The EcoJoia Fund donation has just been made for the 4th Quarter of 2011! We decided to give the money raised from our EcoJoia Fund items sold to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. The Elephant Sanctuary provides a natural habitat refuge for old, sick, and needy elephants that once belonged to zoos, circuses, or were used in the entertainment industry. Situated on 2700 acres, the sanctuary offers green pastures, dense forests, spring-fed ponds and heated barns for cold winter nights where the elephants can live out their lives with other elephants. We really like the fact that this sanctuary is not open to the public, therefore the elephants have no expectations other than to live a natural roaming elephant life.

20% of the purchase of our EcoJoia Fund items goes into the EcoJoia Fund. The EcoJoia Fund is then donated quarterly to a humanitarian, animal rights, or environmental charity of our choice. View EcoJoia Fund items here.

For the 3rd quarter EcoJoia Fund donation in 2011, we decided to assist America’s returning veterans with brain injuries. 1 in 5 returning veterans have brain injuries and Operation TBI Freedom is a wonderful organization in our home state of Colorado that is committed to helping them make a smoother transition back into civilian civilization.

Operation TBI Freedom sets up programs for vets with traumatic brain injuries to receive assistance with living expenses, cognitive therapy and care, financial workshops, and job placement.

20% of the purchase of our EcoJoia Fund products goes into the EcoJoia Fund, which is donated quarterly to an organization of our choice, such as Operation TBI Freedom. Shop EcoJoia Fund products here.

Its time for EcoJoia to redistribute our paid back micro-loans to new recipients through the amazing Kiva organization.

This quarter we were able to give $150 to Hassna in Iraq. Hassna is a 58-year-old working mother who has been a tailor in Iraq since 1980. Hassna plans to use the loan to purchase an industrial sewing machine, thread, zippers, and other things that will help her grow her business and help provide a better life for her family as a whole.

EcoJoia’s original donation, used as a mirco-loan through Kiva, came from our EcoJoia Fund which is donated quarterly to an organization of our choice. The EcoJoia Fund is made up of the donation portion of purchases of our EcoJoia Fund products. We plan to retain all funds we have donated to Kiva within Kiva, so the loans can continue to help other people in need as the old loans are paid back.

EcoJoia Fund products, such as the EcoJoia Tree Tee, help make projects like Hassna’s Kiva micro-loan possible.

September 1st is the official Japan Dolphin Day where events and celebrations will be hosted in cities around the world.  Japan Dolphin Day will raise awareness about the dolphin slaughters that are going on in Taiji, Japan every year.  The goal is to let zoos, marine parks, and the Japanese government know that people around the world want to see dolphins swim wild and free. Below is an interactive map that shows where the nearest event is to you.  If there is not an event in your city, Save Japan Dolphins will provide you with the information and assistance to create a Japan Dolphin Day event in your city.  The more people that get involved the bigger our voice will be to the global community.

Link for Interactive Map:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=210332634647534333982.0004a76af06da9507476d&msa=0&ll=51.511574,-0.143466&spn=0.008173,0.01987

To help organize an event, please contact Laura with the following information:

1. Date, Time and Place of Your Event
2. Name of your Organization (if applicable)
3. Name and E-mail address of contact person for the public (and telephone number, if you wish)
4. For Media, Name and E-mail address of contact person (and telephone number, if you wish)
5. Briefly outline your plans for your event
6. Names, organizations, and contact information for any additional groups helping with your event

Contact Laura Bridgeman dolphinproject@earthisland.org

EcoJoia is selling the official Japan Dolphin Day t-shirt of Ric O’Barry’s Save Japan Dolphins campaign. Be sure to wear it on September 1st! 25% of the purchase of this t-shirt will be donated directly to the Save Japan Dolphins campaign, which works to end the deadly and abusive dolphin trade in Japan.

EcoJoia partner Pangeaseed was recognized on Club Mumble’s blog. Club Mumble is an online magazine that focuses on contemporary art, skateboarding, and street culture. The blog featuring Pangeaseed describes their 3rd Annual Sink or Swim Art Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan. The goal of the Sink or Swim Exhibition is to raise awareness about the 200 sharks killed nearly every minute. Our ocean’s health is suffering from the major depletion of the shark population. Sharks are killed for their fins because it is considered a delicacy to eat in Asian cultures. Pangeaseed has been working hard to end the practice of “finning”.

For the second quarter of 2011, EcoJoia is proud to donate our EcoJoia Fund of $195.90 to HOW (Helping Others Worldwide). HOW is a 501©3 nonprofit organization dedicated to fortifying and empowering impoverished communities across the globe. They aim to lift the most deprived people in our world out of a dependent, donor-based mindset into self-sustaining societies with vision and growth. This helps poverty stricken communities evolve and cultivate its own dignity and self worth through building the physical infrastructure and agriculture of a whole society, as well as the mental and spiritual maturity of its people through heightened self-esteem and awareness.

