Short on Cash? Bartering May Be Your Best Bet

Another bank failed in Georgia and I'm sure they're falling down in your state too, so what's the small biz owner to do??

Never fret, there is a solution! For those of us - small biz and just regular old folk looking for a good deal, bartering may be the next best thing! Yes, bartering. Who knew? Well apparently, the brilliant folks at NuBarter saw this happening a long time ago and set the wheel in motion.

Now we have a well-oiled machine helping businesses sustain this pyscho economy that comes and goes with the wind!

Victor Arnold of HB Fitness in Smyrna was in need of podiatry work when he decided to explore opportunities available to him through NuBarter. Victor shares, “When I joined NuBarter, I mentioned to Jenny and Aaron the issues I’d been having with my feet.” He continues, “They told me of a podiatrist that was a fellow member in the Atlanta area and I called to schedule an appointment.”

Click here to read the whole story.

http://www.nubarter.com/

Where do the Uninsured Go for Healthcare?

There are so many people without health insurance in today's economy. People who lose jobs, lose their health insurance. If they have children, then their children go without health insurance as well.

There are so many reasons this is a bad situation, but there's help for those who live in Charlotte, North Carolina!

Fellow Humanitarian, She-Ra and Community Activist, Donna Murray Lacey, executive director of CVIM (The Charlotte Volunteers in Medicine Clinic) and staff, along with community partners, will be observing Cover the Uninsured Week providing free vision screening; open to the public, on Wednesday, March 25th at the clinic's site at 1315 Beatties Ford Road from 5pm - 8pm. They will also have a community outreach on Friday, March 27th from 10am - 2pm with several health screenings and health education sessions at The Greenville Center located at 1330 Spring Street.

In North Carolina, almost 1.3 million people are without health insurance. Cover the Uninsured Week is a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This is a nationally recognized week that helps build support and provide awareness to America's uninsured.

Early detection is the key to living a long and healthy life. Screenings provided during this event may provide a path to a proper diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Educational materials provided will equip the community with the proper tools and resources necessary to make wise and healthy decisions.

Volunteers will be on hand to provide prostate cancer screening and HIV screening. In addition, our community partners will provide health and wellness information. Our partners include: Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation, The McCrorey YMCA, Prevent Blindness North Carolina, Mecklenburg County Health Department, National Marrow Donor Program, American Stroke/American Heart Association, State Farm Insurance 50 Million Pound Challenge, Total Touch Chiropractic Wellness Center, Metrolina AIDS Project, Pfizer Pharmaceutical, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Carolina.

CVIM is committed to helping residents of Mecklenburg County who do not have health insurance coverage and continues to have a major impact within Charlotte-Mecklenburg County.

CVIM is credited for changing peoples' attitudes about their health and healthcare delivery and has been covered by media such as: V101.9, Q92.7, WFAE, WGIV, News 14 Carolina, WSOC-TV, Pride Magazine, The Charlotte Observer, The Charlotte Post and Advance for Physician Assistants.

Please support us and our partners as we support the community to bridge the health gap. For more information about CVIM and its vision of service to Charlotte-Mecklenburg's uninsured or to inquire about becoming a donor, partner or volunteer, please visit http://www.cvim.org/call Donna M. Lacey at 704-350-1300.

The PR Saga: Featuring Chris Brown & Rhianna

As a publicist, I often wonder about my fellow publicists – specifically Chris & Rhianna's publicists as they try to figure out how to manage this crisis PR situation. I can only imagine it's daunting at best, but a statement of "She's doing well, thanks for asking" is not really saying anything.

The media is now saying they are back together, that she is pregnant, that Chris really doesn't want her, that she's 'head-over-hills in love' ...blah, blah, blah....can we get some real truth from the sources? I'm just saying...

The public wants to know what's really going on – hey, they are in the PUBLIC'S EYE and LOVE the attention when it's making them lots of money. I say, since you're profiting on my attention when it works for you, then I at least need a decent answer as to what's going on.

Not only that, here's a chance to really shine in the face of tremendous adversity as a publicist. Some things I would do are:

• Seek out an "exclusive" with a few trusted sources in print, TV or radio
  
• Put out an official blog and let the fans know that you know they are concerned omitting twitter and Facebook as sources
  
• Have an answer for media speculation - quickly
  
• Make some phone calls to organizations, businesses, etc. and work to partner by being a voice of reason, an advocate, etc. to soften the blow
  
• Last but not least, keep it moving the best way you can with your head held high
  

When you're in the public eye, it's hard to deal with a private situation publicly, let alone in actual privacy when no one seems to understand you need time and space to come to grips with things.

Nonetheless, they are someone's clients, but they are also people.

Fellow publicists, what do you think? How would you handle such a crisis?