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We’ve been hinting for awhile about some new projects we’ve been working on. Today, we finally get to talk about it!

From Shoes to Burkina Faso
Awhile ago, we posted about Tom’s shoes…blog-wise, it was just a quick nod but we were pretty floored by the simplicity of the idea he had: buy a shoe, give a shoe. It just works.

Since then, we’ve been on a wild journey (at one point, all the way to Burkina Faso, West Africa) to figure out how we could do some good of our own for people in developing nations.

The Kind of Good That Just Makes Sense
We wanted the good to be real and tangible. We didn’t just want to throw money into some philanthropic pot and pat ourselves on the shoulder. We needed to be able to see, touch and feel it. We wanted to meet the people who would be affected by it and learn from them.

• Since we build homes for a living, we wanted the good to be about homes and about community.

• Since we’re eco-urbanists, we wanted the good to be sustainable. Not just for the earth, but for the people as well.

• Since doing good is a lot more fun (and effective) in collaboration, we wanted to invite others to get involved and participate.

The Result?

A New Website. www.dosomegoodnow.com.
You can do some good just by visiting.

And you can do even more good by sharing it with others.

We even have a Good-O-Meter so you can track the progress (and load on your own site, if you have one).

And pictures you can see (and share) on Flickr.

A New Commitment.
We’re calling it our Do Some Good Now Commitment and you can read about it here.

This is a monumental step for us. But it’s not one we can do by ourselves, so consider this an open invitation to jump on board and help. If you’ve got any suggestions or ways to spread this, our ears are wide open.

Jason

Thanks to Rachel and Chinua Ford, we’ll be posting a steady stream of entries here (starting tomorrow), more photos on Flickr, and videos about the journey thus far and as we continue on. You can stay tuned via RSS or by subscribing to our e-mail list at the top.