Cancer Awareness

Cancer is a big problem in today's world. Even with modern medicine scientists have not been able to find a cure for cancer. Because of this, "This year about 564,800 Americans are expected to die of cancer—more than 1,500 people a day. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the US, exceeded only by heart disease. One of every four deaths in the US is from cancer. Since 1990, there have been approximately 5 million cancer deaths."(Thomara Latimer Cancer Foundation)

A good way to help is to donate money to organizations to fund cancer research. Or you could give books, art supplies and other toys and activities to children with cancer in hospitals.

A good organization to donate to is Saint Jude's Children's Hospital. Saint Judes helps children all over the country and the world to stop cancer. Saint Judes also does not make their patients pay any money for the treatments, housing and travel. Thus, they rely on donations so it is very important to try to give money as it can go a long way.

Thank you for reading, and I hope this inspires you to donate and help the millions of people with cancer.

Sources:

https://www.stjude.org/

http://www.thomlatimercares.org/Cancer_Facts.htm

Women's March In DC

Hello! We are still seeing the aftermath of the election, and nobody is quite sure what this means for the country. However, I would like to encourage anyone who wants to help and to make a difference to attend the women march In Washington DC. This march is the day after Donald Trump's inauguration. The march was planned to show people around the country that during Trump's presidency women would stand up for each other and not let Donald Trump put them down and harass. I encourage everyone to try to make the trip down to Washington and be apart of this historic protest!

Thank you, stay tuned for more!
Brisa

Revolution

Okay, last election day turned out pretty bad- The American people choose to elect Donald Trump as our president. Donald Trump is unfit to serve in office- the only job he has ever had to apply for was... President. He has never held any political position or office and he's the only president who has not had a political background. Aside from this, he has said awful things about so many groups, religions, races, sexes, and countries.

However, Donald Trump will be our president. Unfortunately, we can't change that. However, we need to make sure to show other countries that we do not believe in this man and his awful ideas. We need to stand up for the people who he hurts and insults. Even though him being president might not affect you on a personal level, it does affect others people. We need to stand up to him, create a revolution.

So please, protest, do more volunteer efforts, donate money, do whatever you can to stand up to our president-elect.

If you still don't know how to contribute here are a few ideas:

• Join protests around the city or where you live
• Volunteer at an abortion clinic- there are many around NYC and other places too, you can escort people into the abortion clinic so they are not hurt by protesters. 
• Donate to organizations that protect people that Trump dislikes- For example the UNHCR- helping and protecting Syrian refugees
• Tell everybody how to help and what to do- how they can help!
• If you know people who voted or support Trump- challenge them and ask them why they support him- try to convince them otherwise, if they are okay with it.

Another test that has been going on is the "safety pin" protest. This is a good way to raise awareness against Donald Trump but not do something big. What people are doing is putting safety pins on their shirt to show that they are a "safe place" or somebody who is a safe person and will not hurt and harm other people. 

I will keep you updated on our president-elect and please volunteer, help and as always please stay tuned in for more posts!

-Brisa  

Election Day!!

November 8th, election day. A day that the people of America choose our next leader. This day is a day unique and special to our country. We get to choose our future and people in other countries don't have that right. That is why today is important. We should exercise our right as citizens of America. And even if you are too young to vote, you can still do your part. For example, campaigning for a candidate or helping at your polling place. 

Many people fought so that you can vote today. We fought against Britain to have our own democracy and participate in government. Women fought a movement that took many decades in order to have the right to vote. Plus, African Americans fought for the right to vote and weren't allowed until 1965. 

Vote for whichever candidate. Just make sure that you vote and exercise your right as a citizen of our nation.

Go vote!!

Immigration

With the debates coming up immigration is a topic that is in the news a lot. Not only do both the candidates have different sides about this debate but also the country. In terms of immigration we are split into two sides the accepting of refugees and other immigrants and the non accepting side.

The Democrats tend to take the accepting side. We are a country that has been a safety haven for immigrants around the world who want to be apart of the 'american dream'. We believe that we should let more refugees and immigrants in to our country and love them as our own.

The Republicans tend to take the non accepting side. They believe that the people coming into our country would be terrorists. They also believe that these people should go elsewhere and that they would not be loyal citizens. This however is simply not true.

Let me start by saying that yes, there could be terrorists wanting to enter our country. HOWEVER, we have the highest immigration check for Syrian refugees than any other check for any other immigrant. This check can take years of through thought and debate. This process makes it VERY unlikely that any terrorist could even have a chance of entering our country.

On top of that we have let in 784,000 refugees into our country since 9/11 and how many have committed terrorist actions?! Only 3 refugees have committed any terrorist actions. On top of that for every one person that has died of terrorist actions activity worldwide, 1,000 died of domestic gun violence. This is crazy, this shows that we should be able to trust Syrian refugees and other immigrants, they are not the ones killing and harming people.

I will be posting more about immigration so make sure to get following and keeping updated on the blog!

Thank you for reading and as always, make sure to tune into this blog to keep up on world events and activism.
Brisa

Information found at:Refugee article- bustle.com

Putting an end to gun violence- Chris Murphy

3 days ago we made history, taking a big step toward ending gun violence.This is one of the most important issues in our country today. And Connecticut senator Chris Murphy just staged a 15 hour filibuster about gun violence.

This is what Ultraviolet has to say about it:

Dear friends,

Something amazing happened yesterday: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and 38 other senators staged a 15-hour filibuster until Republican leaders agreed to act on America's gun violence epidemic. This is a major tipping point following the Orlando tragedy that targeted the LGBTQ community and took 49 lives.

