Posted on January 16, 2018
Tuesday Tip: How to Make a Fiery, Furious, and Fabulous Protest sign for the Women’s March
How to make a fiery, furious, and fabulous protest sign for the Women’s March
Last year’s worldwide Women’s March was a powerful event. In the U.S. alone, more than 4 million people turned out peacefully in over 600 cities for what may have been the largest day of demonstrations in American history.
The 2018 Women’s March is coming January 20-21 to a city or town near you. Ready to make your own protest sign and join the march? Hey hey, ho ho! Let’s go.
Choose the best board
The backbone of a great sign is a good sign board.
Petroleum-based sign boards are very popular these days, but we’re not fans of these materials and do not recommend using them because of detrimental effects on the environment.
A great option is recycled, thick cardboard with recycled poster board attached to it. You should be able to find these at your local arts and crafts store.
Carry the day
Speak loudly but don’t carry a stick. The traditional wooden sign stick is now banned in some cities, so think about other options. A good one is a hollow cardboard tube, of the sort left over from holiday wrapping paper. Another choice is the easel back—those cardboard attachments you stick behind a picture to stand it up on a table. Get two and put them on either side of your sign.
Best, though, is probably a piece of string. Poke two holes in the top of your sign and use the string to hang it around your neck. Consider a shirt with a collar to avoid abrading your nape. Or make a sandwich-board sign and carry it on your shoulders.
Keep it simple
Many marchers opt for multicolored letters on a brilliantly hued background. They apply glitter and 3D additions. Sometimes these signs succeed but often they don’t. In a lively protest of hundreds or thousands, instant impact is key, so it’s optimal to design a sign that’s understandable at a glance.
Text-based signs in simple colors work well. White letters on black or black on white or orange on blue—any two contrasting colors are good. If you spell out your message in a rainbow of letters on, say, a red background, realize that the orange letters may not be legible.
Keep your message brief and your letters large. Before you ink them in, sketch them out in pencil. Use a ruler to keep them straight and evenly spaced. Take a step back to make sure your sign is readable from a distance. You might consider stick-on letters to make a neat sign quickly.
When a picture really is worth a thousand words
But let’s face it, signs with images can be memorable and a lot of fun to create. We all have that sign that stays on our minds long after the march is over. So if you want to work with images, follow the basic recipe for a successful logo: simple, impactful, and relevant.
- Simple – a simple image is one a person can recognize as soon as they see it. Detailed artwork doesn’t work for a protest sign. Keep it simple!
- Impactful – an impactful sign grabs attention and leaves an impression. Pick the one image that leaves the greatest impact.
- Relevant – your sign should have meaning that relates to the main point you’re making. Try to make one strong point with your sign. Edit any words that do not absolutely have to be there, or any images that detract from your main point.
If your protest sign art follows those three guides, you’ll likely create a powerful sign.
See you at the march!
All that’s left is to decide what to say on your sign. That’s up to you. We remember the fiery, furious, and funny protest signs carried by marchers to tell Donald Trump that women (and other people) won’t take his hateful agenda lying down. Signs like “You can’t comb over misogyny,” “Takes one to grab one,” and “If I make my uterus a corporation, will you stop regulating it?”
Whatever you say, what’s most important is to say it. Show up and speak out against Trump at the Women’s Marches on January 20-21. We will, and we hope to see you there.
We’d love to post pics of the signs you create. Please share them with us!
Posted on January 12, 2018
CREDO Mobile recognized for unwavering support of gender equality
I’m honored to announce that CREDO Mobile was given the Best Corporate Giving for Gender Equality award by Philanthropy Women for our commitment to gender equity funding. The 2018 Philanthropy Women Leadership Awards are awarded to “recipients who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in the field of gender equality philanthropy.”
Reproductive rights, closing the wage gap, having more women in political leadership – this is all part of the story of women’s empowerment. I’m proud of the work CREDO Mobile has done to empower organizations fighting for equality, and I’m excited for the work ahead in 2018.
For more than 30 years, CREDO has been an outspoken supporter and funder of progressive organizations fighting for women’s rights and gender equality. Since 1985, CREDO has donated nearly $10 million to progressive groups fighting for these causes, and we’re proud to be Planned Parenthood’s largest corporate donor.
