April 7 - Time Out...Stay Tuned!

Time Out!  Hi Everyone... thank you for stopping in regularly over the last 13 months.  I hope this site has been helpful in your philanthropic journey.   I am changing the hosting service for this blog and because of that I will be offline for approximately one week while I make the changes. 

I plan to be live again by Monday, April 18th.  I apologize for this brief interruption and hope you will check back in often. I promise to continue highlighting awesome and deserving causes and charities!  Thank you for your support.  

You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter! 





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April 6 - 88 Bikes...You Can Go Anywhere

It doesn't always take a massive relief organization to tip the scales for joy in places where children and young adults are challenged to be their own heroes. 88bikes provides a simple and direct opportunity to make a difference for a young person in the world: buy a child a bike!

The 88bikes Foundation has a very simple goal: to provide a sustainable, joyful, empowering form of transportation to young people in developing countries, in situations where these children lives have been directly affected by war, conflict, poverty, disease, or other regional hardships.


88bikes was started in 2006 by Dan Austin, Nicolas Arauz, and Jared Austin. In November 2006, 88Bikes started its first project in partnership with the Friends of Cambodian Children, to raise funds for 88 bikes. After exceeding its fundraising goal in just two weeks, the organization gave 88 bikes to 88 kids at the Palm Tree Orphanage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in January 2007.


88bikes has since added endowment locations in Uganda, Peru, Vietnam, Nepal, India and Ghana. In addition, 88bikes is developing programs to provide the kids with bike-based job training skills.  88bikes is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and your donations are fully tax deductable. 88bikes does not maintain a staff or an office, so that 100% of your contributions go towards their projects.



Get Involved:

Donate to 88 Bikes

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Source:  www.88bikes.org

April 5 - One Day Without Shoes

April 5, 2011  -  Tom's Shoes 4th Annual
  

"One Day Without Shoes."

One Day Without Shoes is the day we spread awareness about the impact a simple pair of shoes can have on a child’s life. On April 5th, we ask people to go the day, part of the day or even just a few minutes, barefoot, to experience a life without shoes first-hand, and inspire others at the same time.


It’s Hard Without Shoes
Through everyday encounters with domestic poverty, we are reminded to appreciate having food and shelter, but most of us all but forget about our feet. Food, shelter, AND shoes facilitate life’s fundamentals. Imagine a life without shoes; constantly aware of the ground in front of you, suffering regular cuts and scrapes, tending to infection after each walk, and enduring not only terrain, but heat and cold.


The problem is large, but the solution is simple. Wearing shoes and practicing basic hygiene can prevent both infection and disease due to unsafe roads and contaminated soil. By imagining a life barefoot, we can all contribute to the awareness of these conditions. On April 5th, communities, campuses, organizations, and individuals are banding together to walk barefoot for One Day Without Shoes.








Facts:

-In some developing nations, children must walk for miles to school, clean water and to seek medical help.
-Cuts and sores on feet can lead to serious infection.
-Often, children cannot attend school barefoot.
-In Ethiopia, approximately one million people are suffering from Podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring   disease caused by walking barefoot in volcanic soil.
-Podoconiosis is 100% preventable with basic foot hygiene and wearing shoes.


This movement started by the vision of one young person...

In 2006 an American traveler, Blake Mycoskie, befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by caring TOMS customers.


Since their beginning in May 2006, TOMS has given over 400,000 pairs of shoes to children in need, through the purchases of caring customers.



Resources: One Day Without Shoes
                 Tom's Shoes

April 4 - World Stray animal day

World Stray Animal Day.  Starting in 2011, April 4 will  be the day to give special attention to the 1 BILLION stray animals in the world.  Dogs, cats, horses and donkeys should have a home. But stray dogs, stray cats, stray horses and stray donkeys don't. They lead poor and miserable lives on the streets, often illfed, suffering extreme heat, cold, and diseases, even more often being chased around by hostile and violent civilians and authorities.  But we, as people who care about animals, can and must do something.

April 4. The Day to show Compassion, deploy initiatives to Care, and get into Action for stray animals all over our planet.  Help spread the word. Tell, tweet, link, recommend, post, blog, like and share the cause with as many people as you can.  Educating people about the problem is part of the solution. 

Click here to learn more about World Stray Animal Day.


Get Involved:

Other Ways You Can Help Animals...

