Category Archives: Charity of the Month

Charity of the Month: One Mango Tree

19 Friday Aug 2011

Posted by in charity, Charity of the Month, shopping, Things I want

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It started with one woman. One sewing machine. One story.
Halle Butvin, Founder and Director of One Mango Tree, was strolling through the central market in Gulu, Uganda, when she met Auma Lucy. Auma was alone in her market stall, just her and her sewing machine. Halle and Auma struck up a conversation, which developed into a friendship, which developed into a partnership. What Halle learned about Auma was that she was like so many other women in Uganda: abandoned by her husband, and left with several children to care for. Not only did Auma have to provide for her children, but she was also caring for 11 nieces and nephews that had been orphaned, through both the war and AIDS. Halle found a way to make a difference for Auma and women like her: One Mango Tree.
In deciding to start One Mango Tree, Halle had to decide on an economic model for her organization, and jump through all the loops that are involved in starting a business in a developing country. In deciding on a for-profit model vs. a non-profit model, Halle says that she “really felt that the products needed to sell themselves.” In essence, in order to create something that was going to be sustainable over time and have long term efficacy, it had to stand on its own, without the need to seek donations in order to stay open.
Making that decision was only the first hurdle, however. Just some of the challenges Halle had to overcome in getting One Mango Tree started in Gulu: registering, getting tax ID numbers, getting export licenses, navigating trade policy to determine tariffs, finding reliable shippers, etc. If these things would be difficult to do in the US, imagine doing them in a different country! However, Halle says the biggest challenge is working on their supply chain: the demand for their products is there, but the supply is often lower than demand due to lack of reliability within the textile industry, price fluctuations, and just generally a lack of available fabric.
The good news: this hasn’t kept Halle and One Mango Tree from growing and doing what they meant to do. Through the making and selling of their products, One Mango Tree has changed hundreds of lives by creating sustainable incomes for women, who can feed their families, send their children to school, and even start saving money to expand their business.
One Mango Tree also takes part in what they call “holistic community improvements.” I mentioned this “holistic” approach when I wrote about Corazon: you’re not just building houses, or selling products, you’re actually going beyond that to see what the needs of the community are: education, access to transportation, food, etc. One Mango Tree does this by providing bicycles for their staff, serving hot lunches for staff and their children everyday, providing on-site daycare for infants and toddlers. Such a brilliant concept: you’re taking care of everything that might keep a woman from coming to work: you provide her the means to get there, you provide care for her children so she doesn’t have to worry about them, you provide her and her children with food so they can be healthy and productive. LOVE IT.
Part of this holistic approach also involves training and community development that helps bring women together: some women who were victims of the war, and others who were perpetrators during the war. It also involves the Village Savings and Loan Association, which is completely run by the women in the program. Basically, the VSLA provides financial literacy trainings to teach women how to save, why to save, how to create a budget, etc., and provides them with a savings account. This is immensely important for women who have never had more than a day’s worth of food. The concept of saving for the future is probably something that is difficult for them to grasp, especially when faced with the challenge of daily survival.
Halle and One Mango Tree have not only been successful in setting these programs up, but they’ve actually been able to scale up their productions by building a relationship with Global Girlfriend. This relationship allowed One Mango Tree to bring their products in to retailers such as Whole Foods and Target. Yep, the organization that started with one women now sells their stuff at TARGET! Pretty incredible.
Although Halle believes that their relationship with Global Girlfriend is one of their major accomplishments, I think it’s the fact that this enterprise is run almost exclusively by local community members, not international employees. During my last trip to Haiti with All Hands Volunteers, the organization was talking about decreasing the number of international volunteers, and scaling up the number of local volunteers. I think this is extremely important. The purpose of organizations such as these is not to spoon feed individuals, but to give them the skills and experience necessary to take the reigns and take control themselves. Out of 58 staff in Gulu and Kampala, 54 of them are Ugandan women, two are Sri Lakan men who run the apparel workshop, and two are American interns. Those are impressive numbers.
So, what do these women actually make? Here are some images of the products sold by One Tree Mango (they’re actually having a great sale right now…you should check it out!).
(Yes, I want each of these…)
A huge thank you to Halle Butvin for her time in answering all my questions, and congratulations on the amazing work you’ve accomplished so far, and are yet to accomplish!
I’ll leave you all with some words from Halle:
“While I started OMT with the mission to give to others, I never expected to receive so much – I have learned so much about myself through the business, and every day I get to wake up and do what I love – design products, tell stories, and work with all of these strong, beautiful and amazing women in Uganda. There are certainly setbacks, but the reward of building something like this – two workshops, fifty staff who have lifted themselves out of poverty, a beautiful product line and a long list of happy customers in the US – I could not ask for more.” –Halle Butvin

