Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Sustainability: Our Challenge. Our Future.


Today is August 12th – International Youth Day. Designated by the United Nations one decade ago, this day is purposed with raising awareness of youth-related issues around the world.

Sustainability: Our Challenge. Our Future.

This year the United Nations is encouraging youth to prove themselves to be key partners in sustainable development. “Young people often lead by example,” said U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. “Sustainability is the most promising path forward, and youth can lead the way.”

According to the UN, sustainability does not only mean keeping our environment safe for the future, “sustainability encapsulates three facets of life: the environment, society and the economy.” That means that everything we do -- every action we take – can have a ripple effect expanding beyond local communities clear to the other side of the world.

One way in which KooDooZ is embracing the United Nations’ Sustainability Challenge is to encourage KDZ (our site users) to put a sustainable message on a bottle. Literally.

“We’re asking KDZ to design an image or a message that effectively communicates the importance of water as a source of health and wellness for both people and planet,” said Lee Fox, founder of KooDooZ.

The winning “Ripple Effect” design will be produced on white stainless steel water bottles, earning the creator $125-dollars PLUS $1 per bottle purchased on the KooDooZ website for the first year. Additionally, $1 from each bottle sold will also be donated to KidShape, a non-profit organization that builds healthy families.

Sponsoring this challenge is EcoUsable, a company with the mission to save our planet one bottle at a time. “Every day, 60-million water bottles go into landfills,” said Joey Mendelsohn, EcoUsable President and Founder. “We team up with other environmentally friendly companies with similar visions because we can’t do it alone. If we combine our efforts, we will be able to make the difference the world needs for the success of future generations.”

One hundred community friends in Southern California will be gifted with an EcoUsable water bottle on Saturday, August 15th during a KooDooZ co-sponsored walk to raise awareness for youth health & wellness.

As guardians of tomorrow, youth must be listened to, included and engaged today. It will be with their creativity and energy, that our challenge with sustainability will be turned into an achievement of stewardship.

To Create an EcoUsable “Ripple Effect” Design: (Challenge Ends: 09/30/09)

This challenge serves as a call to action for KDZ (kids & families using KooDooZ) to make a difference by focusing on a global sense of social responsibility. NOTE: “Ripple Effect” is also a term used to describe how one action can trigger another.
  • Go to KooDooZ: http://www.KooDooZ.com/
  • Click “Get In:” on the landing page and “Log In:” on your KooDooZ desktop
  • Click on “Global” on the left side of the bulletin board
  • Click on “To Do A Water ‘Ripple Effect’ Design” challenge (Note: you may need to scroll down)
  • Click on the “Subscribe” button (the red bulls-eye)
  • Complete the challenge To Do List and turn this challenge into an achievement!
Together, KooDooZ and KDZ can celebrate 10 years of International Youth Day while inspiring health and wellness for both people and planet.