Good News Break | July 2015

July 1, 2015

Good News Break

“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.”

– Elmer Davis

Days To Remember

July 1: Canada Day – Originally named Dominion Day, this holiday is celebrated once a year in observance of the anniversary of the British North American Union forming in 1867. Also, don’t forget to thank Canadiens on this day for their fabulous invention: peanut butter.

July 3: St. Thomas Day – This day is dedicated to one of Jesus’ 12 disciples, St. Thomas. This particular holiday is celebrated with a feast by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches.

July 4: Independence Day (a.k.a. – the biggest hotdog holiday!) – July 4, 1776, The United States of America signed the Declaration of Independence. Americans celebrate the national holiday by consuming an average of 155 million hotdogs while honoring those who served and fought for our independence from Great Britain.

July 14: Bastille Day – On this date in 1789, a French prison was attacked by a group of Parisian revolutionaries looking for gun powder to be used with the files they previously stole from Les Invalides. The event marked the beginning of the French Revolution and leaving this date to be recognized as a French national holiday.

July 17: Eid ul fitr (Eed-Al-Fitter) – As the month of Ramadan comes to an end, Muslims are congratulated on this day for their fasting and celebrate it with a day of feasting. Yum!

Good News in the Business World

Placing your faith in companies that you use daily can sometimes be difficult. It sure is nice to hear about good deeds these multimillion dollar industries are doing to help those outside of the office.

Twitter Opens $3M Community Center to Helps Poor Families Reach Goals

The social media icon takes being a good neighbor to a whole new level by opening a center providing computer skills training. Twitter opened the doors to its 4,000-square-foot “Neighbor Nest” a few blocks down from its headquarters in San Francisco.

The center will be run by Twitter employees and professional social workers to help parents find affordable housing and gain new computer skills. Parents are encouraged to bring their children to the child care center or have them take computer classes as well. But… Twitter isn’t stopping there. The company is investing another $3 million to the remaining communities around its headquarters.

Chipotle Offers New Benefits to Hourly Workers, Including Tuition Payments

The natural fast food chain, Chipotle Mexican Grill, will begin sharing full time benefits with its part time employees starting July 1, 2015. The employees will receive sick pay, paid vacation time and assistance with college tuition payments.

The restaurant provides those same benefits to the workers on salary pay, but beginning July 1, 2015 the company’s 48,000 hourly paid workers will receive this awesome deal.The goal of this movement is to encourage high school and college students to begin working with company and eventually leading to a career within Chipotle.

This movement is right in line with other companies such as Starbucks, who announced a program last year that would allow workers to take online classes through Arizona State University. Since then, company-owned McDonald’s stores and Wal-Mart raised salaries for thousands of its employees.

Giving Away $29 Billion Earned This Pair a Lifetime Philanthropy Award

$29 billion later, Bill and Melinda Gates received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Philanthropy presented by Warren Buffet. The Microsoft founder and his wife were noticed for giving away the most money to great causes in history.

According to Buffet, what makes the Gates different from other foundations, such as Rockefeller, Bill Hewlett, Dave Packard and more, is that Bill and Melinda not only give money but give their personal time, efforts and brain power.

“They have been spending, and I’ve observed it, certainly 50 hours a week, maybe averaging 60 hours a week,” Buffet said.

This power couple donates to numerous causes, including protection against malaria in Africa, eradicating polio worldwide and supporting global sanitation efforts.

HEALTHY SUMMER RECIPES

Skinny Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:
1 lb.chicken breasts
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
16 oz. fresh salsa
3 tablespoons taco seasoning
¼ cup water (optional)
12 small corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 avocado, diced
¼ cup crema (Check your local Mexican market for this ingredient. However, it can be substituted with sour cream)
Fresh cilantro, Cotija cheese for topping

Directions:

Put the first 6 ingredients in a crockpot. If your salsa is not very saucy, be sure to include the ¼ cup water or more if necessary. Cook on high for about 3 hours (or longer on the low setting) until chicken is cooked through. You can also cut the chicken breasts into halves to help them cook faster. Use 2 forks to shred the chicken and mix everything together.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Soften the corn tortillas in the microwave, 3 at a time, for about 25 seconds. Fill them with a few tablespoons of filling, roll once, and place seam-side down in a large baking dish (I did 2 smaller baking dishes). Continue until all tortillas have been filled, rolled and placed in dish. Be sure to pack them in tightly next to each other so that they don’t come apart.
Sprinkle evenly with the shredded cheese and bake for about 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly and everything is heated through.
Remove from oven and drizzle with crema. Sprinkle with avocado pieces, fresh cilantro, and Cotija cheese crumbles.

Green Avocado Salsa

Ingredients:
1/3 cup of water
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 cloves of minced garlic
4 medium fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded, and finely minced
1 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
1/2 pound tomatillos, husked and chopped

Directions:

Bring out your blender and place the water, pepper, onions, garlic, jalapenos, cilantro, avocado and tomatillos inside.
Set the blender to puree the ingredients until the consistency is just right!
Feel free to add more water if needed.
For the best taste, serve immediately and enjoy!

About the Author: Analicia Vega

I’m still writing my book. But in the mean time, here are a few things you might like to know about me:

I was born in New York and moved to Franklin, Tennessee at age two. We made the big move to the south when my father signed a deal with MCA Records. Being the child of a musician wasn’t easy with his constant traveling; however, it did help me develop a love for all things music related and leading me to PLA Media. Each day I look forward to the drive to Music Row in Nashville and am excited to make the move to this great city after graduation from The University of Alabama in December.

At this point, you may be asking yourself, ‘how did a girl born in New York and raised without sweet tea being apart of her vocabulary end up in Alabama?’ Well, I went against all things known and became a bit of a southern belle. This is something my parents had a hard time accepting but after seeing all that I have accomplished at UA, they couldn’t be more proud!

Since I began my college career, I’ve taken every opportunity that has come my way to become involved with the university and public relations. I have been a member of over 10 different organizations on campus and held communication positions in many of them.

Now here I sit, counting down the days until graduation and to when I’ll be able to make music and public relations a lifestyle rather than a summer fling.