July Charity of the Month: The Compton Initiative

02 Tuesday Aug 2011

Posted by in charity, Charity of the Month, volunteer

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Holy cow, July flew by. I think this might only be the first or second time that I fail in submitting my Charity of the Month on time :(

I was also having some trouble picking a charity, but then I went to a neighborhood clean up on Saturday, and the decision seemed obvious.

When we went to the beach in Haiti, we talked about how we wish we had more time there to organize a beach clean up: there was trash EVERYWHERE. It really detracted from the beauty of the place. The thing that we all thought about, was how easy it would be to clean it up if we just got a few dozen people to help out, and how much of a difference that would make. GOALS Haiti actually did a trash pick up in Leogane not too long ago, and I hope they keep doing it!
Flash forward to the present, minus three days: my cousin told me about an event in Compton, where they gathered volunteers every few Saturdays to help clean up the neighborhood, mostly by painting houses, fences, schools, etc. Being the sucker for volunteer work that I am, I signed up and got my friend Sarah to sign up as well. I believe if the wake up time was not 5:30am on a Saturday morning, more friends would have joined us ;)
Anyhow, we got there promptly at 7am for registration, and to figure out what group we’d be working with. There were SO MANY people. I honestly thought there would be about 20 of us…but nope, I’m pretty sure the body count was over a thousand. They were mostly from various churches and youth groups…and by “mostly” I mean “almost all.” People kept asking Sarah and I what church we were with…I had no witty response. I have no complaints though, aside from one girl really pushing us to attend the Compton After Party at her church, everyone was super nice and not preachy at all.
So what did we do? Once we found our group, everyone broke off to separate work sites: various neighborhood blocks, a high school (painting walls and murals), elementary school, and a few houses. Our work site was a neighborhood block, where we pained the fences of maybe 5-6 houses. These fences are made of tiny individual metal bars…I was honestly quite sick of them by the time we finished, haha. BUT, seeing the before and after, it really amazes me what one little coat of paint can do to really revive a place.
With that said, we plan on going to the next one in October. Check them out, and see if you can attend one of their events, or help them financially so they can keep improving the city of Compton.

Charity of the Month: Women for Women International

28 Tuesday Jun 2011

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Ok, I’m a little pressed for time now that I’ve wasted my evening updating all of you on things you probably care much less about, so this will be a short COM.

I first heard of Women for Women (“WOW”) from a friend from college, Jessica, maybe a year ago when I was asking for charity recommendations. I checked out the org and it looked absolutely amazing. I’m not sure why I’ve waited so long to feature it on here, but I’m currently finishing up “Half the Sky” and they mention how WOW started, expanded, and became a successful organization. Reading about it reminded me of Jessica’s recommendation, and well, here we are.
Where do they work: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Kosovo, Nigeria, Sudan, & Iraq.
Mission: “To provide survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency, thereby promoting viable civil societies. We’re changing the world one woman at a time.”
How do they do this? They provide financial aid, job training, rights awareness and leadership education to women in the areas they serve. The program has four modules that women work through:
  • Module I: Women sustain an income (income & asset management)
  • Module II: Women are well (awareness, protection and prevention: job skills training, etc.)
  • Module III: Women are decision-makers (family and community decision making: skills training, business training, etc.)
  • Module IV: Women have social networks and safety nets (solidarity for support and protection).
How you can help: you can help by providing a one-time donation, a monthly donation, or by sponsoring a woman. You can find other ways to support WOW here.
Like any cause, I think it’s important to remember the individual stories of the people you’re helping. You’re not giving your money to a faceless thing or business, you’re giving your money to a real woman, who is supporting a real family. The woman featured in Half the Sky was a woman who was deprived of pursuing an education early in life because she was a woman and was expected to take care of the kids and home. She was married off at an early age, and had to put up with an abusive husband. She later became part of WOW, and went on to obtain not only a college degree, but a Master’s, and a Ph.D. She ended up working for WOW, helping to develop the organization and help other women who were in the same situation as she had been in years before. Tell me that woman’s life wasn’t changed by someone’s monetary contribution…you can’t!
On a side note, I want to read up on CEO compensation. I checked out WOW on Charity Navigator, and it tells you what the highest paid people get paid. The CEO of WOW makes $215k a year. The organization makes $26 million so I guess it’s not a huge portion of it, and I guess the argument for that kind of compensation is the dedication and hours a job like this takes (. I still require more reading on the subject. I welcome reading suggestions on the topic.

