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On Saturday, i had the privilege to volunteer with Stop Hunger. Now. A group from work had organized a meal packaging session and raised enough money to package over 10,000 meals.

What a great organization.  Their attitude can be expressed in the way they prefer to refer to their packing warehouse - a sharehouse.  It’s awesome.

I learned a lot about hunger in the world.  One billion people (a full sixth of the world’s population) suffer from hunger.  That’s a staggeringly large number considering i just threw away some leftovers.  One of the most common ways they feed people is by sponsoring school feeding programs.  This has some interesting effects:

• Parents are incented to send their children to school, when they otherwise may not have.  Thus literacy rates and education levels are increasing.
• When girls are sent to school, even just to middle school level, the number of children they have decreases significantly.  We were told that an average uneducated woman (i’m assuming in a 3rd world country) has 8-9 children in her lifetime (!), but when she has just a middle school education, the number decreases to 2-3.  Wow.  This should eventually have an effect on population.

It’s very cool that this group can make an immediate difference in hunger and also see some other positive effects rippling out.

The process was pretty interesting.

Station 1 was where the ingredients were bagged.  Soy, rice, dried vegetables and a protein pellet all went into a plastic bag.  One volunteer manned each ingredient and one manned the bag.  The bag is placed under the funnel and all the ingredients are tossed into the funnel.  Once we had a binful of bagged meals, a runner would grab the bin and take it to the next station.  This was really simple, and the assembly-line nature of it with all the volunteers (we had about 25 show up) makes it possible to really bag a lot of meals quickly.

Station 2 was the weighing and sealing station.  Each meal from the previous station is weighed, and rice is added or subtracted until it falls within a certain weight range.  Then the sealers have a device that clamps down and heats the plastic to seal it.

Station 3 is the boxing station, where the sealed bags are packed into boxes that are ready to ship.

There are also volunteers running around replenishing ingredients if necessary, so the quick-packing assembly line is never interrupted.

We packed over 5,000 meals in 90 minutes, and another shift did the rest.  I’m told groups of kindergardeners have also done this, so it’s not hard.  It just takes a little time and perhaps a small donation.  But it was certainly a way to contribute in a small way to the world’s problems.

I’m signed up on their mailing list now, and hope to participate in other packing events.

Last week i gave blood at the company blood drive, which happens approximately every quarter.  I try to give as often as i can.  Sometimes the Red Cross rejects me because my hemoglobin counts (iron) are too low.  But usually they let me in, we spend about an hour together, and then they give me crackers.

I think it is an important thing to do.  The need for blood is always there.  It’s constant.  Giving blood is an easy way to save a life.  If you haven’t done it yet, consider doing it the next time you have a chance.

Here are some fun facts about blood that i am copying from a Red Cross handout.  I couldn’t find this list on their website, but there is some interesting information about blood and how to donate at http://www.givelife.org.

• If you begin giving blood at the age of 17 and donate every 56 days until you reach the age of 76, you will donate about 48 gallons of blood.
• There is no upper age limit for giving blood.
• Each unit of blood you donate can help up to 3 different people.
• Hospitals in our area use about 1,500 blood products each day.
• The average blood donation only takes about 10 minutes.
• Every 2 seconds, someone in the U.S. receives a blood transfusion.
• 1 in 10 persons entering the hospital need blood.
• The average transfusion is 3.4 pints.
• Women receive 56% of the blood transfused; men use 44%.
• The average adult body has 10-12 units of blood.
• Only 5% of the eligible population gives blood.
• The American Red Cross supplies about one-half of all the blood products used in the country.
• Persons 65 years and older compose 13% of the population, but they use 25% of all blood units transfused.
• Newborn babies only have about one cup of blood in their bodies.
• Eating iron-rich foods and drinking water can improve your blood donation experience.
• Donated blood is broken down into its three main components: red cells, platelets and plasma.
• Red blood cells can be stored for 42 days and platelets for only 5 days.
• You can give blood every 56 days.
• All donated blood goes through testing for HIV, hepatitis and other diseases.
• Type O negative blood can be transfused to 100% of people.
• Type O positive blood is the most common blood type.
• There is still no substitute for human blood.

tand and Deliver is a movie about a group of high school students in an underprivileged Los Angeles neighborhood. An inspirational teacher starts them out with basic math, and works long hours with them and gets them through calculus. 18 of them take the AP Calculus exam, and 18 of them pass.

