Speak up. It makes a difference.

2010 marks the 10th anniversary of what is probably the biggest annual event the hospital I work at hosts. When you step back and take a look at it, this heart fair is a great community service. Anyone, young or old, can stop by the health fair and receive a cholesterol screening, blood pressure check, a multitude of other resources and consult with a real live health educator (RN, RD, CEP, etc) absolutely free. Shoot, we'll even have chair massages there!

Of course, this event also has food and drink, and in the past the hospital has taken to ordering about 500 bottles of water for the participants and worker bees alike to stay hydrated. Being a part of the team that organizes the event I had a random thought: Why not ask the Culligan guys to come to the heart fair and eliminate the need to throw 500 plastic bottles in the trash?

Long story short, not only did Culligan agree to come but they're donating all their water. We saved money for the hospital and saved the poor Earth from being smothered with that much more plastic! And instead of 100s of tiny paper cups we're doing reusable plastic cups as part of our giveaway item instead of chip clips. Now, I know that plastic cups aren't the greatest, but at least they aren't taking a nonstop flight to the landfills. And the dietitian in me is happy that we're promoting good hydration with cups vs. keeping your processed foods crisp and "fresh" with chip clips. Double plus.

All because I saw a different option and opened my sometimes overly opinionated mouth. That's it. What will you speak up about?