In talking to my friends I have realized that no one is helping them choose the right college for their child. Even those in public schools with “guidence counselors” aren’t getting the support and information they need to make one of the most important and expensive decisions in their lives so far.

I have been doing some research and I have found some interesting online resources. Over the next few months I will be sharing them with you. I have not received anything from these sites though some of them have asked me to talk about them on my blog.  Some of these sites may see each other as a “competitor” but every family has different needs and different questions about preparing for and choosing a college. I am doing this as a service to you, my readers.

I hope you will find this series of articles helpful and please feel free to share them with your friends via Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, StumbleUpon, Propeller, Digg and any other way you like to share great information.

The post Preparing for College appeared first on The Mom Maven.

As parents we can have many setbacks. Our setbacks come in various forms. Sometimes our setbacks are due to our own choices and failures. Other times it is a health issue, or a job or financial problem that causes the setback. Our children can also be the source of those setbacks with behavioral issues, educational problems or illness being the cause. Whatever the cause of our setback, we need to persevere, move forward and past the problem and push into our new reality.

In the article by Mr. Gonzalez he listed 5 principles to follow to break through the set back and find success.

1. Go all the way-don’t quit
2. Create a “Dream Team”- surround yourself with encouraging people
3. Give yourself a Pep Talk-“I CAN do this”
4. Learn from Your Mistakes-learning is growing
5. Recover Quickly-When life knocks you down, get up and take immediate action

We need to apply these principles to all areas of our lives, and teach them to our children so that they too can quickly rebound from the inevitable setbacks that they will face in their lives.

The post Rebounding from Setbacks appeared first on The Mom Maven.

There are two ways to enter, and you can enter once using each method for a total of two chances to win:

1. Leave a comment in this post telling me what you will do with your poster printing prize.
2. Write a post about the contest on your blog. Your post must include a link back to this post- http://themommaven.com/2009/05/win-a-16×20-poster-printwin-a-16×20-poster-print/, as well as one to the sponsor – http://www.uprinting.com/Poster-printing.html. (Leave a comment here with a link to your post)

The winner will be chosen Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 10:00am. The winner will receive the opportunity to print a poster for free using the sponsor’s website. Good Luck! Shipping and handling is free for the U.S. and Canada only. Winners from other countries will still receive a free print, but will be responsible for the shipping charges to their location.

The post Win a 16×20 Poster Print appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Sarah Symons is the co-founder and Executive Director of The Emancipation Network, a social purpose non-profit business fighting human trafficking through the import and sale of handicraft products made by survivors and people at high risk for being sold into slavery, offering economic empowerment, and the hope of a future to survivors. Along with her husband John Berger, Symons started the organization with her own money and the contributions of a few concerned friends.

Prior to starting T.E.N., Symons worked both in the nonprofit and business worlds. From 1990-1994, she served as Program Director and Artist in Residence for Creative Arts Workshops, a program serving homeless kids in New York City. In this capacity, Symons provided direct services to youth, managed volunteers, planned and implemented large-scale art projects, and launched a teen program. From 1994 to the present, she has worked as a composer of TV music, and as a recording artist. She was also the founder and President of Endurance Music, a source music company and recording studio. Symons’ music is frequently heard on national network TV, and in regional radio advertising.

Symons found out about the issue of modern day slavery at a film festival, where one of her compositions was featured in a film.

This film showed people who were standing up against slavery, and putting their lives on the line to fight it – with limited resources, with emotional and physical scars from years of abuse.

“If they could do it, I felt that I had to find a way to support them. With all the resources we have in the US, surely there was something we could do to help break the chain of slavery. I met my husband John for lunch later that day, and couldn’t wait to tell him. “I just saw a film that is going to change my life!” I guess I should have said ‘our lives’ because as it turned out, fighting slavery has become a family business.” from madebysurvivors.com

John Berger is the co-founder and CEO of TEN. He brings 18 years of Wall Street business experience to the organization, having worked as an investment banker and V.P. of institutional equity sales at Prudential Securities, Schwab Investments, Smith Barney and BB&T. Berger specialized in capital markets and is an expert in evaluating companies by analyzing business strategy, management, financial structure, industry dynamics, technology and competitive position in a variety of industries.

From 1996 to 1998, he served as a Board Director and Treasurer at Creative Arts Workshops for Kids, a program serving homeless kids in New York City. At T.E.N., he specializes on marketing, sales, operations, logistics, and business development for NGO partners.

Facts on Human Trafficking

* Every 10 minutes, a woman or child is trafficked into the United States for forced labor. Source: CAST (Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking)
* In the case of trafficking for sexual exploitation, girls often have their virginity sold first, followed by multiple rapes often leading to HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Source: UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)

* The children are often “sold” by unsuspecting parents who believe their children are going to be looked after, learn a trade or be educated. Source: UNICEF

* Victims of trafficking are subject to gross human rights violations including rape, torture, beatings, starvation, dehumanization, and threats of murdering family members. Source: UNODC

* After adjusting for inflation, a slave sold in 1850, would now roughly cost $30,000 to $40,000. Today you can go to Haiti and buy a 9-year-old girl as a sex slave for $50. Source: Benjamin Skinner, “A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery.

* The total market value of illicit human trafficking at $32 billion-about $10 billion is derived from the initial “sale” of individuals, with the remainder representing the estimated profits from the activities or goods produced by the victims. Source: UNODC

* A recent CIA report estimated that between 45,000 to 50,000 women and children are brought to the United States every year under false pretenses and are forced to work as prostitutes, abused laborers or servants.

