Here at Fight Back Productions, we love to hear awesome stories about people doing things to better the world, whether in the field of violence prevention or elsewhere.  This week, I’ve been super excited to hear about some really cool people doing some really cool things.  Check out these links and look for ways that you can help make a difference in your community!

A retired EMT and police officer in south Florida makes self-defense education accessible to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered community.  Attacks on minority groups such as the LGBT community are on the rise, so kudos to Mr. Cacioppo for his good work!

Two friends of Girls Fight Back are in the running for Pepsi Refresh Awards.  Basically, Pepsi gives a ton of money out to people doing good things so that they can do more good things.  But to win the money, they have to get votes…lots and lots of votes!

One of these projects belongs to longtime friends Shawn Decker and Gwenn Barringer.  Shawn is HIV+, Gwenn is HIV- and they are married.  They travel the country teaching teenagers and young adults how to stay safe and know their status when it comes to HIV.  If they win, they’ll receive $50,000 to travel the country and do their thing.  Honestly, if anyone hasn’t seen them speak, they are a hoot and a half!  Plus they are just cool people with a lot of great information to share.  So click here and get signed up to vote for them!

Driver’s Ed for Love is a new friend to Girls Fight Back and is all about offering relationship education to young adults.  I had the pleasure of seeing their program at this year’s SEPC and was really excited about the concept of this program.  The idea is that if we educate young people about how to select mates, we will decrease divorce and other heartaches and increase happiness in our love relationships.  They are in the running for $150,000 to get their program off the ground by training program facilitators, conducting research and offering free programming at colleges around the country.  Click here and get signed up to vote of Driver’s Ed for Love.

Now the cool thing about the Pepsi Refresh project is that you can vote twice a day, once online and once via text message, so vote for both of these awesome project everyday during the month of September.

The last cool person doing a cool thing that I want to mention is…well…ME!  Ok, maybe I’m not really that cool (I’m actually kind of a dork), but my daughter and I are doing something that I’m pretty proud of and that you can help us out with.  We are walking in this year’s AIDSWalk DC and trying to raise $1000.  The infection rate in our nation’s capital is 1 in 20!  That’s comparable to some parts of Africa! A thousand dollars is a high goal, but we are getting so close!  We only need $305 to break it and taste some sweet, sweet victory.  You can make a donation of any size here.  Thanks to our amazing GFB family and their generous donation to support us, as well as, our new friends at Driver’s Ed for Love who also made a donation.  I’m so inspired by the friends and family who have stepped forward to help us raise this money.  It is incredible!  So thanks in advance for any monetary love you show.

Know someone doing something cool to make our world a better place?  Let us know here in the comments or on the wall of our Facebook page!  We’d love to give them a shoutout!

We have a stake in one another. What binds us together is greater than what drives us apart. If enough people believe in the truth of that proposition, and act on it, we might not solve every problem, but we can get something meaningful done.

–Barack Obama, December 1, 2006 (World AIDS Day)

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Only 4 weeks to go until my baby arrives, and I’ve been nesting up a storm!  By reading that, you’d assume I’ve been busy cleaning the bathroom tile with a toothbrush or painting the baby’s room.  Not so.  I’m finding there is another kind of nesting for female business owners that I call “Business Nesting.”  Let me tell you, the cleaning can wait and the garage re-organization project may fall in the “things to do next year” category.  The baby furniture will get assembled…eventually.  But creating marketing materials and talking to sponsors for the upcoming Fall Tour and designing our public relations strategy and planning events around the USA and making sure my new Speakers and Sales Reps are ready to rock…well that can’t wait!

These past few months of training and creating systems for the future of Fight Back Productions has been one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done.  It’s pushed me way beyond my comfort zone, in a good way.  While the final trimester of pregnancy brings on a whole slew of physical ailments from bladder overdrive to acid reflux, the excitement of building a company to be bigger than myself has kept me going.  And when people tell me to slow down, it’s hard…just because I’m having so much fun.

Maybe this makes me some sort of freak, but I have to say, just thinking about a world with more education about personal safety and self-defense thrills me and my staff. Our approach is fresh, new and different than anything you’ve ever seen in regards to personal safety education.  As John F. Kennedy once said: “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.”  The upcoming Fall ‘09 Tour will reveal a whole new layer to our company vision, and it’s going to be new and awesome and better than ever.  Just wanted to post and say STAY TUNED for some good stuff…

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Here ye, here ye…Fight Back Productions (Girls Fight Back) is looking for some fabulous interns around the nation!  Specifically we’re seeking Events Interns in the states of: California, Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington state.

Their main role is to organize and promote Girls Fight Back Second Saturday events. Second Saturdays are free, open to the public, women safety & self-defense seminars held in cities across the nation on every Second Saturday of each month starting in August 2009.  Interns will directly assist our professional Speakers who conduct these seminars with a wide variety of tasks, and will also work closely with staff at our headquarters in Colorado.

The ideal Events Intern is mature, responsible, works independently, enjoys networking and has a go-getter mentality.  He/She is willing to assist our Speakers in any way requested of them that pertain to all events. He/She believes in our mission, that all women have the right to defend themselves from violence in all forms…and that this education should be available to women regardless of age, race, religion or economic status.

Interns should be pursuing a college degree in the subject areas of: women’s studies, advocacy, business, non-profits, journalism, marketing, publicity, communications, advertising, fundraising, graphic design, web design or education.  Other majors may also apply.  Interns must receive college credit, and are not paid.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
•    Determining a suitable Sponsor (non profit organization) for each monthly event
•    Secure a venue for Second Saturdays – gyms, auditoriums, libraries
•    Web publicity via Facebook, MySpace, the GFB website, etc.
•    Promote the event in the community via posters, flyers and networking events
•    Serve as Assistant to Speaker before, during and after the event
•    Assist in videotaping all events
•    Facilitate donations, raffle, distributing literature and merchandise sales
•    Be a friendly and welcoming face to all who attend the events

To apply, please e-mail your resume and a cover letter explaining your interest and qualifications to jobs@fightbackproductions.com.  We are looking to fill these positions immediately.  No phone calls please.

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