Charity of the Month: Isabella

30 Monday May 2011

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It’s been less than four years since I drove down Twinberry to meet the new members of Giselle and Lucho’s family: Santino & Isabella! Grandma was beyond excited, and Giselle looked like any new mom of twin’s would look: tired! :)

Since then, I’ve seen them grow up through their Tia Erika’s stories and pictures, and tried to win over their affection whenever I see them. It’s hard to win over their affection when they really only have time for each other: Santino lives for Isabella, and Isabella lives to defend Santino!

On a Sunday, less than a month ago, Isabella was complaining about her tummy, and although initially thought to be just a tummy ache, Isabella’s complaints were enough to worry Giselle. They ended up at the hospital and finding out that same day that Isabella had a sizeable tumor in her kidney. The diagnosis after the initial biopsy: Stage 3 Wilms tumor. Isabella started chemo that Friday. Since then she’s acquired a new haircut, as have her barbies:


What amazes me about this girl is that she’s dealing with all of this better than I think most of us would, and definitely better than I would. Part of it is probably not even being aware of what’s going on, but another part is just how resilient and full of life she is. I imagine myself in her situation and I think I’d be sitting in that hospital bed with a frown and throwing a pity party for myself. Not this girl. For example, a little snippet of the updates we get from her mom: “One thing this tumor can’t take away….my daughter’s great taste. When asked what she wanted to watch before bed tonight…she chose “Clash of the Titans” over Hannah Montana….that is MY girl.”

A family friend started a fundraising website, and the response has been absolutely amazing and heart warming. In the span of about three weeks, they reached their goal of $10,000, and have increased their goal to $15,000. To the average person such as myself, this seems like a lot of money (which it is, and it truly is awesome that the love of family, friends, and strangers alike were able to raise this kind of money–thank you to all of you who have already donated!), but when you think about the overall cost of what they’re looking at, it feels like a drop of water in the ocean. If you feel so inclined, please check out Isabella’s website to help them out with whatever amount you can.

Most of all, please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Charity of the Month: 50/50 Vertical Challenge for First Descents

25 Monday Apr 2011

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Kayaking 50,000 vertical feet over six months. That’s what Ross and Brianne are doing this Summer. Kinda puts your plans to shame already, huh? And you still don’t know why they’re doing it! Let’s backtrack a little.
First Descents (“FD”) is a non-profit organization located in Colorado, with the simple, yet powerful, mission to empower young adults with cancer. Yep, the C word. In their own words:
“First Descents is committed to curing young adults of the emotional effects of cancer and empowering them to regain control of their lives by experiencing outdoor adventure therapy through kayaking, rock climbing and other outdoor adventure sports.”
FD accomplishes this by providing summer camp for young adults at no cost. It works entirely off of volunteers and donations. This is where Ross and Brianne come back in. I first met Brianne outside the airport in Port au Prince last year as we waited for our shuttle to drive us to the Hands On Disaster Response base in Leogane. This Spring she will continue to dedicate her time and energy to another great cause by raising money to help cover costs for 50 young adults with cancer. Brianne got involved with FD when her grandmother had just ended radiation and chemotherapy for breast cancer, and when her mother had just been diagnosed. She knows what it’s like to fight cancer. When I asked her why she was doing this for FD, she replied: “FD is an amazing organization that we are proud to help and excited to be a part of. There are not many programs out there that focus on young adults with cancer. A lot of the focus is on children and older adults.” So, six months, 50,000 vertical feet. Why? To spread the word across the US about the work FD is doing, and to help put 50 young adults through Summer camp.
I planned to write more about Brianne, Ross and FD myself, but then Brianne emailed me a speech that her friend Beth gave at a recent FD fundraising ball, and I know more justice is done by letting you read her words rather than mine. It’s lengthy, but I hope you take the time. And I hope you take a look at Ross and Brianne’s fundraising pages which are linked above–100% of the proceeds go to fund people like Beth.
Beth’s Speech

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“Good Evening. My name is Beth Silverman, although these days I go by

Stiletto. When I was asked to speak here this evening, I knew that it

would be a challenge. I knew that I would have to dig deep into my

soul to find the words that could somehow do justice to the elite

group of people gathered here tonight.