HOW is currently involved with three projects- Building Benguem, Kids Heart Art, and Shine On Sierra Leone. Building Benguem is an effort made by HOW to aid the Benguema community by building a school, orphanage, and health clinic. Kids Heart Art is an educational and therapeutic art program that helps children to heal, learn, and grow through art. HOW’s project Shine On Sierra Leone sheds light on the problems of aids, mortality rate, hunger, and lack of infrastructure. Sierra Leone in Africa desperately needs help from developed nations to build schools, health facilities, orphanages, and agriculture.

EcoJoia is inspired by HOW and all the incredible individuals that make HOW possible. To find out more information about this amazing non-profit please visit WWW.HOWNP.ORG

This quarter EcoJoia gave three loans through Kiva, thanks to proceeds from EcoJoia Fund products and repaid Kiva Loans. Kiva is an organization that facilitates micro-lending to help those in need help themselves. This quarter’s loans were given to a crafts woman in Peru, an agricultural worker named Tarafat in Azerbaijan, and to support the Rwanguhya United Assc Group for family education expenses in Uganda.  

The crafts woman from Peru is 44 years old and she makes and sells handicrafts.  The loan she requested will help her purchase alpaca wool so she can expand her business in making caps, socks, and scarves.

Tarafat Azerbaijan’s loan will help her purchase seeds and fertilizer and improve the quality of her land. She is a 37-year-old farmer who has been raising fruits trees for ten years. She normally sells her crops to the local people or takes them to the central city bazaar. 

Charles is a member of the Rwanguhya United Assc Group and is a forty-two-year-old married man with nine children. He has been selling maize flour and soap for ten years. His vision for his loan is a wholesale business plus an educated family. Charles needs the loan to pay school fees.

This summer EcoJoia partner PangeaSeed is launching an international shark saving campaign called Sink or Swim. To broadcast their message on an international scale, PangeaSeed will embark on a series of events both in Japan and abroad. The events will showcase the issues surrounding shark finning and engage audiences through the mediums of art, photography, film, music and discussion.

First, PangeaSeed will host its third annual not-for-profit art exhibition. This year’s event entitled Sink or Swim will take place in Tokyo from July 16th - 22nd. From July 29th - 31st, PangeaSeed has been selected to host an information booth at the 2011 Fuji Rock Festival’s NGO Village. Following its footsteps in Japan, PangeaSeed will take Sink or Swim abroad for an inaugural international art exhibition at the prestigious Spoke Art Gallery in San Francisco, California, September 29th - October 2nd.

“We are very excited to showcase a not-for-profit fund raising art collection featuring works contributed from more than 40 international renowned artists, graphic designers and photographers never before seen in Japan and the United States,” said Tre’ L. Packard, managing director of PangeaSeed. “Sink or Swim is not only a reference to the cruel practice of finning but also a reference to our relationship with the oceans as a whole,” Packard said. “As human activity is causing sea levels to rise and coral reefs to die, we see fish stocks rapidly disappearing. The global population must change course if we want future generations to experience the sea as we have. We are standing at the crossroads in terms of sustaining the oceans. We may sink and fail, or we may find a way to succeed and swim.”

Packard added, “We are thrilled with the opportunities we’ve been given to bring this message to the public. Through these events, PangeaSeed aims to open the eyes, minds and hearts of our neighbors and bring to the forefront the ecological and environmental problems that continue to be overlooked both domestically and around the globe. We believe these events are an excellent place to share our message and gain the necessary momentum to help safeguard sharks and our oceans.”

In addition to raising funds to help sharks in Japan and around the world, Pangeaseed will donate a percentage of proceeds to help aid animals affected by the March 2011 earthquake in Japan.

EcoJoia co-owners Julia and Ry had the honor of attending a screening of Oscar-winning documentary ‘The Cove’ in San Rafael, CA, with 100% of the ticket sales benefiting our partner Save Japan Dolphins. The event kicked off with a screening of ‘The Cove’ and was followed by a Q&A session with star of ‘The Cove’ and head Save Japan Dolphins activist Ric O’Barry, as well as director Louie Psihoyos, Leilani Munter, and guest supporter Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead. Bob Weir then wrapped up the night with a outstanding performance of 6 acoustic songs.

Spend an evening with Ric O’ Barry and The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir on June 21st at the Rafael Film Center. This benefit will host a screening of Academy Award Winning film The Cove, featuring EcoJoia partner Save Japan Dolphins.

The Cove shares the incredible and shocking journey of a team of activists, filmmakers, and free divers who embarked on a mission to Taiji, Japan. Taiji is the home of a cove that hosts one of the world’s largest mass slaughters of wild dolphins. Using careful tactics, the members in this film captured heartbreaking footage and created The Cove to share what they found with the rest of the world.

The funds raised from this benefit will help support EcoJoia partner Earth Island Institute promote eco-tourism in Japan as an alternative way for Japan to make money rather than killing whales and dolphins.

The Cove starts at 7pm and Bob Weir’s live performance begins at 9pm.  Tickets are $40 and can be purchased at:

https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/170347

For further information, contact Mary Jo Rice mjrice@earthisland.org