If you’ve ever sat around and thought, “Gee, wouldn’t it be cool if there was a Zagat-style guide to local green businesses?” then wish no longer concerned citizen, because a small, ambitious group called Greenopia publishes just such a guide for Los Angeles, San Francisco, and as of April – New York City’s Big Green Apple. I recently caught up with Janna Olson, who, in addition to being a lovely person, is also market manager for Greenopia New York. She had a lot to say.

Can you tell me a little bit about Greenopia?

Greenopia is a series of local guides to green living that take a neighborhood approach to finding those eco-friendly choices we might know are out there, but don’t have time to research ourselves. It turns out that in New York they’re really all around us.

The guide’s founder Gay Browne grew up asthmatic in Southern California. In the early 90s, when her young son was diagnosed with autistic tendencies, she got serious about detoxifying her world. But she found the process of building a home in an eco-friendly, non-toxic manner to be a path with a lot of great solutions, but no comprehensive and accessible guideposts.

Were the guides a logical offshoot from that?

That and the fact that the few resources she did find were very “all or nothing.” She felt that a need for something that serves the staunch green devotee and people new to the idea of making healthier choices in an increasingly toxic world. It’s a continuum.

So, Greenopia’s 50+ categories showing where to find more eco-friendly products and services in town is the result of one person’s dedication to making this idea of “going green” an easy transition.

I would imagine that putting the guides together was a major undertaking, particularly in large cities like New York and Los Angeles. How much effort went into these?

Whew! Loads. The aim is to celebrate every businessperson who’s opened the door to healthier options for people to choose from. These aren’t paid listings; we’re working to find businesses that are earnest in their efforts.

Greenopia engages three keys to building listings that are solid and trustworthy. We start with a questionnaire for each of the 50 categories with criteria composed from national certifiers, local experts, and industry best practices.

Next we hit the streets. In New York, for example, twenty of us walked the commercial blocks of all five boroughs…in the middle of winter.

Scoping each business that looks like a good candidate, our researchers then take out a 1-4 page questionnaire and ask to tour restaurant kitchens or speak with directors of operations and heads of housekeeping.

Finally, the lists of fully researched businesses – in NYC, we found 1,425out of 80,000 possibilities in all five boroughs – are taken to an Advisory Council composed of local experts in each field. The Advisory Council reviews our lists to make sure we haven’t overlooked key businesses and vet those who may not be as green as they appeared.

So, the interaction between our local Advisory Council and the researchers – who can go back to a location to clarify questions when necessary – is key to rounding out a constantly evolving process and ensuring our research is solid, which is crucial.

Wow, you guys must be in great physical shape, do you all go to green gyms?

The walking, cycling, and backpacks crammed with research kept us all in fairly peak condition last winter.

How does your rating system work?

We take a Michelin-style approach to 29 of the trickiest categories, rating them with 1-4 leaves which respectively denote 25, 50, 75, or 90+ percent eco-friendly product offerings and practices. Part of the continuum of building a healthier world is about providing a welcome place to start (so 25% eco-effort gets a business listed) and showcasing an ideal to shoot for (90% and above).

This applies to “front of house” products and services as well as “behind the scenes” practices. Some things businesses do behind the scenes can be more evident: The Fort Greene restaurant and Habana Outpost, for example, make use of their solar panels a point of welcome and education for their patrons.

On the other hand, at the Hotel Benjamin, you’d probably never guess that they’re saving thousands of gallons of water each year with less glamorous, highly cost-efficient low flow toilets and shower heads in over 90% of their 209 rooms. The save even more water with a towel and linen reuse policy and reduce their draw on the energy grid using 90% Energy Star appliances with CFLs in their hallways, lobbies, and conference rooms.

What sorts of businesses do you rate?

Mostly businesses in categories where it’s difficult to discern what makes them eco-friendly: hotels, restaurants, salons, garden supplies, dry cleaners (a particularly deceptive category due to the sometimes erroneous “organic” sign hanging in shops that still use carcinogenic PERC much of the time).

By contrast categories like recycling centers, eco-cleaning services, and alternative energy contractors are more obvious in their greener ambitions. But, even there, we state our basic evaluation criteria at the outset.

Do you do all the ratings yourself?

We do, and I like to encourage people to remember that Greenopia’s guides are just that – guides. We work really hard to put easy access to trustworthy options in people’s own hands. And the guide is there to encourage your own investigation and curiosity.

