Bright Jewels: Restoring Victims of Sexual Trafficking

"They sell necklaces with a story. But the story this jewelry tells isn’t about blood diamonds; it represents freedom from a far more subtle, but equally destructive, practice.

It’s a practice that entraps women and children in a hell from which they can’t get away. Kelly Besedick and Ginnie Wagner started Wonderfully Made Jewelry about four years ago to address one of the great injustices—heinous crimes, in fact—of this era: the sex trade."

For more on the story, click here.

Hosting a children's cookie decorating party

"An afternoon of cookie decorating can be a big hit with children, especially if the grown-ups in charge plan ahead and keep the focus on fun.

Here are some tips from Cindy Mushet, author of 'Baking Kids Love' (Andrews McMeel, $20), part of the cookbook line from kitchenware company Sur La Table (surlatable.com). We've added some of our own advice, too, from the front lines."

Click here for some sweet tips!

Designing in the Dark: The DesCours Design Exhibit

"Attention aesthetic adventure-seekers. Take my advice: Put the DesCours 2009 design exhibition on your weekend not-to-miss list. It’s a self-guided nocturnal tour that will take you into shadowy French Quarter courtyards, a mysterious empty bank lobby, the fourth-floor roof of the old D.H. Holmes building, even a shipping container parked beside an abandoned warehouse. In 13 such locations, you will find a series of glowing sculptures and installations by an international cast of 3-D design teams, cut loose from their usual home and business building projects to think outside the box."

Click here for more on the story, including an intriguing video.

Costco brings back Coke: The companies settle their price dispute

Coca-Cola drinkers will find their beverage of choice at Costco Wholesale again soon.

For more on the resolution of this dispute between corporate entities, click here.

Why You Think the Way You Do: God’s Truth Through the Ages

"has been the most powerful force in shaping Western civilization. The problem is, most Christians don’t know about it. But I’ve got a solution."

Click here for Chuck Colson's solution.

Program encourages girls to consider engineering

"Forty area middle-school girls gathered Saturday for a novel engineering program called 'Ready Set Design!' encouraging women into a field where they have been underrepresented.

'You graduate from engineering school and go on to improve an aspect of human life, and make a difference in the world,' a poster on the wall encouraged the young students gathered inside Levering Hall on Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus."

For more on this program, click here.

South Side beaches going back to nature: Chicago begins 2 South Side restoration projects

"In the late 1990s, the Chicago Park District stopped grooming 11 acres of the man-made Montrose Beach -- and something incredible began to happen.

A dune was formed naturally, and six state-listed rare plant species suddenly began to grow. Migrating birds began flocking to the site, and over time, more than 150 species have been observed, including the federally endangered piping plover."

Click here for more on how mankind and nature can coexist.