An organization called Reward Volunteers wants to encourage people to volunteer for good causes. So even though doing good is its own reward, Reward Volunteers sweetens the pot by offering incentives to encourage people to do more, and do it more often. Plus, Reward Volunteers helps people find local volunteer opportunities. I’ve teamed up with Reward Volunteers to let you know about the program so you can get involved, and maybe even help get a group you volunteer with in on the benefits.

Volunteering at Miriam’s Kitchen

One of the groups I volunteer for is Miriam’s Kitchen. Miriam’s Kitchen provides delicious meals to primarily homeless men in Washington, D.C.

“We strive to show our guests dignity” by providing restaurant-quality meals produced by professional chefs, says Miriam’s Kitchen on its website. “This is the foundation for our guests to build trusting relationships with the case management team and get connected to a range of services aimed at helping them to find housing.” The kitchen is open Monday through Friday all year long, serving breakfast from 6:30 – 8:00 a.m. and dinner from 4:45 to 5:45 p.m.

Miriam’s is committed to making all of its meals from fresh, healthy ingredients. As a volunteer, I can help by working at my local farmer’s market to collect food at the end of the market that the farmers can’t keep because it won’t stay fresh, or because the farmers just want to make a donation.

Here’s how it works:

Miriam’s parks its van near the Takoma Park farmers market. The market closes at 2 p.m. but around 1:30 pm, MK volunteers distribute bags and crates to the farmers who want to donate. At 2 p.m., we’ll start wheeling wagons around to the farmers to collect their donations. Farmers also bring bins of food they’ve filled up to the center of the market. 

Once all donations are collected, we fill up the Miriam’s Kitchen van. Then,  a Miriam’s staffer drives the loaded van down to the kitchen where the food is unloaded and later prepared into delicious salads, soups, entrees and more.

I am always amazed at the abundance of food the farmers donate. It includes crates of fresh fruit, huge bags full of bread, mountains of greens, pickled beets and green beans, whatever vegetables are in season, and anything else the farmers generously contribute.

In addition to benefiting the kitchen, gleaning food at the farmer’s market reduces food waste. This is especially true for “seconds,” fruit and vegetables that might be bruised or past their prime and difficult to sell. Give it to Miriam’s and the chefs will turn it into applesauce, fruit compote, spaghetti sauce, and more.

It never occurred to me to get any particular reward for volunteering, but now that I’ve signed up for Reward Volunteers, I can log in and register my hours and Miriam’s Kitchen can earn benefits, as well.

I can also find additional organizations to volunteer for.  For example, I live in the Washington, D.C. area. Currently, a wonderful group called Bread for the City is looking for help at its food pantries, rooftop gardens and in their clothing room. The Lincoln Memorial (yes, THAT Lincoln Memorial) also needs volunteers to assist park rangers in answering questions, providing directions, and leading tours of the Memorial. Local charter schools are recruiting volunteers to help tutor adult students seeking to obtain their GED/State Diploma. It’s easy to connect with these opportunities on the Reward Volunteers website.

Here are a couple of other benefits to volunteering: If I can’t or don’t want to make a big financial contribution to an organization, I can still help out by contributing my time. And I love the camaraderie I gain from volunteering. Let’s face it: volunteers are “do gooders” – and those are my kind of people!

How Reward Volunteers Works

Reward Volunteers is a web-based initiative that allows you to log your volunteer hours and keep a record of your good deeds. You register and log the hours you volunteer. Depending on how many hours you log, you might also win a prize. Organizations also benefit when they register on Reward Volunteers. In same cases, they may earn financial grants. In other cases, they get connected to more volunteers. Either way it’s a win/win for the volunteer as well as the organization.

Registering couldn’t be easier. Once you do, you’ll get to a dashboard that is very easy to use. If you are looking for new opportunities, you just put in your zip code and then search according to who you want to serve and the kind of volunteering you want to do. Options range from disaster relief to environmental preservation to mentoring to working with animals. You can also decide if you want to volunteer regularly or for special events.  

I encourage you to check out Reward Volunteers, especially now, during April’s #NationalVolunteerMonth.

Please follow Reward Volunteers on Facebook

NOTE: Partners like Reward Volunteers enable us to bring you accurate, unbiased information so you can live the greener, more rewarding life you want. Our editorial opinions remain our own. Thanks!