We have a great online resource that exists precisely so you can evaluate and recommend businesses on your own. The site and the printed guides are packed with facts to spark your own explanation. So you end up in a position to start your own conversations with neighborhood shop owners and service providers to learn where their eco-friendly efforts are headed.

Can a company pay to be mentioned in your guides?

Absolutely not. With independent research, trust is everything. No one is charged because they may or may not be included once we’re done. That’s Greenopia’s Michelin Guide or Consumer Reports element.

Our aim is to respect the businesses and organizations committed to building a sustainable society as well. Companies listed in the guides are welcome to sell them, which is a win-win in that they can make a profit, support each other locally, and encourage their customers to support greening the City’s supply chain.

Where does your funding come from then?

Well, to borrow a phrase: People like you! It’s really about people buying and using th guides. In essence, that’s what keeps us going.

In all three cities, thousands of people have bought guides, are participating in Greenopia.com as a social network, launching blogs, and subscribing (at no cost) to our online newsletter. As a result, companies are advertising on our website, and that also helps to fund our efforts.

Most Barnes & Noble and Whole Foods Market locations have them in New York, LA, and San Francisco, and there’s a great list on our site’s Buy the Guide Locally page that notes every local, eco-friendly business that sells Greenopia guides so people can support them by stopping in for a guide and learning more about what they have to offer.

The real service being provided is two-fold: Each new person that starts using Greenopia has the combination of facts about what makes for a healthier choice as well as access to places a block or two from their home that allow them to make those choices. Oftentimes it can be just as easy to pick up a healthier habit then simply doing it the old way.

Have you noticed that there has been more interest of late?

Yes! So much seems to have happened since the so-called tipping point of early-2006 when Yanklovich polling reported that Americans now worried about their country’s dependence on foreign energy sources with more believing that energy independence was a necessity.

To what do you attribute this new sense of eco-friendliness and awareness? Surely it couldn’t all have been Al Gore right?

Well, there are lots of external signals that are shaping our shift in a greener direction: We’ve got Big 10 schools offering degrees in sustainability, off the charts oil prices, the new realm of business called social entrepreneurialism, intensified storm systems and vanishing polar ice caps, large corporations realizing significant savings from energy efficient choices plus big profits and averted fines in the carbon emissions trade. There’s also been a trend in reinsurance companies refusing to cover corporations that ignore effective risk management policies to mitigate further eco-system collapse.

Of course, these macro factors seems pretty far removed from choices we make as individuals, but it’s a good part of why we have increasingly seen local and organic food choices at the grocery store, and compact fluorescent bulbs on every hardware store shelf and even at Wal-Mart.

What I really think is driving this new “eco-friendliness” is the unacknowledged internal stress that comes from knowing that the way in which we collectively consume resources is unsustainable. It’s taxing to constantly read and hear about the destruction of the environment and the loss of species. And it feels better to make proactive choices.

So I know that you guys keep track of businesses that are doing really great things for the environment, but do you also rate businesses that are killing us (Exxon-Mobil, Wal-Mart, Halliburton, Dow, R.J. Reynolds, Northrup Grumman, I’m looking at you)?

The evils of large corporations are probably more well known to us than the solutions that exist right around the corner from where we live. Engaging those solutions and shifting our dollars away from those businesses you mentioned and others is the quickest way I know to get a message into corporate boardrooms. To me, that seems more powerful than Greenopia rating the “bad guys.”

Too bad, that could be a fun blog maybe.

Hey, greenopia will host it if you want to launch it. Or you could just rent “The Corporation” and keep moving towards solutions.

Why does the San Francisco guide cost a dollar less ($16.95) than the New York and LA ones? I’m dying to know.

That’s an easy one: LA and New York are bigger. So, you actually get more bang for the buck with a broader base of businesses and locations to choose from. Also, our guides are printed on 100% de-inked recycled paper with the highest concentration of soy ink possible. Carbon offsets are engaged for research, production, printing, and transport of the guide. So, the San Francisco guide provides one with additional green savings simply because the city is smaller. Otherwise, production is a costly endeavor…for us, but thankfully not for the earth.

So you guys really walk the walk then, huh?

We’re always striving to do better. Going green is an education for us and everybody – that’s why it’s exciting.

I noticed that Greenopia has ambitions plans for expansion. When are you going to make it to Hartford and its suburbs?