Great story, and a true one. Today was the first official meeting with my three math mentees. I brought them to my house, and after Nugent barked at them a lot, we watched the movie. I remember watching this movie in 9th grade myself. I’m not sure if it had the same impression on them as it did on me, but they did pay attention and didn’t seem bored. We talked some about the movie, but not a lot. I’m still trying to get them to open up to me.

Overall, though, it went quite well. The one girl, M, who seemed pretty introverted the first night i met them, held her own with the other two, who seem to be good friends already and talk talk talk. M seems the most determined to get something out of this program, though.

We ate pizza and i showed them some math card tricks i know, which they seemed eager to learn so they could show off at school. Then one of them said “you know what i’ve always wanted to learn? how to play poker…” So… we went over the basics and the order of hands. I hope i don’t get into trouble with the parents for that. There’s a lot of math in poker, though, no arguing that!

Nugent barked some more, and then we left for Ben & Jerry’s, the prearranged meeting spot. Got a sweet snack, and sent them on their way.

I’m definitely out of touch with what it’s like to be a 13 year old girl. I wish i could really get across the idea that the fact that the social studies teacher isn’t fair isn’t something that will matter when they’re out in the Real World. But, the truth is, whatever is going on in our lives is what matters to us right now. The Real World for an 8th grader is the unfair social studies teacher. And that’s cool. And it’s not right for me to think that doesn’t matter. I need to just let them talk and be themselves. At least some of the value of this program is just hanging out with an adult who isn’t related to them, and i need to remember that i don’t need to always be trying to teach them something, or make it about math.

I’m looking forward to our next event, about 4 weeks away. They get to miss a day of school, and i get to miss a day of work!

Last night was the program kickoff of the Woman & Math Mentoring program. I met the girls and their moms for the first time.

I was nervous! I wanted to convince the moms i was trustworthy enough for them to release their daughter into my care, as well as appear enthusiastic and cool to the girls so they will look forward to hanging out with me. I think i accomplished that.

First impressions: all three girls were absolutely beautiful. One was particularly introverted. They know each other already from school, which could be good or bad. If the two outgoing ones participate to the point of excluding the introvert, that might be bad. But, as an introverted person myself, i often enjoy kind of being an observer. So there will be a balance to strike to encourage participation but also letting it be okay to hang back a little.

All three are excelling in math right now, which is how they got chosen for this program. I asked them about their interests, which are wonderfully diverse. R wants to be a pediatrician. M wants to be a veterinarian. L wants to be… an actress. OK, not math-related AT ALL, but still cool. Of the many suggested ideas for field trips, to accomodate these girls’ interests, we’re going to go to Duke Children’s Center, NCSU Vet School and WRAL-TV.

I’m excited about seeing these places myself! I hope i can show them a good time while also be a positive influence and role model for them.

Let us suppose for a moment that someone has created synthetic oil. It’s the same thing, molecularly, as the oil that is drilled from the earth. It can be used for all things we use oil for now. It looks the same and smells the same. It is basically indecipherable unless you send it to a specialized lab. And it’s significantly cheaper, too.

Now suppose that OPEC launched a campaign to convince people that drilled oil was better than the synthetic kind. That drilled oil ran your cars better. That you were a better person because you used “real” oil instead of the manufactured kind. Do you think you would fall for such a campaign, or would you pocket the savings and never give it another thought?

It’s meant to be a rhetorical question, yet i have an example that is precisely the SAME THING, yet we want the drilled oil anyway: diamonds.

