Posted on August 17, 2023
Your child’s first phone – what’s the right age?
It’s the new “conversation” parents have with their children: when to get a phone.
It’s not an easy decision. There are all sorts of reasons why young people should have a phone. Phones help kids socialize, interact with friends and make new friends. They teach children skills they’ll need in our high-tech world. A phone is an essential way for kids to stay in touch with their parents and ask for a ride when they need one. And no parents want their child to be “that kid” who gets teased at school for not having a phone.
On the other hand, phones come with issues. Screentime addiction can be a problem. According to the CDC, children 8-10 now spend an average of 6 hours a day in front of a screen using entertainment media. Children 11-14 spend a whopping 9 hours a day watching a screen.
And all that time screentime has an impact. Research shows links between excessive screentime and childhood obesity, depression, behavioral problems and anxiety. It can affect young people’s sleep and their performance in the classroom. Low self-esteem is another possible consequence. When kids are always on social media, always seeing others who look beautiful, go interesting places and have cool stuff, they naturally start to think their own lives are less happy.
In May of this year, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in an advisory that social media poses a “meaningful risk of harm to children” and asked social media companies to “take immediate action to mitigate unintended negative effects.” A recent study of 30,000 young adults shows a strong link between the age at which kids get their first smartphone and the status of their mental health.
Clearly, this is not a decision to be made lightly.
When is the right time for a phone?
If you’re the parent of a child who doesn’t yet have a phone, you’re likely asking yourself that question now. The school year is coming up, you’re shopping for supplies. Should a new phone be on your list?
We all make decisions based on what others are doing. So let’s start there. Around 42% of children have a phone by the age of 10 and 91% by the age of 14.
But let’s look a little deeper. Surprisingly (or perhaps not) the parents who know technology best—Silicon Valley parents—lean toward waiting for a first phone.
Melinda Gates: “Parents should decide for themselves what works for their family but I probably would have waited longer before putting a computer in my children’s pockets. Phones and apps aren’t good or bad by themselves but for adolescents who don’t yet have the emotional tools to navigate life’s complications and confusions, they can exacerbate the difficulties of growing up: learning how to be kind, coping with feelings of exclusion, taking advantage of freedom while exercising self-control.”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a 2018 interview with the New York Times that his 11-year-old son didn’t have a phone.
So what about your kids? Are they ready for a phone? The general consensus is that kids should get a phone when they’re 10-14 years old, with the exact age depending on your child’s developmental readiness. Consider level of maturity, ability to follow rules at home and at school, and degree of responsibility, as well as your family’s needs.
Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that reviews media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children, recommends that parents ask these questions.
- Do your kids show a sense of responsibility, like letting you know when they leave the house? Do they show up when they say they will?
- Do your kids tend to lose things like backpacks or homework? If they do, expect that they might lose their phone too.
- Do your kids need to be in touch for safety reasons?
- Would having easy access to friends benefit them for social reasons?
- Do you think they’ll use a phone responsibly—for example, not texting during class or disturbing others with their phone conversations?
- Can they stick to limits you set for when, where and how long they can use the phone?
- Will they use text, photo and video functions responsibly and not to embarrass or harass others?
When you’re ready, consider CREDO Mobile.
Children learn a lot from their phones. They can also learn from their phone company—if it’s a company like CREDO Mobile. That’s because we’re more than a phone company. We’re a community of people who are dedicated to making the future better.
We share your values. And we work hard every day for causes like climate justice, economic justice and civil rights. Since 1985, we’ve donated over $94 million to groups like the ACLU, Sunrise Movement, Color of Change, March for Our Lives, the LGBTQ Task Force and Planned Parenthood.
With CREDO Mobile, kids don’t just get a phone, they get a voice, because every CREDO member is a supporter of causes that are vital to all young people.
We have a variety of affordable plans to suit all people. We have 1GB to unlimited-data plans, all with unlimited talk and text. Customers who don’t use a lot of data can save with our metered plans, which switch automatically to Wi-Fi at home.
Ready to join? Click here to learn more.
Posted on August 10, 2023
We turn talk into action – we’re CREDO Mobile
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed these days. Climate change, culture wars, attacks on gender equality. It’s hard to keep track of it all, let alone take action on those issues you really care about.
