Yup. Jason Russell, the man responsible for KONY 2012 and all the hype that surrounded the video, has been detained for some pretty interesting reasons. The San Diego Police Department says they received a call yesterday in regard to Mr. Russell allegedly masturbating in public, vandalizing cars and quite likely under the influence of…something. Since then, Invisible Children’s CEO Ben Keesey has released the following statement:

“Jason Russell was unfortunately hospitalized yesterday suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition. He is now receiving medical care and is focused on getting better. The past two weeks have taken a severe emotional toll on all of us, Jason especially, and that toll manifested itself in an unfortunate incident yesterday. Jason’s passion and his work have done so much to help so many, and we are devastated to see him dealing with this personal health issue. We will always love and support Jason, and we ask that you give his entire family privacy during this difficult time.”

I’m trying really hard to hold back from including my own commentary, but I have to ask — Do most people run around masturbating in public and destroying cars when they’re exhausted, dehydrated and malnourished? If so, the situation in Africa must be crazier than we all thought!

When a child goes missing for an extended period of time in the U.S., everyone knows. His or her face is shown on every news channel, descriptions of the abductors are given in as much detail as possible and we do everything we can to bring that child home.

Such is not the case in Uganda. 

In the past twenty years, at least 30,000 children have been abducted and enslaved as child combatants and sex slaves. Losing a child to abduction in Uganda is not uncommon, with almost every family suffering from the same tragic event. Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, is responsible for thousands of murders and over 30,000 abductions. One man has somehow managed to devastate the lives of thousands of children and families, kidnapping the children and brainwashing them from a young age. “Inhumane” and “brutal” don’t even begin to define the actions of Joseph Kony. Read More »

The holiday seasons are all about eating too many dips, spending way too much money on frenemy gifts, and watching Elf on repeat. This year we’re prepared to take the stress and the frustration out of holiday gift giving by giving you the ultimate gift guides to buying the perfect presents for your favorite people (and we’re splitting into 3 different price ranges so you can choose the gift based on how much you actually like the person!).

So set this series as your favorite because all week we’re bringing you the best.

As many retailers start advertising Christmas before you’ve even begun planning your Halloween costume, it’s often hard to look past the consumerism of the holiday. Giving gifts is a nice gesture – you get to show the people you care about that you appreciate them and it can be fun trying to pick out something you know they’ll like. At the same time, Christmas is obviously big business – a lot of money is exchanged during the holiday season. Yes, you’ll probably continue to buy gifts (I know I do) even if you could just make donations in people’s names, or dispense the practice of gift-giving all together.

You can however, give gifts that both help out a cause, while still treating someone you care about to something nice.

When you’re out doing your Christmas shopping this year, look for gifts that continue to give (and I’m not talking as a re-gift). Some companies provide charitable gifts – a different approach than making a donation in someone’s name, you can give a gift that where proceeds go to a charity or a gift that helps fairly employ someone in a developing country. While giving donations for people is an amazing gift, I know there are times when you feel like you should be giving them something tangible instead.  We’ve found nine gifts at various price points to help you give a gift that keeps giving back! There are a lot of options out there, find something your gift receiver will like or a cause they support. Read More »

You might have heard about Invisible Children by now. Through huge promotional opportunities, such as the Vans Warped Tour and a video by Fall Out Boy dedicated to the cause, Invisible Children have been drawing more attention to themselves these days — thankfully.

This organization has set out to bring peace in Northern Uganda, quite an ambitious endeavor. Initially, Invisible Children was just a documentary. Three filmmakers from Southern California filmed this in 2-3 days. They were ages 24, 21, and 20 at the time. They traveled to Sudan to ‘find a story’.

Instead, they ended up deep in Northern Uganda, witnessing thousands of people suffering from brutal attacks from a rebel group called LORD’S RESISTANCE ARMY. After finishing the film, the three filmmakers knew that they had to do more. They turned Invisible Children into a full fledged nonprofit organization. Read More »