The post Earn Cash, Points from REWARD VOLUNTEERS When You Pitch In appeared first on Big Green Purse.

In a major victory for all of us who believe we have a right to know what is in our food, the Campbell Soup Company has decided to voluntarily disclose the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in its products.

Campbell said it supports federal legislation that would require “all foods and beverages regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to be clearly and simply labeled for GMOs.”

Campbell also supports a national standard for non-GMO claims all food manufacturers display on their packaging.

That means that, here on out, not only Campbell’s Soups but other products in the Campbell’s line, including Pepperidge Farm, Bolthouse Farms, V8, Swanson, Prego and Royal Dansk, will reveal when its ingredients contain GMOS – and when they don’t.

(In case you can’t read the label, right, it says: “Partially produced with genetic engineering. For information about GMO ingredients visit Whatsinmyfood.com.”)

Most food companies vehemently oppose GMO labeling, because they worry that if consumers know genetically modified organisms are in their food, they won’t buy it.

However, 92 percent of Americans support GMO labeling, said Elizabeth O’Connell, director of consumer advocacy for Green America. Campbell’s decision supports “the people’s Right to Know what’s in their food,” she said.

Don’t Miss: The 7 Most Important Reasons to Avoid GMOs

Campbell’s President and CEO Denise Morrison said that the company supports mandatory national labeling of foods that contain GMOS due to consumer demand.

“We are operating with a “Consumer First” mindset. We put the consumer at the center of everything we do.  That’s how we’ve built trust for nearly 150 years.  We have always believed that consumers have the right to know what’s in their food.  GMO has evolved to be a top consumer food issue reaching a critical mass of 92% of consumers in favor of putting it on the label.

In addition, we have declared our intention to set the standard for transparency in the food industry. We have been openly discussing our ingredients, including those derived from GMO crops, through our WhatsinmyFood.com website.  We are supporting digital disclosure through the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s (GMA) SmartLabel program.  We have announced the removal of artificial colors and flavors from our products.  However, our support of mandatory federal GMO labeling sets a new bar for transparency.

Morrison noted that individual consumer campaigns being waged from California to Maine to force companies to label products ultimately forced the company to support a national law.

Without the efforts by groups like Green America, Environmental Working Group, JustLabelIt.org, and of course, Big Green Purse, to mobilize consumers, Campbell’s may not have voluntarily agreed to be so transparent.

If you ever wonder if your individual purchases make a difference, wonder no more. They do! They help protect you and your family first and foremost. But they can also force powerful corporations to do the right thing.

Hooray!

Read Campbell’s complete corporate statement here.

Read the complete statement of Denise Morrison, Campbell’s President & CEO, here.

Top image reprinted with permission of GreenAmerica.org.

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CLEAN POWER PLAN BENEFITS

1) Less Asthma – If you already suffer from asthma, or may be prone to getting it, the Clean Power Plan will help by reducing the air pollution that makes asthma worse. In fact, according to an analysis by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with the Clean Power Plan in place, kids will suffer up to 90,000 fewer asthma attacks.

2) Less Respiratory Distress – Even if you don’t suffer from asthma, you could suffer from breathing difficulty related to the smog and other pollution generated when power plants burn coal. In fact, your community might be one that suffers from “Code Red” or “Code Orange” days because coal burning is polluting the air so heavily. The Clean Power Plan will finally get utilities to use energy much more efficiently, as well as switch over to solar and wind energy. All that means that less polluting coal will be burned. You’ll be able to breathe easier and not have to stop running or playing outdoors because the air is too toxic to breathe.

3) Fewer Heart Attacks – Air pollution puts a lot of pressure on your heart. When you are breathing dirty air, your heart actually has to work harder to keep oxygenated blood flowing. That’s why people who live in cities where the air is smoggy suffer more heart attacks than people who live in cleaner air. The White House projects that up to 3,600 lives will be saved each year when the Clean Power Plan is fully enacted.

This terrific infographic from EPA explains the many benefits of the Clean Power Plan in greater detail.

The post Clean Power Plan Benefits: 3 Ways It Will Keep You From Getting Sick appeared first on Big Green Purse.