But know this. There are good, honest, effective organizations addressing the world’s problems and working hard on solutions.
One of them is CREDO Mobile. We’re more than a phone company. We’re a community of people committed to progressive change. With the help of our members, we’ve donated over $94 million to nonprofit groups fighting for the environment, civil rights and economic justice. Groups like the ACLU, Color of Change, the LGBTQ Task Force and Planned Parenthood.
So far this year, we’ve donated to 18 amazing nonprofits. And, to celebrate our first six months of 2023 donations, we recently gave an extra $10,000 to one of these groups: Social Security Works.
We asked our members which group among all our 2023 donations recipients they’d like to see get the extra funds and 25,000 of them voted for Social Security Works.
This donation will provide vital support to Social Security Works in its campaign to defend your Social Security against attack by Republicans and Wall Street executives, who are trying to take your retirement money from you and use it for themselves.
Republicans want the money so they can “finance” tax cuts for the wealthy with “savings” from Social Security. Wall Street executives want the money diverted into investment accounts so they can gamble it in the stock market and pocket large fees.
But Social Security Works is pushing back. It’s pressing for policies to defend Social Security, which really does work—and works well—for tens of millions of Americans.
Switch to CREDO Mobile and you’ll help us support a wide range of nonprofits like Social Security Works, all of them fighting for the progressive causes you believe in. You’ll also get competitive rates, friendly customer care and the nation’s top-rated network.
Every nonprofit we support is carefully curated and vetted by the CREDO Mobile staff and every one makes a difference in the world. We’re extremely proud of this work and our members are proud as well. Join us and you’ll feel the same pride. It feels good, it feels right and, in today’s world, it feels absolutely necessary.
And don’t forget to vote for this month’s grantees.
Posted on August 3, 2023
Prevent your phone from overheating
It’s getting hot out there, and as the planet warms from climate change, it’s bound to get even hotter.
That also means your phone is becoming more susceptible to overheating — which can spell trouble. A hot phone can quickly drain your battery, damage internal components or even start a fire. Not good.
Before you throw your phone in the pool to cool it down, we’ll show you how to keep your smartphone from overheating in the first place and keep it working properly during these hot summer days.
First thing’s first, if your smartphone displays a warning screen that it is overheating and you want to use your device as quickly as possible, immediately turn off your device, move it to a cooler location and let it cool down.
However, you can take some easy steps to prevent it from overheating in the first place. Here’s how:
Avoid direct sun
It’s easy to forget that you’ve left your smartphone in the sun, especially at the beach or outside with friends or family. Luckily, if you have a newer phone, it should automatically shut down to protect the internal components — but at that point, it may be too late.
The easiest way to prevent your phone from overheating is to beat the heat. Keep your phone out of direct sunlight when you’re outside. If you’re feeling hot, then your phone is, too.
Don’t leave your phone in a hot car
Likewise, a hot car can spell trouble for your smartphone. The inside of a car parked in direct sun in the summer can reach temperatures of over 150º F. That’s why most phone manufacturers recommend that you do not leave your phone inside a hot car, either.
Apple, for example, recommends that your phone should be stored at temperatures between -4º to 113º F, and that you should not “leave the device in your car, because temperatures in parked cars can exceed this range.” Samsung states that the temperature of your Galaxy device may be affected if you are “using your devices in an environment outside of normal operating conditions (between 32 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit).”
Remove your case
If you have a case on your phone, it may be trapping some thermal energy from the battery or other components.
Take off your case and let your phone begin to cool down.
Switch up the settings
There are a few steps you can take inside your phone’s settings to keep your device from getting too hot, especially if you’re already in a warm environment:
- Turn on Airplane mode and/or turn off data
- Turn down screen brightness
- Turn on Power Save Mode or Low Battery Mode
- Keep your phone’s operating system and apps updated
Use a fan — not the freezer
Popping your smartphone in the freezer after overheating may damage internal components since rapidly cooling your phone could create condensation and moisture that can wreak havoc on your device.
Instead, try putting your phone in front of a fan. It should cool much more slowly and hopefully protect your device from cooling too quickly.
