Transparency = Trust

We often talk about the importance of donations to our organization and how without them, we could never wish to accomplish the goals we have set out to achieve. And while we do report on the findings of research funded by those donations and the success(es) of various initiatives there-in, we don’t often give line-by-line announcements of how every dollar was spent (because, well, finances are boring). Despite the lack of discussion however, you may be surprised to find that financial transparency is something we take very seriously at the CJ Foundation for SIDS and has been a longstanding tradition in our operations. We always work hard to make as much information available as possible to anyone who comes looking for it and we tend to think we’ve done pretty well. Apparently, we’ve been doing even better than we thought!

Attachment Parenting: Sorry to Offend

The Consumer Reports Safety Blog that we referenced in our latest post has generated quite a bit of attention from the reading public. As of today, Five products not to buy for your baby is sitting under a pile of 133 comments, many of which contain some unanticipated backlash from offended parents all throughout the country. Apparently, the main problem with Consumer Reports’ latest advice is that it directly conflicts with the views and recommendations of Attachment Parenting advocates (a group that emphasizes “round-the-clock” closeness to infants). While we won’t get into detail over the exact statements that were posted in the comments (though feel free to explore this issue yourself by clicking the link at the bottom of the post) what we will say is this: infant safety is and always has been our top concern. We want everyone to have intimate, nurturing relationships with their children and we know there are a number of ways to achieve that. However, if there is sufficient research or data that lead to recommending a certain product, method, or lifestyle change over another, we won’t be afraid to make that recommendation. We hope that we haven’t offended anyone out there yet but if you ever feel uneasy about something you read here on the blog, our homepage, or elsewhere, why not drop us a question? We’re always here to answer them.

Consumer Reports vs Attachment Parenting @ New York Times

Finding Friends Item #1.5: Twitter

Ok, so we’re moving a little backwards with this one but to be fair, our Twitter page was actually available before our Facebook page. So, I guess it’s time to tell you what Twitter’s all about!

Twitter’s functionality can be summed up in one question: “What are you doing?” By answering this question, your followers get updates to whatever it is that you’re “up to” and can smile along with you as you share the exciting parts of your day. Your friends can of course reciprocate with messages (or “tweets”) of their own and before you know it, you and your friends and your friends’ friends’ friends all have a dynamic little network for staying in touch. Pretty cool, huh?

If you’d like to learn more about it, just check out their homepage and read to your heart’s content. If you like what you see, and decide you want to give it a try (it’s free of course), don’t forget to “follow” us (our Twitter profile name is cjsids)–we wouldn’t want to miss you!

The CJ Foundation for SIDS Twitter profile

Finding Friends Item #2: Facebook

We know that many of you have been patiently waiting for this day to come and we’re finally proud to announce our very own page on the ever popular Facebook. For all of you familiar with the Facebook experience, you’ll be happy to know that you no longer have to suffer through writing those archaic “e-mails” just to say “hi” or ask a question. You may now quite simply post a question on our Wall or participate in one of the infamous “Discussion Board” discussions. If you don’t use Facebook and are feeling a little left out, well, hang tight because we have many more networks to explore and your stomping grounds are sure to be on the list. In the meantime, you can always continue to read this blog and/or browse our main page whenever you feel like it. Of course, Facebook is free and new members are always welcome.

The CJ Foundation for SIDS Facebook Page

Where ARE our manners…?

Here we are, already two posts into our brand new blog and we haven’t even given a formal introduction.  So, without further ado, welcome to the CJ Foundation for SIDS’ new blog!

Since you’re already reading, I suppose now is a good time to tell you about some of our exciting new plans for community development right here on the inter-web (we’ll call it our Finding Friends series).  This blog is item #1.  You can pretty much consider this your “one-stop-shop” for all SIDS-related news, events, and anything else we think might be useful.  We plan to post updates pretty frequently, so check back often to see what’s going on (all of you Web 2.0-ers out there can make use of the shiny RSS button on the sidebar to keep up).  In addition to the blog, we will be rolling out a number of new outlets to various social networks.  Be on the lookout for pages/profiles on MySpace, Facebook, Squidoo, and many others.  As each profile is rolled out, you can expect an explanatory post right here on the CJ Foundation blog so if you have any questions, you know where to find the answers.

Well, I suppose that’s it for now.  Go ahead and post a comment.  We’d love to know what you think!