Meal for a Meal program by Barilla

An integral part of Italian food and culture is sharing the table with family and friends, and Barilla will be giving New Yorkers the opportunity to do just that as the Barilla Pasta Truck takes Manhattan by storm.
From August 15 to 18, the Barilla Pasta Truck will be stationed at busy commuter hubs between 4 and 8 p.m., giving New Yorkers an easy way to share the table with families and friends in the form of Spaghettata To-Go dinner kits. Each kit will include a box of Barilla spaghetti, fresh greens, a jar of Barilla sauce, exclusive Academia Barilla olive oil and vinegar and two tickets to Casa Barilla™ (a $10 value).

For every dinner kit distributed, Barilla will donate $1 to the Food Bank For New York City. Every dollar will provide five meals to New Yorkers in need.

August 16 at 7^th Ave between West 31^st Street and West 32^nd Street

9-Year-Old Rachel Beckwith’s Final Wish Inspires Thousands to Give

For her 9th birthday, Rachel Beckwith asked for donations to a charity to promote clean water around the world. After her tragic death in a car accident, thousands have given to her cause.

By Kathryn Hawkins

For Rachel Beckwith’s 9th birthday, she didn’t ask for toys, dolls, or a new pair of shoes. Instead, the Seattle-area girl made a selfless wish: She wanted her friends and family to donate money to the nonprofit group charity:water, so that people in developing countries could have access to the clean drinking water.
“On June 12th 2011, I’m turning 9,” she wrote on her fundraising page. “I found out that millions of people don’t live to see their 5th birthday. And why? Because they didn’t have access to clean, safe water so I’m celebrating my birthday like never before,” her fundraising page says. “I’m asking from everyone I know to donate to my campaign instead of gifts for my birthday.”
Rachel’s goal amount was $300, but she fell a bit short, raising $220 from her network of friends and relatives. That didn’t bother her much, though—she figured she could raise more the following year.
Tragically, that’s not to be: Rachel was a passenger in one of the 14 cars involved in a highway accident. After spending several days in a hospital, she was taken off of life support on Saturday.
But as news of her death spread, so did the story of her fundraising wish. Now, Rachel’s fundraising page has received donations from more than four thousand people, totaling over $84,000. All of that money will go towards building wells in developing countries, which will go a long way towards preventing the spread of disease.
“Life is coming out of this death, with Rachel’s generosity,” Rachel’s pastor, Ryan Meeks, told CNN.
To make a donation, check out Rachel’s fundraising page.

Bellevue girl dies after crash; her spirit of giving inspires others

Rachel Beckwith, 9, died Saturday after a tragic car accident earlier in the week. A website she had used to raise money for a charity was inundated with donations in her name.

By Dominic Gates

Seattle Times staff reporter

Rachel Beckwith, the 9-year-old Bellevue girl critically injured Wednesday in a horrific I-90 pile up, died Saturday of her injuries.
Last month, in lieu of presents for her 9th birthday, Rachel had raised $220 for a charity providing water to villages in Africa. As she was taken off life support at Harborview Medical Center, sympathy for the little girl and her family since the accident had already poured a further $22,000-plus into the fund.
Wednesday morning, her mother, Samantha Paul, was traveling westbound in a car on I-90 with Rachel and younger sister Sienna in the back when a semitrailer jackknifed into a logging truck. Logs crashed down onto traffic, more than a dozen vehicles were caught in the pileup, and the semi rear-ended Paul's car.
Rachel was the only person critically injured.
Jeremy Johnson, a pastor at Eastlake Church in Bothell, where the family attends services, said doctors told the parents they couldn't save Rachel because of her severe spinal and head injuries.
Johnson said Rachel had been inspired by a church fundraiser last year that raised money for "charity:water," a nonprofit working in Africa to bring clean drinking water to people. She wanted to follow the lead of the founder of the charity, Scott Harrison, who had used his own 34th and 35th birthdays as deadlines to raise money.
In May, on the charity's website, her mother set up a donation page with a statement from Rachel that set a goal to raise $300 by her June 12th birthday.
Her idea was that, since the charity estimates every $20 donated provides one person with clean water, she could help 15 kids if she met her goal.
"I'm celebrating my birthday like never before," Rachel's statement said. "I'm asking from everyone I know to donate to my campaign instead of gifts for my birthday."
She missed her target by $80, and Johnson said she was already planning to raise more next year.
The lead pastor of Eastlake Church, Ryan Meeks, was in the Central African Republic touring charity:water projects when news reached him of the accident. He called Harrison on Friday, who then reactivated Rachel's fundraising page and donated the $80 she needed to reach her goal.
After that, donations poured in. Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, a member of the Bothell church, tweeted about Rachel's fundraising effort.
By the time she died Saturday afternoon, her site had raised more than $22,400 and was still climbing.
Johnson said $5,000 is enough to provide a well to an African village.
"Four villages will have wells because Rachel had a passion," he said.
Donations can be made at www.mycharitywater.org/p/campaign?campaign_id=16396
Dominic Gates: 206-464-2963 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              206-464-2963      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or dgates@seattletimes.com

