The Extraordinaries

New @Extraordinaries mission: Save lives! Help @firstaidcorps map AED defibrillators around the world.

Download The Extraordinaries iPhone app, and get involved today: http://download.BeExtra.org

ABOUT FIRST AID CORPS

If you suffer from cardiac arrest, help is only a 911 call away. Paramedics can use defibrillators to shock your heart back to a normal rhythm. But unfortunately, every minute you spend waiting for their arrival reduces your chance of survival by 10%. Help may soon be closer than your local paramedic and it may come from an unlikely source — someone without medical expertise.

Until recently, witnesses to someone having a cardiac arrest were limited in the help they could provide — calling 911 and performing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). Now, portable automated defibrillators about the size of a laptop computer are available. These devices not only deliver a shock to restore a regular heartbeat, they also determine whether a shock is really needed, making it possible and safe for people without medical training to use.

A recent study placed the automated defibrillators in roughly 1,000 public locations in 24 cities, including shopping centers, sports facilities, office buildings, community centers, factories, entertainment venues, apartment buildings, and schools*. Volunteers who worked in these locations were trained to perform CPR or trained to perform CPR and use the automated defibrillator. After two years and 292 resuscitation attempts, the overall survival rate for the study was still very low, 15%, but the use of automated defibrillators saved almost twice as many lives as CPR alone. This shows automated defibrillators can save lives when used by common people trained to operate the equipment.

Nearly 250,000 Americans die from cardiac arrest every year. Although most of these deaths occur in the home, approximately 20% occur in public. So automated defibrillators in public places could save a substantial number of lives. The equipment may become commonplace someday, especially in locations where senior citizens are likely to spend time, as this population is most at risk for cardiac arrest. In the future, automated defibrillators may even be found in the homes of people who have suffered a heart attack.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

First Aid Corp is mapping a global database of AEDs to help people find the closest one in the event of an emergency. They have called in The Extraordinaries to help them build this database. You never know, this service might just save someone you love!

Download The Extraordinaries iPhone app, and get involved today: http://download.BeExtra.org

New @Extraordinaries mission: Help @1sky tell your climate change story. #nonprofit #mobile #volunteer

Download The Extraordinaries iPhone app, and get involved today: http://download.BeExtra.org

ABOUT THE 1SKY CAMPAIGN

Right now, across the country, scores of organizations, leaders and everyday citizens are ready to tackle global warming and transition to a new clean economy. The movement is building at an astonishing pace—but to bring about the truly revolutionary change that's needed, we have to come together.

1Sky was created in 2007 to focus the power of millions of concerned Americans on a single goal: bold federal action by 2010 that can stem global warming. The 1Sky Solutions are grounded in scientific necessity—they are the bottom line of what's needed to dramatically reduce carbon emissions while maximizing energy efficiency, renewable energy and breakthrough technologies. They also represent significant economic promise. By pivoting to a clean energy economy, we can relieve our dependence on foreign oil, unlock the potential of sustainable industry and usher in a new era of prosperity and green jobs.

Americans are building support for the 1Sky Solutions in key Congressional districts on a non-partisan basis, using cutting-edge communications, Internet and old-fashioned neighbor-to-neighbor outreach. To get our leaders to take action, the 1Sky community is bringing together an incredibly diverse range of individuals and organizations in a collaborative effort. With the help of many leaders and groups, 1Sky has already gained the support of elected officials, student and business groups, and faith-based institutions, as well as organizations focused on health, civil society and the environment—and now we need you.

Together, we can convince our leaders to chart a new direction—away from the catastrophes of global warming and toward a new era of economic prosperity. This is your chance to change the course of history, so get involved today!

HOW YOU CAN HELP

In Congressional districts across the country, 1Sky is working to build support, and tell members of Congress why they should care about climate change. 1Sky has called in The Extraordinaries to help tell the American story of why people should care about climate change. Are you ready to accept this mission?

Download The Extraordinaries iPhone app, and get involved today: http://download.BeExtra.org

NEW MISSION: Use @Extraordinaries to help @BigCatRescue find illegal breeders and animal abusers!

Download The Extraordinaries iPhone app, and get involved today: http://download.BeExtra.org

ABOUT BIG CAT RESCUE

 

Big Cat Rescue, a non profit educational sanctuary, is devoted to rescuing and providing a permanent home for exotic (i.e. wild, not domestic) cats who have been abused, abandoned, bred to be pets, retired from performing acts, or saved from being slaughtered for fur coats, and to educating the public about these animals and the issues facing them in captivity and in the wild. 

 

The sanctuary is home to the most diverse population of exotic cats in the world, with 14 of the 35 species of wild cat represented among more than 100 residents.  These include tigers, lions, liger, leopards, cougars, bobcats, lynx, ocelots, servals, caracals and others, many of whom are threatened, endangered, or now extinct in the wild.

 

The sanctuary began in 1992 when the Founder, Carole Baskin, and her then husband Don, mistakenly believing that bobcats made good pets, went looking to buy some kittens.  They inadvertently ended up at a “fur farm” and bought all 56 kittens to keep them from being turned into fur coats.

 

In the early years, influenced by breeders and pet owners, they believed that the cats made suitable pets and that breeding and placing the cats in homes was a way to “preserve the species.”  Gradually they saw increasing evidence that not only was this not the case, but that it was leading to a consistent pattern of suffering and abuse. 

 

Today the sanctuary is devoted to its Vision of a world where animals are treated with respect, and its Mission of providing the best possible home for the animals in our care and trying to stop the flow of animals needing sanctuary by educating the public about the plight of the animals and supporting stronger laws to protect them. 

 

The sanctuary is a 501(c)(3) not profit charity.  It receives no government support and relies on its educational activities, such as tours of the facility, and the generosity of donors for support of the cats.  Donations are tax deductible.  Because non program expenses (i.e. administration and fundraising) are funded from tour income, 100% of donations go directly to support the cats.

 

HOW YOU CAN HELP

 

For every lion and tiger in a zoo or a circus, there are 25 in a backyard or a basement. To keep these beautiful animals in cages is often illegal (not to mention a terrible life for the animal). Big Cat Rescue has called in The Extraordinaries, to use the crowd to help identify cases of abuse and illegal breeding in the United States, and around the world. Will you accept this mission?

 

Download The Extraordinaries iPhone app, and get involved today: http://download.BeExtra.org