This is a Steak Grilling Cookbook published by Weber (the ones who make the grills) that will make you look and cook like a pro with expert tips and recipes for backyard barbeques. It was compiled by former, reserve, and active members of the Marines, and even includes winners from 10 Marines “battles of the grills”. In addition to recipes, it includes lots of photos and personal stories. The book even comes in a tray you can use in your barbeques.

All proceeds from the cookbooks’ sales go to four Marine charities: the Wounded Warrior Project, Fisher House, the Injured Marines Semper Fi Fund, and the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation.

The book is about a bear dad and his two cubs on a road trip across the United States, visiting the mountains, the prairies, the oceans. They also visit a parade of police and firefighters in New York and visit the the cherry blossoms in Washington, DC.  

First published in June 2002 in the wake of the horrific events in 2001, the book never gets overly jingoistic or sappy. Rather, it’s a good reminder of what we all promised ourselves back in 2001–that we would never take our freedom and the grandeur of our country for granted.

The bookcomes with a CD of the song. A portion of proceeds goes to the God Bless America fund to benefit America’s youth.

While sometimes the rich and famous athletes are the ones that get the spotlight, one thing I love is hearing the stories of ordinary Americans living their dream. Most of the time, there’s no money in competitive swimming, or gymnastics, or shooting, or most of the other sports. But just for the love of what they do and the dream to be the best, these athletes will overcome great odds to get to their goal. It’s heartwarming sometimes to hear of the lengths these athletes will go to in order to train and compete.

You can help them and show your support at the same time with these great red, white, and blue wristbands. Take a look at the close-up below for a detailed look. It has the official logo of the USA Team, as well as inspirational words in English, Chinese and Greek (see below for a closeup).

Like other charity wristbands, they’re made of sturdy silicone rubber, and there’s even a clip emblazoned with the words “Beijing 08-08-08″

And for each wristband purchased, $1 will be donated to Team USA all our athletes who will be representing us halfway around the world.

Have you ever heard of the Amazon Kindle? This is an impressive little device that’s the size of a paperback book, but holds the contents of an entire library.

It’s a strange name for an ebook reader. I’ve seen some people spell it “Amazon Kindel” and other spell it “Amazon Kindal”. For the record, the right spelling is “Amazon Kindle”. And along with the iPod, the iPhone, and the BlackBerry Curve, it’s quickly become one of my favorite electronic devices. It’s to books as the iPod is to music.

And unlike your current cell phone or PDA, this amazing device looks and reads like a real book. It literally uses “electronic ink” technology that looks unlike traditional LCD screens…instead of “liquid crystals”, it uses actual ink! You’ve got to see it to believe it.  

Once you buy it, you can purchase and download new ebooks at the click of a button at Amazon.Com and be reading it in less than a minute. There are hundreds of titles available, but for purpose of this blog, from time to time I’ll highlight some of the titles where a portion of proceeds goes to a great cause. As a bonus, your unit will have FREE lifetime wireless access to Amazon’s network from anywhere in the country, which includes free round-the-clock access to Wikipedia and the Oxford Dictionary.  

For more information on the Kindle and how to buy one, visit Amazon’s site. 

For those of you with Kindles, here are some great ebook titles where the author gives some of his or her proceeds to a worthy cause:  

Born Without a Tail, by Cayr Ariel Wulff. This heartwarming book is a compilation of stories from two animal rescuers who share stories of their pets, as well as abused and abandoned animals they’ve welcomed into their home. Some stories will make you laugh, some will make you cry, and some stories will even help you understand how to care for an understand your pet even more. If you’re an animal lover, it’s a must-read,  A third of the proceeds goes towards Valley Save-a-Pet, a humane group. 

Passion at Work: How to Find Work You Love and Live the Time of Your Life, by Lawler King and Mark Albion. There are few better blessings to have a job that you love to do. So many people dread waking up in the morning and dread going to work. But if you love what you do and your work is in balance with your life’s goals, going to work is a pleasure. This is not just any self-help book, it’s a book from a Wharton MBA and Harvard Business

 In an Instant: A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing, by Bob and Lee Woodruff  Bob Woodruff had been at the pinnacle of his career. Just named as a co-anchor on ABC World News Tonight, he went to Iraq to cover the war, when he suffered severe injuries, life threatening injuries due to an enemy explosion. This story is largely told from the vantage point of his wife Lee, who recounts their story, how their lives were torn apart, and how they came together. A percentage of proceeds from this book will go to the Bob Woodruff Family Fund for Traumatic Brain Injury.

 God in the Raging Waters: Stories of Love And Service Following Hurricanes Katrina And Rita, by Paul Blom. When hurricanes Katrina and Rita ripped through the Gulf Coast, huge numbers of peoples lifes were changed forever. This book was written by a bishop in the Lutheran church, who recounts the story of how the people of the church came together to help those who were most devastated. A portion of proceeds goes to the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod Disaster Relief Fund

 Women of the Afghan War, by Deborah Ellis: for generations, women in Afghanistan were silent. Under the former Taliban regime, women were treated as non-people, destroyed physically, their families torn apart, their voices silenced. The book was published prior to the ouster of the Taliban regime, but with especially elements of that government still threatening, his book serves as a reminder that we cannot sit and accept silently in the face of inhumanity. The book is priced higher than usual books because 100% of the proceeds are going to the childrens Afghan War Fund.