Give your phone a rest
If you’re worried that your phone might overheat — or it’s already getting warm — try giving your phone a rest. Certain tasks and applications, like gaming, streaming, video editing or even high speed charging can increase processing power or warm your battery. Try sticking to scrolling social media or putting your phone in the shade for a little while to cool your device down.
Use recommended chargers
Some users report that inexpensive, so-called “off brand” chargers can cause a phone to overheat, which could damage your device. While other chargers may work perfectly fine, we typically recommend that you use chargers and cables made by the manufacturers of your phone. You can find replacement accessories at Apple, Samsung or Google.
Still overheating?
If your phone is continuously overheating, you may need to contact the manufacturer or take your device to a professional to diagnose the problem. The overheating may be caused by a faulty battery or other device components and may be covered by a service plan or warranty, depending on the issue or the age of your device.
It might be a great time to consider upgrading your phone, too! At CREDO, we offer the best phones on the nation’s best network. And just by using our phones and services, you can help us contribute more to great nonprofit organizations fighting for climate justice, like 350.org, the Sunrise Movement, and Friends of the Earth. In fact, we’ve donated more than $20 million to climate justice organizations — and over $94 million in total to progressive nonprofit groups since 1985.
Visit CREDOMobile.com and find which phones and plans work best for you!
Posted on August 2, 2023
Our July grantees thank you for your support
Each month, CREDO members vote on how we distribute funding to three incredible nonprofits. Those small actions add up – with one click, you can help fund groups fighting for economic justice, abortion rights and expanding the Supreme Court. In July, CREDO members voted to distribute our monthly donation among the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Take Back the Court..
These donations are made possible by CREDO customers and the revenue they generate by using our services. The distribution depends entirely on the votes of CREDO members like you. And for that, our July grant recipients thank you.
Center for Economic and Policy Research
“Thank you, CREDO Members, for supporting CEPR. Your support will help fulfill an economic agenda for full employment that’s as badly needed today as it was 60 years ago. We will keep on in honor of King’s dream and the March for Jobs and Freedom.” – Algernon Austin, Director of Race and Economic Justice, Center for Economic and Policy Research
To learn more, visit www.cepr.net.
Planned Parenthood Action Fund
“Thank you for your support, which keeps the Planned Parenthood Action Fund strong as we fight for reproductive freedom and health care access. Together, we will work to build a more equitable future for all people.” – Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Action Fund
To learn more, visit /www.plannedparenthoodaction.org.
Take Back the Court
“I can’t thank you enough for your support of our movement to Take Back the Court! With the backing of CREDO members like you, we will grow and amplify our work to strengthen American democracy by expanding and reforming the Supreme Court.” – Sarah Lipton-Lubet, President and Executive Director, Take Back the Court
To learn more, visit www.takebackthecourtfoundation.org.
Now check out the three groups we are funding in August, and cast your vote to help distribute our donations.
CREDO members who use our products are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile, the carrier with a conscience.
Posted on August 1, 2023
Vote for Amazon Watch, National Domestic Workers Alliance and National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund this August
Every month, CREDO members vote to distribute our monthly grant to three incredible progressive causes – and every vote makes a difference. This August, you can support groups fighting for climate justice, workers rights and civil rights for all to fund the Amazon Watch, National Domestic Workers Alliance and National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund..
Amazon Watch
Amazon Watch protects the Amazon rainforest and our climate in solidarity with Indigenous peoples. For over 25 years, they have advanced the rights of Indigenous peoples in campaigns for human rights, corporate accountability & the preservation of the Amazon.
The Amazon faces an ecological tipping point. We are taking bold action to avert this by amplifying Indigenous-led campaigns to protect the remaining rainforest by 2025: pressuring major drivers of rainforest destruction, securing Indigenous land titles & mobilizing funds directly to Indigenous peoples.
National Domestic Workers Alliance
NDWA organizes to win respect, recognition, rights and protections for the nearly 2.2 million nannies, house cleaners, and homecare workers—mostly immigrants and women of color—who do the essential work of caring for our loved ones and our homes.
Funding from CREDO will help us organize domestic workers who are leading the national fight for public investments in the care economy’s home and community-based services, universal childcare, paid leave, and protections for immigrant workers.
National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
The Task Force Action Fund builds the political power of LGBTQ people and protects against attacks on our human rights and liberties. We engage in grassroots organizing and training, to build a world that values diversity of human expression and identity.
