October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month/National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is a month for two very important causes, National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Both are proclaimed as such by the president of the United States, and you can help support both of these worthy causes.

Donate A Phone For Domestic Violence
Do your part tech-wise by donating your old cell phone. Deactivated cell phones have been important tools given to victims of domestic violence that encounter emergency situations.

Even if your phone is not used for emergency distribution, it will be sold and the proceeds from the sale will help fund vital agencies such as the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV). Go to www.ncadv.org/takeaction/Donatea Phone_129.html for more information and to print out a pre-paid postage label to send your phone in.


Sony Style
Sony is offering three pink products that are helping to fund the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). First, the 14.1-inch VAIO CR Series Notebook features an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz processor with a 200GB hard drive and a built-in camera.This sells for $1,369.99,and $75 of that goes to the foundation.

Next, Sony’s 4GB Walkman Video MP3 Player has a 2-inch LCD screen, a bi-directional display, and gives you 33 hours of audio or eight hours of video on one charge. This will cost you $149.95, $10 is donated.

Sony’s third pink product is the Pink Portable DVD Player with a swivel screen. This sells for $189.99, and $10 goes to the cause. All three of these are available at www.sonystyle.com.



Casio EX-Z75
Casio released a special edition camera bundle, featuring a pink EX-Z75 camera, a camera case embossed pink stitching and a pink ribbon-clad lanyard.

The 7.2 megapixel EX-Z75 has a 2.6-inch-wide LCD display, anti-shake DSP (digital signal processor) for reducing blurry photos for those of you with shaky hands, and a special eBay mode which allows you to easily upload photos for web use.

This bundle package sells for $179.99 at your nearest Sears, and the proceeds benefit the National Breast Cancer Foundation. See www.casiousa.com for more details.


Belkin’s Sport Armband & “Hope”
Sport Armband for your iPod nano. For each case sold,Belkin will donate 10 percent of the retail price ($29.99) to the Susan G.Komen Foundation. The “Hope"Remix clear acrylic and brushed metal case goes for $29.99 as well, and both available are at www.belkin.com/forthecure.

Also note that Target (unfortunately not here in Hawaii yet),is offering a special pink iPod shuffle package for $79, and it comes with a $15 iTunes gift card. If you’re traveling to the Mainland any time soon, or if one of your relatives/friends lives near a Target, you might want to ask them to pick one up for you.



Petito Flash Drives
Chances are you already have a flash drive, but do you have a pink one? Petito’s special edition pink USB 2.0 flash drives are waterproof, and you can make a fashion statement as you wear it around your neck with an included necklace (not a regular lanyard as with most flash drives). The 512MB is $25.99, and the 1GB is $39.99 (plus shipping) at www.pinkpetito.com.



Mercedes-Benz C350 Sport Sedans
Last but not least . . . this one is a bit extravagant, but if you can afford it, go for it! Each sale of the Mercedes-Benz Special Edition 2008 C350 Sport Sedan helps Mercedes-Benz raise $1 million for Saks Fifth Avenue’s KEY TO THE CURE,a campaign to fund research to fight women’s cancers. Other than the fact that it’s a Mercedes, keep in mind this luxury vehicle carries the SIRIUS Satellite Radio, Harmon/ Kardon LOGIC 7 sound system, voice control and my favorite, full iPod and Bluetooth integration. The price starts at $37,275 ... visit www.mbusa.com or our local MB dealer for more information.


This is just the tip of the iceberg as far as product backing, but other than the things mentioned above,you could also show your support by wearing the appropriate ribbons, or the respective colors - purple for domestic violence or pink for breast cancer. Locally you can contact the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (HSCADV) at 832-9316 or www.hscadv.org for other ways you can help, or if you need help. For the Cure, contact the Hawaii Affiliate of Susan G. Komen For The Cure at 754-1817 or www.komenhawaii.org.