“Mummy” Jeremy asked. “Did Maya Angelou write this for me?” Of Course” I said and at that point I showed him a picture of her.
“Can we go and visit her one day?” To which I replied, “absolutely”
and just as he was about to turn over and fall asleep, he thought for a second and said “That Maya Angelou, she’s kinda cool“
It was at that point, I felt an even deeper love for my son, which I never thought could be possible and also a new appreciation for how wonderful beautiful poems can be and how they effect people of any age.

Tomorrow as always, I will read my son this poem, but perhaps I will find some new words of wisdom to settle him into bed at night.
Thank you to all you wonderful writers out there, that continue to inspire us in more ways that you can imagine.

Until now! Better Life Fundraising introduces healthy every-day products and exciting gift ideas that make fundraising purchases worthwhile. Better Life Fundraising offers an online solution that manages the administration of fundraising and supports organizations to concentrate on selling and accumulating income.

With Better Life Fundraising you will be provided a

• free website landing page to promote purchases,
• a full ecommerce engine with secure checkout,
• tools for promoting your campaigns virtually,
• free reports including a summary of results,
• a fantastic portfolio of consumable products along with exclusive gift ideas.

It’s proving to be contagious with many positive comments suggesting “can you carry more”. We listened, and are now excited to provide these new products. Each are “Better Life Certified”, meaning we only bring on products that meet our high standards.

Better Life.

• Freshly roasted, fair trade, single origin organic coffees
• All natural Belgian chocolate bars – milk and dark
• Coming Soon – organic and kosher granola’s; gluten free cereal and cereal bar
• Lifestyle products – organic bamboo t-shirts, bags.
• $4.00 profit coffee; $1.00 profit chocolate bars; up to $10.00 profit on lifestyle “Exciting Gift Idea”

Travellers Deck.

• ’100 Best Local Places to Eat & Shop in Vancouver’
• An eating & shopping guide helping tourists & locals discover hidden gems.
• Packed with unbiased reviews – no-one has paid to be included
• Over $750 worth of savings; includes maps and directions
• $4.00 profit

Mrs Meyers.

• A line of aroma therapeutic household cleaners.
• Hard-working, naturally occurring ingredients and essential oils that are tough on dirt, yet gentle on your home and the earth.
• $2.00 profit Steaz

Steaz Sparkling Green Tea.

• Where great taste meets healthy lifestyles.
• Steaz carries sparkling green teas, iced teas, and energy drinks
• all Steaz beverages are USDA organic, Fair Trade and Kosher certified.
• $12.00/cs profit

Frontera Gourmet Mexican Salsas.

• Distinctive, genuine natural salsas offering the flavors of Mexico
• Blends of sweet roasted tomatoes, Tomatillos, tropical fruits and red chilies and peppers
• $2.00 profit Pravica Relish
• A delicious sweet and spicy golden relish
• Using only garden fresh vegetables and the highest quality spices. q $2.00 profit

For more information please visit www.betterlifefundraising.com or call 604. 628. 7051

Even more interesting, as British pubs shut their doors for good on a daily basis, Starbucks saw a 3.9 % growth in their final 3 months of 2009.

Can this be true, will the Venti Mochachino take over from the good old pint? Seems like as more and more coffee shops open and more pubs close, the public are opting for the North American caffeine rush.
Other coffee chains such as Costas and Cafe Nero are also making a large impact, with more I’m sure to follow soon.

Since when did a cup of coffee become so expensive? I actually cannot believe how much it costs here and yet “Fair Trade” coffee in the grocery stores is much cheaper than it is in Canada and America…..strange. Maybe by disguising the name of the different sizes, Venti, grande etc.,one maybe become confused and not realize how much they are spending.

Not to worry though, coffee shops are only appearing on high streets, malls and inside other stores, they still do not have the prime corner spot in the local community where you guessed it, your local pub resides.

I still don’t see guys getting together on a Thursday night and heading to their local Starbucks to watch a football match drinking a “frappuchino” wiping the milk froth off their mouths instead of the head of a cool lager.

Even though the British Pub is becoming less and less, I am still hoping that they will make a big comeback and be bigger and better than ever, will keep you posted (in the pub of course)

Sarah Davis.

www.betterlifebrands.com

All that being said, this might leave some people feeling that they wish that they could do more to give back but just can’t afford it right now.
You know, if we all made a collective effort, whether it means giving time, giving compassion or just doing something for someone without expecting anything in return, that’s great too…

There is so much disturbance in the world at the moment, it’s hard to think that people could-actually do inhumane things to their fellow man. Did you see that poor guy in Miami yesterday being attacked in his wheelchair?..come on!!!
Even in your local neighborhood, there is someone who needs a friend or someone to just help them with their groceries, you know, that person can be you!

The most emails I get from people every week say the same thing. “How can I help? What can I do? And the most asked question is, How do I start?

First of all, if you have children, be a role model, if it’s making sure you say thank you a little more often, guess what, they learn from you and are like sponges. My theory is if everyone would just be a little more polite (obviously with or without kids) it would eliminate animosity, anger and yes even road rage!
Wouldn’t it be great to take that a few steps further and the whole polite thing led to world peace…wow.

Furthermore, find out what you are passionate about helping and get involved. Call up that particular charitable organization and see if they need volunteers. I know we are always looking for help as we sponsor so may events. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone or pop in to see your organization of choice, trust me they are always receptive to kind good hearted people that want to help.

Start today. Say thank you, hold a door open, even call that friend you had an argument with, you know that argument you can’t even remember what it was about!
You see this is a domino effect, giving to charity or to each other will become a normal way of life.
Philanthropy journal quotes “ about one in 10 respondents say they are volunteering more because of the deteriorating economy” go to www.philanthropyjournal.org/news/donors-split-2009-giving for the full and interesting article.

