Author Archives: esralston

Teaching Yoga in Prisons

I met Meg O’Leary one rainy December in Seattle — thirteen years ago — when she and five other women gathered at my house for our first book group. Whenever Meg emailed us, she would start her greeting with, “Hello … Continue reading

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Stranger Danger: How One Child Recently Eluded a Potential Disaster

I read this article in today’s Seattle Times about 10- year old Isabel Carpenter’s run-in with a “man in a white van” and immediately felt that all-too familiar panicky feeling: this could happen to my child. Isabel was walking home … Continue reading

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Real vs. Fantasy Portraits?

Photographer Jaime Moore needed an idea for a birthday photo shoot of her daughter, Emma, who had just turned five.  Tired of all the Disney princess themes, she wanted REAL women for Emma to emulate (no pun intended). Check out … Continue reading

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GiveBig Article in Seattle Globalist Published!

The Seattle Globalist has published my profile of three Seattle organizations that don’t receive much media attention. Check it out!

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How To Choose an Organization to Donate to: GiveBig Seattle 2013

Give Big, which is happening tomorrow, Wednesday, May 15, is a one-day, online giving event sponsored by the Seattle Foundation and its partners, to inspire people to give generously to nonprofit organizations in the Seattle area. Last year the fundraiser raised $8.8 million! … Continue reading

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Bill Gates Invests in Improving Teacher Performance

Bill Gates wants to help teachers get good and real feedback to improve their performance. Apparently the US is ranked 15th (tied with Iceland and Poland) in reading, 23rd in science and 31st in math. That’s not good enough for … Continue reading

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Western Black Rhino Declared Extinct

I am an animal lover and my 10 year-old daughter is too. Her latest crusade is to save endangered species, particularly the snow leopard.  She even sends part of her savings to the Snow Leopard Trust. I don’t know if … Continue reading

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One Mom’s Goal to Help her Son: The Foundation Fighting Blindness

Amy Hayes of Chicago, IL, is raising money for the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB), a national nonprofit organization that is the world’s leading private source for retinal disease research funding. On June 9, she and her family are participating in the eighth … Continue reading

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Kirkland Writer and Community Activist Makes a Difference

My friend Karen Story is a writer and a community activist living in Kirkland. I think she is an amazing and inspiring individual — she is one of those people who is always thinking about ways to give back both locally and … Continue reading

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Brené Brown comes to Seattle

The other night I went to hear Brené Brown, the social work researcher from Houston, talk about vulnerability and shame. I had written about her in an earlier post and a friend alerted me to her visit to Seattle to promote … Continue reading

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