What does Kermit the Frog have to do with helping children in Africa? Well, if you'd attended the Green Hollywood NextAid and KidTribe sponsored event that I did this weekend, you'd know! But since you may have missed the invite in the mail, I'd love to fill you in on the cause and all of the happenings.
I had the fantastic opportunity to attend this event with my children! In Hollywood, that doesn't happen everyday, but in Green Hollywood, that happens even less. This event was green in every sense of the word, though. It was held at the Jim Henson studio lot located at Sunset and La Brea. Jim Henson was the genius creator of Kermit the Frog and all of the muppets! When we arrived, Kermit himself -or at least a one story tall likeness of him - was jumping right out of the side of the building to make sure that we knew we were in the right place.
The event was all about "girl power" and it was a themed community event sponsored by NextAid and international fitness and self-esteem program KidTribe. They preform all over the world and had just been at the White House with Justin Beiber earlier in the week. KidTribe's aim is to raise awareness of the plight of young girls and women in developing countries, where pregnancy is the largest killer of girls ages 15-19. Access to education is the key to eradicating that unacceptable statistic.
Since the charity's mission is built around saving children, I'm sure that they thought that it was a natural idea to include our children in the day's festivities. When my kids and I entered the event, we were greeted by table after table of t-shirt decorating, jewelry designing, mask making, face painting and hula hooping! It was a child's paradise, and my kids were in heaven. Being that her mama is a 14K recycled gold eco jewelry designer, my daughter took the opportunity to make me proud and make an entire ensemble of glittering rings, sparkly bracelets, a gold necklace and gold earrings. Her rings and bracelets were made of pipe cleaners, and her necklaces and earrings were made with iridescent beads and maluable gold-toned wire. I'd say that's green jewelry from recycled materials, if I've ever seen it!
She looked maaaavelous, and could take over as the jewelry designer of the family any day of the week!
In the center of the studio lot was a large open space where the exuberant emcee of KidTribe coordinated a massive hula hooping experience for the kids. So, after my daughter had finished her jewelry designing and mask making, she was off to hula hoop her little heart out. After more than an hour, I could hardly pry her away!
What was so great about it being a Green Hollywood type of event was that while we were eating organic, locally-grown snacks, making new friends and having a blast exercising, we were also helping to raise money and awareness for our young sisters in Africa. The event was a huge success and the money raised will contribute toward a significant improvement in the quality of their lives.
It was a privilege to attend such a well-organized event, and it was also proof positive that Kermit was, in fact, wrong this whole time, because ... It really is easy being green!
