Alabama Gives Day: Local Charities

Posted on
Reply

Alabama Gives Day is coming up on Thursday, Feburary 2nd.  We are asking everyone to help donate and make this a record breaking event.  Everyone in the state of Alabama has gone through a lot in the last year.  And the charities need support now more than ever.  I found this list from 97.9 WVOK that lists all the charities that have signed up for this event in the Anniston/Gadsden areas.  Click on any of the charities below and please donate on Thursday online at http://algives.razoo.com/

 UNITED WAY OF EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA

United Way of East Central Alabama is investing in the building blocks of a good life for all – Education, Income and Health.

TRIUMPH YOUTH AND ADULT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

We are an organization whose mission is to meet the needs within communities in an effort to help improve the quality of life for families.

INTERFAITH MINISTRIES INC OF CALHOUN COUNTY ALABAMA

Bringing God’s people together to serve God’s people in need

2ND CHANCE INC

2nd Chance provides safe shelter and supportive services to victims of domestic violence escaping abusive situations.

THE NORTHEAST ALABAMA CRISIS CENTER INC

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTHEAST ALABAMA

Our mission is to wisely assess needs and channel donor resources to maximize community well-being.

East Central Alabama United Cerebral Palsy

Serving children and adults with developmental disabilities in East Central Alabama.

BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA

NORTHEAST ALABAMA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

SAVING ANIMALS VOLUNTEER EFFORT INC

SAVE is dedicated to to reducing the population of unwanted dogs & cats in order to empty all the shelters in our area through spay/neuter.

ANNISTON COMMUNITY EDUCATION FOUNDATION

The Anniston Community Education Foundation (ACEF) is dedicated to holistic development and empowerment of the youth in Calhoun County, AL.

WEST ANNISTON FOUNDATION

We provide services that promote the health,education and community development of current and former residents of West Anniston.

BAYSIDE MEDICAL MISSIONS AND EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH INC

Help volunteer surgeons offer hope for better quality of life by correcting deformities for people with unavailable specialty surgical care

ATC Men’s Training Center (Lincoln)

Alabama Teen Challenge is part of the oldest, largest, and most successful faith-based addictions recovery programs in the world.

TALLADEGA COUNTY CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER INC

Talladega County Child Advocacy Center-Palmer Place

Alabama Teen Challenge

Alabama Teen Challenge is part of the oldest, largest, and most successful faith-based addictions recovery programs in the world.

NORTHEAST ALABAMA CENTER FOR COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

The Northeast Alabama Center for Community Initiatives (NACCI) is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, public charity corporation

CALHOUN CLEBURNE CHILDRENS CENTER INC

The Calhoun/Cleburne Children’s Center provides free counseling and therapy to child abuse victims.

JESUS IS THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE MOBILE MINISTRIES

Our goal is Feeding Hope to God’s People by bringing awareness to the invisible problem of hunger/poverty in our community through mobility.

KID ONE TRANSPORT SYSTEM INC

Transporting Children to Better Health

PIEDMONT EMERGENCY RESCUE SQUAD

Piedmont Rescue is a not for profit ambulance and rescue service providing care to the citizens of a 400 square mile area around Piedmont AL

PIEDMONT BENEVOLENCE CENTER

The Piedmont Benevolence Center is a Charitable organization that assist needy in the 36272 postal zip code.

ALABAMA BAPTIST CHILDRENS HOME AND FAMILY MINISTRIES

We exist to protect, nurture & restore children and families through Christ-centered foster care, group homes, family care & counseling.

·FAMILY LINKS

We provide a continuum of support services for children and youth by maximizing their school readiness and encouraging positive life choices

SIGHT SAVERS AMERICA

We provide children with vision screenings, eye exams, eyeglasses, medications, surgeries, low vision assessments, vision aids and more.

THREE HOTS & A COT

Provide services for homeless veterans while transitioning into affordable housing. Serving those who have served our nation.

THE NORTHEAST ALABAMA CRISIS CENTER INC

ALABAMA 4-H CLUB FOUNDATION INC

Head. Heart. Hands. Health. For 103 years, Alabama 4-H has been a guiding force to help youth across state achieve life success….

A ROCK FOUNDATION

A Rock Foundation is a Disater Relief and Community Revitalization 501 c 3 non profit organization.

SAMARITAN HOUSE

The Samaritan House of Talladega was founded in 1978 as a ministry to meet the physical and financial needs to those facing challenges.

