We Are Together is a film about children living in the Agape orphanage in Africa. It chronicles their lives, individual personalities, and incredible journeys through life. They are also all part of a choir and have recorded an album that coincides with the film (absolutely beautiful music!), with profits from the both the film and CD going to benefit children in South Africa.
There are lots of ways to support the cause, including joining their email list (which includes getting a free music track download), donating money, or simply by purchasing the CD and watching the film (coming soon to HBO).
$50 means a family will be given twenty new books to share and learn together
$100 will supply a tutoring kit of forty books that a mentor and child can work through during an entire year
$250 brings one hundred books to a classroom providing a stack of books for each child
$500 supplies two hundred books to fill forty children's backpacks in community-based programs
$1,000 opens doors of a neighborhood library with four hundred books to share
Of course as a non-profit the donation is tax-deductible but you don't just have to give monetarily. Consider volunteering, fundraising, and spreading the word, all of which will make a difference. Fifty million books have already been distributed...imagine what your donation could do.
The Drink 1 Give 10 campaign is simple: for every liter of Volvic bottled water you drink 10 liters of clean drinking water will be provided to children in Africa. The campaign is a result of a collaboration between Volvic and UNICEF, and the money donated to UNICEF through Volvic will be used to build wells, educate the people, and help maintain clean water supplies -- because every child has the right to clean water.
Bands and musicians often have foundations but not every band's foundation wins an award from eBay for their work. The Make Yourself Foundation, which was founded by the members of the rock band Incubus recently won eBay's 2008 Golden Ribbon Award for a nonprofit. The foundation auctions tickets and memorabilia via eBay Giving Works using a portion of their proceeds from all band-related activity and online eBay sales to fund various environmental and arts-related causes such as the Surfrider Foundation, Save the Music, Future Forests and Heal the Bay. Last year, the Foundation raised over $600,000 for causes like these through eBay. The band encourages fans to donate by buying Incubus bootleg CDs, Make Yourself Foundation gear or selling things on eBay through Mission Fish and donating to the foundation that way.
All children should have the right to play but for some on the world's most disadvantaged communities, the simple joy of sport and play is not always available. The Right to Play program uses the medium of sports and activities for a variety of purposes including teaching HIV prevention, helping rehabilitate children affected by war, encouraging the healthy, phsycial, social and emotional deveopment of refugees and simply bringing laughter and play to children in need. The program accepts donations and trains volunteers as coaches but one simple way you can help is by buying a mini red ball which is available at Adidas stores.
Posh Paws is an idea put into motion by Cantoni furniture store and inspired by a small polyethylene dog originally created by designer Eero Aarnio as part of his children's collection. The Posh Paws version takes the original dog, adds in a few local and national celebrity designers, and comes up with an entire line of adorable and unique puppy toys (toys that are puppies, not toys for puppies) that are up for sale to benefit various charities in the name of animal rescue and helping stray pets find permanent homes. My favorite is this one by Zsofia Mezey Koppani.
Jenny's Light is a charity devoted to raising awareness about perinatal mood disorders. The organization was founded by the family of a woman named Jenny who suddenly took both her and her husband's life while suffering from untreated post partum depression. Jenny's Light funds research into post natal mood disorders and also provides support to women suffering from the darkness and hopelessness that sometimes occurs after giving birth. Help shine light on this serious health issue, donations are greatly appreciated as much research still needs to be done!
Since 1986, Rails to Trails Conservancy has been repurposing old railroad tracks into hiking and biking trails with its goal to create "nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people."
I'd heard about this group, but forgot about it until a few days ago, when taking a different route home, I noticed two nearby streets had dedicated bicycle lanes, and my memory was sparked. I think this group has more significance than ever, as more and more people are going green, and walking and biking more. The conservancy even has a pledge you can sign to "Burn Calories, Not Carbon!" I like that this group was ahead of its time, and isn't just jumping on the green bandwagon, or "greenwashing" its claims.
The conservancy has a strong political arm, defending the federal railbanking statute in Congress and the courts as an essential tool to preserve unused rail corridors. Read about how you can get involved.
Sporting triumphs are often marked with the splash of victory, that moment when the Gatorade hits the winning coach's unsuspecting head. Celtics coach Doc Rivers got a good soaking in orange Gatorade when the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. His Gatorade-stained shirt has now brought in $55,000 for The Shamrock Foundation through an auction on sports radio WEEI (850 AM). The Boston Globe's Celtics Blog reports that an anonymous bidder pledged $35,000 for the shirt and the Gatorade bucket used in the soaking. The Gatorade company donated an addition $10,000 and a second anonymous donor gifted a $10,000 pledge.Steve Pagliuca, Celtics managing partner and president of The Shamrock Foundation has offered another $35,000 if the shirt's new owner will let the Celtics show off the shirt to fans at certain points during the next season.
The Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation benefits children in Boston, partnering with community based organizations that provide healthcare, shelter and vital services for children in need. The foundation's current community partners are Perkins School for the Blind, Childrens Hospital Boston, Horizons for Homeless Children, and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (MSPCC). They accept donations if you want to commemorate the Celtics victory with a little giving of your own.
Here at Luxist we have a bit of a weakness for charities involving horses, we've covered quitea fewof them and here comes another worthwhile horse rescue. The Sunrise Horse Rescue is located in St. Helena, California in the Napa Valley. Sunrise Horse Rescue is a non-profit organization that operates at the Sunrise Stables, a riding school that emphasizes not just riding but total horse care. Children and adults spend as much time grooming and feeding and cleaning up after their horses as they do riding in the arena and on the trails at the ranch.
Sunrise Horse Rescue is the only horse rescue operation in the Napa Valley. They rescue abused and neglected horses in Napa and Sonoma Counties and provide students of all ages with life-enhancing skills derived from riding and horsemanship. Sunrise Horse Rescue currently shelters 10 rescued horses of a variety of breeds, ages and backgrounds and welcomes donations and volunteer support.
The 46664 Foundation, named after the number former South African President Nelson Mandela wore while imprisoned for 27 tears, aims to raise awareness and to educate people about the global HIV/AIDS crisis. The campaign began in 2003, when Mandela realized that to reach the youth of the world he needed to engage the support of the people who most appeal to them. Mandela, supported by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen, and Bono (natch), persuaded more than 30 of the world's top artists to come together to perform at a global awareness concert for HIV/AIDS in Cape Town.
Mandela will be 90 this year, and to celebrate, as well as to raise funds for 46664, there will be a global launch of limited-edition 46664 wrist bangles during the birthday celebrations in London on June 27. The goal is to create jobs as well as bring at least R1-billion (R=South African Rand, equal to $0.12587 on June 23) to the fight against HIV/Aids. Offered will be 90 platinum bangles (at the cost of R135 660 each), 90 24-carat gold bangles (R67 260), 466 18-carat gold bangles (R54 948) and 46,664 silver bangles (R1 995). The initiative will be a South African effort using metals from local suppliers, the skills of local craftsman and domestic suppliers from the tooling, machining and packaging industries. At least 60 percent of revenues from the sale of bangles will go to the 46664 HIV/Aids prevention campaign.
Pratham USA was started in 1994 by UNICEF, with the goal to educate the children of India in the areas of reading writing and basic math. Based on the principal that children who attend school make more productive members of society and are less likely to fall into poverty, Pratham works by improving India's schools instead of replacing them or imposing new ways of life. Recently Google awarded a $2 million grant to Pratham to assist their efforts! Check out the amazing work this organization is doing here.
The Tony Hawk Foundation has a very broad mission of working to foster lasting improvements in society and it aims to do this mainly by empowering and supporting the youth of today. The Tony Hawk Foundation creates and supports various recreational programs around the country but usually favors (of course!) putting up skateboard parks in low income communities.
A while back I mentioned that jeweler John Hardy had opened a eco-friendly hotel in Bali. But John and Cynthia Hardy are doing more for the area they love so much. They have created the Green School in Bali, Indonesia, a visionary new international school. The school, which is set to open in September, will have 80-100 students in the first year, teaching preschool and kindergarten through Year 8. The small classes will have a western-trained teacher, an Indonesian teacher and a teacher who is a recent college graduate participating in their New Teacher training program. The idea behind the school is to create a new model for 21st century learning with low student to teacher ratios, collaborative education, and a focus, not just on the fundamental basics but on the environment in Bali. The goal of the school is to empower children with information on all aspects of the world and how to make it a better place including information on everything from organic gardening to website design. The school is also being built of eco-friendly bamboo.
The school, which has a 20-acre campus, will also include the Learning Village, which is where handicrafts and various small enterprises, including an organic chocolate factory will provide entrepreneurial earning components for the students. The Learning Village is scheduled to be up and running next year.
The school is looking for help with scholarships,as well as help with the development of exchange programs with schools around the world. The school is also offering three-month internships to anyone who wants to help develop this unique place.
The Surfrider Foundation is dedicated to preserving the world's oceans, waves, and beaches, and works to further that mission through educational programs and the development of grassroots awareness. Their programs include everything from the expected like monitoring water quality and teaching kids to respect the beach to the slightly less expected, like information on how to create an "ocean friendly garden" that reduces runoff and harmful pollutants.
You can take part in their programs hands on if you live near any of the nations coasts (they have chapters pretty much everywhere) or join online and support them from anywhere.