Funding from CREDO will help the Task Force engage in proactive and intentional movement building across the nation. We will educate, engage, and train LGBTQ and allied people and organizations through dynamic, comprehensive programming.
Your vote this month will determine how we divide our monthly donations among these three progressive groups. Be sure to cast your vote to support one, two or all three by August 31.
CREDO members who use our products and services everyday are the reason we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile and join our movement.
Posted on August 1, 2023
Join the movement: Stand for dignity and equality in domestic work
Note from the CREDO team: This August, the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Support from the CREDO community will help the NDWA in its effort to win respect, recognition, and labor rights and protections for the nearly 2.5 million nannies, housecleaners and homecare workers who do the essential work of caring for our loved ones and our homes.
Read this important blog post about the National Domestic Workers Alliance’s critical work, then click here to visit CREDODonations.com and cast your vote to help send funding to the NDWA to support its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding August grantees.
The National Domestic Workers Alliance has a special campaign running this summer while Senators and Representatives will be in their home districts. They are working to pass The Federal Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. Click here to learn more about this campaign.
PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT: Help us win a Federal Domestic Bill of Rights. Sign the pledge and let us know how you want to get involved to help us pass this critical piece of legislation!
At the heart of our nation’s progress lies a group of unsung heroes: domestic workers. These 2.2 million nannies, house cleaners, and homecare workers tirelessly care for our loved ones and homes, making all other work possible. Their dedication is crucial, yet their labor often goes undervalued, leaving them vulnerable to low pay, abuse, sexual harassment and a lack of protections and rights.
The National Domestic Workers Alliance is revolutionizing this narrative. As one of the country’s leading progressive social movement organizations, we fight for respect, recognition, and labor rights for domestic workers. Our mission is rooted in the unwavering pursuit of justice, equality, and the profound interdependence that binds us all in society.
Our multi-pronged approach paves the way for success:
- Organizing and Empowerment: NDWA provides a supportive space for domestic workers to access resources, skills training, benefits, and advocacy tools.
- Policy Solutions: We develop innovative policies that improve working conditions and economic security, advocating for their passage with the help of workers, supporters, and partners.
- Shifting Narratives: By teaming up with artists and storytellers, we leverage popular culture to amplify the voices and stories of domestic workers.
- Embracing Technology: We harness the power of technology to create new opportunities and enhance dignity in domestic work.
- Mobilizing Voters: Educating and engaging underrepresented women of color voters is critical to building a better world.
- Mobilizing Voters: Educating and engaging underrepresented women of color voters is critical to building a better world.
- Pledge your Support: We believe that all workers, no matter their job, should be treated fairly and have safe workplaces. The Federal Domestic Workers Bill of Rights is an important step to make this happen.
Recent victories speak to the power of our movement. We have achieved 13 Domestic Worker Bills of Rights so far, including a landmark win in Washington, DC, where we secured legal protections against discrimination and abuse.
This year, we celebrated the White House’s recognition of April as Care Workers Recognition Month, which was backed by a historic Executive Order to support caregivers – the outcome of years of relentless organizing and campaigning.
But we won’t stop here. We will continue to leverage all opportunities to increase wages and protections in the near and long-term. In Philadelphia, we launched our Anti-Retaliation Campaign, empowering workers to assert their rights without fear of any repercussions. Our Georgia team is seeking to raise the wages of direct care workers through American Rescue Plan Act Funds at the state level, and at the local and municipal level, looking to tap into State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to win allocations for workforce development training and certification courses that would enable personal care aides to access certified nursing assistants (CNAs) jobs which would make them eligible for higher-paying roles. All the while keeping our eyes set on passing more state and local Domestic Worker Bills of Rights, including the New Jersey Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, as well as a National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.
With your support, we aim to transform domestic work for an inclusive and equitable future.
Join our movement today! Sign up for our email newsletter to stay updated, take action, and stand in solidarity with domestic workers. Together, we can bring about lasting change and build a brighter tomorrow for all.
Posted on August 1, 2023
Fighting for a world where you’re free to be you: National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
Note from the CREDO team: This August, the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Support from the CREDO community will help the Task Force Action Fund in its effort to build political power, take action and create change to achieve freedom and justice for LGBTQ people and communities.