·TALLADEGA COUNTY CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER INC

Talladega County Child Advocacy Center-Palmer Place

THE ARC OF NORTH TALLADEGA COUNTY INC

ALABAMA INSTITUTE FOR DEAF AND BLIND FOUNDATION INC

AIDB is the world’s most comprehensive education and service program for children and adults of all ages with hearing and vision loss.

SHOCCO SPRINGS BAPTIST CONFERENCE CENTER INC

Shocco Springs is a Christian Conference Center in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains near Talladega, Alabama.

SYLACAUGA ALLIANCE FOR FAMILY ENHANCEMENT INC – SAFE

SAFE is a community-based, nonprofit organization whose purpose is to provide meaningful opportunities for families.

SUSAN G KOMEN BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION

To save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find the cures.

Related articles

More Pictures With Georgina

Posted on
Reply

Well I visited my mom’s house over the weekend.  And of course Georgina the dog came right up to want some love.  I had to love the dog for over two hours.  And I gave her a couple of treats as well.  I really know how to spoil dogs!  But we went for an walk and I really think she knows what a camera is.  She posed very well for the pictures below.   I think these pictures turned out great!

Related articles

Save Our Jobs Rally

Posted on
Reply

I went to attend a meeting of the Anniston Army Depot temp workers who are about to be displaced and without a job.  The AFL-CIO union for the depot workers spoke to the crowd of over hundred people.  This rally was for saving the jobs at the depot.  And I got some juicy information.  Here are some pictures of the start of the rally.

After a prayer Anniston Mayor Gene Robinson spoke to the crowd and he was fired up.  He told the crowd that the federal government was lying about the unemployment numbers; which I think is true.  And the city council not working together to create an Commercial Development Authority for the city of Anniston.

Then the main speaker told the crowd that the AFL-CIO is pressuring congress to bring more workload to the Anniston Army Depot and not to the private sector.  These layoffs are going to affect around 1000 people and families.  The union is going to send a delegation to Washington D.C. to try to stop the job cuts.  And there was a petition going around to pressure Rep. Mike Rogers to stop the cuts.  They even said that 99% are getting the shaft while 1% is getting a gold mine.  They also told the crowd that to not get discouraged.  Stand up and have a voice and it is not over yet.  They want everyone to send a message to Washington that this is something that does not make sense.  They also told the crowd to do three things to help.  One is to sign the petition going around in the room.  Two is to write your own letter to send to Washington.  And three is to participate in the march in downtown Anniston coming soon.  These layoffs along with layoffs coming to Piedmont will total close to 1200.  And no matter if you agree with unions or not.  All of us in NE Alabama needs to take a stand to try to stop these layoffs.  There could also be some more layoffs among small businesses that will lose business from these massive layoffs.  One thing is for sure.  This area is in a lot of trouble.

The meeting went well until this happened.  A war veteran got into a shouting match with the speakers saying the unions are stealing money and are greedy.  Security had to be called to escort him and his wife and son out.  Later during the event someone said that the shouter suffers from memory problems.  You won’t see these photos in the Anniston Star.

My opinion still matters.  And that is the leaders of every city in Calhoun County and the county commissioners need to be voted out of office.  We need fresh new leadership in the cities of Calhoun County.  Or we might see this county implode.
Related articles

Alabama Gives Day

Posted on
Reply

The Alabama Association of Nonprofits has come up with an great way to promote charities and to spread the word on TV and radio stations across the state.  Alabama Gives Day is an 24 hour period where people are asked to log on and donate.  They are trying to raise a huge sum of money in one day.  Just look at the press statement.

On February 2, 2012 the Alabama Association of Nonprofits, in partnership with the Alabama Broadcasters Association and the Razoo Foundation, is doing something in Alabama that’s never been done. We’re taking one day to harness the power of individual contributions statewide, connecting new and existing donors with thousands of Alabama nonprofits.

“The Alabama Broadcasters Association is excited to participate in what will be a historic event for philanthropy in our state and possibly across the nation. The concept of Alabama Gives Day is heartwarming for all who will be part of the event. Alabama radio and TV stations will endeavor to raise record amounts in gifts for charities across the state in a 24 hour period,” said Sharon Tinsley, President of the Alabama Broadcasters Association.

When presented with a new way to give online, community members have overwhelmingly shown their support through donations. In 2011, Colorado Gives Day raised $12 million for participating nonprofits, far surpassing the $8.4 million raised in 2010. In 2011, Minnesota’s Give to the Max raised a whopping $13.4 million for Minnesota nonprofits from over 47,000 donors in just 24 hours. While the immediate benefit is huge, the ripple effects of giving spurred other philanthropic endeavors in Minnesota and Colorado generating even more donations months later.

