V-Day, the international non-profit that works to end violence against women and girls, released its annual interactive program update today, and the news is nothing if not inspiring. Between projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, and work with community activists ranging from teen girls to adult men, you can’t leave the experience and not feel activated about the contributions (and your own).

I’m excited to be editing the new WordPress project that features daily arts and style coverage from around the web. The collaboration between the blogging platform and Federated Media promises “the freshest in culture” across photos and features. It’s presented and supported by Lexus’ new CT Hybrid.

Recent coverage has included Amour Vert dresses on Ecofabulous and Herman Miller-winning hammocks from Inhabitat. Sustainability, graphic design, entertainment, and–of course–adventures are among the topics regularly reviewed.

You can follow PopPressed on Twitter and please do send along your own concepts for coverage.

I first found out about founder Paige Elenson’s work to train and find jobs for local yogis in Yoga Journal and promptly began, well, e-stalking her organization. When I saw people sporting the group’s shirts, I’d ask if they knew this elusive wonder woman or been to East Africa. I’ve got to go sometime, I thought.

So when AYP sent a note about their first group trip to assist in the construction of a community center in Kibera, Nairobi’s largest slum, I tried to forget my past construction foibles and focus on the Kenyan community of yoga teachers and students. It’s a long way to say I signed up, and now it’s time to make good on my $5K commitment to the organization’s important work.

To make a tax-deductible contribution (and I’d be most grateful), please visit the fundraising info. If you’d like to learn more about the work that I will be doing and where your tax deductible contribution will go, please visit the Africa Yoga Project’s details.

Five dollars will get non-conference participants a set of transportation talks, wine, beer, and networking.

Inspired by the local Team In Training teams that rode the Solvang Century this weekend to raise funds for blood cancer treatment, I wanted to share a new collaboration between clever teams at design consultancy IDEO and Stanford. They’re using the former’s community platform for brainstorming and project development to encourage more people to consider donating bone marrow (the transplant of which can be a life-saving course of treatment for people with leukemia and lymphoma). Current concepts consider how Girl Scout cookies, lemonade stands and the launch of Gmail can all inform a public action campaign. Won’t you consider adding your own ideas and, in the word of a friend who works on the initiative, consider how your own acumen can inform the community at large?

And some of that work that I most enjoyed came from Jonathan McIntosh, an open video advocate who created a “Gendered Advertising Remixer.” Forty toy commercials and their pink vs. blue/black approach are yours to rearrange with the free online tool; I’m hard pressed to think of a better environment to mash up The Eye of Judgment and Barbie Island Princess in celebration of International Women’s Day.

Thanks to Jazmin Hupp for shooting and editing.

While thinking about January brings slight sadness for many (post-holiday glum, not to mention keeping resolutions), the first month of the year has me excited for all that Utah offers, mainly the Altitude Design Summit and Sundance. I tend to talk about both throughout the year–the people! the projects!–and am especially excited for the premiere of Connected at this year’s film festival.

The feature-length “Autoblogography about Love, Death & Technology” was just announced as part of this year’s documentary competition. Filmmaker and Webby Awards founder Tiffany Shlain talked about the project at Ignite Bay Area a year ago when it was still in production, and I hope her five-minute talk gets you thinking about “surprising links between right brain and left; alphabets and power; honey bees and stress; hormones and happiness; technology and nature” and the like.