Read this important blog post about the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund’s critical work, then click here to visit CREDODonations.com and cast your vote to help send funding to the Task Force Action Fund to support its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding August grantees.
This year has been tough. The rights of LGBTQ+ people, women, drag artists and young people are being threatened repeatedly. As a bisexual, transmasculine person and the father of a toddler, I’m increasingly concerned about the anti-LGBTQ+ ideologies seeping into the fabric of our country and making hatred the main characteristic instead of love.
My partner and I worry, honestly, about the country our child is growing up in. But in my time working for the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, I have consistently been encouraged by our mission to build a world where all people can feel free to be their most authentic selves, away from hatred and bigotry.
The National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund was founded to advocate for the rights, equity, health and safety of our LGBTQ+ community. Now in our 50th year, we continue to build the political power of LGBTQ+ people and protect against attacks on our liberties and fundamental human rights. One way we do this by training and mobilizing grassroots activists around progressive, LGBTQ-affirming initiatives, giving voice to supporters of LGBTQ+ equity.
Over the past several years, we’ve seen an increasing wave of anti-LGBTQ+ bills advance through local, state and federal legislatures, further marginalizing LGBTQ+ people through political hostility. These relentless efforts have given rise to previously unseen levels of LGBTQ+ harassment, physical violence and online hate. It’s more important now than ever to push back against the hate and intolerance we began fighting 50 years ago.
To meet this political moment, the Task Force Action Fund is making a difference through the work of our staff and supporters. Here are some of the initiatives we’re currently working on:
- Building Queer Power training series: This training series equips organizers with the tools they need to create change in their local communities. With programs like Direct Action 101, Driving the Narrative: Combatting Anti-Queer Propagandaand Organizing 101-Base Building + Outreach, our focus is on building a firm foundation for young people who are just entering the political sphere and helping them find ways to exercise their voice.
- Creating Change 365 (CC365): As a year-round extension of our annual Creating Change Conference, CC365 aims to build the knowledge, skills and power of the LGBTQ+ movement, emphasizing interactivity and participant engagement for a diverse audience of activists, movement leaders, students and service providers. Join us for robust political discussions and explorations of queer culture and joy.
- Ban the Repro Binary: After the historic reversal of Roe v. Wade, in June 2022, the Task Force Action Fund initiated a public education campaign to expand the LGBTQ+ community’s understanding of reproductive justice and encourage cis men to support the fight for reproductive rights. Our Ban the Repro Binary campaign consists of several powerful short videos from a diverse set of male-identified voices in the LGBTQ+ community.
- Queer Faith in Action: The Task Force Action Fund works directly with faith leaders who are committed to facilitating a paradigm shift to make churches welcoming and affirming places for all people, regardless of sexual and gender identity. These partnerships directly upend dominant narratives that have often divided people of faith on LGBTQ matters.
- Spanish-language speakers training: We are building and training a pipeline of Spanish-speaking canvassers and media surrogates who are prepared to speak on a broad range of topics related to LGBTQ+ people and are qualified to defend our issues publicly. The Task Force Action Fund’s Spanish-language media ambassadors have already appeared on networks like CNN en Español and Univision, and they have been featured on local radio stations that have high reach in our target districts.
Change is possible! Access to democracy, for everyone, depends on full representation of our communities through voter protections. The enforcement of LGBTQ+ civil rights depends on federal nondiscrimination protections provided by legislation like the Equality Act. We have a pathway toward liberation. All we must do is act!
Today and always, we fight to better the lives of LGBTQ+ people, especially those most marginalized in our community. We believe in the power of centering the voices and experiences of Black and Brown people, transgender and non-binary folx, people with disabilities and people living in poverty. Together we are stronger because an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.
You can learn more about our work at TheTaskforceActionFund.org and vote for us today at CREDODonations.com!
With encouragement and gratitude,
Reese Rathjen Amyx (He/They), Digital Fundraising Manager, National LGBTQ Task Force
Posted on July 31, 2023
Indigenous land rights now: Amazon Watch is protecting the rainforest
Note from the CREDO team: This August, Amazon Watch is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO community will help Amazon Watch defend this Earth-critical ecosystem and protect the Indigenous peoples who have stewarded this land for centuries.