The excitement and anticipation leading up to this one-day event energizes a new donor base of individual donors. During Colorado’s Give Day, 98% of nonprofits featured on GivingFirst.org received a donation, and 83% of those participating nonprofits acquired new donors. A positive lesson that charities have learned from their participation in giving days, say organizers, is that the events have strong appeal to young donors. Norman Rice, president and CEO of the Seattle Foundation, host of Give Big Seattle, describes their event as, “the democratization of philanthropy, in which everyone can make a difference in the world around them.”

This historic event in Alabama, backed by the marketing power of Alabama radio and television stations, will further help charitable organizations continue to provide a broad spectrum of aid across the state of Alabama.

“We’re proud to launch Alabama Gives Day in support of an incredible sector that makes our state a better place to live. This event has the potential to dramatically increase the number of individual donors contributing to charities in our state as we’ve seen similar campaigns in Colorado and Minnesota successfully do,” said Russell A. Jackson, Alabama Gives Day Manager for the Alabama Association of Nonprofits. “Connecting individual donors to nonprofits, while also promoting the safety and ease of online giving, is critical to helping our nonprofits be even more sustainable without being so dependent on foundation and corporate grants to keep their lights on.”

I am going to promote some NE Alabama charities you can donate to in the next few days.   And join many people on February 2nd and donate!  http://algives.razoo.com/

Animation Monday: Kimmel Kartoon

Posted on
Reply

I really enjoy watching Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC.  Some of the videos they show on the program are funny.  This week in unnecessary censorship and Steven Tyler‘s creepy leer of the night are weekly treats.  And when the show takes an classic cartoon and replaces the audio with an current TV program.  It almost makes the classic cartoon look current.  Of course the mouths of the cartoon characters are off-sync.  And there is some editing done.  But you have to just laugh when you recognize audio from shows like Jersey Shore and American Idol.  And it really does make the classic cartoons like Scooby Doo and The Flintstones look much better.

Enjoy the latest Kimmel Kartoon with The Flintstones audio being replaced with audio from an American Idol audition.

I also enjoyed an segment with Regis Philbin and Butt-Head.  This was pretty good.

 

Related articles

Food Blog South in Birmingham

Posted on
Reply

I made a last minute decision to go to Food Blog South.  And I am glad I went.  There were great sessions and great speakers during the entire day.  And the food samples and freebies were great as well.  I am trying to open up my blog to a couple new things and I gained some great tips and insight while at Food Blog South.  And I have all the time in the world right now since I am still unemployed.  By the way I am e-mailing this article to all the people I got business cards from so if you know of someone who is hiring.  Just contact me.  The event was held at Old Car Heaven which is an old warehouse with old cars.  Here are some photos of the venue.

Never seen a portable Books-A-Million before.

Now before the sessions started there were some great breakfast goodies and coffee for everyone to enjoy.  This was sponsored by the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau.  The morning speaker was Jennifer Cole.

Pastries from Edgar's Bakery.

Coffee from FinerGrind Coffee Roasters.

The first session I attended was The Art of Mapping Food Trends by Kara Nielsen.  There are some surprising food trends for 2012.  Meatless dining; better burgers & coffee; wholesome beverages; keesh bakeries; yogurt; sprouted grains; wild foods; forging in fine dining; and returning to animal fats are things to watch for in food for 2012.  And I have to agree in this; gluten free is the current fad & trend in the food world.  Also the current economic situation and people wanting comfort food is going hand to hand.

This was pomegranate vinegar.  I am not a big fan of vinegar and after one sip; I tasted that extreme sour and had enough.  One good thing to remember from this session is it takes time for trends to express themselves.

The second session was Vlogging by Jay Ducote.  The best quote from this session is if an picture is worth a thousand words.  Than a video is worth 24,000 to 30,000 words a second.  Audiences have a very short attention span and videos can lose up to 50% of an audience after one minute.  Videos on food blogs are only going to get bigger and that might include Young’s Blog in the near future.  Also watching videos on a smartphone is going to grow as well.  In fact in an 24 hour period in March 2011; 9% of videos are watched on smartphones.  And that is growing by leaps and bounds.

The next session I attended was Photography and Food Styling by Jennifer Davick & Marian Cooper Cairns.  While waiting for the session to begin.  I noticed many people on their smartphones.  And for me; well I have an plain old phone.  But I did text message tweets throughout the day.  This session was sponsored by the National Watermelon Promotion Board.  Yes there is such a thing.