In my vision for the US, every town is part of Greenopia country. Right now, we’re ready to roll into more than ten cities at once. Greenopia has a city-by-city plan – based on demographics and sustainability rankings – for the release of our guides and we’re expanding our web  presence to incorporate cities in secondary markets like Hartford. Be patient, there’s no question that the demand is there.

What can I do until then to assure that I’m choosing the best businesses to patronize?

Use the fantastic wealth of green blogs, books, and websites (like ours) out there to education yourself and get in the practice of asking some polite inquisitive questions of local business owners and their staff.

How can I make more green?

Hmm, shift your career aspirations to solar or wind, local organic farming, or other green growth industries?

Excuse me, what I meant was “How else can I make my life more green?”

For personal health, try shifting to locally grown foods that come from farms devoted to sustainable practices. Fresher food is higher in nutritional content and better tasting, too. When it’s local, you’re also cutting your carbon footprint by not contributing to the average journey of 1500 miles that grocery store produce on American dinner plates usually travels.

For greener energy and greener pockets, remember it’s true that a CFL uses 25% the electricity as an incandescent bulb. Also, keeping relying less on heat and air conditioning, and monitoring idle appliances really makes a difference. You can even arrange for an earth-friendly burial service (which we describe in our guides).

OK, before it comes to my burial, what about making green decisions at work?

Check into how recycling works in your building and do one key thing to help that process along; recommend or arrange an energy audit of the company’s offices; advocate for double sided copies which save trees and money, and could allow you to switch suppliers and purchase 20% or higher post-consumer recycled paper.

The short answer is to look in the guides: there’s a ten point section devoted to what you can do to save coal, chemicals, air quality, and water by changing little things on the job.

Can I, alone, actually make a difference?

If there’s a lesson of the marketplace to be taken from Greenopia’s pages, it is that small efforts magnify. Taking one – or several – green actions immediately changes your world. And your world is The World.

OK, last question: Are we all screwed?

That’s the looming question in the back of all our minds now. If we translate it into a hypothesis, the answer becomes our shared challenge. The answer is in the doing, and that’s what this guide is for.

I hear nay-sayers all the time tell me: “These little things are just tragic ways of deceiving ourselves in the face of our own extinction.”  I disagree. Finding solutions in your neighborhood, talking with and buying from a problem solver, these things go a long way to relieving the stress of that question so you can sleep easier at night.

The more frequently you join with people living life on the solution side, the clearer the power of our own actions to shape that answer becomes. I think “going green” really just means you can envision a future.

Thanks for bearing with me, and thanks so much for your time.

It’s been a total delight. Thank you for exploring life in Greenopia.

You can also find this article and Abe’s writing in the Huffington Post Green section.

In Cuba, state supported arts and sports afford little reward and glory, making it tempting for 17-year-old Olympic boxing hopeful, Yordenis and 19-year-old company ballerina, Annia to defect, leading to deflating government crack-downs on travel abroad.

In Cuban expat capital Miami, the prize is big but the support is non-existent, leaving 20-year-old boxer, Sergio and Twenty-one-year-old ballerina, Paula torn between abandoning dreams for the urgent need of cash.

The documentary “Boxers and Ballerinas”, follows these four protagonists through a beautiful exploration of age-old cultural tension and its effect on individual hopes, dreams and realities. But its not just the protagonists who provide an inspiring story. The film’s directors, Brit Marling and Mike Cahill shared a little bit with ADB about their views, experiences, struggles and triumphs in making this inspiring film.

The film is being released through Cinequest film festival/ distribution program and stores/netflix/amazon etc July 15

ADB: I saw that you were an economics major at Georgetown, at what point did you start to question your career path?

Brit: I double majored in economics and studio art, I didn’t think making short films and photography were viable career options so I followed everyone else into investment banking. During a summer internship I spoke with a senior staffer in bank who had moved quickly through the ranks and I asked him how he did it, to what he attributed his success. When he spoke, it was obvious he really loved what he did to become so successful, so not sharing the same passion I felt I was in the wrong place. I didn’t feel I could go back into school without knowing why, and continue blindly following the trajectory… It is a generational thing, following the trajectory on some level that our parents, the baby boomers, laid out. I didn’t feel like I was learning from the corporation, I saw the next 100 years of my life mapped out, and it was not stirring my insides.

ADB –The Project, the Practicalities: We love dreams, but without an action plan, so many dreams lay unrealized. How was the dream born and what were the steps to make it a reality? How was the dream for Boxers and Ballerinas born?

