We like to pay it forward so encourage you to visit the sites of our friends! They would truly appreciate your learning about them and patronizing their businesses, watching their films, enjoying their music and attending their events. We are in the process of building this page so check back frequently for more great links to other websites and,  to our articles about many of them (embedded in each title).

Thank you on their behalf!

Sustainable/Green Links:

DC Central Kitchen is a non-profit organization founded in 1989 by Robert Eggers in Washington, D.C. It is largely modeled after New York's City Harvest, the Kitchen gathers surplus food from surrounding restaurants and hotels and uses it to feed many of the city's hungry. The key difference between the two is the extra step the Kitchen takes in fighting hunger: to transform that surplus into new meals, the Kitchen trains the area's homeless, ex-convicts and recovering addicts in food service and preparation, giving them new skills that could help them build culinary careers. www.dccentralkitchen.org

Green Maven is green search engine that is an easier way to find companies and individuals that are working to build a more sustainable, just world. www.greenmaven.com

Twisted Limb is a carbon-neutral production art studio nestled in the wooded countryside of South Central Indiana. They sustainably create colorful handmade 100% recycled paper using old colored office paper and grocery bags, recycled water, and inclusions of flowers, wildflower seeds, grass from our field and ferns from our woods. They creatively assemble our handmade papers into recycled wedding invitations, business promotional items, holiday greeting cards, birth announcements, shower invitations, thank-you notes, programs, guest books, place cards, menus and favors. www.twistedlimbpapaer.com

Numi Organic Tea is the purest tea on the planet. It has 100% real ingredients, is premium full-leaf tea, certified organic, fair trade certifies, eco-friendly, and has a natural authentic taste. Numi's vision is to inspire well-being of mind, body and spirit through the simple art of tea. Numi elevates the tea experience through quality, creativity, and authenticity. Conscientious of the impact of their actions, we aspire to be environmentally responsible and globally sustainable by using recyclable and biodegradable packaging and sustainable bamboo in our merchandising. www.numitea.com

Green Bride Guide is to help eco-minded couples generate ideas and navigate through the planning process. Here you can see pictures and stories from real green weddings, get wedding planning advice, and find updated links to green wedding products and services. Part of their mission is to create a place for like-minded couples gather and share stories, tips and experiences with one another. Help make this resource better by suggesting your favorite green products, by reviewing the goods and services already included on this site, and by contributing pictures and stories from your own event. http://www.greenbrideguide.com/

Erinn Williams is not just a musician but an entrepreneur and teacher of many things holistic. She interprets the world in which she lives into the sheer poetry that becomes her songs. Williams combines the beauty she finds in the simplest things in the world into not only her music but the line of raw food chocolates she creates by hand, the raw foods/vegan lifestyle consulting she provides and the yoga and Pilates classes she instructs. http://www.erinnwilliams.com/

Huggy Sluggys founded by Alyson Hawkins and Susie Smith began sewing soft toys out of organic materials for Alyson's newborn baby boy. From there, the idea of Huggy Sluggy's was born. The two mothers wanted to develop a product made in the USA to teach their children, and all children, how to make the world a better place. Hawkins, co-founder and a mom explains, “We realized there was nothing out there teaching children about the environment. www.huggysluggys.com

Liz Lovely Cookies founded by Liz and Dan Holtz t o bring you cookies with a higher purpose. They call it Baking a Difference™. Gourmet cookies with organic & fair trade ingredients from our 100% vegan cookie bakery in the Green Mountains of Vermont. They now also offer a gluten-free line. Unlike most natural food companies these days, we bake everything in our own bakery and ship it directly to people and stores all over the country. www.lizlovely.com

ZIA & TIA, Pure Luxury Organic Ware is a Responsible Luxury company creating Organic handmade sustainable heirloom products for babies, children & your home. They create beautiful Organic handmade goods, that don’t cost the earth and support China orphaned children have the possibility of a better future through a percentage of our profits. We retail Organic, Fair trade and green products choosing manufacturers who are committed to creating a more sustainable world. And of course, retail our certified organic baked goods including "Princess Zia Cakes!" www.ziaandtia.com

The Save Your World Project: In 2006, a group of family and friends joined together to create. The mission of this organization is to provide financial support for and create public awareness around conserving our world’s natural resources. By purchasing there products you are contributing to the Save Your World project, a partnership with Conservation International and the Government of Guyana Forestry Commission. The project secures rainforest habitat that would have been leased by mining or logging companies. Every purchase you make helps protect one whole acre of dwindling habitat, thus keeping it in its pristine condition. https://store.saveyourworld.com/

The Green Microgym, a gym that runs on energy from everyday motion. Adam Boesel, the founder, calls a workout at GMG an “experiential education in energy.” The lights and fans are controlled by the members, and independently wired so that if only one person is working out, one light can be used, and one fan can run if needed. The biggest lure of GMG is that this gym is convenient and has an intimate feel, and in nearly every way is opposite from its corporate counterparts. http://thegreenmicrogym.com/