There were a lot of great techniques to use while shooting food.  Using panels and tools such as hairspray bottles; water; q-tips; straws; and oil can be used to enhance the photo scene.  And using natural light is great in shooting food as well.  It is okay to let things happen naturally.  So enjoy my shooting of food below.

Before lunch I caught the Blog Design session by Tammy Hart and got a few more pointers after attending Word Camp Birmingham.  You need to have lots of space and interaction on a blog.  And always thank people for commenting and subscribing.  And then it was lunch time!  Brought to us from Shindigs.

The beef was very good.  And the look alike meatballs are actually beets. This great lunch was sponsored by Whole Foods Market in Mountain Brook of U.S. 280.  Then I got some ice cream.

High Road Craft Ice Cream and Sorbet from the Atlanta metro was very good.  We also got to hear what the Desert Island Supply Co. does to inspire writing in kids in the Birmingham metro.

The next session was Tips and Tools for Beginning Bloggers by Genevieve Turkett.  There were some great pointers like using social media; setting up a new blog; choosing the best platform; widgets; and the best ideas and sins for new bloggers.  It was a great session.

The next session Make Money Blogging by Jen Barnett and James Schend was the best session of the day in a very packed room.  Some facts are there are up to 40,000 english food blogs.  And none of them are in the top 100 blogs.  You need to research topics and engage in social media.  Try to keep blog posts to 300-500 words and have clean and quality content.  And always focus on your passion!  I took a ton of notes during this session and the speakers were great.  This session was sponsered by FinerGrind Coffee Roasters.

The next session The Three Ethical Issues for Food Bloggers by Dianne Jacob was a great question and answer session.  We talked about people adapting a recipe to make it their own.  And the FCC rule of saying I got a product for free and liked it on my blog.  Which has to be disclosed.

We then had a meet and greet with sugared pecans and pecan butter.  And they were both very good. The Pecan Project from Greensboro, AL is an job training service for at-risk people and they award scholarships.  I took some home to my mom and she loved them as well.   http://pecansproject.com/

The keynote speaker was Kat Kinsman from the CNN blog Eatocracy.  Her Twitter name is @kittenwithawhip and she was a great speaker.  Some things to look for in a blog is community; an voice; and being creditable and original.  And anyone can be a journalist and have a voice on any platform.

Overall this entire event was wonderful.  I met some great people and talked to a lot of sponsors.  I will be back for Food Blog South 2013.  Thanks everybody!

Related articles

Food Blog South After Party

Posted on
Reply

After the sessions at Food Blog South ended for the day.  I went around the Birmingham metro to take pictures of Birmingham road scenes.  I thought these photos turned out great.

In many of the photos you notice a lot of broken freeway lights.  For the people visiting Birmingham it is a huge eyesore.  The citizens of the Birmingham metro have been complaining about the broken lights but so far nothing has been done yet.  After the road photos; I went to the Food Blog South after party at Good People Brewing Company.  Many attendees turned out for the cheese and beer tasting.  And the cheeses were very good.  Enjoy the photos below.

The cheeses at the after party were very good.  Most were very creamy and smooth.  I am going to highlight each cheese that was at the event.  I barely drank any beer because I had the hour drive back home to Anniston.

Georgia Gouda from Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville, GA was one of my two favorites.  It was very soft and smooth after eaten.  The cheese is made with milk from jersey cows.  This cheese pairs with the IPA beer.

Pepper Cheese from Yellow Branch Cheese in Robinsville, NC was certainly a little spicy. It has organically grown jalapeno peppers and had a strong flavor to the cheese.  This cheese pairs with the Brown Ale beer.

Cabot Clothbound Cheddar from Jasper Hill Farm and Cabot Creamery Cooperative in Vermont was an tangy and sweet cheese.  This cheese is bandaged with muslin and aged a minimum of 10 months.  This cheese pairs with the Snake Handler beer.

Kentucky Rose from Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese in Austin, KY was a light bleu cheese.  This cheese had a hint of pecan and citrus and was soft and creamy.  This cheese pairs with the Coffee Oatmeal Stout beer.

My other favorite Kashkaval from Bittersweet Plantation Dairy in Gonzales, LA was very creamy and went down very smooth.  This cheese is aged a minimum of 60 days and maybe aged up to 2 years.  This cheese pairs with the Pale Ale beer.

So the cheese and beer tasting was great.  The experts at each table were very good at talking about their cheeses.  And the beer I did taste was good as well.  I will have the photos from the main event later on Young’s Blog.

http://www.goodpeoplebrewing.com/

 

 

 

Related articles

Shape Up! Week 2

Posted on
Reply

This is week two in my series of Shape Up!  The weekly post on what I did over the last week in my quest to getting healthier.

