“The National Urban League may be 100 years old but we don’t have any gray hair.  We are more energetic, more focused and more determined than ever before to create a level playing field in our nation, especially as minorities are disproportionately suffering from the effects of a battered economy.  The I Am Empowered initiative not only strives to galvanize a nation to serve others, but positions the National Urban League in the right place to connect with more people and to serve urban communities better in the 21st century and beyond”  said NUL’s CEO Mike Morial.

According to Black Web 2.0, the new platform allows you to consume content (written and video) however what’s more impressive is how you are able to measure your Social Impact.  You simply complete tasks/actions and you can earn points.  The more points the more of a social impact you have.  Right now some of the tasks include recruiting others to your network on the platform, connecting your account to Facebook, and RSVPing to NUL Events.

The National Urban League also established a unique partnership with global non-profit One Economy,to break down the barriers to broadband adoption through engaging and relevant online content that will bring more than two million people into the economic mainstream through technology.

Take Action today! Take the I Am Empowered Pledge:

I PLEDGE to responsibly commit my time and talent to ensure that the nation is empowered to achieve the following goals by 2025:

• Every American child is ready for college, work and life.
• Every American has access to jobs with a living wage and benefits.
• Every American lives in safe, decent, affordable and energy efficient housing on fair terms.
• Every American has access to quality and affordable health care solutions,

The Washington Metropolitan Area has been inundated with snow for almost an entire week. Schools, businesses, even the Federal Government have shut down. Today, local jurisdictions, called in the snowplows because the conditions have been too hazardous. It’s bad out there people.

While many of us are taking advantage of this time off from work or using this time to telecommute there are many that will be suffering over the next few weeks. ShannonRenee pointed out in her Twitter post that as we’re praying for the homeless we need to pray for small businesses that are also hit hard by this storm.

This made me think of what we can do to support our communities during the aftermath of one of the worst snow storms in D.C.’s history:

Support Local Businesses
Local small businesses were already struggling during these challenging economic times, but to add insult to injury they have lost a considerable amount of business and revenue. This includes local street vendors, small businesses, transportation companies, childcare providers, and so many more.

What you can do to help:
Take time to bypass the big chains like Wal-Mart and Target and shop at local convenience shops and small businesses. Spend your dollars at businesses that directly impact our local community. Try purchasing your liquor from the local corner store, buying gas from the small independent gas station, taking your computer issues to a local business not Best Buy, dining at a locally-owned restaurant instead of a big chain establishment or purchase your coffee from a local vendor and skip Starbucks for a day (yes, I recognize this may be challenging!).

Support Low-Income Families
Large school systems in the area are filled with students receiving free or reduced-priced lunches. In the D.C. school system, where more than 70 percent of the children are eligible for free and reduced price lunch, the school day was the only opportunity for children to have a decent meal. The goal of the free and reduced lunch program is to protect the health and well being of the children by providing nutritious school meals every day. Many businesses have been forced to close due to inclement weather forcing low-income workers, who tend to be hourly and not eligible for leave,to see smaller paychecks. If they don’t work, they don’t make money.
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By now you’ve heard that Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, was hit by a magnitude-7 earthquake on Tuesday. The Creole- and French-speaking Caribbean country was still struggling to recover from the 2008 catastrophic storms when disaster unexpectedly struck again.

Many schools, hospitals and other buildings collapsed and now fires are spreading quickly with no water to contain the flames. The numerous deaths and destruction have only contributed more suffering to an already impoverished nation. Haiti needs immediate aid and will continue to need aid to rebuild.

The support of the online community has been overwhelming between people using Twitter and  Facebook to share information on ways to help and ways to donate and the U.S. Department of State’s use of their blog and Twitter to provide updates and attempt to reunite families.  Organizations like the Red Cross and musician Wyclef Jean’s nonprofit Yele acted quickly by accepting donations through cell phone text messages.  Rescue teams from the D.C. metro area,  in particular Fairfax County,VA and Prince George’s County, MD, united with other organizations from across the country to support our brothers and sisters in Haiti during this time of need.

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