And although I am here to tell my story, my story is just one of many.

We all have a story. We all have a diagnosis. We all have the battle

scars that show the war we’ve waged against cancer. A war that some

have won, and some have lost, and others are left hanging in the

balance. Hanging by threads, by cords, by the skin of our teeth,

hanging by our boot straps we hold on and wait for the moment when we

can start living again; When we can peacefully inhabit a world full of

Hope, full of Courage, full of …A CURE. We travel on this path full

of hardships, obstacles, and unsteady terrain, ever swiftly moving,

placing one foot in front of the other– sometimes carefully executed,

other times with reckless abandon. We move through the motions, all

the while waiting for the answers, searching for the lesson.


If you told me the lesson was that fighting cancer would be a metaphor

for paddling a kayak I’d have swiftly kicked your ass with my

stiletto. But, you would have been right. Cancer tried to steal so

many things, and with a paddle and a kayak I stole them back. Cancer

tried to take my life, and First Descents showed me how to reclaim it,

and then live it to the fullest.


Before cancer living life to the fullest came easily for me. I was 26

years old and I ran a $25 million dollar business, while dating one of

Manhattan’s most eligible bachelors. I never got sick. Sick, was for

the vulnerable and the weak, of which I was neither. You can imagine

my shock when a marble sized lump introduced itself to me while I was

taking a shower. Ten days later I had an aggressive form of breast

cancer, and I sat in front of a surgeon who said I’m free on Tuesday,

how bout we take your breasts off then, as she penciled it into her

calendar like it was a lunch date at Nordstrom’s. I met my oncologist

on my 27th birthday. She told me I had a 52% chance of surviving 5

years disease free if I did nothing. Do nothing? Do you know who I

am???


I walked into my first day of chemo in four inch stilettos wearing a

shirt that said “My oncologist is better than yours”. For six months I

graced the oncology floor with my over the top shoe collection,

boisterous laughter, and a slew of funny shirts that summed up how I

was feeling so eloquently. FUCK CANCER, was my favorite.

The guise of humor is what kept me afloat. In between those moments of

laughter and comical cancer shirts I was forced to face the fact that

because of cancer I was now jobless, almost bankrupt, and fighting the

FDA for a lifesaving drug that they didn’t want to give me b/c my

cancer was not yet stage four. Oh, and the eligible bachelor…he

dumped me after my bilateral mastectomies.


Cancer wasn’t playing fair, but I only played to win, so I turned all

of my energy and passion into waging an all out war on the disease. It

was a worthy opponent.

By my 29th birthday I had buried 29 friends to cancer. 29 funerals.

Each one harder than the last. Hearing little children being told

their mommy is an angel now, and the smell of the flowers and the

words of condolence played in my mind like a continuous loop over and

over again. And I became angry and scared. So I ate. And I ate and I

ate, until one day I woke up weighing 60 pounds more than I did at

diagnosis. And I needed help, only I didn’t know how to ask.

When I heard about First Descents, I didn’t give it much thought. I

mean, my version of physical activity is running to catch a subway in

high heels. Still, I thought the only way to stop letting cancer

define every part of my life would be to step as far out of my comfort

zone as possible. So I traded in my stilettos and skyscrapers, for

booties, a PFD, and the mountains.

I didn’t know it at the time, but that first day of camp was the

beginning of the rest of my life. It was there that I learned that

Cancer WOULD NOT, be the hardest thing I would ever have to overcome

and this excited me. I pushed myself physically and emotionally in

ways I never imagined possible. With this new family by my side, I

felt safe.

As we lined up for the graduation rapid my heart was pumping through

my PFD as I shouted out, I’LL GO FIRST!!! This was my moment to prove

to myself that I could do this. That I owned this. With my eyes ahead,

my breathing focused, one wave at a time I paddled. and I paddled and

I paddled. I left so much of myself on that river. So much anger, so

much fear.

When I stopped I felt myself starting to tear up. It was the first

time in five years that I felt like I could breathe. And in that

moment, on that river, looking at those mountains, I took my life

back.

