Category: GISH 2020

Item 169 – GISH International Forest 2020

(SIDE-BY-SIDE) Last year, we started the #GISH International Forest. (If you played last year, how are your trees doing? Check in on them regularly!) This year, we’re doubling-down on the challenge: plant at LEAST one tree for the #GISH International Forest — in person if you can safely do so, or through an organization like One Tree Planted, if you prefer. Then, start a tree in your own home from a seed. You can plant seeds from a citrus fruit, an avocado seed, pine cone seeds, etc. Show us a picture of your sapling and your seed being planted. (If you don’t have a way to safely plant a seedling, you can use One Tree Planted or another tree-planting site.)

Item 167 – Recycled Fashion Overalls

Fashion has a huge carbon footprint: the textile industry contributes around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions as well as 20% of global waste water, while 85% of textiles end up in landfills or are incinerated when most of these materials could be reused… to say nothing of the “fast fashion” clothing that doesn’t wear well and ends up discarded. But we’re changing that. Go through your closets and remove any clothing or linens that are not even donation-worthy anymore. Make the most fantastical rag-and-scrap-overalls ever created and model it as befits such a magnificent creation–with you hard at work in a garden or garage. You may waste NOTHING.

Item 166 – Backyard Burning Man

Burning Man has been canceled, but COVID can’t take the festival of radical self-reliance away from us. Introducing Backyard Burning Man! Build a miniature version of “The Man” in your back yard or driveway and burn it in effigy. (You may ONLY set it ablaze if you can do so safely– otherwise, you may submit your unburned work.) And of course, remember: leave no trace when you’re done.

Item 161 – Change a Life – Criminal Justice Reform

“CHANGE A LIFE. This year, the Black Lives Matter movement helped cast a spotlight on the United States’ approach to criminal justice, highlighting ugly truths about a prison system badly in need of reform. The US criminal justice system disproportionately targets people of color, subjecting them to brutal, harrowing punishments that would be inhumane regardless of the alleged infraction that brought them behind bars — and many prisoners are detained and denied basic human rights behind bars despite being guilty of minor offenses or of no crime at all. Every year, over 600,000 people enter prison gates. Even more troubling, 10.6 million people cycle through local county jails each year. To complicate matters, the COVID-19 pandemic has turned correctional facilities into death camps. As cases spread through overcrowded prisons and jails, social distancing becomes impossible, masks and other personal protective equipment are scarce, access to alcohol-based hand sanitizer is often banned, and medical care has a long history of neglectful treatment. We’re going to try to do something to protect people at risk of oppression and human rights violations in the United States Criminal Justice System.

YOUR MISSION In partnership with the non-profit Misha Collins’ founded, Random Acts (a 501 (c)(3)), we’re setting a goal of raising $100,000 to help close prison doors and open doors of opportunity for people incarcerated in the United States who are being subjected to inhumane and unjust treatment. To be clear, this isn’t an issue of guilt or innocence; it’s a human rights issue. No person should face abuse or risk death due to a lack of adequate resources and proper, humane treatment. WHAT TO DO: Create a fundraiser page here and get at least 10 donations of a minimum of $5. WE ARE NOT ASKING YOU OR YOUR TEAMMATES TO DONATE. Rather, we ask that you reach out to the global community and your social networks to make a contribution. Then, submit a screenshot of your fundraiser showing 10 donations and the total amount donated to us for your points.
WHAT YOUR DONATIONS DO: Your donations will help fund Dream Corps’ efforts to “#cut50” — a bipartisan effort to cut crime and incarceration across all 50 states – while moving the needle toward criminal justice reform on several levels to create a more equitable and just system. Funds from this campaign will go to programs that: (1) create dignity and safety for incarcerated people. (2) provide critically needed policy change that expands life-saving treatment, testing, sanitation gear to protect those behind bars from the pandemic, (3) fight for badly-needed legislative prison reform that reduces incarceration and provides fair chances for people when they return to communities, and (4) support advocacy programs that help formerly incarcerated leaders share their experiences with those empowered to change the system – changing minds, hearts, and laws. We invite you to please join us in achieving our goal of raising 100,000 to help change the lives of people who experienced atrocities and prejudices similar to Pamela Winn. DONATIONS ARE 100% TAX DEDUCTIBLE AND 100% OF THE DONATIONS GO TO THESE EFFORTS (for countries other than the U.S., deductions are contingent on your laws).”

Item 159 – Nothing but Nets

Every 2 minutes, a child dies of malaria as a result of a mosquito bite. But we can help. Get at least 10 people not on your team to chip in at least $1 each to Nothing But Nets (for a total of $10) to provide at least 2 long-lasting insecticidal bed nets to families in impoverished countries. Submit an image with proof of your donation(s).

Item 158 – GISH Super Short Socially-Distanced Cinema

(UP TO 5 MINUTES) Celebrities performed a speed-run of The Princess Bride recently, but they’re not the only ones that can do this! It’s time for GISH Super Short Socially-Distanced Cinema starring Everybody! Collaborate with your teammates to recreate a single scene of your favorite movie (EXCEPT the Princess Bride), 100% at home and 100% socially-distanced. Post it online tagging #GISH with a fundraiser link to the World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, or the World Food Programme. Submit your movie to us along with a link to show how much you raised.

Item 157 – Storytelling in Photography – Self-Portrait

In our April Hunt, our beloved friend, photographer and humanitarian Giles Duley, hosted a ‘storytelling in photography’ panel in which he spoke of the empowering act of turning the camera on yourself (literally or metaphorically) to tell your own story. (If you missed it, you can watch it HERE.) It’s time to take a page out of Giles’ book: create a self-portrait that accurately illustrates some facet of yourself and your story that you would like to reclaim to empower yourself. Caption the portrait in a footnote that explains briefly what your image communicates.

Item 156 – Uncage Willie Simmons – Origami Dove

In our most recent mini-hunt, we wrote letters to Willie Simmons, a man who has been jailed in Alabama for 38 years over a matter of a $9 robbery. He’s still in prison, despite good behavior, a clear victim of the inequities of the for-profit incarceration system in the United States. Let’s do something about that. Send an origami dove to Gov. Kay Ivey (600 Dexter Ave, Montgomery, AL 36130). On it, write a quote about justice and “Uncage Willie Simmons.

Continue reading Item 156 – Uncage Willie Simmons – Origami Dove

Item 155 – Soft Play

Soft-play centers in the UK are facing closures due to COVID, leaving kids no place to jump and scream their energy out while parents have a coffee and think about their life choices. There’s only one solution: turn your living room into an all-ages soft-play center for your inner toddler, using couch cushions and other household supplies.