MIKE CAHILL: A friend of ours, Charlie Johnstone, is a photographer. He travels the world taking photos. One day he showed us some photos he took in Cuba with these young boxers – they were incredibly charismatic photos. These little six year old kids wearing enormous boxing gloves, slugging it out in the ring. It seemed a very aggressive sport to pair up with kids that still had their babyfat. So we were intrigued. We went down there and shot at that very boxing ring called Trejo in Old Havana. Later that night we saw a ballet in Havana and were moved by how similar the dancing was to the boxing. The best boxers are very good dancers. The film was born out of this juxtaposition and wanting to explore the nature of the Cuba-US conflict through the eyes of our generation – these young artists and athletes.

ADB: How did the project come on your radar? How did you assemble the team?
MIKE CAHILL: We all met at Georgetown — Nick Shumaker, who produced the film, and Brit and I. It was really just the three of us down there. We were lucky to make our first film in a time when making a truly handmade film was possible. Digital technology allows for that. The three of us went down to Havana with two cameras, two laptops and a few hard-drives and just started making this movie, following our instincts.

Brit: Mike Cahill, also an economics major, was working with National Geographic, saw a short film I had made, and he liked it. He wanted to make a film in Cuba, and asked “do you want to go with me?” I had been working at an investment bank at the time and was not very happy with what I was doing, so I jumped at the chance to go on an adventure.

ADB: How did Cuba illuminate the struggle to be young and to have dreams? Or What are the decisions, the givens facing the youth in Cuba that makes their experience unique?
Brit: There is no FREEDOM of movement to travel in CUBA, so these kids are traveling for first time by boxing and ballet dancing. That’s why the investment, the training is so intense and focused, these kids are not just training to be great athletes, they are training to have the freedom to know the world they live in.

ADB: So there are two sets of kids in your film on different sides of the Florida Straits.
Brit: Miami kids had defected, which became an interesting meditation on how much does where you live inform who you are and dictate your dreams. How much of what you want is American, structured by the capitalist mindset. Very early level we started to ask these questions.

MIKE: The film is exploring how these two different countries inform and shape the aspirations of young people growing up within them. For example, Paula talks about how when you come to the US, you are overwhelmed with choices – cell phones, cars, things – being overwhelmed by these choices can make you lose track of your dream. You get your car, your cellphone, you’re comfortable, and then you are sort of done. Where as in Cuba, someone like Yordenis, when we asked him what he would do with a million dollars he said he would get “a new TV and a new fan” — the only two things in his small concrete abode. He’s the number one boxer in Cuba in his weight class and was completely unaware of the possibilities of mass consumerism and was seemingly content in this innocence.
ADB: Did they question their decision to come over? *can you fill in some holes?*
Brit: That’s a good question. It’s complicated. There is this term “reverse balseros” – balseros being the name for Cubans who leave Cuba on rafts for Miami. Reverse Balseros is a recent term for the people who have risked their lives to come to Miami and then, after a few years in America, have decided it’s not what they dreamed it would be and actually go back to Cuba. So definitely, there are Cubans who question the decision to leave their homeland behind. But also, there are Cubans like Sergio. Sergio left Havana when he was 10 with his family. In Havana he was an honor roll student, a great athlete. When he got to Miami, his family moved into Hialeah – a tough neighborhood. Sergio talks in the film about how he had to give up on school, join a gang, that these things were just part of the culture he was absorbed into and it was a matter of survival. But even Sergio, for all that he lost, including friends of his who were killed in gang fights, would never leave America. Sergio has been bitten by the bug – he always believes, no matter what the present circumstance is for him, that he could be a millionare tomorrow. That in America, that kind of rags to riches story is possible for anyone. The potential for some extraordinary greatness is just in reach. I think it’s this deeply ingrained mythology that keeps the engine of “progress” running.

ADB: So you could almost say three sets of “young people’s” with dreams in the film if you include yourselves… How did this affect the film?
Brit: We got really close with them. Age as a factor, they let us in a way I think would have been difficult on different sides of the generation line.
ADB: Lets talk more about the American DREAM and being young …
This is a film about young people, by young people. Despite the obvious discrepancies in life circumstance, how did you connect with your characters as young people trying to believe, daring to dream? What was a stronger force (in terms of bringing you together or apart, uniting vs dividing): being young or being from opposite ends of economic/social spectrum?
Brit: It was about the energy with which we were pursuing that film. There was no money, just a whisper of an idea. There is an opportunity cost because life moves so quickly. We were all just jumping in to it (with our different passions). This was the first feature we ever made. They recognized we were throwing ourselves in to it with same fervor that they were pursuing their dreams. Passion is contagious whether it was boxing, dancing or filmmaking. Passion cuts through everything – nationality, race, class, gender.
ADB: Do you believe the American-style freedom to realize one’s dreams depends on socio-economic situation? What does it take to realize a dream?

