charity

Do Good: Yellow Bird Project Charity T-Shirts

September 12, 2011 at 1:48 pm, by Gabrielle Porcaro

I like a good T-shirt almost as much as I like a good pair of heels. A T-shirt with a message, I like even better! I was recently introduced to the Yellow Bird Project. The website teams up bands to design shirts and donate the proceeds to charity. The bands involved are a pretty impressive list of indie rock groups like Wolfmother, The Shins and Bloc Party. The charities include St. Jude’s, Greenpeace and Amnesty International, as well as other lesser known—but just as important—charities.

My favorite tee is designed by the Freelance Whales and supports MarbleRoad, a non-profit organization offering financial assistance and support services for people with complex and rare illnesses. I love the teal color, unique design and the cause happens to be near and dear to my heart. I love this idea—it’s a cool, interesting approach to raising awareness (and money) for a charity. And these tees are a stylish update to those old high school or college T’s you might be rocking way past their prime. Not your style? They also make great gifts (with a great message) for hard-to-shop-for, too-cool school kids.

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Do Good: You Click, Companies Give, Girls Get a Chance

March 17, 2011 at 3:32 pm, by Amanda Wolfe

We need your help! General Mills and Merck have committed to donating $900,000 (!) to Join My Village, a program that helps fight poverty in Malawi, run by our friends at CARE. The initiative helps lift whole African communities out of poverty (and hunger) by giving girls the tools they need to spark change, whether that’s fertilizer to grow corn or teachers and school supplies. On the site your clicks help unlock tokens—and $1 donations—to the cause.

So what can you do? If you go to JoinMyVillage.com right now and sign up with the code “JMV4LH,” it will release $5 (for the first 2,000 LHJ readers) to help these women and girls in need, and then of course you can stick around and keep learning and unlocking dollars. These girls’ stories are so powerful that I’d watch and read even if there wasn’t a donation attached—but how awesome is it that there is?

So go right now and sign up! A few minutes of your time could truly change lives.

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Global Citizens: How You Can Get Involved

February 4, 2011 at 3:26 pm, by Amanda Wolfe

In our latest issue, we salute six American women who are changing lives around the world. Check out these resources to get involved in one of their causes (or all of them, if you’re feeling ambitious!).

The Humanitarian Doctor: Marlo Hodnett, M.D.
You don’t have to be a doctor to help feed hungry kids. Dr. Hodnett volunteers with the National Association for the Prevention of Starvation, which is always looking for volunteers for its U.S. efforts and mission trips abroad, as well as donations.

The Cultural Ambassador: Ginny Lou Laughlin
Ginny Lou is active in her town’s sister cities organization, which help kids and adults connect with other cultures from around the world. Check with your local government or Sister Cities International to find out if your town has a chapter. If you don’t have a sister city, help hook up your town!

The Compassionate Coach: Colleen Lewis-Aguilar
Coleen’s organization, Basketball as a Mission, helps bring sports camps—and the self confidence that comes with learning a new skill—to underprivileged kids. They’re looking for donations (of gently-used gear or money) and volunteers, and you don’t have to be a jock to get involved.

The Selfless Saleswoman: Pati Going Frey
Patti sells bags that are handmade by women in Zambia, and 100% of the proceeds go to the women to help them take care of their families. They don’t have a website (yet!) but you can email Pati if you’d like to buy a bag or sell them in your area.

The Nurse Without Borders: Mary Loftus
Mary volunteers at a rural health clinic in Haiti with the group Friends of the Children of Haiti. If you’re not up for a trip to Haiti yourself, you can sponsor a child through the organization and provide your child with food, education and health care.

The Knitter Who Sends Hope: Amy Berman
If your’re into knitting, this one’s for you: Amy’s Mother Bear Project sends handmade bears to kids in Africa. You can knit or crochet bears with their provided patterns and send them to Amy for distribution. Not so crafty? Sponsor a bear instead, donate supplies or volunteer.

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Buy Art for a Good Cause

December 8, 2010 at 10:46 am, by Sara Dayton

I’m always thrilled to find gifts that treat friends and family to something special while giving back during the holidays (’tis the season, after all). This year I’m inspired by three sites that provide the perfect solution: original, affordable art that supports various charities.

1. The Working Proof

Founded with the goal of promoting art and social responsibility, The Working Proof donates 15% of every sale to a charity of the artist’s choice. With a new print released every Tuesday (and prices ranging from $25–100), there’s a ton of great options to choose from. Charities include Doctors Without Borders, The Jane Goodall Institute, and Smile Train.

2. Tiny Showcase

Tiny Showcase has a fitting name: Every week (also on Tuesday), founders Jon Buonaccorsi and Shea’la Finch pick a small piece of artwork to feature, turning it into a limited-run print edition that is sold on their website. They made donations a part of the site in 2005, and now a portion of each sale goes to a group chosen by the artists. Charities include St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Youth Pride Inc., and Oxfam International.

