feminist blogs

It's not really a flattering photo, but I was the highest fundraiser for the 3rd year in a row. Woohoo! Thanks to all of my wonderful, generous friends who helped me EXCEED my goal. You're the best!



the whole set is here

I'm so lucky to know and have such wonderful people in my life. I'm also fortunate enough to have everything I need and more. Really, my only birthday wish is that you'll help me reach my fundraising goal for the San Francisco Walk Against Rape. I'm still $1400 short so every little bit helps. http://www.firstgiving.com/bffteam

Thanks so much for your support, friendship and your generosity!
xoxo, jared

my birthday is on thursday so i'm using it as an excuse to raise money for my cause.

the 3rd annual san francisco walk against rape is on april 26th and i'm $1465 short of my $2500 goal. if you have a few extra bucks to share, please send it my way. you can donate here.

thank you!!!

Look, I appreciate when ridiculously rich people give away large sums of money. After all, a million dollars is a a million dollars and can help a lot of people. But it's always seemed to me that the super rich could do MORE or else they wouldn't be SUPER RICH in the first place. I've never understood why multi billionaires couldn't donate most of their fortune and just live as multi millionaires so that MORE people can live a decent life with healthcare and food and shelter and education.

I know that's absolutely NOT the "American Way", but I really wish it was.

This morning, while watching "Sunday Morning", they did a piece on Chuck Feeney and my heart was warmed. If more wealthy people were like him, the world wouldn't be so full of assholes wasting their money cars and clothes and pets from pet mills.

Thanks for being a generous, caring, decent human being, Mr. Feeney!

Hi friends,

I’m participating in the San Francisco Walk Against Rape again this year and I’m hoping to raise the most money again. Last year I raised $1400 on my own, so this year I’ve put together a team and we hope to raise $2500 or more. The walk isn’t until April, but I’m starting the fundraising now to make sure we reach or (hopefully) exceed our goal.

Support me by donating here: BFFteam

Although rape is a very serious and painful issue to think about, the walk is a really exciting, empowering, fun, feminist, community building event and everyone is welcome. If you’d like to join my team or just walk along with us, you’re more than welcome. Or you can just open your wallet and support us from afar.

Every little bit helps and will bring us that much closer to our goal and all proceeds will go to benefit San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR), SF’s only community based rape crisis center.

Thanks in advance for your support!
xoxo, jared

Support me by donating here: BFFteam

I just heard about this organization on the news this morning and it sounds awesome. Instead of giving family and friends another sweater or CD or video game the don't need, you can donate to this organization and give the gift of sight, education, clean water, etc. to someone in need on your friend or family member's behalf. They'll receive a card announcing your gift and someone in need's life will change for the better.

Seva Foundation - Compassion in action.

Gifts of Service - Gifts that do a world of good.

Then there's also one of my personal favorites, Alley Cat Allies.

Give something that gives back instead of something that just takes up space. The world will be a better place for it.

Wishing you and yours Happy Holidays and a Wonderful New Year!

although it has been rather animal rights heavy lately.

I've just been really, really busy at work and there've been a number or articles and issues surrounding animal rescue and whatnot that I wanted to post before I forgot. Also, I am a little obsessed with animal rights at the moment, what with the declawing legislation idea and everything. All of this animal activism has even led me to become a vegetarian so I don't feel like such a hypocrite discussing animal cruelty while chowing down on a B.L.T.

One thing I've noticed about fighting for animal rights as opposed to women's rights is that a lot more people love animals and are sympathetic to the cause than they are towards women. You'd be surprised how many people are willing to jump on the anti-declawing bandwagon but balk at the idea of letting women make their own reproductive choices. It's totally weird.

Everyone loves a puppy. Women and girls? Not so much.

It's disappointing, but I still value the work that they do do, and the animals they've helped so far and I love being part of the shelter kitties lives. I would like to see a dramatic rise in the overall percentage of live-releases, though.

Pet Projects: Can the San Francisco SPCA overcome recent setbacks and regain its position as a leader in the national no-kill movement?

In San Francisco they're guaranteed a chance to live until they find a family, as long as they're deemed adoptable by the SPCA and don't develop a life-threatening disease or unmanageable behavior traits. They are the legacy of pioneering former president Richard Avanzino, regarded by most as the originator of the national "no-kill" movement.

Avanzino spent 20 years making the San Francisco SPCA a national leader in saving animals, including forging a pact with the city in 1994 to work toward guaranteeing every adoptable cat and dog a home, a remarkable promise during a time when few places across the nation were willing to make saving the lives of companion animals a priority. Most shelters euthanized tens of thousands of kittens, puppies, dogs, and cats every year to save space and money. Quite a few still do.

