The Great B5 Blog Off!

This year, the summer solstice will occur on 20th June (Friday). This is the first time this has happened since 1975 (it’s usually June 21st).

In honor of this historic phenomenon, One Vote Matters, the Business Channel and b5media are staging (also on June 20th) a phenomenon of their very own — The Great Blog Off!

What’s a blog off? Great question – here are the details…

At OneVoteMatters.com – and all over b5media – writers will blog at least once per hour for each hour of the day beginning at 12:00am our local time (for us, that’s EST).

When Thursday and I were discussing how to approach the blog off – we both first thought of: caffeine. Next we thought: we should have a theme! We tossed around a few ideas, but then, when we considered the task at hand, and the symbolism of light and longevity – we singled out one idea, one person really…

Senator Edward Moore Kennedy.

In the wake of the annoucement of Senator Kennedy’s illness, we (as is the rest of the world) are reminded of the scope of his involvement in US Politics – whether you agree with or oppose his policy positions, there is no denying that Ted Kennedy has been (and continues to be) a luminary of the US political system.

We plan to spend the day discussing and exploring the life and politics of Ted Kennedy – and we hope you will join us. And! if you’re interested in “guest blogging” during the day, just send us an email.

But wait! There’s more…

The Great Blog Off is also an opportunity to do something good. The Business Channel will be taking charitable pledges. You can make flat donations or you can pledge by the hour; that is, you could donate $1 for every hour we post, totaling $24.

The b5media Business Channel will be supporting Accion International as our charity for the Great Blog Off. The mission of Accion is to give people the tools they need to work their way out of poverty. By providing microloans, business training and other financial services to disadvantaged men and women who start their own businesses, ACCION’s partner lending organizations help people work their own way up the economic ladder, with dignity and pride. With just a little capital, people can grow their own businesses. They can earn enough to afford basics like running water, better food and schooling for their children.

Basically, Accion helps small businesses all over the world to become established through small, manageable loans and business advice. This concept of microlending is fabulous and their payback record is impressive.

You can make your donations here!

Charity Navigator gives Accion their highest rating for, among other things, having a low administrative expenses to donations ratio.