3. Creativity Explored

Based in San Francisco, Creativity Explored is a nonprofit visual arts center where artists with developmental disabilities create, exhibit, and sell art. If you live in the area, check out the studio—they welcome visitors. If not, you can buy the works online here. Creativity Explored splits the profits evenly with their artists, using their half of the proceeds to pay for local, regional, and national exhibitions of work produced in their studios.

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Do Good: Give Back This Thanksgiving

November 22, 2010 at 5:27 pm, by Amanda Wolfe

For most people, Thanksgiving is one of those holidays where being thankful for our abundance (and sitting down to a table overflowing with holiday bounty, like the ridiculously good-looking truffle butter bird at right) goes hand-in-hand with being mindful of those who are less fortunate, and whose bellies are less full. Does your family volunteer or give back during the Thanksgiving season? It’s a wonderful tradition to start, and great a way to make Thanksgiving about more than just food and football (not that there’s anything wrong with either of those things…). Here are a few ways to give back.

- Does your family go around the table and say what you’re thankful for? (Love that tradition.) Put each family member in charge of coming up with a group volunteer idea for the upcoming year based on their “thankful” thing. That way you’ve got volunteer ideas for the year, not just the season. Kids count too! For instance, is your little niece Addie thankful for her pet kitty? Take everyone to the animal shelter to help out for a day.

- Take the pledge and donate to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign. No child in America should have to go hungry on any day (not just a holiday), and Share Our Strength’s goal is to end childhood hunger by 2015. That’s a mission we can all get behind.

- It’s a cliche but if you’ve never actually volunteered at your local soup kitchen or homeless shelter, now is the time. But before you package up all your leftovers to bring along, call the shelter to ask about their food donation policy. Even better, sign up to volunteer on a monthly basis so your holiday spirit keeps on giving.

- I think we’re all thankful for our service men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our country. Operation Gratitude is a great organization that sends thank-you care packages to our troops, and they’d love your help all holiday season (and year!) long.

-  To find specific Thanksgiving volunteer opportunities in your area, do a quick search with our friends at Volunteer Match. Just type in your zip code and “Thanksgiving” as the keyword.

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Four Ways To Do Good This Halloween

October 25, 2010 at 11:22 am, by Amanda Wolfe

Halloween isn’t necessarily a holiday that you associate with volunteering and giving, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a great occasion to do a little good! Here are a few ways to help out:

• Still looking for a last-minute costume? Dress up for a cause you believe in. That way every time someone asks what you or the kids are, you can get a little plug in for your favorite charity. (If you volunteer at an animal shelter, for instance, go with a cute dog and cat theme.)
• Halloween is just a few days before election day. No matter what side of the political aisle you fall on, we can all agree that it’s super-important to vote! Help get out the vote in your area by volunteering with Trick or Vote, a non-partisan organization.
• Trying to figure out how to keep your kids (or yourself) from eating their weight in candy? Donate some of your haul to needy kids in your area who don’t get to go trick-or-treating. Call local shelters and organizations to find out how to donate. You could even dress up to deliver your treats together!
• Check Volunteer Match for a Halloween-themed volunteer opportunity in your area. We did a quick search and found lots of different spooky carnivals, food drives, auctions and other events around the country. (Just type in your zip code with the keyword “Halloween.”)

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A Medical Gift Registry To Help Patients

October 19, 2010 at 9:34 am, by Lisa M. Gerry

Diem Brown captured America’s attention when she competed on MTV’s Real World, Road Rules Challenge soon after undergoing treatment for Stage II ovarian cancer. But while her bravery and bright personality made her beloved on MTV, she wasn’t always treated so kindly. It was while she was working as a broadcast journalist that she began to see the side effects of her chemotherapy, including hair loss and extreme weight loss. “I didn’t have any money, so I was wearing a $10 wig that I bought on Hollywood Boulevard,” Brown says, “And someone working on a red carpet told me that I was ‘physically offensive.’” It was then that Brown realized how a devastating illness can be made even worse without money. “I wanted a wig that looked real,” she said. “I didn’t want people looking at me and seeing a sick person. I didn’t want to look at me and see a sick person.”

When Brown’s friends began getting married and having children, she became familiar with gift registries—a way for a person to let their loved ones know exactly what they need or want. “My friends and family would say, ‘I feel so helpless—what can I do?’ I didn’t want to say, ‘Oh, give me money.’ But anytime you go to the hospital, it’s expensive. I got turned down twice for my chemo because I didn’t have the money.”

This became the impetus for Brown’s medical gift registry and social network, MedGift.com. Once patients register on the site, friends and family can donate directly to the hospital for medical procedures. They can post requests ranging from wigs or grocery gift cards to pet sitting or a ride to the hospital.

Brown says, “I felt like this was the reason I got sick—to come up with this idea. Creating a medical gift registry was my silver lining.” Visit MedGift.com for more information.

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