"Petition Coalition" Roundup - December 24, 2013

Join the "Petition Coalition" by following these links and signing those that you agree with!

Don’t let the Tea Party gut Medicare: www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/512/187/135/ 

Ask Dunkin Donuts to switch from Styrofoam to a more eco-friendly disposable cup: http://www.change.org/petitions/dunkin-donuts-stop-using-styrofoam-cups-and-switch-to-a-more-eco-friendly-solution 

Tell Uganda that a life sentence for homosexuality is unconscionable: http://act.credoaction.com/sign/uganda_gay_imprisonment/?sp_ref=24451753.4.1841.o.1.2 

Walmart: Rehire employee fired for price matching turkey for elderly customer two days before Thanksgiving: https://www.change.org/petitions/walmart-rehire-employee-fired-for-price-matching-turkey-for-elderly-customer-two-days-before-thanksgiving 

Support Equal Tax Treatment for Public Transit Commuters in NYC, Rather Than Favoring Drivers: http://www.change.org/petitions/support-equal-tax-treatment-for-public-transit-commuters-in-nyc 

Ask Gov. Perry to remove “Affluenza” judge from the bench for horrid sentencing double-standards: https://www.change.org/petitions/governor-rick-perry-take-judge-jean-boyd-off-the-bench 

Congress: Don't cut social security to fix your own budget shortfalls! http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/127/516/740/ 

Staples: Don't Cut Part-Time Hours To Avoid Health Coverage for Employees: http://www.change.org/petitions/staples-don-t-cut-part-time-hours-because-of-obamacare 

Don't Let Oil Companies Pump Carcinogens Into the Ocean: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/929/936/826/dont-let-oil-companies-pump-carcinogens-into-the-ocean/ 

Infinito Gold: Stop Suing Costa Rica For Protecting Its Rainforest: http://act.watchdog.net/petitions/4110?ls=G0glgrjPUY4

Thanks for fighting the good fight, and for all the little ways you change the world!

"Petition Coalition" Roundup - December 19, 2013

Join the "Petition Coalition" by following these links and signing those that you agree with! 

VoteVets knows the military toll of only relying on fossil fuels – stand with them in support of the Renewable Fuel Standard: http://action.votevets.org/save-the-rfs 

Revoke the NFL’s ridiculous tax-exempt “non-profit” status: http://www.change.org/NFLnonprofit 

Support Women’s Health to Save Wildlife: www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/440/443/528/ 

Demand REAL reform of the NSA, not the half-hearted apologetics of Sen. Feinstein’s bill: http://act.credoaction.com/sign/difi_nsa?sp_ref=24198980.4.1773.o.1.2 

Help eliminate workplace discrimination by urging Congress to pass ENDA: http://action.harryreid.com/landing/w131028enf/ 

Rename the intersection of Ludlow & Rivington in NYC “Beastie Boys Square”: https://www.change.org/petitions/beastie-boys-square 

Protect the Great Barrier Reef from a planned massive coal port: http://action.sumofus.org/a/barrier-reef-lendlease/ 

Tell A&E to stand strong, because bigotry isn’t a Christian value: http://act.faithfulamerica.org/sign/duckdynasty 

Tell Tyson to Stop Torturing Pigs: http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-tyson-to-stop-torturing-pigs

Tell John Kerry: biased oil-industry contractors shouldn’t decide on Keystone XL pipeline: http://act.credoaction.com/sign/erm_conflict?sp_ref=24299230.4.1823.o.1.2

Thanks for fighting the good fight, and for all the little ways you change the world!

"Petition Coalition" Roundup - December 17, 2013

Join the "Petition Coalition" by following these links and signing those that you agree with! 

Tell Congress to fight wildlife trafficking: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/518/210/575/

Tell the Senate: Protect Us From the Dangers of Fracking: https://www.change.org/petitions/tell-the-senate-protect-us-from-the-dangers-of-fracking

Tell Google: Stop Reading Personal Gmail to Sell Ads: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/429/574/063/

Raise your voice to Congress to finally raise the minimum wage: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/599

Help Wendy Davis stop voter suppression of Texas women: http://act.watchdog.net/petitions/3959

Urge Congress to support clean wind power: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/622/746/027

Ask Ralph Lauren to stop selling cruelly harvested angora: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/215/579/302/

Voice your support for Elizabeth Warren’s bill to prohibit pre-employment credit checks: http://act.boldprogressives.org/survey/petition_warren_credit_employment/

Tell CBS to hold staff accountable for shoddy reporting on Benghazi: http://campaigns.dailykos.com/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=691

Thanks for fighting the good fight, and for all the little ways you change the world!

"Petition Coalition" Roundup - December 15, 2013

Join the "Petition Coalition" by following these links and signing those that you agree with! 

