Kiva is the world’s first online micro-lending website. Through this site, anyone with $25 or more to spare can loan that money to a low-income entrepreneur somewhere around the world. These small loans have a big impact on poverty. Laura and I are huge fans of Kiva, and we’re excited to hear that they’ve been chosen as one of four finalists in the Sam’s Club “Giving Made Simple” competition. They have a chance to win a $1 million dollar grant – but Kiva can only win with your help and support! With this grant, Kiva will multiply the impact by generating approximately $10 million more in loans from the Internet community, to help 25,000 entrepreneurs in the US and around the world.

How does Kiva work this magic of Biblical proportions? Per their website: “Kiva historically generates $10 in loans from the Internet community for every $1 they spend building and strengthening the platform. By investing in the dedicated engineering and portfolio staff who make Kiva possible, they can have 10 times the impact of the original grant.” Miraculous!

Here’s how you can help:

Sam’s Club members can vote DAILY through May 2nd... Continue Reading

Do you ever get restless? Do you feel like there is something you’re supposed to or want to be doing but can’t quite put a finger on it and don’t know where to focus your energy? Something is stirring in the heart of New York City that has our attention. Its a whisper of something big, a seed of change. Its called The Green Bus Tour. “This summer a group of visionary musicians, artists, yogis, healers, social entrepreneurs and sustainability experts will set off on a Green Bus Tour to inspire a culture of conscious living.” – www.greenbustour.com

What is the Tour? Well the Green Bus website and Facebook page say it better than we can so check them out. While we don’t know exactly how we’ll be involved, we have our heart open to collaborating with this movement, this group of people who want to BE and spread the change with no pretension, no politics, no judgment; just sharing, learning, educating and love. And what better cause is there than that?

This is just the beginning. We... Continue Reading

One of my favorite places to volunteer in Boston is the Women’s Lunch Place (WLP). The WLP is a daytime shelter that provides breakfast, lunch and social services for women and their children who are poor and/or homeless. I’m there 1 or 2 Saturdays per month, prepping breakfast and lunch. I enjoy my time there because the other volunteers are a lot of fun, great music is always blasting in the kitchen, and I feel really useful! There’s never a dull moment in the kitchen at WLP.

The other day I noticed several drawings created by either the women of the center or their kids. One painting caught my eye and made my breath catch in my throat. This glittery piece of art stated, in rainbow watercolors, “I love my life.” Wow. And that’s coming from a woman in a shelter. When I thought about that, at first it seemed like it would be hard to be satisfied with your situation if life had left you on the doorstep of an emergency shelter. But at the same time, maybe this is a vast improvement over her previous living situation. And maybe she doesn’t have her own... Continue Reading

So what is this Love Club, thing all about? We get a warm and fuzzy feeling when we think about how supportive our friends and family have been since we started Within in 2008. Not only are we happy that people help spread our concept, but that they have so much faith in us and what we are doing. We are so grateful.

The Love Club combines the best of so many worlds. The news of uplifting, organic, affirmation tees spreads to new audiences, the people that have helped us all along are rewarded for their efforts and we get more tees into the hands of more people. Everyone is happy.

Not too long ago Nikki, my Within Co-Owner, told me about a book called The Go-Giver. She also announced that she wanted to be our “Director of Customer Experience.” I thought that was a very cool title, and really true to what Nikki was already doing. Of course we are a company with a product, but the experience around that product is equally important – everything from posting inspiring quotes and videos on Facebook... Continue Reading

Have you ever been to one of those hypnotism shows where they pull people up on stage and make them do outrageous things? I’ve always found hypnotism quite mysterious and intriguing and started to really believe there was something to it when my rather reserved friend was pulled on stage at a show and did foul things to a phallic lollipop in front of a large crowd. Hmmm, clearly there is something going on here.
Over the past six months it seems that information about belief systems keeps flooding into my awareness. It started with Brian Klemmer, a life coach that talks about changing your perception and belief systems to change your life experience. Then I read the Presence Process, then The Nature of Personal Reality, The Go-Giver, Psycho-Cybernetics, Full Catastrophe Living and The Celestine Prophecy. I picked up each of these books in a different manner, some were recommended to me, some randomly grabbed off a shelf. The striking thing is that they’re all talking about the same thing. They’re all talking about how our view of the world shapes the way we experience it. For a simple example, think of... Continue Reading

This I Believe is an amazing series on National Public Radio. People from all walks of life submit essays about their core beliefs; the values that guide them every day. These brief essays, read by the author, are often beautifully poignant.

When I first heard this particular essay by Jackie Lantry on the way home from work one day, I sobbed. And sobbed. And not because it’s a sad story – but because it’s a gorgeous story about the transformative power of love.

My FAVORITE part of the whole essay comes in the last 10 seconds. The final words of the segment, spoken by the announcer, always bring tears to my eyes. Have a listen – it takes less than 4 minutes – your heart will thank you for it.

Jackie believes in the power of love. Me too. What do you believe in?

My husband Aaron and I have scoffed at Valentine’s Day since we’ve been together. We both found it a relief that we didn’t have lofty expectations for this one day of romance and paying attention to each other. We felt we could do this all year without building it up for one day. So I’ve stuck my nose up at V-Day. But something changed this year. I started thinking how cool it is that we actually have a holiday that encourages people to express their love and affection for each other. That reminds people to slow down from their busy days and say “I love you.” And its not just for lovers, its for mothers, sisters, friends and teachers. How lovely!

Now Aaron and I aren’t going to run out and make dinner reservations at crowded restaurants or go see a corny movie, but I will take a moment to be grateful for all the wonderful people in my life. I feel very blessed that I have so many people to love.

So here it is – Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Aaron, Nikki and I celebrated the day at North Attleborough Farmer’s & Artisan Products Market. You can... Continue Reading

Tonight is a big night for the battle against heart disease and for our little Within Organics tees. The 7th Annual Woman’s Day Red Dress Event is on! Celebrities get together on the red carpet to support this charitable cause. And guess what they’ll find in their gift bags…drumroll please…‘I am love’ affirmation tees from Within Organics! That’s right, our tees are sitting happily in VIP gift bags, just waiting for the likes of Mary J. Blige, Colbie Caillat and Jennie Garth to lay eyes on them and take them home. Ok, we’re realistic. We know the stars may not ever see the tees, but at least their publicist or personal assistants might and that’s good enough for us. But just in case, if you see Mary J. rockin’ our ‘I am love’ tee in the pages of US Weekly let us know. We think she would look great!