John Malone Giving Denver School Of Science And Technology $7 Million

The Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) had a welcome surprise Tuesday, to the tune of $7 million dollars. John Malone, the chairman of Liberty Media, said he will donate $4 million to the school this year and an additional $3 million through 2013, reports the Denver Business Journal.
Bill Kurtz, the chief executive of the Denver School of Science and Technology, told the Denver Post the money will help open five new schools in the Metro area.
According to a press release from DSST, the system currently serves 1,500 students with five schools across three campuses. At full enrollment, DSST plans to serve nearly 4,500 students.

The Denver School of Science and Technology has received wide acclaim since opening its doors in 2004. In 2010 the school was one of three finalists nationally in a competition to host President Obama for a graduation speech. Though beat out by a school in Michigan, 100 percent of DSST graduates have earned admission four-year colleges.

Sam's Club® Celebrates Fourth of July Holiday with $300 in Savings

June 29-July 4 Event Offers eValues to All Members

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By Sam's Club

Published: Wednesday, Jun. 29, 2011 - 2:10 am

BENTONVILLE, Ark., June 29, 2011 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Sam's Club today opened its eValues savings, a benefit typically reserved for the highest level of membership, to all members and invited them to take advantage of $300 in special savings on hot summer items June 29-July 4.
"Just in time for Independence Day, we are offering all members freedom to sample our eValues and find everything they need for the holiday," said Mike Turner, senior vice president of Membership at Sam's Club. "From TVs and computers to hamburgers, cheese trays and pork barbecue, we are celebrating with summer savings.
"If members take advantage of all our featured items, they could save $300 during the event being held in all Sam's Club locations throughout the country," Turner said.
eValues are extra discounts loaded directly onto a Plus member's Sam's Club card, providing extra savings on products. Current Plus Members will receive the promoted items in addition to their regular eValues savings during the celebration.
Through eValues, Sam's Club Plus Members can experience the convenience of coupons without clipping. Plus Members receive notification of the latest eValue offers regularly, ranging from food to electronics and office supplies. These offers are automatically loaded onto members' Sam's Club cards and remain active for a limited time. Members can check for active discounts online through their Sam's Club account by downloading the Sam's Club Application to a smart phone or at the eValues kiosk at their local club.
The products featured in the June 29-July 4 celebration are some of summer's hottest buys and most in demand for the long holiday weekend.
Featured products and savings* include:

• $2 off Ground Chuck or Lean Ground Beef
• $2 off Byron's Pulled Pork Barbecue, 4 lbs.
• $1 off Seedless Watermelon
• $2 off Lattice Apple Pie
• $2 off American Burger Classics Cheese Tray
• $2 off Artisan Fresh® Chicken Sausage, 3 lbs.
• $2 off Charmin Ultra Soft or Charmin Ultra Strong, 36 family rolls
• $2 off Bounty Select-a-Size Paper Towels, 12 super rolls
• $1.75 off Gatorade® G2, 24-count Variety Pack
• $1.50 off Honey Nut Cheerios Twin Pack
• $125 off HP dv6-6167cl 15.6" Intel® Core™ i5 Notebook or HP Pavilion p7-1037cb Desktop AMD Athlon II 645 Quad-Core
• $50 off Samsung 40" 60HZ LED TV
• $30 off Invicta Angel Monotone Ladies' Watch
• $25 off HP 564 XL Ink
• $20 off Samsung 3D Wi-Fi Ready Blu-ray Home Theater System
• $15 off HP Photosmart Plus e-All-in-One
• $6 off  Prilosec OTC
• $5 off Rubbermaid glass storage
• $5 off Crest Whitening + Scope
• $2.50 off Tide HE Liquid Laundry Detergent or Tide with Febreze Liquid Laundry Detergent, 170 oz.
• $2.50 off Clorox wipes 4-pack

Current Advantage and Business Members can upgrade to a Plus Membership online or in their local clubs. Non-members can also apply for membership online or in their local clubs.
Visit SamsClub.com for a list of other benefits of Plus membership, including early shopping hours beginning at 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/29/3735155/sams-club-celebrates-fourth-of.html#ixzz1QjsKoNtQ

Helping Schools Make a Splash By MELANIE GRAYCE WEST

Deven Parekh
Through the nonprofit Publicolor, Deven Parekh is helping brighten up New York City schools with a fresh coat of paint and, in turn, giving some students a fresh start in school.
Mr. Parekh, 41 years old, is a managing director of New York-based Insight Venture Partners, a private-equity and venture-capital firm. He serves as board chairman of Publicolor and most recently gave a gift of $35,000 in honor of the organization's 15th anniversary.

 Publicolor goes into city schools and provides a fresh coat of colorful paint to liven up drab interiors. With the help of the nonprofit's volunteers and staff members, students participate in the redesign process and do the painting. Through the Publicolor program, students develop excitement, pride and sense of ownership in their surroundings that, in turn, motivate them to be better students, Mr. Parekh says.

"The renovation and the painting of the school has significant impact on absenteeism because people feel proud of their school," he says. "I view the painting as step one to get the kids passionate about their school. Then once you do that, there's a lot you can do with them."
After the painting project ends, the program offers ongoing support to the participants through club activities, including mentoring, life-skills workshops, career training and reading and writing immersion. Those students go on to other schools and help train other student painters.
As students get older, they participate in college preparatory classes, SAT preparation and college tours. Last year, all of the graduating Publicolor students went on to college and the organization provided some gap scholarships to students. About two-thirds of all Publicolor college students use their professional painting skills to earn extra money.
"We're really able to change the course and trajectory of kids' lives," says Mr. Parekh.
Mr. Parekh has been involved with the program for about five years, first learning about the organization at an Aspen Institute breakfast where he was, by chance, seated next to Publicolor's founder and president, Ruth Lande Shuman.
Now, Mr. Parekh's son is involved. His 11-year-old had a birthday painting party in January where the boy's friends painted with students and Publicolor staff. In lieu of giving birthday gifts, guests were asked to donate to the organization. Mr. Parekh regularly volunteers to paint on weekends and jokes that you don't have to be a skilled painter to participate because Publicolor has a touch-up crew.
"It ended up working great because kids like to paint," says Mr. Parekh. "So it was fun, but they also got to see that they're doing something more than just getting gifts."

Zuckerberg tops tech's generous donors list

Donation: $100 million to Newark schools

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a splash in September with a company blog post titled "Startup: Education" -- plus an appearance on Oprah.

In the post, Zuckerberg waxed poetic about the problems in school systems nationwide -- and especially that of one troubled New Jersey city. "Newark has unfortunately become a symbol of public education's failure -- of a status quo that accepts schools that don't succeed," Zuck wrote.
Zuckerberg said he would donate Facebook stock valued at $100 million to Newark's public schools. As part of the deal, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie handed some control of the state-run school system to Newark Mayor Cory Booker.
Zuckerberg, who dropped out of Harvard in 2002 to get Facebook off the ground, wrote that he looked forward to giving Newark's 40,000 students the same educational opportunities he had received.

By Julianne Pepitone, staff reporter