And that was only the beginning. In the first ten weeks home from camp

I embraced a strong, healthy lifestyle and lost 30 pounds. In the

months that followed I spent a great deal of time reflecting on the

lessons I had learned. I began to understand that the way I live my

life every day directly affects each person I encounter. And when I

feel myself begin to falter, it is Brad Ludden who is always there to

remind me to give myself permission to live. To embrace adventure with

a heart wide open. And as I climbed to the highest point I could reach

atop the Canadian Rockies a few weeks ago, I wrote a note of

thanks….and left it on the mountain.

Because of First Descents I am certain there is always a way to do the

impossible– to survive the unsurvivable, for as long as our forevers

may be. The common bond that ties us together is not cancer nor

kayaking. It is the fact that when faced with the impossible, WE

BECOME INSPIRED.

So as you leave here tonight, and return to your homes…should you

find yourself taking a first descent into what seems like the

impossible, remember how you felt on the river, on the mountains.

Remember how you feel in this very moment. Determined, ready to meet

the challenges of tomorrow, and always surrounded by family.


If that’s not enough to encourage you to support the cause, check out some of the Survivor Feedback.

Charity of the Month: No One Without

06 Sunday Mar 2011

Posted by in charity, Charity of the Month, non-profit

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You know how there are certain people that come into your life, and you just know they were put in your life for a reason? That’s the behind the scene story for this month’s Charity: No One Without (“N.O.W.”).
Gaston, founder of N.O.W., used to be a full time real estate investor, and indeed thought that was what he would do for the rest of his life. His ultimate career plans changed, however, when he drove to Los Angeles on a mission trip with his church in 2009, and experienced the pain and suffering of the homeless through new eyes. After sharing breakfast with a homeless man, Gaston knew he had to do something different with this life, something that involved putting others first. The question was, how does he do that? The answer started to become apparent after he received a pair of TOMS shoes for his birthday, and the model of ONE-for-ONE blew him away. For those unaware, for every TOMS pair of shoes purchased, TOMS donates a pair of shoes to those most in need of them. Gaston thought of doing the same, but with clothes. But he wanted to take that model a step further: why not support non profits that are doing amazing work in various meaningful areas while you’re at it?
In the words of Helen Keller: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
Cue Kelli. Gaston and Kelli met through a mutual friend, and they were instantly connected through their passions, their ideas, and their desire to make something happen that could have a real impact. As N.O.W.’s Director of Operations, Kelli makes it all happen. Gaston’s dreams and business sense, combined with Kelli’s relationship building strategies (not to mention prior work experience with TOMS!), were the perfect combination. Through this partnership, N.O.W. began to take shape, launched, and is beginning to help make a difference.
N.O.W. was founded as a “for purpose” company, meaning that the motivating factor is not “for profit” or “not for profit,” but rather “for the greater good.” How does it do this? For every product purchased, 20% of that purchase goes directly to funding efforts of N.O.W.’s non-profit partners. One of the great things about how N.O.W. is set up is that it does not restrict who they are helping. This is something I struggle with in trying to figure out what I want to do with my career: there are so many challenges in this world, and so many areas that I feel I could dedicate myself to, how could I pick just one? Well, N.O.W. found a way around this: help them all! N.O.W. can pick non-profit partners involved in so many different facets of work, and support each of them through “purpose driven consumerism.”
As of now, N.O.W.’s non-profit partners include:
  • More than Me (getting girls off the streets and into schools in Liberia, West Africa);
  • These Numbers have Faces (providing college scholarships to local Cape Town universities);
  • Thirst Project (raising awareness and money to provide clean drinking water); and
  • the Chisomo Idea (connecting privileged young to issues of poverty in Africa and providing them with a framework for action).

Not a bad group, huh?!

N.O.W. is off to a solid start, and as Kelli said: “there’s nowhere to go but up.” They are looking to expand their clothing line, as well as working with advisors in the fashion world and funding some great projects.
So what can you do? Check out N.O.W.’s store to see how you can become a purpose driven consumer. Like them on Facebook. Join them on Twitter. And most importantly, check out how you can help N.O.W. earn $5,000.00 to allow them build their line (which will give you more shopping options in the future and more ways to be a purpose driven consumer!). They have 27 days as of today to raise $4,174.00. As I like to say, no amount is too small…every $5 counts :)
This blog is already verging on the long side, but a huge thank you to Gaston and Kelli for taking the time to answer my questions, and letting this blog take “Charity of the Month” one step further than it’s ever gone before.

