The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, or AASHE, is really making a big impact on the nation. AASHE is a membership driven–501(c)(3) institution that is leading the way in empowering sustainable colleges and universities by connecting and standardizing sustainability practice on campuses nationwide.

Being apart of the AASHE network grants resources, programs and professional development for those involved. The most important factor that AASHE contributes is its ability to unite colleges and universities that lead in sustainability transformation. By working with campus faculty, students, administrators and staff alike, they provide a professional home for sustainability in higher education.

There are two ways to get involved. As a student, AASHE offers a variety of professional development programs and resources to its members including conferences, webinars, workshops, conference calls and the wide network that it is connected to. As a business, it connects them with their communities and aligns themselves with green leaders by becoming a business partner.

More than anything, AASHE is designed to help higher education practice sustainability as a norm, not as an exception. They achieve this by encouraging collaborations and helping facilitate the generating and achievement of goals for the campus as a whole.

There are many ways of getting involved in AASHE. Whether you are a business looking to become a partner, or a student that is already a member of AASHE,  a student looking to getting their college involved, or a K-12 school—AASHE is attempting to connecting and transform the everyday standards of our educational system as we know it.

If you are interested in inquiring whether your school is or should be involved, please contact AASHE

I accompanied my daughter, Jacquelyn, to New York City in May for her medical school interview at TouroCOM, which is located on West 125th Street in Harlem. Subsequently, she was accepted for admission and begins her studies this week!

Back to Harlem~I spent four or five hours the day of Jacquelyn’s interview attempting to read  and do some computer work at the Starbucks across the street from the college. And I wholeheartedly agree with a line on the Starbucks website that states, “There’s a lot going on inside at Starbucks.”

This particular day I ordered my Tall Capuccino and settled in at a table in the corner looking out the big picture window onto the street. People briskly walked by briefcase in hand obviously on the way to work or some important meeting. A couple of colorfully dressed characters spent the day with boom boxes perched on their shoulders weaving in and out of traffic dancing to the music. The police were called in, twice, to the Starbucks to evict drug addicts from the restroom.

I have to say with all that went on in those hours I felt like I had been transported to a movie set~it was all surreal to ME but normal in the lives of the people whose domain I had invaded. As I prepared to leave to meet Jacquelyn following her interview so we could be on our way to the airport, I felt so saddened. I felt like such a failure, I cried.

We use our business model at Organic Bug to promote positive change and we work really hard to help~help fight climate change, help people in developing countries, help to empower others through education and awareness. But, on this day, I did not feel empowered. It was a stark reminder of how much work there is to do in our own country, for our own people.

Then, this past weekend I read an uplifting article in the Washington Post by Staff Writer Robin Shulman. Geoffrey Canada knows first hand the vicious cycle of poverty that ensues when one is born into an underpriviledged set of circumstances in America and deprived of what the rest of us take for granted. He is from a poor, sometimes violent, neighborhood in the South Bronx.

Vowing to lift himself out of his presumed destiny, Geoffrey excelled academically, eventually earning a master’s degree in education from the Harvard School of Education. As an advocate for children and families in some of America’s most devastated communities, he has become nationally recognized through his work with Harlem Children’s Zone, an ambitious project targeting a specific geographic area in Central Harlem. The project starts at birth and follows children to college, combining educational, social and medical services, creating a safety net that is nearly impossible for children to slip through.

The Obama Administration is using this successful program model to launch its Promise Neighborhoods program in 20 cities across America and has set aside $10 million in the 2010 budget for planning. Read the full article…

Part of our mission is to seek out ways to present better options to consumers who want to make socially conscious decisions when it comes to purchasing products and services. We recently became associated with a wonderful online resource called BizLightenment and found they share these ideals with us. 

On their site, they beautifully define what is considered a conscious business:

     
• From the BizLightenment perspective, Conscious Business is a way of doing business where the creation of value is considered the foundation for creating wealth.

       

• Value is defined here as contribution to both the individual and the common good

       

• In addition, Conscious Business recognizes the interconnectedness of Life and strives to be socially and environmentally responsible while respecting the sacredness and dignity of all life.

       

• It is business infused with what might be called “spiritual” values including integrity, generosity, honesty and service.

       

• Ideally, a Conscious Business operates with heart and soul and seeks to be aware of its impact on the lives of its employees, its customers, its community and the world.

We have a directory listing on this site and have decided to help promote this valuable resource by donating a Half the Sky Designs Recycled Juice Pack Silver Runway Backpack to support the BizLightenment Conscious Gift Basket Giveaway Event, a promotion they are doing this month. All you  need to do is sign up for their email newsletter to enter for a chance to win one of these gorgeous baskets filled with great gifts.