Here’s more from the Philanthropy Women announcement of our award:
CREDO gives a large percentage of its corporate philanthropy dollars to gender equality, and Ray Morris, as CEO of CREDO, appears to be continuing the company’s 30-year commitment to gender equality funding. In fact, gender equality accounts for about 11.7% of CREDO’s funding for progressive causes. Imagine if every corporation gave 11.7% of their philanthropy dollars to gender equality. We would be able to accelerate the progress of gender equality movements and reach critical mass sooner. For these reasons, we award CREDO Mobile the Philanthropy Women Best Corporate Giving for Gender Equality award.
You can read more about the award and learn more about other recipients on the Philanthropy Women website.
Posted on January 11, 2018
Me Too. Now What?
Editor’s note: You can join us Tuesday, May 22 for a live conversation with Shaunna Thomas of UltraViolet who will talk about the #MeToo movement and the organization’s important work fighting sexism and standing up for women’s rights. Learn more about the event and RSVP here.
2017 will go down in history as the year women broke their silence and dozens of powerful men who sexually abused them over decades were finally held accountable. More than a decade ago, Tarana Burke started the #MeToo movement to empower and unite women and girls who have been sexually assaulted, and in the past few months, it’s inspired millions of survivors to come forward.
In 2018, UltraViolet, a national women’s advocacy organization, wants to keep this momentum and unity among survivors of assault visible by focusing on what comes next.
That’s why we’ve launched a new online platform, “Me Too. Now What?,” in partnership with 12 allies including CREDO, to crowdsource solutions to address the epidemic of sexual assault and harassment in our country. Visitors to the site are encouraged to first submit their own solutions, and then upvote and downvote others.
Hundreds of ideas have been submitted, and tens of thousands of votes have been cast. We asked visitors to the site, “What do you think needs to happen to end a culture of rampant sexual harassment and assault?” and we got a range of answers.
The largest number of submissions fell under the category of education. Hundreds acknowledged that gender and power dynamics are learned from a very young age and advocated for teaching respect and consent when children first start school.
Others advocated for a range of procedural fixes – from ending the statute of limitations for sexual abuse cases to banning non-disclosure agreements in harassment settlements – to ensure that survivors of assault and harassment cannot be silenced.
But the submission with the most votes on the site reads, “We can start by removing Trump from office.”
Posted on January 11, 2018
Fighting for peace with Win Without War
Donald Trump’s foreign policy is, without question, a disaster. With his unstable and reckless rhetoric toward North Korea, we are arguably the closest we have ever been to nuclear war in a generation. He has blurred the lines between his Twitter thumbs and a finger on the nuclear button, putting the entire global community at an existential risk.
Likewise, Trump’s complete disregard for diplomatic norms and his positions on Iran, Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan threaten America and innocent civilian lives.
While thwarting Trump’s dangerous control of our foreign policy and military apparatus may seem like a daunting task, our progressive allies in the peace movement are leading the way.
Last month, we were honored to welcome Stephen Miles, executive director of of Win Without War, one of our strongest allies in the fight for a more peaceful world, to CREDO headquarters:
LIVE NOW: Win Without War live at CREDO headquarters
CREDO welcomes Win Without War’s Stephen Miles to discuss how the organization has refocused its efforts since Donald Trump took office.
Posted by CREDO Mobile on Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Posted on January 9, 2018
Tuesday Tip: 10 Tips to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
10 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
By now, just about everyone agrees that carbon pollution poses a serious threat to our planet. Even our science-bashing conman in chief is building seawalls around Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Ireland to protect the place against climate change.
At this point, we must accept the grim reality that some level of global warming is inevitable. But by taking action now as individuals, we can still avoid the worst effects. According to a recent study in the journal ”Environmental Research Letters,” the four steps that most substantially shrink a person’s carbon footprint are: eating a plant-based diet, living without a car, avoiding air travel and having a smaller family.
Americans emit 16.1 tons of carbon per person per year, according to the World Bank. This is less than in the 1970s when that number was around 22.5 tons, but it’s still far above the 2050 goal set by the Paris Climate Accords, which is 2.1 tons of carbon per person per year.
We’d better get started. Here are 10 steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint.
Go car-free. Short of having one less child (which cuts the climate change impact by 120 tons of CO2 emissions per year, if you include carbon that the child’s children would emit), living without a car is the biggest step you can take. According to the EPA, the typical passenger vehicle emits around 4.7 metric tons of CO2 each year.