MIKE: One might say that realizing one’s dream is a mix of one’s situation, drive and luck. The worse your situation the more drive and luck you need. The better your situation, the less drive and luck you need. But, of course, just being able to dream is a luxury, and not everyone is afforded this luxury. If your situation is like the 3 million homeless kids in this country, it’s nearly impossible to even dream at all.

BRIT: Dreaming means you are already surviving. If just attaining your survival needs is an all consuming effort, there is little room to dream.
ADB: Your journey: What gave you the confidence to believe that you could switch directions and become a filmmaker?

Brit: There was Nothing to lose. We were Not attached to anything. For our generation, it is surprisingly true in all parts of world. Gen Y kids are not quite like their parents. We are not going to stay in same place for 10 years. If a Gen Y kid doesn’t like their job, they are more likely to move, leave, or go home even than their parents were. We are not as enchanted by the big corporations as our parents may have been. Working in one company for life, slowly working your way up, retiring at a certain age. There is a Different energy to our generation, we subscribe more to the mentality: “well there is no reason not to do this.” I think we kind of looked at the babyboomers and thought to ourselves – the ladder model of success seems inherently broken… toward what are you climbing exactly? What is at the end of the ladder?

We were HUNGRY to create, and the TOOLs were there. Two DV cam cameras, two macs, lacie hard drives. We could touch it, do it all ourselves. We started cutting in Havana… even though electricity is cutting gout every day. Technology has brought us to an amazing point, you can really jump in a plan and go for it.

ADB: Was it difficult getting permission to film in Cuba?

Brit: We didn’t tell Cuban officials there was a Miami component to story. We told them it was a puff piece on Cuban boxing and ballet in Havana; celebrating Cuban pride points. We were assigned two press attaches, which are on some level spies for the government. But they are humans too and were put in a human situation. Their job was meant to hinder but a couple months in, passion is contagious, they were bitten by the film bug too. Suddenly those meant to halt progress were helping us arrange all the things we were not supposed to do. If you take a human out of the system, we found they just want to connect with people.

ADB: I know many people can get discouraged about all of the hoops one has to jump through, how did you keep the dream and passion alive, what were the biggest technical hurdles in making this film a reality?

Brit: We were capturing a world class athlete in shoebox house … Cuban authorities got wind of it, and obviously … woah,

We were sneaking in tapes, wrapping up traveling on journalist visas. When Bush started throwing weight behind the Miami hardliners, traveling back and forth became more difficult, there were more questions, we had more problems getting back into states. US officials wanted to know where you have been, what have you been doing.

ADB: The reward?

Brit: After making the film, the response was overwhelming. We had no idea we could make something that could affect anything.

When the Cuban officials got translation of the film, they canceled the Havana festival, but because of people’s response they couldn’t cancel it out right. So they had to let us screen but on the actual day, they changed time of the movie. It was supposed to screen at 7, they changed it to 4; they tried to have film screened quietly so people wouldn’t see it. But Cuban word of mouth is amazing … news spread through Havana and we ended up with lines wrapping around block to see film. People were sitting on each other laps, on the isle, the whole movie screened in dead silence. Mike and I were sitting in balcony not breathing just holding on to one another. … When it was over, lights came up, and the audience ERUPTED: crying laughing… It was amazing, we could never have anticipated that response. The film spoke to the Cuban people. That response is life changing. It is a Difficult road to undertake a creative endeavor. But the reward; to make something that moves people, was an incredible feeling.

ADB: How were you changed? When you went back to Georgetown, how did your major, your aspirations, your perceptions or vision of life alter?

Brit: We were really living in CUBA traveling to Miami better part of year. It was amazing to get out of America and look at it through foreign lens. It changed perspective completely. Going to international trade class in Georgetown in sweat pants with a cup of coffee you can model out what an embargo means in graphs on the chalkboard, but go to another part of world and it is a life changing experience. Going back to class after the experience, I had developed a more critical eye on the source of my information. Who is telling me this? That means something. What is agenda of the economics department? Crunching out kids in suits to go to wall street? And then what is wall street’s agenda?
ADB: And now?