Charity of the Month: Haiti Scholarships!

16 Wednesday Feb 2011

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I guess I should put a disclaimer on this blog, and note that I am heavily involved with Haiti Scholarships, and hence I have a vested interest in you checking it out, and hopefully supporting it. I guess…legally speaking, I don’t have a “vested interest” per se, since I don’t really derive any private benefit from this, but I do get enormous personal satisfaction in the work done through Haiti Scholarships :)

So what does HS do? The purpose of Haiti Scholarships is to do what it’s name says: to provide educational scholarships to students in Haiti. What this organization does is very important for reasons that I think most of us don’t know: public education in Haiti is sorely lacking–indeed, something like 90% of schools in Haiti are private schools, which means that in order to attend the majority of schools, parents have to pay for tuition, books, and uniforms. The other 10% I’d imagine are heavily impacted, and although I have nothing to back me up (yet), I can’t imagine the quality of education being provided being all that great. Without scholarships, many kids are unable to go to school. Period.
Haiti has been in and out of the spot light quite a bit in the last year and few months; most coverage during the one-year anniversary focused on the spending, or lack thereof, of money that was raised in the aftermath of the earthquake. I think a lot of people have grown skeptical about where their money is going when they donate to organizations abroad, and I can’t blame this. Because of this, HS is making sure that money donated is sent directly to the student’s school to cover the cost of tuition. HS has partnered up with the local Rotary Club of Leogane, who has generously offered to help on the ground in Haiti by interviewing applicants and establishing communication with each school, so tuition is paid directly. No funds are dispersed to third parties.
I urge you all to take a look at the website (which will be getting quite a facelift in the next few days…get excited!), check out the facebook page, and follow us on twitter and our blog.
Finally, I don’t usually push for monetary donations on my Charity of the Month, but I’ve made exceptions from the very beginning :) Just think about it: for $25-30 a month, you can help change someones life by giving them the gift of an education: something no one can take away from them, and the basic foundation for the future of Haiti. Think about it.

Charity of the Month: FEED Projects

10 Monday Jan 2011

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I recently started to discover the usefulness of Twitter. Criticize what you may about it, but if you use it correctly, it’s actually a great resource for news and updates on things you’re interested in. And it’s how I came across this month’s Charity of the Month: FEED Projects.
Basically, you buy a bag, and the proceeds of that purchase go towards providing free meals to children in schools, usually through the UN World Food Program.
One of the most useful items is the FEED 100 bag: for $30, you provide 100 schools meals to children in Rwanda. There is also the FEED 1 bag, for $60 you feed one child for a whole year. As FEED points out, this school meal is the ONLY meal that these children get. All day. We may get hungry and grumpy if we don’t have our morning snack, but imagine going hungry all day…or several days. $60 means you are allowing a child the satisfaction of going home without being hungry, for a whole year.
The FEED shop also features Kenyan scarves and bracelets,
FEED t-shirts, and pouches that can be used as clutches, make up bags, etc. The pouches go for $25 and provide food and job skill training for 10 women.
It would be a sin not to put a plug in for the FEED 3 Guatemala bag, which, personally, is the coolest one…Sadly, these and others are only sold in certain stores, so check the FEED Store for details.
And if you want to support children close to home, you can purchase the FEED USA bag. The cool thing about this bag is that you get to choose which school food improvement program you want to fund!
“I can’t afford to buy a bag right now.” Well you’re in luck. There are so many ways to support an organization, that doesn’t involve spending money. Mainly, help spread the word. Share what FEED is doing with your friends and family, and ask them to spread the word as well.
On a side note, please let me know if you have an organization that is near and dear to your heart, that you think would be a good feature for this blog in 2011 :)

Charity of the Month: Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project

06 Monday Dec 2010

Posted by in Africa, charity, Charity of the Month

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A month or two ago I had the opportunity to hear Charlize Theron speak about her Africa Outreach Project (thank you Pat!). Other than being hot and seemingly down to earth, I was mostly impressed by the passion she has for the work her non profit is doing.

Right now they are still in developing stages, so they have limited their project to certain areas of South Africa, but hope to branch out to other parts of Africa once their project takes off.