Inflate your tires. If you do drive, make sure your tires are properly inflated. This can cut your carbon emissions by up to 700 pounds a year.
Take a staycation. One round-trip flight from New York to Europe or New York to San Francisco creates a warming effect equivalent to an average year’s worth of driving.
But don’t worry about being cooped up too long. There’s hope that changes in both aircraft design and fuel source are on the horizon.
Eat less meat. People who eat more than 3.5 ounces of meat per day – a serving about the size of a deck of cards – generate 15.8 pounds of CO2 each day, vegetarians just 8.4 pounds and vegans only 6.4 pounds.
Try going vegetarian or vegan one or two days a week. And when you do eat meat, choose poultry, which is less greenhouse-gas intensive than beef or pork.
Recycle. You likely recycle to some extent already, but you may not know what an impact it can have. If you recycle half your household waste, you can save 2,400 pounds of CO2 annually.
Adjust your thermostat. Move your thermostat up 2 degrees in the summer and down 2 degrees in the winter. You’ll reduce your carbon emissions by 1 ton per year.
Wash in cold water. Almost 90 percent of the energy used by a washing machine goes to heat the water. Switching to cold water for your wash cycle will cut your carbon dioxide emissions by around 1,600 pounds a year. While old laundry soaps worked well only with hot water, new soaps are formulated for cold water and perform as well as or better than traditional detergents.
Dry on a clothesline. Drying one load of laundry in a machine puts 0.1 metric tons of CO2 into the air, so line-drying your clothes makes a real difference over time. Another plus: Your clothes will last longer because they won’t get roughed up in the dryer.
Buy an Energy Star fridge. Refrigerators 15 years or older use twice as much energy as a new Energy Star fridges. Replace your old fridge with an Energy Star model, and you can cut your carbon footprint by 8,200 pounds, and save as much as $260 in the first five years.
Tune up your water heater. There are two ways you can make your water heater more efficient. One, wrap it in an insulating blanket. It costs only about $25 at your local home center, and it will cut your carbon emissions by up to 1,000 pounds annually. Two, turn down the thermostat from 140 degrees (the standard factory setting) to 120 degrees. Each 10-degree reduction reduces your carbon emissions by 600 pounds (electric) or 440 pounds (gas) a year.
There you have it: 10 tips to reduce your carbon footprint.
What are some methods you’ve tried? We’d love to hear what’s worked for you.
Posted on January 3, 2018
Our December grantees thank you for your support
Each month, CREDO members vote on how we distribute funding to three amazing organizations. Those small actions add up – with one click, you can help fund work to improve conditions for domestic workers, support a clean and fair food system, and amplify voices to protect civil and human rights. Just last month, over 52,000 CREDO members voted to distribute our funds to National Domestic Workers Alliance, Pesticide Action Network North America and ReThink Media.
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 October grant recipients thank you.
National Domestic Workers Alliance
“Thank you for supporting NDWA! CREDO members like you help make it possible for thousands of nannies, house cleaners and care workers across the country to provide the vision and leadership required to create a more inclusive democracy and economy.” To learn more, visit domesticworkers.org.
Posted on January 2, 2018
Vote for these three great causes this January
Each month, CREDO members help decide how we donate tens of thousands of dollars to three great nonprofit groups fighting for our progressive values. This January, you can help fund organizations fighting against dirty fossil fuel pipelines, defending women’s access to health care and protecting immigrant communities by voting for Bold, Planned Parenthood Affiliates and United We Dream. Learn more about each of these causes, and then cast your vote for one, two or all three by Jan. 31.
Bold
Bold fights pipelines with an unlikely alliance of farmers, ranchers, climate advocates and Native allies to protect the land and water, using creativity and clean energy to build its power.
Funding from CREDO members will help Bold create a national Pipeline Fighter Hub and continue building clean energy in the path of Keystone XL pipeline. With dozens of communities threatened by new fossil fuel infrastructure projects each year in this country, Bold wants to create a centralized hub to support those communities and provide activists the necessary resources to build campaigns to win against the oil and gas industry.
Parenthood Parenthood Affiliates
As the nation’s most trusted reproductive health organization, Planned Parenthood works to protect and expand access to care for millions of women across the country.
