Brewers Support MECA Vest A K-9 Fest

These are the types of vests that the event will help provide

Milwaukee Professional Baseball Players, WAMI Award Winner And GAB to attend the 2014 MECA Vest A K-9 Fest.

In partnership with FOX Sports Network (FSN), Dr. Lichtenberger, DVM, DACVECC and The MECA Foundation  will host the 3rd annual MECA Vest A K-9 Fest Saturday, July 26th from 10am until 3pm at the Milwaukee Emergency Center for Animals located in Greenfield, WI.
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Last year over 1200 people attended the event in support of the MECA Foundation’s mission, which is to provide total wellness for Wisconsin police k-9's including veterinary care, financial support for police K-9's and K-9 protective vests.

Wisconsin has over 235 canine officers and most of them do not have protection. The average cost of a K-9 vest is $840.  Each vest is bullet and stab proof and made of the same ballistic material as the human officer vest. The vest weights approximately 6 lbs. The vests do not inhibit the K-9's movement. The K-9's wear the vests in training exercises so they are ready and able to do their work while wearing the vest. A K-9 vest is not worn like a uniform, but rather only as needed. The K-9s' Handler will put the vest on the K-9 when there is an increased danger level.

Great Play: Buy A Futbol For Yourself And Give One

Buy a One World Futbol and they will donate one

We are big fans of the Buy On Give One model where a company donates a product to those in need for each one bought from them Unfortunate like many socially conscious products, finding man-friendly ones can be tough. I just heard of one that not only fits that bill, but is timely as well. You have o be living under a rock to not know that the FIFA World Cup is going on right now, even for us Americans to whom it is not considered one of the big sports. Not only that, the Milwaukee County Parks recently added a new soccer-related activity via 2 FootGolf courses, as port that combines golf with soccer. Info on our local courses is here. If you are feeling the excitement and want to get out and try your hand, at soccer or FootGolf, you will need one thing really: the ball.

If you buy a soccer ball, or a futbol as the rest of the world calls it, why not get it from the One World Futbol Project who will in turn donate one to organizations working with youth in disadvantaged communities worldwide? You can also just purchase balls to donate directly to their network of organizations.

This Men's Health Week Look Out For Other Men

Value, and care, for other men this year

Every year the second week of June is Men's Health Week, a week chosen partly as it leads up to and includes Father's Day. Since Father's Day is a day we celebrate and look to other men, I thought it appropriate to do the same in regards to Men's Health Week. Normally we would be speaking to the importance of being aware of your own health and especially men's health issues, instead, for this year, we want you to look at your friends and family and help them be aware and reach out in ways to help everyone around you. We want you to reach out to your fellow man and help them be healthy.

In our annual Men's Health Week post, we list the 7 top health concerns specific to men which include Suicide, Type 2 diabetes, Stroke, Chronic lower respiratory diseases, Accidents, Cancer, and #1 Heart disease. Use that post and its information as a way to see the signs not in yourself, but in others and if you see them help convince them, since men need convincing, to seek help in improving their health.

Tosa Embracing, Placing Skaters In Safe Space

Hey look quick, its kids being active!

It is all too common for us to bemoan the sedentary lifestyle of modern children and there are many efforts to increase their level of activity. At the same time, we condemn physical activities we once did as youths with no thought of safety. It is understandable that we want to protect our kids and promote safe practices like wearing of helmets. But how do we reconcile our concerns of safety while also promoting physical activity? One of the best ways is to create and maintain safe spaces for them to do the activities. In Wauwatosa they are doing just that with a new skate park being planned in Hart Park. With the assistance of Tosa Skateboarders United, TSU, and the  Jack Doyle Memorial Challenge Grant funds have been raised to build a new skate park that will provide a dedicated, safe place for skaters in the city to, well, skate.

Iron Horse Hotel Helps BUILD Students' Futures

This is the winning bike from the
 2013-14 BUILD season

All things considered, it would always be my recommendation for youth to try their best to pursue higher education, whatever it may lead to. But some - confession myself included - just aren't cut out for the path of attending or finishing college after high school. For many, even with a degree, career pursuits that don't involve a college education's fruits are their path for one reason or another. For these people, getting a trade skill is very important but in today's education landscape that is becoming harder and harder as resources for public schools decline and the focus becomes more and more in higher education that may or may not be taken advantage of.

Thankfully, there are programs to help young people get the skills they need to find a worthwhile and worthy career in manual trades. One such program is the BUILD Moto Mentor program started by the Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee which pairs local custom motorcycle building mentors with teams of students to learn how to rebuild a bike from the ground up. Tomorrow, Thursday June 5th, you can see and celebrate the results of this past year's teams at the first of the Iron Horse Hotel's weekly bike nights.