You see, we are all Rockstars,Oprahs and Bill Gates, if we work together and with the power the social media has today, all our small differences make a huge change.
I get really excited when I see the growth movement on twitter.
The movement for social change
.
We are all trying to do our bit, how cool is that!

For more information about Better Life or to volunteer with us please visit our website www.betterlifebrands.com

So on May 5th, some of the leading philanthropists sat in a closed meeting to discuss world issues, and how to promote philanthropy. Oprah, Bill Gates, to name a few.
These guys know they are leaders and visionaries and how cool was it to know that they care so much, they are willing to put all ego aside and get down to where they can really make a difference.

All that being said, this might leave some people feeling that they wish that they could do more to give back but just can’t afford it right now.
You know, if we all made a collective effort, whether it means giving time, giving compassion or just doing something for someone without expecting anything in return, that’s great too…

There is so much disturbance in the world at the moment, it’s hard to think that people could-actually do inhumane things to their fellow man, did you see that poor guy in Miami yesterday being attacked in his wheelchair…come on!!!
Even in your local neighborhood, there is someone who needs a friend or someone to just help them with their groceries, you know, that person can be you!

The most emails I get from people every week say the same thing. “How can I help? What can I do? And the most asked question is, How do I start?

First of all, if you have children, be a role model, if it’s making sure you say thank you a little more often, guess what, they learn from you and are like sponges. My theory is if everyone would just be a little more polite (obviously with or without kids) it would eliminate animosity, anger and yes even road rage!
Wouldn’t it be great to take that a few steps further and the whole polite thing led to world peace…wow.

Furthermore, find out what you are passionate about helping and get involved. Call up that particular charitable organization and see if they need volunteers. I know we are always looking for help as we sponsor so may events. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone or pop in to see your organization of choice, trust me they are always receptive to kind good hearted people that want to help.

Start today. Say thank you, hold a door open, even call that friend you had an argument with, you know that argument you can’t even remember what it was about!
You see this is a domino effect, giving to charity or to each other will become a normal way of life.
Philanthropy journal quotes “ about one in 10 respondents say they are volunteering more because of the deteriorating economy” go to www.philanthropyjournal.org/news/donors-split-2009-giving for the full and interesting article.

You see, we are all Rockstars,Oprahs and Bill Gates, if we work together and with the power the social media has today, all our small differences make a huge change.
I get really excited when I see the growth movement on twitter.
The movement for social change.
We are all trying to do our bit, how cool is that!

For more information about Better Life or to volunteer with us please visit our website www.betterlifebrands.com

Over 20 million people participated in 1970, and now Earth Day is celebrated every year  by more than 500 million people and governments in 175 countries.

From my twittering, you can probably guess we are in Cabo right now and I have to say, I am experiencing a pretty awesome “Earth Week”It all started with the pod of whales right in front of our friends condo.(thanks to @fishsaucekim for your generosity) These are the most elegant giants I have ever witnessed, they seemed to play for almost 15 mins jumping in and out of the ocean, aware of no one around them.

Our next experience was one I have never seen in my life, even when I worked with the cruise lines. Jumping Manta Rays, 2 feet from the shoreline. My husband and I sat on the quiet beach, sun shining, drinking a Corona of course, watching for over an hour the endless Manta Rays jumping in schools of ten or more. Wow. They would jump 2 ft up in the air and come crashing down to a sound that resembled one of a belly flop! Always hovering around were the local pelicans, majestic looking with their amazing beaks, but very endearing all at the same time.

Sadly, with all this amazing sightseeing amongst the natural beauty of the shoreline is the disturbing  amount of garbage lying all around Mexico. What a shame, Mexico is an amazing place of natural beauty and a wonder to be seen, but the effort of the people, (and I mean the leadership of the people) are not making the effort to keep their country free of litter. What is the stance of the Mexican government on recycling? Are they worried about the effects of the garbage on the planet? It makes me feel good to realize the raised awareness most of us have about looking after the  environment, but it makes me realize we have a long road to travel to collectively bring the world together so we all look after our planet.

Happy 39th birthday Earth Day, you deserve a great day of celebration and appreciation (oh and a piece of Chocolate cake, if anyone has any?)

So much has happened in the last couple of weeks.
We had a riot on the local TV show, Urban Rush. Once I upload the DVD, I will add it to the site. They do such a great job, the hosts Michael Eckford and Fiona Forbes, made us feel very welcome. What a fantastic way to showcase local companies. Thanks guys!

We also had our Vote for your cause contest close. As you are probably aware, we had over 16,000 uniques in 49 countries! wow.
The winner of the contest was the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. A grand prize of $5,000.00 was donated to them from our Give a Better Life Foundation.
Thanks to strutta.com and the crew Jordan Behan, Maura Rogers and Ross Howard Jones who created this successful contest for us. We are excited to be launching our next one “vote for your GREEN contest, coming soon.

Then of course we had the party at the Ocean Club in West Vancouver. It was a lovely night of celebration.
Go to our site www.betterlifebrands.com/party to see all the pictures.

We are doing a Costco road show this week, come and see us at the Willingdon location

Stop, open our eyes.

Stop, breathe.

Stop and appreciate the people who care and love us daily.

A good friend of mine introduced me to a song last night, it reminds us all to live in the now. Yes I truly believe we have to have dreams, it’s healthy to have passions and drive, but we also need to enjoy today.

Stop right now and think about today. Think about all you have achieved and those who helped you along the way.

Today, I want to thank all the people in my life. Thank you for your guidance and friendship, knowledge and trust. 

“My Better Life is knowing I already have one”