Brit: I guess that the current ideology that really has a grip on the world is not “freedom” or even “democracy” it is “success.” And in America, this obsession with success is particularly all pervasive. And we are exporting that brand of success all over the world. Cuba gave me an interesting perspective on America. Cuba asks: what is success? What are the qualities and characteristics of a life well lived? I think Boxers and Ballerinas raises questions like this, and leaves it in the viewer’s hands to answer.

MIKE: ditto.

Today is exactly one month after Valentine’s Day. If you had a valentine then and still have that same valentine, then congratulations, that’s no small feat in this day and age. If you had a valentine a month ago and have a different one now, then you make quick work. But if things have soured since February 14, or if the past month has been a bit of a dry spell, then I have just the woman for you; she’s even a former massage therapist. No, no, not in that way, she’s happily married, but Sandra Schwartz is a certified matchmaker with an innovative concept.

Schwartz’s Cause and Effect Dating is not an online dating website, but a matchmaking service. Instead of meeting a potential date at a restaurant, movie, or show, Schwartz instead sends potential couples or groups of singles to volunteer and do good in and around New York City. I recently spoke with Sandra to learn more about her unique company.

Q: This seems like a great service you provide, what gave you the idea?

A few things. I had a private massage practice in New York City for years and listened to the dating woes of my clients everyday. I heard many online dating disaster stories and knew there must be a better way. I have volunteered for various causes over the years and met lovely people, in fact, that’s how I met my husband. I realized combining dating with volunteering was a great way to bring people together. So, I went to matchmaking school to get training and moved ahead with the idea.

Q: Do you find that people who meet through volunteer efforts have a higher success rate in finding a match?

Well, I can’t say because I don’t have stats on other methods of meeting. I do believe that when you are giving back you are at your best and I can’t think of a better time to meet someone.

Q: What kinds of volunteer activities do your clients participate in? Are you affiliated with any particular organizations or charities?

We do all sorts of things, from walking dogs, to delivering meals, to planting in community gardens. Gosh, we help out any organization that needs us. I am thrilled to announce that we are in the process of joining forces with The Starlight Foundation, I am sure we will come up with lots of fun activities for our daters through them!

Q: How did you come up with the name Cause and Effect?

Gosh, it just seemed to sum it up on so many levels. I feel that when good deeds and intentions are put out there, the effect comes back ten fold. It just fit, you help a CAUSE and the EFFECT just might be finding love.

Q: What is the average age of your clients? Do you have a minimum or maximum age?

We serve clients in their 20’s 30’s and 40’s.

Q: How do you ensure the highest quality of applicants for your service?

Well, quality is in the eye of the beholder. But, we do background checks on all clients.

Q: Approximately how many clients do you have? Do they each get personal attention from you?

We have over 500 clients. My goal is to provide a service that lies somewhere between private matchmaking and online services. Private matchmaking is very costly, often upwards of $10,000. I did not want Cause and Effect to be that exclusive because it defeats the purpose of getting mass volunteerism. So, I don’t spend hours in face to face meetings with clients but I do hold “Meet the Matchmaker Night” for clients so that I can meet them briefly and I consult with them by phone. In addition I am always available via email. And I handpick all matches.

Q: How did you meet your husband?

At a charity event, see it works!

Q: Did that play into your developing Cause and Effect?

Well, I can’t say, I guess it must have .

Q: How much does your service cost? Do you make any kind of guarantee?

We have a few different plans. Generally, it is $600 for a year membership and I guarantee at least 10 one on one dates. If at years end I have not fulfilled that, the membership is extended until fulfilled. We also have special events and partner discounts for members, fun little perks

Q: Do you provide services for heterosexual couples only?

One of the most common questions I get is “Do you make same sex matches?” The answer is yes and no. I, of course, want to serve the gay and lesbian community but I don’t yet have a large enough database to support me offering that service. It is one of my goals in 2008 to build that up. In fact, I am opening up my database for gay and lesbian singles for free for a limited time as a way to get that off the ground.

Q: What is the approximate success rate for your clients? Have any of them gotten married?

Well, Cause and Effect is fairly new. So, while there are many couples that I know are still together, I don’t know if they are married. Pre Cause and Effect, as a private matchmaker, I made many intros that led to marriage. Also, I don’t really keep in touch with daters after they stop using the service so who knows??

Q: What is the approximate male to female ratio? Do you get more applications from one gender or the other?

