Some points to ponder …
Take action: “Oprah” eschewed celebrity chats and product giveaways last Monday for a sobering look at online trafficking of child pornography. The show, which outlined the ever-evolving ways that child predators use new technologies, drew praise from Stop Child Predators, an organization that advocates for legislation preventing child exploitation. It also fired up a lot of parents — in a good way.
The show focused on U.S. Senate Bill 1738, the Protect Our Children Act, which would provide federal funding to prevent predation. Oprah urged her viewers to contact their senators and tell them to pass the bill before their recess on Friday.
Many viewers, judging from my in-box, launched an e-mail campaign urging their friends to do the same. Similar pleas appeared on cafemom.com, craigslist.com and numerous parenting blogs.
To read more about the bill and find a sample letter to send your senators, go to oprah.com/article/oprah show/20080911(underscore)tows(underscore) predators.
To contact your senators, log on to durbin.senate.gov for Dick Durbin. Go to obama.senate.gov for Barack Obama.
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Donate: Here’s a chance to de-clutter and contribute to the greater good. Soles4Souls, an international charity that provides shoes to needy people, is collecting new or gently worn shoes for victims of the recent hurricanes. Round up all the shoes that your kids have outgrown (but are still in decent shape) and take them to the nearest Shoe Carnival by Oct. 1. In return, you’ll receive a $5 coupon — and the knowledge that your shoes are going to a good cause. (Adult shoes are accepted as well.)
Shoe Carnival stores will also be collecting cash donations for Soles4Souls. Or you can go to Soles4Souls.org to donate directly to the charity, which has sent 85,000 pairs of new shoes to Hurricane Ike relief efforts so far.
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Think holidays: If the perfect holiday-card photo tends to elude you, try a different tack this year. RUVAcards will take your kid’s artwork and turn it into a one-of-a-kind greeting card. No, it’s not too early to be thinking about this.
What you do: Pick a drawing and mail the original or e-mail a high-resolution scan to the folks at ruvacards.com.
What they do: Print the drawing on the inside of a card that has peek-a-boo circles cut out of the front panel. They also add your family name and a holiday message.
What your friends and family do: Keep your card forever! Show it to all their friends! Bask in the glow of love and budding talent that your card has bestowed upon their household!
A set of 50 custom cards is $125. Go to ruvacards.com for more information.
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Play: KaBOOM, a national non-profit organization that advocates for more play spaces for kids, has launched an online playground finder. Planning a trip to a new city? Find the playground closest to your hotel. Visiting child-free relatives? Spare them the task of finding nearby spots for your kids. Looking to branch out from the usual spots near home? It works for that too.
Go to playspacefinder.kaboom.org and type in an address. The site will map nearby playgrounds and other outdoor play spaces and filter them by age appropriateness and activities (swimming pool, basketball court, etc.).
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hstevens@tribune.com