The reason we are so emotionally invested in our diamonds is primarily due to a superbly-run ad campaign launched by De Beers in the 1940s. “Diamonds are Forever” is something we still spout today. Somewhere along the line, De Beers convinced people to pass their diamonds on as family heirlooms, which reduced the market for used diamonds. They even created new traditions among us; John Stossel writes, “Russia increased the mining of small diamonds. Since De Beers had to fulfill a purchase contract with Russia, it suddenly had more small diamonds than it could sell. So De Beers started promoting the idea that, after years of marriage, if a man really loved his wife, he would show his devotion by giving her an ‘eternity ring’ - a ring with lots of small diamonds on it. It worked. Today thousands of American women wear eternity rings because of a South African company’s need to accommodate Russia.”

It’s just propaganda. Diamonds are special because De Beers tells us they are - there isn’t anything inherent about them that makes them so.

When diamonds were first grown in labs, De Beers created the “Gem Defensive Program” to raise awareness and convince people that they really want the real thing. To convince people they really want to pay more for drilled oil rather than purchasing the synthetic oil which is basically indistinguishable. And it worked! John Stossel again - “Women told us, even if they had preferred the look of the imitation, they’d still rather be given the diamond. ‘It just makes you feel like you’re special’, said one woman. ‘I know what I want on my finger, and it has to be the real thing.’ We’ll spend more for a rock because a South African cartel has run a great ad campaign? Apparently we will.”

It’s a hell of an ad campaign, that’s all i can say.

Now, if your loved one gave you a diamond, i’m not trying to minimize the significance of the promise that the diamond represents. That is meaningful, priceless even, and your ring may always symbolize that for you. But it is the promise and the commitment that makes it special, not the diamond itself.

Anna’s Angels is the organization that sponsored the 10 mile run this weekend.  They provide funds to promote laboratory and clinical research for Down’s Syndrome.  Since i ran in their race (which raised over $300k for the cause), I figure i can at least post a link to their website.

One of my big fears in life is that i will have a child that has a huge disability such as Down’s Syndrome.  There isn’t anything you can do to prevent it, either.  The probability of conceiving a child with the chromosomal mutation that causes DS increases with age, and i’m not exactly a spring chicken anymore.  It’s depressing to think of.  And while i know i would love any child and do the best i could for it, of course you never wish for such hardships.

Click on this link to see the race results for the 10 mile race.  I’m there - 10th from the bottom!

Exiting off of the interstate during one of your commonly traveled routes, you spot a panhandler.  Maybe you speed up, hoping to get through the light, but no.  The light changes to red, and you have to slow down and stop while a stranger with a sign stares at you.

I find this to be immensely uncomfortable.  I was taught not to give money to panhandlers.  And i continue to refrain from doing so, but for my own reasons.  The reasons i learned growing up were a) the money hurts instead of helps them b/c they spend it on booze or drugs instead of food, and b) the existence of career panhandlers who actually are not actually homeless.  Personally, i think b) is pretty unlikely because the patience and stamina it would take to make enough money to live on by begging probably represents a person with ambition and motivation enough to get by in a less humiliating way.

My personal reasons are 1) i already give money to reputable causes, and 2) i really dislike being emotionally manipulated.

And that’s what it is - emotional manipulation.  Here is a poor person on the side of the road, often with an amputated limb.  You’re supposed to feel pity for this person, and we do, which is fine and normal.  However, that pity will induce you to feel guilt unless you give them money.  Usually the person also has a sign indicating he is a Christian, “God bless,” or “Jesus cares” or similar.  which serves to even further manipulate you, as the implication is that God WANTS you to give money to this person.

The emotional manipulation seems very dishonest to me.

I’m aware that there exist people who are genuinely just down on their luck and need money, and maybe some of them are out there at the busy intersection.  But it feels like a scam.  So no matter how long they stare at me or try to talk to me through my closed window, i am going to lock my door and not give money to panhandlers.