* Children are trafficked to work in sweatshops as bonded labor and men work illegally in the “three D-jobs” – dirty, difficult and dangerous.

I know I want to do what I can to get involved in helping to help the victims of human trafficking. One way we can all help is by shopping at the TEN store. They have may beautiful and affordable handmade items that would make thoughtful gifts. Today I am giving away one of my favorite items. I really wish I had one of these for my self. It is a beautiful, striped handmade paper journal. Handmade from renewable paper, this vivid 5″ x 7″ journal has a wooden cover and a button clasp. Made by Survivors in Nepal.
How to Enter: Visit the TEN Store, look around and leave me a comment telling me what item you would like to give as a gift any why.

Bonus Entries:Leave a seperate comment for each one you complete.

*5 bonus entries for making a purchase from the TEN Store

*5 bonus entries for making a donation to TEN via JustGive.org

*3 bonus entries for blogging about TEN and the plight of human trafficking

*Tweet this “@Mommaven is hosting a giveaway to raise awareness about the plight of Human Trafficking I entered you can too http://bit.ly/jpr5l”

This giveaway is open to US residents only and the winner will be chosen May 14th at 8:00pm. Good Luck!

The post Day 9 of 10 Days of Celebrating Mom-Giveaway for the Journaling Mom appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Slavery is not legal anywhere in the world today. No where is it ok to own another human being. Modern day slavery a.k.a. human trafficking, is the 2nd largest criminal industry worldwide. There are an estimated 27 million victims of slavery on earth today. Of that 27 million, 70% are female and 50% are minors.

Human trafficking happens all over the world, even here in the United States. An estimated 15,000-18,000 people are trafficked into the U.S. annually. In the U.S. these slaves are used as domestic and field workers  or sold into the sex trade.

Sex slavery is big business. Worldwide it generates an estimated $7 billion annually. Destitute families around the world sell their children for as little as $150. The traffickers can turn around and sell the children to a brothel for $1000.

There are many organizations worldwide doing what they can to educate parents and rescue victims. One such agency is The Emancipation Network or TEN. They help rescued survivors rebuild their lives by education, training in handicrafts to create sustainable income, and reintegrating them into society. TEN offers shelters, healthcare and legal aid to survivors. Most victims who were sold or abducted into slavery cannot return to their family’s. When they are ready to move out and start fresh, TEN offers rent support, medical care and continuing education.

TEN helps prevent trafficking by working in high risk communities to train adults and create sustainable income. Often as little as $100 a year in addition income will allow a family to not need to sell a child into slavery!

What can you do to help?

• You can purchase the beautiful handmade products at Made by Survivors.
• You can host a home party or community awareness event. http://madebysurvivors.com/HowYouCanHelp
• Donate to The Emancipation Network via Just Give

Today’s giveaway is for a beautiful Eco-Chic Wood Handled Tote Bag in Blue and White

Ultra-green product!  This unique wood-handled purse from our Eco-chic collection measures 15″ x 15″ and is made from reclaimed garbage – plastic shopping bags that were littering the landscape of Ahmedabad India.  The bags have been collected, washed and woven on a loom to create the ultimate bag and matching small case, laptop case, and camera case. The bag sells for $24 at Made by Survivors.

How to Enter

Mandatory entry: Visit The Emancipation Network and learn more about the plight of human trafficking. Then come back here and leave me a comment about something you learned about this international crisis.

Bonus entries: You may chose to complete any or all of these after completing the mandatory entry. Leave a comment for each one you complete.

• 5 entries for making a purchase from the Made by Survivors store.
• Fave this blog on Technorati-click on the button in my sidebar
• Subscribe to my RSS feed
• Tweet this on Twitter “@MomMaven is hosting a giveaway to support the survivors of Human Trafficking. I entered, you can too! http://tinyurl.com/dm8suz” leave the URL of the tweet in your comment-you may do this 1X a day.

This contest is open to US residents only and the winner will be chosen by Random.org on May 9th at 5pm.

The post Day 2 of 10 Days of Celebrating Mom-Giveaway to Support the Survivor Mom appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Sometimes as parents, we aren’t sure if our child is being bullied or if it is just kids being kids. A basic definition of bullying states, “Bullying is the use of one’s strength or status to intimidate, injure or humiliate another person of lesser status.” Bullying falls into three categories of behaviors; physical, verbal and social. Physical bullying includes hitting, kicking, any activity that is a physical assault or the threat of physical violence. Verbal bullying includes, name calling, insulting, or teasing. Social bullying includes peer rejection, exclusion to isolate or humiliate the victim, gossiping about the victim, and making prejudice comments. A bully’s acts are usually intentional and often repeated.

Who bullies? People who bully often have domineering and controlling personalities. They are quick to anger and usually have low self-esteem. Both boys and girls can be bullies. People who bully often have a need to dominate another person.

Continued bullying can have long-term effects on both the bully and the victim. 60% of young men who were bullies in middle school had at least one criminal conviction by the age of 24. We must put and end to this trend. Children who are victims of bullying may see their grades slack off, begin self-injurious behavior and even commit suicide. On any given school day in the United States 160,000 children stay home from school because they fear bullies.

Later in this series we will discuss a proactive approach to bullying, what to do if your child is being bullied, and what to do if your child is a bully. This is a serious topic and it needs to be addressed. I want to thank @polkadotpatch on twitter for suggesting I write about bullying.

The post What is Bullying? appeared first on The Mom Maven.