Just in time for Valentine’s Day, eco-lifestyle retailer OrganicStyle.com introduces
Freedom® – A Rose in Honor of Rosa Parks.
Universally revered as the Mother of the modern day Civil Rights Movement, this new rose pays tribute to Rosa Parks’ birthday on February 4th and features lush, vibrant red, large-headed, long-stemmed, long lasting roses with minimal thorns in one or two-dozen bouquet options.
On December 1, 1955, 42-year-old Rosa Parks boarded a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama and ultimately changed a nation. When a few stops later, a white man boarded the crowded bus and had to stand in the aisle, the driver demanded that she give up her seat for the man, but Parks remained seated. The driver called the police, who arrested Mrs. Parks, but her courageous act initiated a citywide bus boycott led by Martin Luther King, Jr. that lasted 381 days.
On February 1, 1956, the Montgomery Improvement Association filed suit in the U.S. District Court, challenging the constitutionality of segregated public transportation. In June of 1956, the U.S. District Court ruled in favor of the Improvement Association. When the city appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, the higher court affirmed the lower court’s ruling, declaring segregation on buses unconstitutional. The decision was implemented on December 20, 1956. With her quiet strength, Rosa Parks gave birth to the modern day civil rights movement.
We will honor her memory through February 20, 2008 with our special 10% contribution offer, matched by another 10% from Organic Style for a total of 20%. We hope you will keep her in your thoughts as well by purchasing these lush, vibrant red roses through our site now and throughout the year to support The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development.
The Rosa and Raymond Institute for Self Development was founded by Rosa Parks in 1987, in honor of her husband, with the aim of motivating and directing youth to reach their highest potential through multicultural, hands-on experiences that build practical day-to-day living skills while nurturing a global and inclusive perspective. Based on Mrs. Parks’ philosophy of ‘Quiet Strength’, The Institute’s core program ‘Pathways to Freedom’ traces the Underground Railroad into the civil rights movement and beyond. Students, traveling primarily by bus, experience a unique, empowering and interactive research journey that brings the history of the civil rights movement to life, giving the participants the needed skills to model Mrs. Parks’ work for human rights in all areas.
It’s that time of the year again when we make lofty promises to ourselves – like getting really fit, working out everyday, eating healthier and getting a better handle on world news and national politics. Unfortunately, a lot of those promises get broken within days and we’re right back to doing what we do – we work out when we can, we try not to binge on sweets and we’re confounded by conflicting news stories that make getting a handle on what’s happening here and abroad hard to follow. In our perfect world, New Years resolutions shouldn’t be focused so much inward and, perhaps, take on a broader scope to look at the world around us. The thought of clean air, clean oceans and clean living sounds like a resolution that we, as a community, should seriously consider making and keeping. 
With that said, let’s welcome avid surfer, beach lover and world renowned Chef David Myers to this month’s People Who Care feature. Not only is he committed to eco-practices like serving locally grown organic produce and the freshest of seafood in his LA based restaurants, Chef Myers is committed to the Surfrider Foundation and its strategic initiatives of clean water, establishing marine protected areas, beach preservation and greater public access. Please check out action sports retailers Swell and Becker Surf for their special deals to support Surfrider Foundation throughout the month.
Chef David Myers was one of Food & Wine’s ‘Best New Chefs’ in 2003 and Angeleno’s ‘Chef of the Year’ in 2005 — pretty impressive for a chef who’s only in his mid-thirties. He’s owned and operated the West Hollywood hotspot Sona for six years (the only LA restaurant ever to receive 5 stars from Angeleno and listed in National Geographic’s 10 Best of Everything), the jewel-box patisserie Boule for three and a half and the recently opened, Comme Ça which brings a truly authentic taste of Parisian life to Los Angeles with its French neighborhood brasserie classics.
His fabulous cuisine and surfer-boy good looks have allowed David to cook his way into the hearts of foodies all over the country with appearances on The Today Show, CBS The Early Show and The Tyra Banks Show, each time demonstrating culinary tips on everything from budgetary cooking to the unusual and the exotic.
It’s not just David’s cuisine that gets talked and written about. His innovative staff bonding — gathering his staff for an early morning beach boot camp-has been featured in Gourmet as well as on MSNBC’s Your Business, and his tips on staying slim while working in a kitchen were included in both People and Food & Wine (to help us all stay slim – we’ve added two new health and fitness retailers to our roster; My Yoga Online and Dick’s Sporting Goods).
So in addition to running his FoodArt Group restaurants in LA, Chef David Myers, together with Chef Jill Davie are TV’s newest ‘go-to’ chefs with a specialty in navigating the vast world of kitchen essentials in the original new series Shopping with Chefs on the FINE LIVING TV NETWORK, airing nationwide Saturdays and Sundays at 1pm ET. Each weekend, the two help the time-starved, chef-at-home cook better by shopping smarter.
Taking off their chef hats, these two hit the streets to show how the experts shop for the most important room in the home - the kitchen. Whether you’re a casual cook or an accomplished chef, the first step to a successful meal is making sure you have the right stuff, which is where our new insider friends step in. From a kitchen knife to the kitchen sink - you know you need one, but how or where do you find one, let alone which one to pick? One way to start is to shop with a chef and, once you find what you’re looking for, check with foodie retailers like Chefs Catalog, Sur La Table, Chefs Corner and KlinQ.com to purchase and furnish your perfect kitchen.
- Non-stick pans are best for making omelettes. Some cast iron cookware comes with an enamel coating that comes in many colors and doesn’t need seasoning. Consider buying wood, plastic or silicone utensils for use with your pans. Metal utensils can scratch surfaces and chip non-stick coatings.
- An oven without all the “bells and whistles” usually does a good job and will cost less. If your kitchen space is limited, chose a size that takes up as little counter space as possible, yet has enough cooking capacity to fulfill your needs. Look for a model that cleans up easily.
- If you don’t need large amounts of juice, consider a hand juicer over an electric one. They are usually less expensive, easier to clean and are usually smaller and easier to store.
- Bread-makers are a good idea only if you plan to make bread regularly. Otherwise the expense and loss of counter space isn’t worth it. If you plan to make a variety of breads, look for a machine with extra cycle options. Consider a machine with a smaller capacity. Homemade bread goes stale faster than store-bought because it doesn’t have the added preservatives.
- New are the salad scissors, used for chopping up the ingredients in your salad. The scissors have a double-sided blade and micro serrated edge that stays sharp for a long time. They also have a safety feature that keeps the scissors closed while storing them. Cost is about $20. Combine with the new salad dryer bag that keeps salads fresh, crisp, and ready to serve.
FINE LIVING TV NETWORK, now in more than 48 million subscriber homes, is the first television network dedicated to helping time starved families do more with their time and money. For a cable provider near you, check your local TV listings or visit www.fineliving.com/tv.
We’ll be back soon with lots more information as to what’s going on here at nonprofitshoppingmall.com – for a quick preview tho – check out our new and improved SHOP GREEN section. With a number of new stores and new subcategories — we hope we’ve made it easier for you to find what you’re looking for there!