Read this important blog post about Amazon Watch’s critical work, then click here to visit CREDODonations.com and cast your vote to help send funding to Amazon Watch to support its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding August grantees.
For over 25 years, Amazon Watch has worked effectively to protect the rainforest—and our climate—in solidarity with Indigenous peoples. A longtime partner of CREDO, Amazon Watch carries out campaigns for human rights, corporate accountability and the preservation of the Amazon’s vital ecological systems. These campaigns are founded on trust-based relationships built over decades of partnership with Indigenous, forest and traditional peoples throughout the Amazon Basin.
We are at a unique moment for the Amazon. Threats posed by mega-development, extractive industries, agribusiness, and more have brought the ecosystem to its tipping point. Thanks to long-term resistance and organizing by Amazonian peoples, we still have the chance to build momentum for a turning point.
Indigenous peoples’ message is clear: now is the moment for each of us to step up in international solidarity with Indigenous Earth Defenders. So what can this solidarity accomplish today?
¡Demarcação já! Demarcation now!
With the recent change in Brazil’s administration, new opportunities are opening up for the demarcation of Indigenous territories. Demarcation is Brazil’s process of officially recognizing Indigenous lands and, in 2023, President Lula da Silva has demarcated more than 620,000 hectares. Amazon Watch is working closely with its partners to demarcate as many Indigenous lands as possible in this window of opportunity, with the goal of permanently protecting the remaining 80% of the rainforest by 2025.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recognizes Indigenous peoples’ vital role as forest guardians who are integral to the solution of our climate crisis. In Latin America, deforestation rates in Indigenous territories are up to 50% lower than in other lands. Indigenous peoples also protect over 80% of the planet’s biodiversity. So the demarcation of Indigenous lands is essential to protecting the rainforests that Indigenous peoples have stewarded for centuries and, in turn, protecting our climate.
Demarcation sets a precedent. It requires that Brazilian authorities defend Indigenous territories and gives Amazonian communities legal recourse to expel industries and illegal invaders that harm their lands, waters and people. With Sonia Guajajara leading the newly created Ministry of Indigenous Affairs, there are now 14 territories advancing toward demarcation and 25 more territories to be declared. Amazon Watch is playing an important part in this process and supporting the Indigenous communities who are carrying out territorial monitoring and mobilizing for demarcation.
Demarcation in Sawré Muybu, Munduruku Territory
Sawré Muybu is a highly preserved area of rainforest in the Tapajós River Basin of Brazil. Covering over 178,000 hectares (more than half the size of Rhode Island), it is the ancestral territory of the Munduruku people and a keystone of the entire region’s ecological integrity. The Munduruku currently face intense threats to their lands and personal safety from illegal mining and logging, and from industrial development. They have documented repeated, violent land invasions and have carried out territorial monitoring and boundary-marking activities in an effort to advance demarcation in Sawré Muybu.
Amazon Watch is a close partner of the Munduruku people and has supported their autonomy and self-determination processes for years, starting with the movement against the Belo Monte mega-dam in 2011. In 2017 and 2023, Amazon Watch installed solar grid systems in Munduruku territory to provide clean, consistent power for territorial monitoring. Over the past 12 years, Amazon Watch has also provided solidarity funding for community health initiatives, Indigenous leadership, convening, security and organizing, all of which are essential to the self-demarcation process.
Since 2018, CREDO’s support has empowered Amazon Watch’s solidarity work with the Munduruku. This support has included direct funding for their self-demarcation process in Sawré Muybu and has amplified the pan-Amazon movement to permanently protect Indigenous territories.
With the Indigenous movement’s growing power to organize and with President Lula da Silva as an ally, now is the moment to secure Indigenous land rights and avert the Amazon’s tipping point. The CREDO community is advancing Indigenous rights and defending irreplaceable ecosystems through donations to Amazon Watch, supporting:
- Defense of territories against corporate threats: Amazon Watch supports efforts by Indigenous peoples to resist mining in their territories. Currently, it is working to strengthen the Munduruku’s resistance to mining company Anglo American by carrying out campaigns to keep mining out of Indigenous lands. Demarcation is one of the key tools to achieve this.