In the current political climate, Planned Parenthood’s ability to provide vital services to women is threatened as never before. CREDO funding will help its affiliates ensure that
Planned Parenthood’s health services remain available to those who need them most.
Posted on January 2, 2018
5 Apps That Will Help You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions
5 Apps That Will Help You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions
New Year’s Resolutions? Meh. What’s the point?
According to this psychologist, 80 percent of our resolutions fail by the first week in February.
But you may be overlooking an important ally that can help to keep you on track for a healthier, happier year: your phone.
Today’s phone apps are smarter and more sophisticated than ever. And while they can’t actually go to the gym or meditate for you, they can provide (almost) effortless accountability.
Here are five awesome goal-setting apps that give you tips and help you keep your new year resolution.
(Standard disclaimer: App creators’ views and values are their own and are not endorsed by CREDO Mobile. Before downloading any app, please confirm that it meets your personal standards for corporate ethics and protection of privacy.)
1. HabitBull
Resolution: Create a new habit or break a bad one
Want to eat healthier, exercise more, or learn a new language? How about stop eating processed foods, give up negative self-talk, or stop watching more than two hours of TV a night?
It all sounds great except for one thing – creating new habits, or breaking bad ones, can be painful if not impossible.
Enter HabitBull. Based on Jerry Seinfeld’s productivity secret and The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, this app takes quite a bit of the agony out of building new habit or breaking a bad one.
HabitBull creates a sort of game out of habit tracking, and can track up to 100 habits (one is plenty for me!) each with their own calendar and reminders.
FREE, in-app products $3.49 – $62; available for iOS and Android. Prent Company: App Holdings
2. Countable
Resolution: Fight for change in Washington
One of the most effective ways you can participate in federal policy making is to actively lobby your Congressperson.
While pestering your reps isn’t a magic bullet, it does make a difference. This is especially true when impassioned citizens mobilize in shock-and-awe numbers.
A notable beneficiary of this approach is the Affordable Care Act. As of this writing, it’s still with us, thanks in large part to the lobbying of millions of concerned citizens.
For help staying on top of the issues that matter most to you, check out Countable. You can set this clever little app to send you legislative alerts on issues you care about, including social justice, education, immigration and more.
When an alert catches your eye, simply tap a button to email or call your representative. (Pro tip: don’t just leave a comment on the app. According to Capitol Hill staffers, mere comments rarely reach the legislators.)
Countable also alerts you immediately when one of your representatives casts a vote — which can provide valuable ammunition for future lobbying and social activism.
FREE, available for iOS and Android
3. Headspace
Resolution: Live more mindfully and enjoy the moment
OK, I just did a one-minute mini exercise with Headspace. So now watch me write freely, joyfully, and with focus. (Wait, where did I put the shopping list?)
Kidding aside, daily meditation is one of the best things you can do for yourself in our relentlessly busy culture.
Just a few minutes in the morning can set the tone for your whole day. It can also relieve stress and even help you sleep better.
The best thing is, you don’t have to be a total Zen master to benefit. The Headspace app makes getting started with mindfulness as easy as binge-watching Netflix (but far more productive).
The free version of the app includes a “Basics” pack of ten meditations for beginners. None of these runs longer than ten minutes, which makes it easy to squeeze mindfulness practice between your morning coffee and commute.
Users can unlock additional meditation packs with a paid subscription. These include themed packs (sports, creativity, kids) and those geared to certain life challenges (anxiety, sleep, pain management).
And while competition is so not the point, the perfectionist in me was thrilled when Headspace tracked my meditation stats for me.
FREE and PAID versions, available for iOS, Android, and Amazon
4. TaskRabbit
Resolution: Spend more time with your loved ones
Would you rather play outside with your kids than drive across town to pick up your dry cleaning? Well, now you can have someone else do the legwork for you.
TaskRabbit connects you with local, background-checked “taskers” who can help with shopping, cleaning, yard work, and even putting together your IKEA furniture.
Founder Leah Busque conceived the idea when she had to choose between going out to dinner with her husband and running to the store for dog food. She envisioned her company as a community of neighbors helping neighbors.
As a taskmaster (my word, not the app’s), you can choose your own assistant from a list of profiles. Or for a slightly higher hourly rate, you can have TaskRabbit handle the booking for you.
