, you'll find that you may look at the carrots, apples, or greens you bring home in a new and positive way!
7. For 10 BiG Thinkers
We are so grateful to have the support of Victoria Boutenko and 10 BiG thinkers who are all willing to share their time for free to support the girls and the green causes that inspire each of them most.
Whether it's Robyn Openshaw following her path to improve the lives of her children, or Majora Carter cleaning up the Bronx, or Angela Stokes-Monarch inspiring people to go raw, or Julia Butterfly Hill protecting the giant Redwood trees she loves, each person who is a part of this BiG idea has something powerful for us to learn. Each individual's message is one worth spreading!
You can hear their words and learn something new. Maybe you don't have your own particular environmental or health cause burning to get you out of bed every morning, but maybe you will connect with the passion these individuals feel. This is an opportunity to support them and the causes they work to improve.
8. For Tera and all The Raw Divas
When Tera and I started talking about this idea months ago, I got that funny mix of feelings: excitement and overwhelm! Would we be able to do this? I wanted to set the bar high in terms of the charity money we raised and the circle of healthy influence we could extend, but that would mean reaching out and relying on the support of at least 1000 people!
But you know what? It feels good to believe in something so BiG. It feels good to just have faith that the right people will respond and find value in this program and in helping out themselves, the girls, and the planet. It feels good to think BiG. I just checked and we're almost at 300 people who have made the donation!! 700 more people and 7 days to go!
We'll be relying on YOU to participate and spread the word to help us reach the goal!
9. For Future Generations
This project came into being because Tera's daughter, Mika, wanted to do more to save the planet. I know how Mika feels. I remember being about her age and sitting in a classroom and feeling nothing but love for the environment and all the life within it. That same feeling drove me to start making changes in my life in university, starting programs, and making green changes that felt good.
This is home. We all share it. Was it ever your day to do house chores growing up? I like to think of this 10-day event as a reminder of my responsibility for making sure that Home remains a place that all generations can enjoy and see the beauty in.
10. For Joy
It's why I love being a part of GSQ and telling people about green smoothies! I love knowing that the words I'm writing now, or for a green smoothie program, or to answer an e-mail, or just to share what I drank for breakfast may reach out and make a difference. If you're lucky enough to do 'work' that helps people, you'll know what I'm talking about. There's real joy in it.
If you've been feeling stuck by things lately that are getting you down or running you in circles... change direction and focus. Get happy by helping others and trusting that the good you send out in the world expands and grows and gives.
- 10 Days
- 10 Big Thinkers
- 10 Bucks
- 100% to Charity
The ripples of our lives
can be a gently touching wave…
That reaches others we don’t know,
and comes back to us someday…
- By Denise Landford
Believe in Green
August 15th - 24th
Click the BiG logo,
join the 10-Day Challenge,
and make your donation!
Blendtec Beauty