- Direct solidarity funding: Amazon Watch’s Amazon Defenders Fund supports Indigenous leaders and communities defending the Amazon. It strengthens Indigenous organizations and movements and provides direct support for their assemblies, communications, safety and security, communal economies, well-being and leadership, inclusive of Indigenous women.
- Legal defense, communications and technical support: Amazon Watch develops and supports legal strategies to uphold and advance Indigenous rights and protect Earth Defenders at risk. It amplifies the urgent call for demarcation through its network of over 600,000 international supporters and media connections to overcome political inertia.
Onward for the Amazon
Thanks to CREDO’s solidarity, Amazon Watch will continue advancing Indigenous land rights, resisting ecosystem destruction, and insisting that Indigenous voices and solutions are centered every step of the way. Together we say: Onward for the Amazon!
Posted on July 31, 2023
With CREDO funding, Defenders of Wildlife continue to be the voice for the animals that cannot speak for themselves.
Up to a million species are facing extinction – some within the next decade – unless we take immediate action to save them. Thankfully, our grantee partners at Defenders of Wildlife work tirelessly to identify and implement innovative solutions to protect endangered species and their habitat.
In December 2022, CREDO members voted to donate $33,125 to help Defenders’ scientists, lawyers, advocates and activists protect wildlife in courtrooms and in communities across the nation.
Powered in part by the generosity of CREDO and our members, Defenders of Wildlife had some recent victories and launched some great new initiatives. Here’s a quick report on how your donations are making an impact from our friends at Defenders:
Recent Victories
Since December 2022, Defenders has had several victories and for wildlife, enabled and assisted by the unrestricted funds granted by CREDO:
- Our Red Wolf Recovery program has celebrated the arrival of a new litter of red wolf puppies born in the wild, three females and two males. As of May 2023, this brings the Milltail Pack’s numbers up to 13 wolves. Thanks to Defenders’ legal action that compelled the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to release more red wolves into the wild, the wild population now stands to quadruple in just two years.
- In April, the Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife and the Coastal Conservation League, obtained a major win for threatened red knots. The endangered bird arrives in South Carolina to feed on newly spawned horseshoe crab eggs in the spring, essentially doubling their body weight to survive the grueling migration. The District Court’s order enacts restrictions on horseshoe crab harvest to ensure the protection of the bird’s food source.
- Also in April, Defenders and its allies reached a settlement with the Bureau of Land Management, which will no longer allow large-scale logging of pinyon-juniper forests in the Southwest that are critical for pinyon jays and other wildlife.
New Initiatives
Defenders is always opening new cases and projects to defend threatened wildlife and their habitats. Since we received the CREDO grant, we have:
- Stopped a bill in the Washington state legislature that would delist the gray wolf on the state Endangered Species Act;
- Submitted comments for the Montana State Grizzly Bear Management Plan and Colorado Wolf Management and Reintroduction Plan drafts;
- Hosted in-person workshops on renewable energy in New Mexico, North Carolina, and Wyoming;
- Published multiple reports, videos, print ads, and blog posts to spread awareness of the biodiversity crisis and celebrate the 50th year of the Endangered Species Act; and
- Launched a TikTok channel, as more than 20% of people (30% of millennials) currently get their news from TikTok.
If you’d like to learn more or get involved with Defenders of Wildlife, please visit their website, or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Posted on July 20, 2023
Try this one amazing tip to declutter your phone’s photo library to save space
If your smartphone’s photo library is anything like ours, it’s a total mess. Old selfies, mistaken or duplicate pictures, long videos you saved that you’ll never watch again.
All those files are taking up valuable space and keeping your library too cluttered.
Here’s one quick hack that will easily clean up your camera roll and save a ton of space on your smartphone.
This clever tip comes courtesy of TikTok creator Kayla Kerr, who suggests setting aside a couple minutes every day to look through your photo library to declutter unwanted photos and videos, with one special twist:
@kaylakerr_ it’s also like your own personal TimeHop which is fun
Kayla suggests opening your photo library and searching for the current month and day, which will bring up all the photos and videos that were created on that day in previous years and you can decide which files you want to keep or delete.
This method is a much more manageable and less overwhelming way to clean up the images on your smartphone than trying to tackle your photo library all at once.
One last tip: Set yourself a daily reminder — and your camera roll will be clean in 365 days!