B Corporation is a new type of corporation which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.  B Corporations are unlike traditional responsible businesses because they: (a) Meet comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards, (b) Institutionalize stakeholder interests, and (c) Build collective voice through the power of a unifying brand. http://www.bcorporation.net/

Brooklyn-based Bahar Shahpar is a self-taught designer with a diverse creative background in multimedia event production, fashion, and publishing. In 2005, she debuted her first womens wear line, agricult. For Spring/Summer 2007, Bahar launched her eponymous label, focusing on a more modern, less structured form. She was featured as part of Domino magazine’s 2007 Green List and has been profiled in Lucky, NYLON, ELLE, and WWD. http://baharshahpar.com/current/

Woodshanti Co-Op is a worker-owned cooperative building furniture and cabinetry using responsibly harvested lumber and natural finishes. Founded in 1997 in San Francisco's Bayview district, Woodshanti is a synthesis of fine craftsmanship, artistic creativity, environmental activism, and economic stability. www.woodshanti.com

Arts & Entertainment:

Ode Magazine is a print and online publication about positive news, about the people and ideas that are changing our world for the better. The articles in Ode are a combination of heartwarming and informative. They shed light on global efforts to make life on planet Earth, and planet Earth herself, better for all. They list efforts events and the shining faces of happy people who give something back in both big and small ways. They know that it's not the size, but the effort that impacts us all. www.odemagazine.com

Joshua Stedman is much more than a singer on a stage with a guitar—he owns a sort of talent that is given and then explicitly honed. It’s a passion...one that is heard in the lyrics he writes and the joy in his face as he seduces the crowd. You will hear hints of Sting, Jamiroquai and Stevie Wonder in his vocals. His sound is a modern fusion of these artists with his own twist: The twist being his ability to tell you a story and draw you in with each note. www.joshuastedmn.com

Sophie Kinsella is the bestselling author of Confessions of a Shopaholic. Her new book is entitled Twenties Girl.

A newcomer to the film festival arena this year is Sabrina Lee, who has produced a provocative, yet, touching documentary called, “Where You From”, which focuses on 3 mc’s from the unlikeliest of places –following their passion and pursing their dreams. Along the way we discover how hip hop is central to their conflicts, and watch as they express themselves through words, raps & rhymes creatively as the endure their victories, defeats, addictions and hardships of small town life.

Oilspill dotcom parallels the infamous McDonald’s libel case of the 1990’s. Alon Shalev’s novel adds the twist of a budding romance and an oil conglomerate juggernaut, but the similarities are woven throughout the narrative. Dubbed a David vs. Goliath trial, the British case featured a postman and gardener fiercely defending their freedom of speech against the corporation giant.  The marathon case became the longest trial in British history.  www.alonshavev.com

San Francisco Frozen Film Festival Held annually during the second weekend in July and brings independent filmmakers and musicians to the San Francisco Bay Area from around the globe! Included in the festival are four nights of short films, animation, global features, long and short documentaries, skate films, music documentaries, and music videos. www.frozenfilmfestival.com

Still Green written by Georgia Menides, tells the story of a group of high school graduates who rent a beach house before going off to college.  Together, the friends learn to cope with death, inner demons, and (of course) love.  Each character has his or her own story that, in the end, brings him or her closer to the other characters in unique ways. www.stillgreenmovie.com

Joe Monks is a writer who also doubles as the world’s first ever, blind film director. His first novel, Torn to Pieces is currently being reviewed and he hopes that a publisher will pick it up later this year. The Bunker, his first feature film (under his production company, Sight Unseen Productions), is just about finished. www.joemonks.com

Other Friends:

The idea for Business Helping Business came about in an early morning dream for Stephanie Stewart—she happened upon a thought for a simple service that helps businesses, help other businesses. She figured there were other business owners out there that needed, or had the means, to help one another out.  This was my answer to that problem. www.businesshelpingbusiness.com

A new book available entitled Nearly Free IT, authored by Lou Rosas-Guyon, an IT veteran who authored the book with small to medium sized businesses, with small to medium budgets, in mind. Its focus is on important and relevant information for any business owner or entrepreneur who utilized software and technology to power their company and employees. www.NearlyFreeIT.com

Fly-Post is a community based website that allows users to freely post, view, rate and share promotional flyers, as well as rank them according to their aesthetic or artistic sensibilities. We are the first online portal where users can literally create a virtual version of the local telephone pole or coffee shop bulletin board to find out what’s happening in the coming days or weeks. www.fly-post.com

Useful Links:

Celiacs Sprue is an intestinal/autoimmune disease. It is often the culprit of food related allergies, skin and weight issues. Celiacs is the small intestine’s inability to digest gluten, or the proteins (Gliadin), in certain grains—specifically wheat, barley, oat and rye and spelt. The body thinks of these proteins as a toxin trying to attack it, thus inciting a war between the intestines and the food. You can find educational and dietary information about the disease via articles on our site or at: http://www.csaceliacs.org/