So what are they doing? Basically, they provide health education to children. You know that health class we take in 8th grade, that’s required education? Well children in Africa are never exposed to that class. Why? Social mores, lack of resources, lack of will, etc. The main purpose of this class is to teach kids how to avoid contracting or spreading HIV/AIDS. Teenagers are taught the basics regarding safe sex, and are given condoms. It’s taken AOP time to win over the populations with which they work, since most children, adults, and elders of the community see such educational topics of taboo, but they are beginning to see the benefits of it and have started to embrace such educational resources.

Charlize shared several anecdotes, but one of the ones that struck me the most was about one teenager who told Charlize that he was in no danger of getting AIDS because he practiced safe sex…by washing his condom after each use. Charlize shared that what broke her heart was the fact that here was a young man who thought he was taking control of his life by practicing safe sex, without knowing that washing a condom is not enough. This is why a project such as this one can have such an enormous impact on such a large population.

I encourage you to check out the AOP’s website, see what they’re doing and how, and see how you can help.

I highly encourage you to check out their online store, they have cool shirts and some great Africa themed TOMS shoes. I’m wishing I had saved my Christmas money so I could get them!

Updates on Charity Shopping!

02 Thursday Dec 2010

Posted by in charity, Charity of the Month, shopping

≈ 1 Comment

Not too long ago I posted an entry about holiday shopping through charities, and ever since that posting I’ve been running into more and more awesome shopping ideas. So here are some updates to the last post:
5) Central Asia Institute: the founder of CAI is the author of Three Cups of Tea, which details Greg Mortenson’s adventures in building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The premise of this organization is that the war on terror is better fought by providing education to the impoverished areas of these countries, rather than fighting a military war. Agree or not, education is always important, and the work that CAI is doing in these areas is absolutely amazing. Unlike the PIH calendar, this one is only $10 and you get a sneak peak of what you get!
6) Charity Water: charity water is a previous Charity of the Month. They build wells in Africa so people can finally have access to water. Check out there online store here. They’re items include another calendar (talk about options!), gelskins for all your electronics, as well as some pretty cool t-shirts, bracelets, hydration bottles, etc. Check ’em out!
7) All Hands Volunteers: Biosand Filters Project: if you’re a frequent reader, I don’t need to tell you about All Hands (formerly Hands on Disaster Response), since I’ve talked about them without end in the past. Check out the video to see how you can help people in Haiti have access to CLEAN water and prevent further cholera outbreaks.

Saving Lives With Biosand Filters from All Hands Volunteers on Vimeo.

8) 31 Bits: in my last charity shopping blog, Nate mentioned I should check out 31 bits. I did and I think you should to. All jewelry is made out of 100% recycled paper by internally displaced women in Northern Uganda. Here are a couple of my favorite items they have:
9) Me to We Style: this online store has some amazing clothes, and 50% of what you pay goes to their charity partner, Free the Children, which supports development projects in rural and impoverished areas across the world. Again, some of my personal favorites (but please feel free to peruse for yourself!):
The first one is actually for a fundraiser challenge, I’m not sure if you can purchase individually, but it’s my favorite:
But they have other cool t-shirts, as well as dresses, scarves, handbags, and men’s t-shirts:
So, I think I’ve given you quite the array of options! Now say you, wouldn’t it be nice to have one central location where you could actually look at all of these things for yourself, and not have to deal with the extra hassle or expense of shipping and handling? SAY NO MORE! (wow, I think it’s a good thing I didn’t go into advertising…). For those locally in Southern California, there’s a church in Laguna Beach this is hosting an “Alternative Christmas/Holiday Market.” In this market you’ll actually find some of the organizations listed on this blog, and they’re having it this Saturday and again in two weeks. For those of you who live further away, I encourage you to find a similar event near you.
A few more sites that my friend Sarah has passed along:
10) Krochet Kids International: another store with cool beanies, shirts, scarves, etc. that creates sustainable development programs. Check them out here.
11) International Sanctuary: Advocates for exploited people around the world. This online shop has a BUNCH of really cool jewelry, and it’s pretty well priced. You can check out what the organization does here, and you can shop online here.
12) Princess Project: sales “punjammies” that are created in an after care facility for women who have been rescued, released, or escaped from a life of forced prostitution. Learn about their story here. You can shop for comfortable sleepwear and tees here.
13) The hunger site: I haven’t actually had a chance to figure this one out, but if Sarah recommended it, then it must have some good stuff on there. Check ’em out here.
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