Stay tuned in coming weeks for more great titles on the Amazon Kindle that donate a portion of proceeds to charity.

The book, Get America Singing…Again!, Volume 1, was developed with the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) and other music organizations, and has an introduction by none other than the great Pete Seeger.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of these editions will benefit the MENC and their national campaign to promote singing in America.

So how many of you are glad the 2008 primary season is over, and we have two candidates in Barack Obama and John Mccain?

When the primary season began, a company called Dave’s Gourmet started selling bottles of their famous hot sauce, inviting their customers to buy bottles of hot sauce to voice their vote for their favorite candidates.

Now that the voting is over, these five bottles make up a set that represent the “hottest” candidates as far as purchasers of hot sauce went. Evidently, the Democratic hot sauce buyers got it right with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The Republican hot sauce buyers chose Rudy Guiliani and Ron Paul. And of course, for good show, the owner himself, Dave, made up a bottle for those who might think to write him in.

It makes a great souvenir of the historical 2008 Presidential primary season that just passed, and will be a great collector’s item. And all proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

His colleagues and friends on TV that have been talking about him have said so much about his character, his professionalism, and his all-around goodness. The one thing I haven’t heard said was this, which is all the more poignant on this Father’s Day 2008. Tim Russert brought respectability back to Fatherhood.

In his two books and so many TV interviews, Tim Russert reminded us that being a good father is the most noble, the more important, the most honorable thing a man can do in this world. A good father leads by example. He works hard to make a living for his family, but he’s never too busy that he can’t cheer loudly at his son’s Little League game, take his little girl out to Sunday brunch to make her feel special.

He’s the head of the household. This statement (out of the Bible) has become controversial in recent years because those who complain about it have no idea what it means. All it means is that he’s the first to give up his life for his family, whether it means living for them or dying for them. It means no matter what else goes on around him, he’s a rock that the whole family can look to and know everything is okay. It means he’s a hero to his kids. He’s there to be a moral compass, an example of what strong work ethic, faith, and love mean which his kids will see and learn and copy. Mom is the heart of the family, Dad is the head. A just like a body can’t survive without both, neither can a family.

We live in a world where fatherhood is continually denigrated. Fathers are always the butt of jokes–turn on a TV commercial and you’ll see the clueless dad being mocked by his kids. Too often, this society puts down the role of Dads. Society more and more paints fathers as useless people who take up space, while the Mom does all the work raising the kids. The crime is, men are starting to believe it. In so many broken families these days, you see the guy not holding up his end.

When Tim’s book “Wisdom of Our Fathers” came out, it was more than just a book from a journalist. It was a stake in the ground reminding men around the world about what their duty is. It tells the story of great fathers who gave their lives for their families. It’s required reading for every father and father-to-be out there of how it’s supposed to be done.

On this Father’s Day, just two days after the passing of Tim Russert, let’s remember him fondly, but to every guy out there, don’t let his death go by without at least remembering the lessons he and his Dad “Big Russ” taught.

Unlike the other blog posts, this one doesn’t have a “gift” you can buy, but instead, consider giving a direct donation to two of Tim Russert’s favorite charities in his honor.

Catholic Charities USA

Boys and Girls Clubs of America

Those of us who grew up in the New York area know that the term “mean streets” is an apt one. Kids growing up in the city don’t always have the most nurturing environments nor the privileges that other kids have growing up, especially in the inner city.

 Bodanna Studio is based in New York City that dedicates itself to helping inner city kids and youth gain the necessary tools for successful adulthood. Through something as seemingly simple as pottery classes, young people develop creativity, discipline, a great work ethic, and training in marketing and business, from product design and development, to production, sales and marketing, and fulfillment.

The studios sell their pottery, which is some of the finest quality you’ll find anywhere. Go to their site, and you’ll find dishes, vases, plates, bowls, mugs, sake sets, and many other fine pieces of ceramics.

The one pictured above is one of my favorites. It’s an Asian-inspired sushi set for two, which is stoneware, and dishwasher and microwave-safe. It comes in a variety of different colors to choose from, and includes one sushi serving plate, two square plates, and two small bowls for soy sauce. If you’ve ever gotten take-out or delivery sushi, you know that eating out of that plastic tray is just not right. This will give you the sushi restaurant experience at home.

And 100% of the proceeds will go right back into helping young people through enterprise. It’s a terrific way to buy yourself or someone you love something beautiful and useful, and help a great cause. 

The Body Shop Stop Violence in the Home Lip Care Stick is a small way to show support for ending this scourge. $2 of proceeds for each stick sold supports the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

The lip balm itself is made of organic beeswax, which confitions the skin and promotes healing by sealing in moisture. Another benefit of this product is that because the product is from The Body Shop, they acquire their beeswax from the tropical forests of Northwest Zambia, where fair trade practices help more than 3,000 beekeepers sustain their traditional way of life.

It’s not often that one purchase can help end domestic violence and support needy workers in emerging economies.

They’re great protect the hands during workouts and sports. A great gift for the woman who goes to the gym a lot. It’s fully washable, and best thing about it is a portion of the proceeds will go to cancer research and support programs.