But after Avanzino left in 1998 to spread his no-kill philosophy nationally through the Alameda-based nonprofit Maddie's Fund, the local SPCA has steadily retreated from the cutting edge. Rather than continuing to push toward the goal of saving all the animals, the two presidents who succeeded Avanzino have focused the organization on a private hospital project that has turned into an expensive boondoggle that's sapped the organization's energy and resources and angered the local veterinary community.

"San Francisco likes to say it's the safest city in the United States to be a dog or cat," said Nathan Winograd, a widely recognized proponent of the no-kill philosophy and former director of operations for the SPCA, who left the organization in late 2000. "That is no longer true. There are other cities that are doing much more in terms of lifesaving. That's one of the reasons I chose to leave San Francisco."

I would also really appreciate it if people would stop breeding cats and dogs and stop buying cats and dogs from pet stores and breeders and start adopting some of the thousands of homeless animals already here. More than 800,000 cats and dogs are euthanized each year because there aren't homes for them. Think about that the next time you go to a pet store or breeder, and then turn around and get your ass to a shelter and save an animal's life instead!

From the SFSPCA Volunteer Newsletter:

June is Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat-Month and there's a significant reason why this special month is observed during the summer: kitten season is in full swing and shelters are filled with cats of all ages, sizes and colors.

Some facts about cats in the United States today:

• Cats have replaced dogs as the most popular family pet; it's estimated that there are now approximately 90 million owned cats in this country.
• The stray animal population is now largely made up of cats.
• The majority of cats in shelters are unowned, and more than 70% will be euthanized.
• Euthanasia in shelters is now the leading cause of cat death in the U.S.
• Cats as a group receive less veterinary care than dogs and are abandoned more often.

Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat-Month is the perfect opportunity to raise public awareness about the wonderful homeless cats and kittens waiting to be adopted in shelters throughout the country.

Allow me to make a few recommendations:

Joy (aka Minna) - Arrival 12.4.05
Sylvester - Arrival 7.29.06
Elizabeth - Arrival 2.17.07
Miranda - Arrival 2.26.07
Squirrly (aka Squirrel) - Arrival 4.17.07
Hindrich - Arrival 5.4.07
Jordan - Arrival 5.5.07
Garfield - Arrival 5.8.07
Geneva - Arrival 5.9.07
Polly - Arrival 5.9.07
Bali - Arrival 5.16.07
Samantha - Arrival 5.18.07
Homie - Arrival 5.18.07
Chauncy - Arrival 5.21.07
Carly - Arrival 5.22.07

p.s. The cat in the photo, Izzma, was not harmed or purposely humiliated for the picture. She had some matting and fur issues when she arrived so she got a shave and a fresh start.

The San Francisco Food Bank is still one of my favorite nonprofits even though they didn't hire me way back in the day. Their executive team is a little testosterone heavy, but they do good work:

Summer is an especially difficult time for working famililes with children. When school lets out for summer vacation, childcare costs increase and children lose access to school meals and snacks, increasing the burden on the family's finances.

Please help today - make a donation equal to the amount you normally spend on lunch - or what you spend for a whole week. Each $10 donation allows us to provide meals to 40 children - that's more than an entire classroom of kids! We ask you to donate today and forward this link to your friends so they can contribute too.

Here are some more ways you can help – and have fun at the same time!

Go shopping!
Make a $5 donation to the Food Bank at any San Francisco Macy’s store on June 5 and receive a 15% off savings pass for the entire day.

Enjoy dinner with a friend
Go to Kuleto’s on June 5 and order the special Hunger Awareness Day three course prix fixe dinner at Kuleto’s restaurant in San Francisco and the proceeds will be donated to the Food Bank. Call 415-397-7720 to make a reservation.

Take a cooking class
Learn how to make a gourmet Italian dinner at Sur la Table with Chef Bob Helstrom of Kuleto’s on June 5, Hunger Awareness Day. All proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to the Food Bank. Call Sur la Table at 415.732.7900 for details and tickets.

Visit Union Square
Join us from 12:00 – 1:00 on Hunger Awareness Day to learn more about the issue of hunger and how you can run a food drive, volunteer or advocate for an end to hunger in San Francisco.

Every day, 1 in 5 San Franciscans lives with the threat of hunger. We need your support to give them the food they need to survive and thrive. Thank you!

Please give today!