I can’t think of a dating service that does not have more women then men, especially in New York. It is one of the sad facts. I have been able to keep it fairly balanced thus far, I don’t accept everyone as a client and sometimes people are waitlisted.

Q: What is the strangest request you’ve gotten in a partner from a client?

So many, and many that are not printable. I once had a woman who wanted to date someone who looked like a particular male model, not similar to, but wanted a look alike. I get that type of thing a lot. Men who want a dead ringer for Jessica Alba or forget it. I turn those people away. I’m a matchmaker, not The Wizard of Oz.

Q: What if the client is uncomfortable with the volunteer opportunity you have assigned them?

Well, we don’t send anyone somewhere unless it is approved by both daters. If, after they get there they are not happy, I ask that they complete the assignment anyway, actually that has never happened.

Q: I live in New Orleans, so I’d be unable to sign up. Do you have any plans to expand to other areas of the country?

Well, growth and franchising is something that I struggle with because I want to retain the integrity of the business. That said, I am in meetings to do just that. We just need to figure out a way to do it so that the service still remains at a high level. So, don’t worry New Orleans, we will get there soon!!!

Q: Do you have any advice for young daters? What about young entrepreneurs?

My advice for young daters, all daters really, is to be open, don’t box yourself in about things like height and age, give people a shot and you might be surprised.

Q: Sandra Schwartz, that’s a good Jewish name. Has anyone ever called you Yente (the matchmaker from Fiddler on the Roof)?

All the time!!! It’s quite a compliment!

Thank you very much for your time.

You’re very welcome.

With Sundance over, some of us are looking ahead to the next big fest. That’s right, SXSW. One of the films premiering there, “Flying on One Engine” is an amazing documentary about a wheelchair bound, larynx-less doctor, diagnosed with a life-threatening aortic aneurysm: Dr. Sharadkumar Dicksheet. He now lives only (and barely) so he can travel to India to perform free operations in marathon-like surgery sessions where up to 700 children receive treatment for their cleft lips and other deformities. The film’s maker Joshua Weinstein shares some of his experience with ADB.

How did you find Dr. Dicksheet?

Dr. Dicksheet was my father’s attending resident while my dad was in medical school. In the mid 90’s my father made his first trip to India with Dr. Dicksheet to perform free operations. Since then my dad has gone on a number of humanitarian surgery trips.

Was there anything in particular that drew you to his story?

Dr. Dicksheet is a larger than life character, bound to a wheelchair, larnx-less, his heart only works at 18%, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 8 times, and he is hysterical too!
Originally my first trip to India was to make a promotional video for Dr. Dicksheet’s organization, but after my first second of turning the camera on, I knew I was in for the long haul! I began the film in January ‘06 and finished it in January ‘08. It is hard to believe that two years have passed.

This man has done tens of thousands of surgeries, how does that affect what he (and you) think of his work?

He says “the operation theater is my temple.” The surgeries are his devotional prayers to God that literally keep him alive. The amazing thing is that Dr. Dicksheet should be dead right now. Most people do not survive a partially paralyzing car accident, larynx cancer, and 2 life-threatening heart attacks. When he is home in NYC he looks like a pathetic old man –he can barely walk across the room without losing his breath. But the second he arrives in India he finds the strength to perform over 70 operations in a day.

This story seems to be filled with a sense of struggle against the body. What are your thoughts on that and have they changed since making this?

The film is about the struggle to overcome the body’s limitations. As Dicksheet explains about his own condition, ” my heart is a four engine jet plane flying on one engine, and if that engine fails I go down.” His body is weak, but his mind is strong and he’s an inspiration to anyone to stop making excuses for themselves and really go after their dreams. Dr. Dicksheet used to be a skier, a professional singer, a dancer, and a real ladies man. Now he’s a mess, but he has found the one thing that he can still enjoy and that is surgery.

What was the most powerful experience you had in making this documentary?

I cried and laughed way too much making this film. Dicksheet is an eccentric man and it takes a long time to warm up to him, to understand when he is joking and when he is being serious. But the memories that made me cry most recently were in September ‘07. This was the last week of filming and Dr. Dicksheet was extremely ill. His Daughter would confide to me that he had been collapsing frequently and going to the emergency room because of a problem with his blood pressure. Dicksheet is such a stoic hero that you would never hear him complain, he just sat their waiting to get back to work in India.
During these last days with him he would talk frequently about his ideas on life and death. He was not afraid because he thought “death was like going to sleep.” I know that he needed rest. but sure enough at the end of the week he went to India and has been feeling well since.

