Puppies, Future Tomatoes, and more
Just when you think the world is going to "hell in a handbag", along comes a story of someone doing something so special it restores your faith in our power to change the world, one Tomato at a time.  And we've got a story today that you will love - it involves a special "cherry" Tomato who is about to change the lives of girls and dogs in NYC with a non-profit called "Unleased". Puppies and girls need proper care and feeding to grow, and so do our professional networks, which are more important these days than ever. The networking guru, Andrea Nierenberg, has some simple tactics to share this week on caring for your network. And speaking of Tomatoes "unleashed", our favorite funny lady Leighann Lord is on a tear this week, and for good reason, in "What's wrong with Whoopi". 

  

Changing one girl, one dog and one community at a time Dr. Stacey Radin is passionate about empowering young girls to become leaders and social change agents and she is the amazing force behind a truly innovative new program called "Unleashed", which she designed and created to empower young girls using the rescue dog community as a vehicle to help them find their voice. The pilot program is set to launch this September in three NYC middle schools (including New Heights Academy, a charter school in Washington Heights). 

 

Stacey is a clinical psychologist whose passion and career has been dedicated to developing powerful women leaders. She has a successful consulting firm  focused on that and has spent years understanding what the early influences are on girls and future leadership.  She has taken that knowledge to create Unleashed, which is a non-profit organization that taps into girls' passion for animals and uses animal rescue to help them strengthen their leadership skills and create a difference, eventually transferring those skills to other contexts-social causes, community and self. 

 

One of the rescued pups.

Diamond in a Ruff 

Stacey and her organization have already started to rescue dogs, most from rural shelters that do not have the funding to save these animals, and then placing these dogs in wonderful new homes.  Talk about a win, win, win.  Now we know all you Tomatoes are thinking, bow wow, how can I help?  Well you can attend a fabulous fundraiser "A Diamond in the Ruff", on July 13,celebrating the launch of Unleashed. 100% of the profits will go to support the work of this non-profit group. The event will include a puppy gallery that will showcase the stories and pictures of puppies rescued and those that continue to be in need of saving. Guests can sponsor a puppy too, like this little guy.  Get all the details at 3T Events.
 

What's wrong with Whoopi?
Our favorite funny lady, Leighann Lord, is not only funny, but smart, perceptive, and insightful too.  And this week she's on a rant. "When I was a kid, my Dad told me that there are people in the world who aspire to mediocrity. I didn't understand what he meant until I grew up and realized that he'd sugarcoated it. Not only are there people who do not aspire, but they don't want you to strive for anything either. For whatever reason, they don't seek to accomplish anything and belittle those who do. I met a couple of folks like this recently after a show; two old men who put me in mind of a Black Statler & Waldorf (from "The Muppet Show")".  They hate Whoopi and Oprah, and Leighann is hoping she makes their hate list too. Read on.  
 

Andrea Nierenberg

Relationship Building During Turbulent Times
Andrea Nierenberg, the networking guru, is sharing more great tips this week on building and maintaining your business relationships - which is even more critical in tough times.  How often do you touch base to say hello or thank your clients,customers,advocates,friends consistently to be on their radar screen all the time? And what are the best ways to do that? Andrea advises that while we may live in a world of high technology, we also need to think 'high touch'.  She's sharing some simple tactics and strategies you can put into practice, right now.  Read on.

Here's to puppies and the next generation of Tomatoes.