When politicians stick their necks out an issue like gun violence, its important they see that we'll have their backs. 
Join me in adding your name to this petition now: http://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/senate_guns_filibuster/?referring_akid=3232.1244280.QN1DYY&source=mailto


All rights go to Ultraviolet, this was very well spoken and addressed the topic. Please sign the petition above if you agree with this topic, it is important that we show Congress what is right.

Thank you,
Brisa

Orelando Massacare, biggest shooting in our history.

Right in the middle of Pride week a massacare shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub. Most of the people shot were Latinos or gay men.

This is awful, are country in the 20th century should not being going through this, we have to support people in all communities, America is a land for everyone. There are many vigils going on in the area and I encourage people to please support them and attend them during this awful moment. Some other things you can do to help is if you live in the community is donate blood. Or if you are like me and don't live near Florida then you can:

• Contact your local repersenatives and ask them to take action on gun saftey measures.
• Promote LGBT equality.
• Make a doation (below) to help the vitims and their families. 

https://www.gofundme.com/PulseVictimsFund

One of the worst things about this attack is that it could have been prevented. We need to act on gun policies NOW, the gun that was used during the attack was legally bought a week before the attack. And, there were many reasons the shooter should not have been given that gun. For example, he was interveiwed by the FBI two times and beat his wife, there was also other suspicocions around him. 

 Obama had a great speech about the massacare saying this is a time where are country needs to mourn for the lost and heal but he also talked about solutions and said that we need to work on our gun policies. Hillary Clinton also adressed the topic with concern and said that our hearts are with victims and their families. Donald Trump, however, said that this shows how bad our countries' leaders are and he appreciates the congrats for being right on radical islamic terroism. Seriously?! Thats what you say at a time of crisis?! 

Thank you for reading and keep following my blog for more updates, I will be posting every month now!

Information found at:

1. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/2016-candidates-react-to-orlando-night-club-shooting/
2. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3637842/Obama-calls-gun-control-action-DOESN-T-link-Orlando-terror-attack-Islam-address-nation.html
3. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/06/12/heres-what-you-can-do-to-help-after-the-orlando-massacre-since-prayers-alone-wont-do-anything/

Let's talk about the elephant in the room.

Let's talk about the elephant in the room.
The elephant resembling the Republican party. I don't want to get too much into politics but I think it has to be acknowledged.

The presumptive nominee of the Republican party is Donald Trump. Yes, the sexist, racist, AWFUL man. Yeah, him...
If you haven't seen him on the news, T.V shows or anything else, then you have probably been living under a rug! He is everywhere! Everybody talks about him, makes jokes about his hair and obsesses over every stupid thing he says (which is a lot). Yet, what they don't realize is that by doing this they are promoting him more and more.

How to stop Donald Trump:
Do not talk about him nearly as much!!
Make sure people know how high the stakes are in this presidential election
Rally around someone else who can stop Trump

I hope this helps! If you want to you can also donate to the Stop The Trump Fund. And if you want to see all the awful things Donald Trump has said, click on the link below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37zvOZ17eSE

Equal Pay For Equal Work!

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I figured because it was international women's day two weeks ago that it would be a good idea to write about women's rights- Enjoy!!

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A woman earns 76 cents to every dollar a man earns at the same exact job.

What part of that is fair?

There has been a lot of work towards the equal work equal pay movement but most women are still 24 cents away from being equal. This inequality is what happened in the 1900 century... It's 100 years later and we still haven't bridged the pay gap! There are a lot of senators who also support the movement (ie. Kirsten Gillibrand) who have launched idea's to encourage the movement but nobody has been able to go far. We need to change this! Sign the petition below to end this craziness!

UltraViolet Petition: Women's rights

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Here is some background information from Ultra Violet about the petition.

President Obama just announced a huge new crackdown on employers that pay men more than women. Once enacted, all companies with more than 100 employees will have to report pay data by gender, race, and ethnicity. This is a MAJOR step that will expose discrimination that's currently hard to prove--and pave the way for pay equity.
But the President can't close the whole wage gap by himself, and this Congress isn't about to solve the problem. Thankfully, the states are stepping in. Just last week, legislators in nearly half of the states announced they'd be introducing equal pay legislation into their statehouses. Those states include: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. But there's no reason the other states can't follow suit.
If we all pile on and remind our elected officials that we need equal pay now, it can help trigger a domino effect of equal pay across the states. Will you sign the petition to your state legislators?
(Image used under Creative Commons License from #WOCinTech)

Tell state legislators:

2016 is the year to end the gender pay gap. Pass equal pay legislation in my state now.

Martin Luther King day!

Happy Martin Luther King day everyone! For some, MLK day is just a day out of school to chill at home. But January 15/18th is a much bigger day than that. This day is in honor of Martin Luther King who was a famous minister. He was African American and without him there would still be segregation in this country. 

Have you ever heard the quote 'I had a dream'? This was said by Martin Luther King in one of his many speeches. King talked, planning protests and petitions and without him this country would not be what it is today! Thank you to Martin Luther King!!! (Below is a video about Martin Luther King if you want more information!)

Fun Fact: King was named after Martin Luther, a man who led Europe to religous freedom.

Updates on our blog!

Sorry we have not been posting very much lately but we have 12 writing peices on the way that will be published in the next few months! Stay tuned... 

Video

Martin Luther King's life