Quotes for a quick dry cleaning pickup and delivery in my area ranged from $20 to $35, with one of the taskers working exclusively by bicycle. So there’s the option to reduce carbon emissions while spending precious moments with your loved ones.
TaskRabbit currently operates in 39 U.S. metro areas and London.
FREE (um, the app, not the tasks), available for iOS, Android, and your desktop computer.
5. Sleep Cycle alarm clock
Resolution: Sleep better and wake up refreshed
There’s nothing more miserable (OK, almost nothing) than being wrenched from a deep sleep by your alarm. Especially if you fell into bed just four hours before!
Well guess what? That never needs to happen again thanks to Sleep Cycle alarm clock.
Most sleepers cycle through periods of light and deep sleep several times a night. Sleep Cycle alarm clock allows you to set your alarm for a 30-minute interval. The app then wakes you when you’re sleeping lightly, leaving you alert and refreshed.
It also displays your sleep cycles graphically. To really weird yourself out, check out the graph after a night of boozing it up. Scary!
Sleep Cycle alarm clock can track your movements with either your phone’s accelerometer or microphone. (The latter works better if you are sharing are bed.) Whichever option you choose, it’s important to position the phone correctly. The app provides detailed instructions.
After you use Sleep Cycle alarm clock for several nights, it will start giving you personalized sleep quality scores. I’ll admit I’m totally obsessed with this part. It definitely encouraged me to go to bed earlier and at the same time each night.
And after a few months of tracking, I finally scored a perfect 100 percent after sleeping in my mom’s quiet condo in the suburbs. (She was very proud.)
FREE, available for iOS and Android
So there you have it — everything you need to bring your New Year’s Resolutions to life (finally). Good luck and happy new year!
Do you use any apps to help you set and track your life goals? Comment below to share.
Posted on December 30, 2017
New video: How CREDO members funded the resistance in 2017
The resistance was strong in 2017 – in no small part because of our amazing CREDO members.
That’s because every month, CREDO donates a portion of its revenue to support progressive causes our members care about, like women’s rights, climate justice and civil rights – at no extra cost.
In 2017 alone, hundreds of thousands of CREDO members helped us decide through their votes how to distribute nearly $2 million to progressive causes fighting back against Trump’s hateful agenda.
From the American Civil Liberties Union and Color Of Change to United We Dream, Planned Parenthood and 350.org, the progressive causes we fund are leading the resistance, and we’re proud to have their backs.
Please take a moment to watch our video about this year’s donations and share with your friends.
Posted on December 26, 2017
Tuesday Tip: How to Update Your Android Phone’s to the Latest Version of the Operating System
Do you ever ask yourself “should I update my device?” The answer is a solid yes. To get the most out of your phone or tablet, you should periodically update your Android phone to the latest version of the operating system. New versions of the OS offer new features, fix bugs and ensure that your device runs smoothly and efficiently. It’s easy to do. And it’s free.
However, you should consider waiting a short while before you download a new OS, because occasionally it will be accompanied by glitches that the OS maker (Apple or Android) will subsequently fix. A new OS may come with a range of issues. It may take hours to download. It might freeze your device. So think about waiting while the kinks get corrected.
Before you update any device, it’s a good idea to backup all your data in case something goes wrong.
Also, make sure your battery is charged before you start or plug your device in while you’re updating. And make sure to download updates while you’re connected to Wi-Fi, because updates are usually quite large.
Updating your Android phone to the latest version
Your device will alert you when there is an update available. It should appear at the top of your screen in the notification bar. In that case, simply pull down the bar and tap the alert to update your device.
If you don’t get a notification to update your Android phone or if you think you might have missed it, go to:
- Settings
- and scroll down to About (or About phone, About device or About tablet, depending on what device you’re using—Android interfaces vary)
- If you don’t see About device (or some variation) tap System. On some Android devices, you’ll see a System updates option in the main Settings menu below About device. If you do see it, tap that instead.
- System updates. (Or Software updates or Download updates manually.)
- Check for update. (Again, the phrasing here may vary, depending on your device.)
- If you’re asked to confirm, tap OK and your device will check for updates. This may take a short while.
- If an update is available, tap Download or Yes and the update will download to your device.
- Tap Install once the update has downloaded.
Your device will restart and begin the update process. It usually takes around 30 minutes to complete.
Apple
Looking to update an Apple device? Check out Apple’s excellent support article Update the iOS on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