1. Spay and neuter. Each year, millions of dogs and cats are put to death in animal shelters. Spaying and neutering eases the overpopulation problem and prolongs the life of your dog or cat.
2. Never buy an animal from a pet shop. Adopt your companion animals from shelters. Pet shops buy from puppy mills and large-scale breeders who contribute to the population crisis and whose over-bred animals are often very unhealthy.
3. Never give an animal as a gift. Many an animal has been abandoned because people aren't prepared to care for it. Discuss it with your friends and family first.
4. Take notice and take action. Never ignore stray animals on the street, where they can become victims of disease, starvation, and human cruelty.
5. Help lost animals find their way home. Pay attention to flyers posted in your neighborhood. If you find a lost animal with no tag, post it in the newspaper, but be vague in your description. Animal guardians should be able to describe their animals in detail.
6. Support your local animal shelter. Animal shelters and SPCAs always need help socializing cats and walking dogs, fostering animals, and cleaning cages and pens. If you cannot volunteer, send a contribution.
7. Report abuse. Call your local humane society if you witness any type of cruely or abuse. It is common knowledge that violence towards non-human animals is a precursor of violence towards human animals.
8. Teach respect for animals. We instinctively grasp the natural bond between children and animals. We fill babies' cribs with stuffed animals, put floating rubber ducks in their baths, and enjoy animals as the main characters in many children's books. This natural connection, the child-animal relationship, provides a great opportunity for parents and teachers to instill the core value of leading a compassionate life.

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Source: http://www.strayanimalday.org/
              http://www.justgive.org/

April 3 - Encouraging Words

No kind action ever stops with itself.  One kind action leads to another. 

A good example is followed.   A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions and the roots spring up and make new trees.  The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves.    -Amelia Earhart

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April 2 - Encouraging Words

"We make a living by what we get,

we make a life by what we give."

-Sir Winston Churchill

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April 1 - Autism Awareness

April is Autism Awareness Month...  April 2 is the fourth annual World Autism Awareness Day.  Every year, Autism organizations around the world celebrate the day with unique fundraising and awareness raising events. 



Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that inhibits a person's ability to communicate and develop social relationships, and is often accompanied by behavioral challenges.  Today, it is estimated that one in every 110 children is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. An estimated 1.5 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide are affected by autism.


Government statistics suggest the prevalence rate of autism is increasing 10-17 percent annually. There is not established explanation for this increase, although improved diagnosis and environmental influences are two reasons often considered. Studies suggest boys are more likely than girls to develop autism and receive the diagnosis three to four times more frequently. Current estimates are that in the United States alone, one out of 70 boys is diagnosed with autism. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called autism a national public health crisis whose cause and cure remain unknown.


Autism Speaks was founded in February 2005 by Bob and Suzanne Wright, grandparents of a child with autism. Since then, Autism Speaks has grown into the nation's largest autism science and advocacy organization, dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. 



Get Involved:

Ways to Donate to Autism Speaks.

Here are some fun ways you can help Autism Speaks:

Bid on an Easter Bunny!  Porcelain versions of the iconic Lindt Gold Bunny autographed by celebrities in the entertainment, food, music and sports communities will be up for auction on ebay from premium Swiss chocolatier Lindt from March 30-April 9. - 100 percent of the proceeds from the auction will benefit Autism Speaks.  If you need any candy to fill your Easter Baskets for the third year, chocolatier Lindt & Sprüngli is donating 10 cents for every Lindt Gold Bunny sold in leading grocery stores and its own retail stores in advance of Easter for up to a $100,000 donation.

Autism Speaks and retailer T.J.Maxx will once again partner in April on a fundraising and awareness effort. For three weeks, beginning April 3rd at 900 T.J.Maxx stores nationwide, customers will be invited to purchase an Autism Speaks puzzle piece at checkout for a donation of $1. All proceeds will benefit Autism Speaks and customers will be able to pick up information about autism. Last year, their efforts raised over $1 million.

All 57 Dave & Buster's restaurant and arcade locations will give customers an opportunity to donate to Autism Speaks when they pay their bills throughout the month of April. Customers will receive a coupon in return for use at a later date.

Zale Corporation will donate $5 for every piece of jewelry sold from its exclusive Shared Heart^®collection at Zales Jewelers, Zales Outlet and Gordon's Jewelers stores throughout April and the rest of the year. This collection features different designs evoking the special love shared by two hearts beating as one. Zale has committed to a minimum donation of $200,000 as a part of the second year of this partnership.

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Source: http://www.autismspeaks.org/