http://ideablob.com/ideas/finalists/recent/rss Recent ideas submitted to ideablob.com Weddings are a $72 billion annual business in the U.S., with $19 billion spent on gifts selected primarily by the bride. But what about the groom? To cater to this previously untapped market, TheManRegistry.com is the first wedding registry and informational resource designed specifically for men. The centerpiece of TheManRegistry.com is a gift registry featuring hundreds of gifts geared toward men, including electronics, tools, grill accessories, bar supplies and groomsmen gifts. The content portion of the site educates men about everything they want and need to know about weddings but are afraid to ask. <br><a href="http://www.themanregistry.com/">The Man Registry</a> Fri, 08 Aug 2008 02:21:53 -0600 Internet/E-commerce http://ideablob.com/ideas/2941-Gift-Registry-Resources-For-G The Critical Educator Network, creates and facilitates voluntary, self-directed, and democratic forums to empower educators to help their students think critically. In these forums, educators: - Reflect on their practice - Share knowledge - Model the free exchange of ideas In these forums, educators will get resources to support their self-directed professional development. They will get: - Educational theory texts - Videos of master educators - Unit ideas - Guest speakers Participation in our forums gives educators the space and resources to engage in self-directed development. <a href="http://www.criticaleducatornetwork.org/">Click here to check out our website</a> Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:17:42 -0600 Education http://ideablob.com/ideas/2935--Invest-in-educators-The-Cr Many of the neighborhoods that most desperately need revitalization are also perfect candidates for affordable housing. These are neighborhoods often fraught with poverty and crime. There are many worthy organizations focusing on community renewal; however, most are set up to only address one aspect of the many issues in a community. TAN will bring together multiple resources to create transformation from the inside out. We will connect residents and the community with a network of organizations to meet their needs, working with them and governments to enhance the community. We'll screen and bring investors to create socially conscious and sustainable transformation. Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:38:30 -0600 Non-Profit http://ideablob.com/ideas/2927-Transform-a-Neighborhood-TAN- Please help save the arts. This program will provide filmmakers, artists and students with the tools and opportunities to fund their works, create jobs, and green the earth. POTA will match artists in need of funding with patrons who support projects that interest them. Unlike traditional grants, where multiple applicants are competing for the same small number of grants, POTA’s business model can facilitate an extremely large number of artists simultaneously. Additionally, POTA will provide resources for creating "greener art" where participants use recycled & re-used materials, recycle their disposables, conserve resources, and purchase products consciously & locally. Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:21:18 -0600 Arts & Entertainment http://ideablob.com/ideas/2890-PatronOfTheArts-Sponsor-a-Film Children in low-income communities don't enjoy the range of educational opportunities they deserve. Meanwhile, today's philanthropists want to exercise their creativity, not just their checkbooks. In response, The Generation Project allows donors to create personalized gifts for high-need students. Donors' gifts are shaped by their own passions: A musician might give a school drum sets, a writer might sponsor a poetry contest, a cancer survivor might sponsor hospital internships for students interested in medicine. Donors dramatically and immediately expand opportunities available to high-need students. Long term, donors build meaningful and lasting relationships in low-income communities. Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:33:18 -0600 Non-Profit http://ideablob.com/ideas/2889-Share-YOUR-passion-with-kids-T www.laramiller.net http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Lara+Miller&search_type=&aq=f Animated by the human form, the line can be twisted, wrapped, and most distinguishably flipped upside down to reveal a whole new garment. I aspire to preserve and respect our earth in every way that I can. I see my company as a way to support my community by using organic materials and manufacturing locally to sustain my industry in Chicago. Hand-picked by Mayor Daley, I am a committee chair on the Mayor's Fashion Council. Selling internationally with an extensive press list, including Sundance,CBS,elle.com,Lucky and many others. I am on the verge of being profitable. Please help me get there. Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:46:19 -0600 Manufacturing & Production http://ideablob.com/ideas/2886-Lara-Miller-Wear-It-Your-Way-Su The documentary At Your Cervix explores the connection between the way medical and nursing students are taught pelvic exams and the reality that most women experience them as painful and disempowering. The film breaks the silence around unethical methods used by medical and nursing schools to teach students how to perform pelvic exams; the most egregious being on unconsenting, anesthetized women. The film highlights the Gynecological Teaching Associates, women who teach exams using their own bodies. Help us start a movement to end the exploitation of vulnerable patients, to demand transparency in medical education and to improve painful exams. See our trailer: www.atyourcervixmovie.com. Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:50:00 -0600 Health and Wellness http://ideablob.com/ideas/2882-At-Your-Cervix-make-pelvic-exa Fotos For Humanity not only connects photographers with community groups, but also helps groups with fundraising and self-promotion. Our photo sales have helped buy beads and feathers for Mardi Gras Indian tribes and we created a slide show for a health clinic's website. We are establishing a Board of prominent local leaders and educators and hope to create a foundation for small grants. We also plan to raise revenue by offering photo workshops that provide a unique, personal and immersive cultural experience. We most urgently need physical space for offices, meeting room, photo library, classes & workshops.<br><br>fotosforhumanity.blogspot.com Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:55:34 -0600 Non-Profit http://ideablob.com/ideas/2850-Fotos-For-Humanity-Sharing-Pi Do you have a garage, basement, closet, or storage that's full of stuff? Things that you don't use any more or things you think you would need but never did? Yeah we all do! Now you can make those "junk" useful by giving them to people who can use them now. A lot of times we buy something that we get to use maybe once, twice, or just a few times. Why not get it for free from someone who has it but doesn't need it anymore? And, after you use it, pass it on to another person who needs it? Let's all try to practice the art of reduce, reuse and recycle to keep this planet healthy for generations to come!! Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:37:49 -0600 Internet/E-commerce http://ideablob.com/ideas/2781-Reduce-Reuse-Recycle-Mess The junk food and empty calories sold in vending machines in schools fail our children. It is difficult to find healthy, organic alternatives to be served. Remembering back as a kid I often did not want the lunch that was served but there was no other option than chips and a candy bar. Have you ever been in a airport or hospital and you want a piece of fruit or healthy snack and all that is available is something that may require Pepto Bismol? I would love for kids to have healthy alternatives in our schools and the rest of us to have choices as well. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:36:23 -0600 Health and Wellness http://ideablob.com/ideas/2776-Organic-Food-Vending-machines-f Community Supported Publishing (CSP) draws on the success of the Community Support Agriculture (CSA) model in which people help farmers ensure their sustainability (ecologically and financially) by pledging financial support in advance. Similarly, people join the South End Press CSP program to help ensure our ability to produce books in a sustainable manner, free from editorial control, and to reduce our reliance on the market and are rewarded with a share of the harvest (books). <br>South End Press is the nation's only unapologetically radical, feminist, mission-driven, and majority women of color publishing collective. <br>http://www.southendpress.org/2006/items/80129 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:24:43 -0600 Non-Profit http://ideablob.com/ideas/2735-Community-Supported-Publishing- 1. So how do we raise funds and donate the funds to the charities? Simple, we have anyone and everyone who's a musician or photographer submit there creative work.<br/><br/> 2. We will have a panel of judges to pick out the top 100 photos and hopefully we can find a framing company that can frame the pictures for us at a very good rate and sell the photos through the site. For onetune everyone's music would be accepted as long as the submitter owns all creative rights to the songs.<br/><br/> 3. Once a photo/song has been sold through the website, you will be able to select which charity to donate to during check out process. <br/> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjEkhMQMsUM Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:33:54 -0600 Non-Profit http://ideablob.com/ideas/2710-Raising-Money-for-Charities-Thr My plan is to develop a truly comprehensive "patient driven" database, to seek out and promote alternative cancer treatments that are safe & effective. My soulmate Audrey died of breast cancer in 2007. Watching the horribly inflexible way the medical establishment approached her treatment led me to dedicate my life to finding a better way. Her doctors spent thousands of dollars every week on chemotherapy, and even more on radiation treatment, yet they never even mentioned things like a healthy diet, or studies showing that both sunlight and walking clearly increase survival rates. This must change! The truth about other avenues to beating cancer must be explored and made widely known. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:58:48 -0600 Health and Wellness http://ideablob.com/ideas/2684-Beat-Cancer- Evlove Intimates is luxury custom lingerie line that allows women the exclusive opportunity to design their own lingerie. We provide 10 styles for her to choose from, a selection of super-soft, luxurious fabrics and an array of exquisite trimmings that will inspire her to create pieces that are unique to her personal style. Once she makes her final selections, her pieces are hand-cut and sewn here in Chicago and sent out for delivery in just 3 weeks. Evlove has been sharing custom lingerie with women through private lingerie parties (think bachelorette parties, bridal showers, girls nights, birthdays) and through our online design studio http://www.evloveintimates.com/designstudio.aspx. Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:43:45 -0600 Retail http://ideablob.com/ideas/2606-Design-Your-Own-Lingerie-with-E I want to take an already successful idea and make it better. Troglodytes are 14" stuffed dolls that have, since their debut 3 years ago in the designer toy world, enjoyed a broad appeal among children and adults. They are endearingly quirky, and spirited; deliciously designed combining brilliant colors and textures into a robustly dimensional form and exceptionally well made. Each one constructed by hand by artist JIll Penney. Their striped horns are hand painted, their eyes are hand colored and their non-skid feet bottoms are hand dyed. Because of the artist's commitment to handmade quality they have only only been available on a very limited scale. Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:40:18 -0600 Arts & Entertainment http://ideablob.com/ideas/2538-organic-fairtrade-troglodyte-do Elmidae is an eco minded woman owned clothing company. We make a line of women’s clothing using largely sustainable and organic fabrics, as well as hand printed textiles using strictly non-toxic water based inks. Every stitch on every garment is lovingly produced in the United States by woman owned factories at honest wages. Celebrating the artistry and intellect of garment making we offer a line that is a true departure from mass-produced clothing. At Elmidae we believe that clothing needs to be more than a simple garment - that it should have a point of view and something to say beyond trend. Check out some of our collections: www.abigail-glaum-lathbury.com Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:16:56 -0600 Green Products & Services http://ideablob.com/ideas/2496-Elmidae-an-eco-friendly-intell Underinvestment in science education, along with poverty, scarce community resources, and light-pollution, have made the wonders of the night sky off limits for children growing up in high-poverty, urban communities. Project Epiphany seeks to address this injustice by providing transformative science learning through authentic, hands-on activities and astronomy field experiences. A unique collaborative of local after-school programs, science educators, and astronomers, will equip our young astronomers with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to explore lunar, solar, planetary, and deep space phenomena that are truly out of this world. Sun, 08 Jun 2008 23:22:34 -0600 Education http://ideablob.com/ideas/2485-Project-Epiphany-Transformativ Very few children’s books represent breastfeeding as a normal part of the life of a child. In contrast, hundreds of books portray infants, toddlers, and even baby animals holding bottles. Many publishers forbid illustrators from depicting breastfeeding at all! Only three books discuss nursing by toddlers. Many families would like to own a book portraying breastfeeding as a normal, healthy, and expected part of the life of a child. We will produce a children’s book illustrated with photos of children doing normal kid stuff. Each picture will include a baby or toddler at the breast, emphasizing that breastfeeding is just a part of what we do. Proceeds will benefit LLL of Seattle Toddler group. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:01:47 -0600 Non-Profit http://ideablob.com/ideas/2442-Children-s-book-depicting-breas Developing nations focus on access to education; quality then takes the backburner. In Nigeria, most government primary schools are taught by teachers with 8th grade educations. The result? On the national exam, 25% pass literacy, 35% math; only 50% go on to secondary school. Conventionally trained teachers are under-skilled & under-supported. Lead Now Fellows offers a practical solution. LNF will recruit from the overpopulation of college graduates the most talented to be trained to teach effectively in primary schools. They’ll also receive on-going professional development and attractive, sustainable incentives to augment their salaries like cell phones and housing & transport subsidies. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:50:04 -0600 Education http://ideablob.com/ideas/2441-Meaningful-Education-in-Africa- Low reading achievement and disinterest in reading plague low-income schools. Reversing this trend is essential but complicated by an education system where reading is a chore. Girl Talk, a unique solution, will create a network of book clubs for at-risk adolescent girls to empower them, through the discussion of literature, to become leaders in their communities while also increasing their reading and critical thinking skills. Girl Talk will allow girls to develop personal libraries and reframe their reading outlook. Through this replicable approach, participants will use literature to develop the academic skills for success AND the personal skills to impact themselves and others. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 08:23:55 -0600 Education http://ideablob.com/ideas/2431-Girl-Talk-Read-to-Achieve Help save the arts! This free program would give Filmmakers and Artists the skills, tools and opportunities to fund their projects. We are creating a program to match Filmmakers and Artists in need of funding with Patrons who support projects that interest them. Patrons will be given the opportunity to directly "sponsor Filmmakers and Artists" through tax-deductible contributions, large and small. Unlike traditional grants, where multiple applicants are competing for the same (small number of) grants, POTA’s business model can facilitate a potentially unlimited number of Artists, provided the Artists qualify for the program's, simply by meeting our non-profit program criteria & mission. Sat, 31 May 2008 22:50:40 -0600 Arts & Entertainment http://ideablob.com/ideas/2412-PatronOfTheArts-Save-the-Arts- Starting Artists, a grassroots nonprofit located in Brooklyn, NY, benefits under-served youth through training in the arts and entrepreneurship. SA's free after-school classes in the media arts and business prepare youth to create arts-based enterprises. SA believes that children are our present and gives teenagers the tools to be successful in the creative industries and beyond. In an economy that is increasingly based on the next big idea or innovation, all young people need to be prepared with the creative skills and cultural capital to compete at a level playing field. SA's programs address the lack of school-based structured arts programs while providing career training to needy youth. Thu, 22 May 2008 10:03:45 -0600 Education http://ideablob.com/ideas/2351-Starting-Artists-Get-inspired- Design and draft a business plan for a permanent indoor/outdoor structure for the <a href="http://www.lanecountyfarmersmarket.com/">Lane County Farmers’ Market</a>. The market can trace it’s beginnings back to 1915, and today is comprised of nearly 160 growers and producers. A permanent location would allow the Market to operate year-round to stabilize and increase its customer base. The ideal site will include a community kitchen, open market hall for year round indoor sales, outdoor vendor area, <a href="http://www.farmersdiner.com">Farmers Diner</a> , offices for the Farmer's Market and other local food and agriculture organizations, and leaseable office space. Thu, 15 May 2008 00:09:48 -0600 Agriculture http://ideablob.com/ideas/2281-Year-Round-Home-for-the-Lane-Co Every artist has the same problem of obtaining capital for their next recording. Tune Your World provides the solution of applying micro-financing to the music industry. Our groundbreaking approach is the creation of peer-to-peer micro-financing of new music projects - enabling fans to deliver start-up capital to aspiring musicians from developing countries. Tune Your World operates on a people-to-people model. Musicians obtain funding for new recordings directly from their fans without giving up ownership or control. Our mission is to revitalize the music industry in places where the music industry has never worked very well. <a href="http://www.tuneyourworld.com">www.tuneyourworld.com</a> Tue, 13 May 2008 13:26:06 -0600 Arts & Entertainment http://ideablob.com/ideas/2252-Tune-Your-World-Music-Micro Every child counts,and the 6 million+ American kids with special needs deserve to get help and feel and look good too!For decades,families,schools,and pediatric therapists have been forced to pay high prices and tolerate uneven product quality since they are a captive audience in a small marketplace.Fun and Function is demonstrating a whole new way of doing business,by offering AFFORDABLE and durable therapeutic toys, educational resources and clothing to facilitate each child's development. Our therapists work with designers and children to create products that meet the distinctive needs of our customers.And,we unite communities with information-sharing on blogs,e-newsletter and research Thu, 08 May 2008 21:44:39 -0600 Education http://ideablob.com/ideas/2224-FunandFunction-com-Kids-With-Sp