Well it has been a tough week.  Alabama had a tornado outbreak on Monday morning and yes I did stay up all night long to keep an eye on the weather and to warn people on my social media accounts.  Alabama had around a dozen tornadoes tear though the landscape and it did a lot of damage.  And three people were killed in the outbreak.  With this state still fragile after the April 27th super outbreak.  Many people stayed up through the night to stay on top of the weather.  After taking naps throughout the day Monday and getting full sleep Monday night I got back to a normal routine.

This week was also a lot of walking.  With the announcement of even more job cuts in Calhoun County this week this area is in a lot of trouble.  So my prospects of finding any work in this area are close to 0%.  But hey; I got my unemployment extended this week.  Which is better than nothing.  I have looking hard for work over the last week with nothing again.  And it is tough to keep your hopes up when you get rejected time and time again.  But I have all of you who read Young’s Blog to keep me company.  And that is great!

So here is the rundown on what I ate this week.

Saturday:
Cup of Yogurt and Banana
Jell-O pack
Hotpocket and box of microwaveable fries
Milo’s no calorie tea

Sunday:
Banana and Oatmeal
Jell-O pack
Pizza Milo’s no calorie tea
Pint of ice cream

Monday:
Quizno’s Sub with cookie
Milo’s no calorie tea

Tuesday:
Cup of Yogurt and oatmeal and Milk
Small bag of popcorn
Chicken breast and brown rice
Milo’s no calorie tea
Fudgesicle

Wednesday:
Cup of Yogurt and milk
Pringle’s small chip pack
Chicken breast and brown rice
Milo’s no calorie tea
Fudgesicle

Thursday:
Oatmeal and cup of yogurt and milk
Pringle’s small chip pack
Pork Chop and brown rice
Milo’s no calorie tea
Jell-O pack

Friday:
Jell-O pack
French bread pizza
Milo’s no calorie tea
Fudgesicle

I still have more energy and feel very good even with the all-nighters.  So we will head on to week 3 of the Shape Up! campaign.  On Saturday I am attending the Food Blog South conference in Birmingham.  So I wonder how much temptation there will be while at the event.  But since I do recipes on Young’s Blog this is something worth doing.  Maybe that might come with a job as well.  So let’s continue my ways to get to better health!

Related articles

Video Roundup

Posted on
Reply

It’s time for Video Roundup.  The best web videos I have seen on the web within the last week.  Let’s get to it!

Screaming Marine

A Marine that screamed like a little girl!

Songify The News

This is one weird video song.

Helicopter Blows Away Tent

An helicopter got too close and blows a huge tent away.

Roof Collapse

This youth hockey team is very lucky.

Another Sports Hissy Fit

A kid that is sad that the 49ers are not going to the Super Bowl.

Incredible Catch

This ball boy made a great catch.

Microwave Blowup

Things you should not put in a microwave.

Back Flip A Day

One back flip a day in 2011.

Lego Man in Space

Cool video of an high school in Canada sending a Lego Man to space.

Very Young Golfer

Could we be seeing the next great golfer?

Super Bowl Teaser

Ferris Bueller is back!

Campaign Ship Ad

Weird campaign commercial involving a ship.

Snow Crashes

People still can not drive in the snow.

Basketball Art

Artist using a basketball to paint Yao Ming.

Bat Infestation

Extreme case of bats!

Avalanche!

This snowmobile driver is lucky to be alive.

Symphony of Science

An science video auto-tuned!

Young Rocker

An 8 year old girl that rocks!

More Weird Dancing

Another weird dancing video.

Facebook Police

You better do what the Facebook Police tells you to do.

 

Attending Food Blog South

Posted on
Reply

http://foodblogsouth.com/

Well after some thinking I am attending Food Blog South in Birmingham Alabama on Saturday.  Food Blog South is featuring many bloggers and foodies who write about food.  Like this blog which does recipes.  And in the future I will be doing more recipes and even some restaurant reviews here in NE Alabama and NW Georgia.  Some speakers will include writers from magazines like Southern Living and the CNN blog Eatocracy.  And there will be some speakers who have shows on the radio and on TV.  I guess I could be on that list since I have appeared on TV.

So lots of people are going to have some fun on Saturday at Old Car Heaven in Birmingham.  Look for updates and pictures here on Young’s Blog throughout the weekend.  And follow me on Twitter @nvyoung and at facebook.com/nvyoung.  And to my mom; sorry it cost close to $150 to attend this conference.

Related articles