Turkey Pardoning at the White House 11/26/2009

During the ceremony Wednesday, the president acknowledged that despite having reasons to be thankful, many families, this year, are also hurting financially.
“There’s no question this has been a tough year for America,” he said. “We’re at war. Our economy is emerging from an extraordinary recession into recovery. But there’s a long way to go and a lot of work to do.”

In an era of “new perils and new hardships,” Obama said Americans are “a people of endless compassion, boundless ingenuity, limitless strength. We’re the heirs to a hard-earned history and stewards of a land of God-given beauty. We are Americans. And for all this, we give our humble thanks — to our predecessors, to one another, and to God.”

Red Cross Sells Treasures to Cut Deficit 11/17/2009

Responding to Midwest floods in summer 2008. Image courtesy of the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross  is selling pieces of its history as part of its cost-cutting efforts over the past two years. Today, an auction featuring items such as nurse uniforms from the Civil War will be one of the “first rounds of an extensive sale of treasures the American Red Cross has amassed over the decades,” according to an Associated Press story.

“There’s an opportunity for people to purchase a part of the Red Cross history and at the same time contribute to our humanitarian mission,” said Red Cross spokesman Roger Lowe. At a time when many companies are cutting back on such vast archival collections, 128-year-old charity, he said, is asking itself, “Do I really need all of this?”

To save $3 million annually, the charity will close its Lorton, Va. where thousands of objects are stored.

According to the AP, “the online auctions began this month through Heritage Auction Galleries and will continue through February.”

Many items predate the founding of the charity in 1881. Many will be sent to the National Archives while “the most historically significant art and objects will be kept at the Washington headquarters and others will be auctioned in the largest sale in years, said archivist Susan Watson.”

“The charity will honor donor intent and keep its best and most historically significant art and objects, Lowe said. That will include original paintings by Norman Rockwell, Howard Chandler Christy and African-American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner, among others. Rockwell was commissioned to do paintings for the Red Cross as the basis of posters asking people to join or donate,” according to the AP.

The Red Cross assists disaster victims, supplies blood and supports military personnel and their families as well as teaches life-saving skills through its nearly 720 chapters.

Free teleconference on freelancing 11/16/2009

Information obtained from Richard Prince’s three-times-a-week online column, Journal-isms:
Freelance writer Katherine Reynolds Lewis, former money/work reporter in Newhouse News Service’s Washington Bureau, has organized a free teleconference on “How to Succeed As a Freelancer or Consultant.” Co-sponsored by the Washington chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association and CurrentMom.com, the teleconference runs from 2-3:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday. To register, visit http://workfreelance.eventbrite.com/

According to AAJA, the speakers include

Speakers include:
* Joe Grimm, creator of JobsPage.com, Poynter columnist and visiting journalist at Michigan State University
* Stephenie Overman, freelance writer and DC Society of Professional Journalists’ freelance coordinator
* Katherine Reynolds Lewis, freelance writer for outlets such as About.com, MSN Money and Parade, and founder of CurrentMom.com, a site for entrepreneurs
* Victoria Lim, media trainer, freelance journalist, consultant and convergence expert
* Arnesa Howell, freelance writer for magazines including People and Money.

Topics to be covered:
* Starting a freelance career on the sidelines of your day job
* Balancing fun or prestigious assignments with bread-and-butter work that pays the mortgage
* Is this the golden age of freelancing? Or a good time to flee to the safety of a solid employer?
* Pitching and cultivating relationships with editors or other clients
* How to think like an entrepreneur, not an employee

Black Research Center May Close 11/09/2009

Staffing and budget cuts may force the closure of Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, which is housed in Founder’s Library at Howard University.

“The loss of 60 percent of its resources and the abolishment of some critical positions due to the Voluntary Separation Incentive Retirement Program (VSIRP) resulted in many problems,” interim director Thomas C. Battle told the daily student newspaper, the Hilltop.

It is one of the world’s largest repositories of documents and other information about individuals, institutions and issues important to people of African descent throughout the world including the papers of medical pioneer Dr. Charles Drew, Congressional Black Caucus  records and copies of Afro-American  newspapers, one of the nation’s largest black newspapers.

Its collections include more than 175,000 bound volumes; thousands of journals, periodicals, and newspapers; and 100,000 prints, photographs, maps, and other graphic items.

“This should be a greater outcry. This is the premier place to research black history and culture,” Battle told the Hilltop.