Tell Bob Newhart: Don't perform for an anti-gay extremist group: http://act.faithfulamerica.org/sign/newhart

Tell Target To Help End Slave Labor in Uzbekistan: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/409/842/375/

Tell Congress not to go on vacation without extending unemployment benefits: http://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/don-t-go-on-vacation-without-extending-unemployment-benefits

Stop the effects of limitless political spending and tell Congress to overturn Citizens United: http://www.citizens-against-citizens-united.com/franken

Martina McBride: Don’t support SeaWorld’s animal cruelty by playing a show there: https://www.change.org/petitions/martina-mcbride-don-t-play-at-seaworld

With corporations cutting pensions every day, we need to expand Social Security ASAP: http://act.boldprogressives.org/sign/petition_ss_begich_harkin_brown/?source=Brown

Tell Lowe’s and Home Depot to stop selling bee-killer pesticides and protect the food supply: http://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/home-depot-and-lowe-s-you-must-stop-selling-bee-killing-pesticides

Sign this petition to unlock a $1 donation to help fund schools for girls in India and Malawi: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/409/179/769/

Tell Zara to follow the lead of H&M and TopShop and stop selling angora products produced through rabbit torture in China: http://action.sumofus.org/a/topshop-angora-rabbit/5/2/

Thanks for fighting the good fight, and for all the little ways you change the world!

"Petition Coalition" Roundup - December 12, 2013

I urge you to follow these links to petitions regarding important issues, and join the "Petition Coalition!"

Tell Domino’s Pizza to reinstate workers fired for protesting low wages:

http://campaigns.dailykos.com/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=685

Help overturn a “mandatory minimum” 55-year sentence for non-violent marijuana offenses: http://www.change.org/petitions/president-obama-commutation-for-weldon-angelos-55-years-for-marijuana

Tell the White House: Don’t silence key advisor John Podesta on the presidential decision on the Keystone XL pipeline: http://act.credoaction.com/sign/free_john_podesta

Tell Congress: Stop Making Cuts to Senior Health Care: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/135/176/227/

Costa Rica rejected a toxic, open-pit gold mine and now the company is suing them for saying no. Tell Infinito Gold to drop its $1B lawsuit against Costa Rica: http://action.sumofus.org/a/mining-costarica/8/2/

Tell Congress: Extend Emergency Unemployment Benefits Through 2014:

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/tell-congress-extend

Tell Congress that you will not accept a budget that forces average Americans to lose urgent income over the holidays while leaving the wealthiest Americans untouched: http://act.democracyforamerica.com/sign/budget

India’s Supreme Court just made it ILLEGAL to be gay again (four years after suspending that terrible “law”). No one fighting for equality in India should stand alone. Sign a message of support and love now: https://www.allout.org/en/actions/india

Sign and email a petition your House member now, and tell them in no uncertain terms: No Farm Bill that cuts food stamps. Absolutely no cuts to food stamps at all. None:  http://campaigns.dailykos.com/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=686

Thanks for fighting the good fight, and for all the little ways you change the world!

Effecting big change with small change!

Sidewalks and store floors served up another good chunk of change--in a most literal sense--for the Sean McGrath Fund in 2012! For many years now, I've made a point of picking up any spare change that I see on ground and keeping it in a separate pocket, which gets emptied into its own dedicated cup each night. 

I try to live by the mantra 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,' so I've always seen it as an opportunity to put all of those pennies to good use, whether they were lost, ignored, or outright discarded (I used to chide a co-worker for throwing pennies into the garbage), so at the end of the year, I tally it up and send off a check to the memorial charity I co-founded, the Sean McGrath Fund.

This year was a little shy of last year's all-time high, but still a pretty good haul overall. Here's the breakdown:

.01 x 298  =  $2.98
.05 x 24  =  $1.20
.10 x 68  =  $6.80
.25 x 22  =  $5.50
1.00 x 4  =  $4.00
5.00 x 1  =  $5.00 
20.00 x 1  =  $20.00

Here's what the year's worth of accumulated loot looks like.

Adding in four Canadian pennies (worth .04 US) and a Euro dime (.13 US), that makes a grand total of $45.65! I'd say that's worth an occasional pause and squat.
 

As usual, I singled out some of the most interesting specimens, some so degraded that I couldn't even tell how old they were, and some in surprising shape for their age, starting with this nickel with a barely legible date stamp of 1974...

...and then there are these pennies, some so thin, worn, and withered that they'll surely be retired once I turn all of the change into the bank. [Top row, L-R: 19??, 19??, 1969; Middle row, L-R: 2001, 2006, 1975; Bottom row, L-R: 2011, 1966, 1934]

The check has been sent to the Sean McGrath Fund's parent organization, the Princeton Area Community Foundation, and I'm asking friends and supporters to match the donation in honor of what would have been Sean's birthday this weekend (inspired by my friend Miranda's matching donation last year). Since all donations to our Fund will be matched dollar for dollar by an anonymous challenge grant, that means this found change can make even more of a change for the great causes supported by the SMcGF. If you'd like to make a donation, hit the orange button on the PACF site and make sure you specify "Sean McGrath Fund" in your note!

 
The count for 2013's collection has begun, with the most recent addition (a penny in the snow on Fulton Street last night) bringing the total so far this month/year to $0.59. Here to hoping we'll break the $50 mark next year!