What was your goal in making this film and is there anything in particular that you want people to take away from it?

My goal was to make a film that could make all of us laugh and cry and leave feeling like we had experienced a great story together. This film has so many layers that I can’t wait for everyone to watch it!

The film still needs funding for post production and marketing, so ideas and help are welcome. Check out some more info at the film’s website or facebook group and check out the trailer here.

Caught up with Sam Davidson to talk about CoolPeopleCare which is a great initiative. We’re big fans over here at ADB.

CoolPeopleCare is aiming to be THE online destination for anyone who wants to make a difference.

To some, making a difference means small, simple acts that can be done every single day. If that’s you, check out 5 Minutes of Caring articles. They’re daily 99-word articles that offer practical tips and motivation for you to make a positive impact each and every day.

To others, making a difference means showing up to local events that make the world a better place. If that’s you, visit our Act Locally calendar, which lists any event that benefits your local community. From 5k runs to volunteer opportunities, from lectures to fundraising dinners, we’ve got meaningful events covered in nearly every American city.

And to some other people, making a difference means hopping on board with a local nonprofit and focusing your efforts on one issue. If that’s you, visit our partner page. These community organizations support our work and we, in turn, want to send you to them. You want to change the world, and these groups are already doing so. Sounds like a match.

Quickly tell us about your background
I grew up in Nashville, and moved back after college. I never thought I’d come back here, but now that I’ve been here for four years, I don’t see myself ever leaving. After college, I got married and needed a job so I walked into a hotel and was hired helping out with conferences. I hated it most days and was actively looking to break out and dive into the nonprofit world. A year and a half later, I finally got a shot. After being in the nonprofit sector for a bit, I saw a lot of needs that needed addressing and a lot of change was looming in terms of technology, advocacy, and awareness. That is what led to CoolPeopleCare.

How did coolpeoplecare.org start and what holds for the future?
It just started as a T-shirt idea. I saw these three words on a sign in a crowd and thought it was a brilliant message. I wanted to put them on a shirt and put those shirts on college kids and anyone else looking to be cool. I hoped the shirts would spark conversations between the wearer and the passerby, allowing people to share with one another what it was they cared about. People could then have a chance to tell the world what it was that made them want to make a difference.

So I went with the shirt idea to my friend Stephen to see how we could start making and selling these shirts. His background is in design and marketing, and we met working for the same youth development nonprofit in Nashville. What was supposed to be a 15 minute conversation turned into 2 hours. We knew we had something.

Basically, whenever we asked people why they didn’t get involved, we got 2 main excuses: I don’t know how and I don’t have enough time. We thought that if we could eliminate these excuses, we could bring more people into the social change conversation. Making a difference doesn’t have to be difficult. By showing people that community impact was doable, people might be willing to try it.

We also saw a need for nonprofits to connect with young people in order to tell them their needs and share ways to get involved. So we also new a main part of the site had to ultimately take people offline and out of their houses and into their local communities. So, we offer a local event calendar in 42 cities, listing any event that makes the world a better place, encouraging people to get out and make a difference.

How can people get involved? What are some simple ways people can do something?
First of all, just stop by the site. Each weekday, we publish a new article called ‘5 Minutes of Caring.’ This is a daily tip that shows you something you can do to make a difference literally in less than 300 seconds. And, if you’re passionate about a certain issue, look at our calendar if we have one for your city. Then, go out and meet other who are giving back.

Are there any success stories since the project started?
Absolutely. We’ve grown fast, which is great. We’ve been up and running for nearly 14 months now and we’re very proud to have so many visitors from all over. And, we’ll be releasing our first book at the end of October titled, “New Day Revolution: How to Save the World in 24 Hours.” It’s basically a manual for ways to change the world around you as part of your normal daily routine.

Living in the world of doing good, what inspires you to do something like this?
I’m someone who feels compelled to tell the stories that need telling in order to motivate other to change the things that need changing. Whether I’m working in a hotel, a nonprofit, or running CoolPeopleCare, an essential part of who I am needs to revolve around that idea. I want to show people that they have the power to change the world. Each and every person out there can make a difference right now, where they are, with what they have.

Thanks Sam! It was great hearing about what you’re doing to change the world. Very inspiring!

You can contact Sam Davidson at ssdavidson@gmail.com. If you would like to be interviewed on alldaybuffet, please contact mike at mike@alldaybuffet.org

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