Sandy Support

Justin Timberlake brought “Sexy Back“… now he’s bringing volunteering back as he helped unload boxes full of supplies to help Hurricane Sandy victims in Far Rockaway, NY on Saturday.  Timberlake isn’t the only celeb rolling up his sleeves to assist in relief efforts.

Pop singer Rihanna has donated 1,000 sleeping bags to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts through the New York Daily News.

The singer is also hosting a listening party for her new album Unapologetic at the 40/40 Club in New York on Friday, and fans are being asked to bring supplies like diapers, coats and blankets in order to gain admission.

“Today I pledge 1 million dollars to New York & The American Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy Relief. If it wasn’t for NYC: the Lower Eastside, Harlem, the Bronx and Brooklyn, I would not be the woman or artist that I am today,” wrote Lady Gaga.

LISTEN – Lady Gaga Shares Song “No Floods” in Wake Of Hurricane Sandy

She continued, “New York is relentless ambition, a drive to succeed, a place where there is a natural pursuit of diversity through compassion. Please accept this gift on behalf of myself, my parents Joe and Cynthia, and my sister Natali; with our deepest gratitude New York for raising us.”

Hurricane Sandy has caused massive destruction and dislocation along the East Coast of the United States and extensive flooding in the Caribbean. Both regions have experienced significant damage from Hurricane Sandy; hundreds of thousands have been left homeless, and even more are struggling to access basic necessities.  You don’t have to be famous or rich to help.  The American Red Cross is offering shelter, clothing, supplies, food and blood to Hurricane Sandy victims and if you’d like to donate $10 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief, text the word REDCROSS to 90999 or you can call 800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767). To donate blood, visit the Red Cross website to find a location (via NBC News).  If you have a closet filled with canned goods, find a Sandy Relief donation place and drop them off.

Related articles

• Timberlake, Biel help Sandy victims (bigpondnews.com)
• Hurricane Sandy – How To Do Your Part In Relief Efforts (vividseats.com)
• Best Ways to Help Hurricane Sandy Victims From the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (prweb.com)
• Lady Gaga Gives $1 Million To Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts (v103.cbslocal.com)

Top Rated Charities

 

You want your donation to go to the right organization, so here are some top places to consider according to charity-rating website Charity Navigator.  Here’s our top 5 list:

No. 5:  Special Operations Warrior Foundation

Featured previously as one of the best charities that receive no help from the government, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation uses donations to support members of the elite special forces units of all branches of the military — Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets, Army Rangers and Air Force rotary and fixed-wing squadrons, as well as several others.

The group’s annual revenue (more than $13 million last year) goes to two very specific areas: providing educational scholarships to the children of special forces soldiers who die in the line of duty and helping families of severely wounded soldiers visit their loved ones in the hospital.

No. 4: Homes for Our Troops

 Another organization that comes to the aid of soldiers and military families, Homes for Our Troops collects donations and secures volunteer labor to build houses for disabled veterans or to modify existing houses so they are handicap-accessible. Managing revenue of more than $11 million in 2010, the group addresses the struggles of injured soldiers after they leave the hospital and begin to live with their injuries, an area of recovery and rehabilitation that the Veterans Administration addresses through Specially Adapted Housing Grants of up to approximately $63,000, which do not always cover the entire cost of construction. Homes for Our Troops steps in when those grants run out, and the group says it has completed projects in 30 states.

No. 3: The Navy SEAL Foundation

 Another military-focused charity, the Navy SEAL Foundation targets an even narrower group than the larger Special Operations Warrior Foundation (our No. 5 highest-rated charity) does, and with revenue of just less than $6 million, less than half of SOWF’s receipts. And in many (but not all) ways, the groups’ missions overlap.

According to the NSF, “Our programs center around three pillars: health and welfare, including tragedy assistance and family events; education and motivation, including scholarships and tuition assistance; and history and heritage, including the funding of monuments and memorials.”

No. 2: Patient Advocate Foundation

Congress may have passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at the beginning of 2010, but a complex law to ensure universal health care is bound to have some holes. To fill them, the Virginia-based Patient Advocate Foundation manages more than $35 million in donations to provide comprehensive support to those struggling with health problems. The group helps the uninsured, disabled patients who need support in the workplace and patients whose medical-related expenses have become unmanageable. And by all accounts, it’s doing a great job: After a steep drop in donations from 2007 to 2008 (during a recession, remember), the organization’s fundraising in 2010 marked a 50% increase, compared with pre-recession levels.

No. 1: Give Kids the World

Featured previously as one of the best charities that receive no help from the government, Give Kids the World uses its revenue (more than $28 million in 2009, the last year for which filings are available) to bring terminally ill children to Florida’s famous theme parks, such as Disney World and Universal Studios. The organization even built its own theme park in the area, Give Kids the World Village, to provide its own fantasy vacations for sick children and their families.

With 93.2% of donations going to program expenses instead of administrative or fundraising costs, the organization also is notable for the conservative salary of its president, which is just shy of $190,000 and represents only 0.53% of the organization’s expenses.

Related articles

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Donate it FRESH

 

The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is an emergency food assistance agency that serves an average of 119,000 people each month. Last year, they distributed more than 17 million meals to hungry families across the Blue Ridge. Working with partner agencies to distribute food throughout the counties they serve, the Food Bank is dependent on them to collect foods that will sustain those in need in our area.

Partners at the Church of Our Saviour’s (COOS) west of Charlottesvillework very hard to collect nutritious and delicious foods to distribute. They have been requested that folks who have gardens bring their excess produce over to the church and donate it, as fresh vegetables are VERY expensive to purchase and contain many of the nutrients needed for a healthy body.

Linda Broadbent, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate III REALTOR and enthusiastic volunteer for the Church of Our Saviour Food Bank project stated “The other volunteers and I serve about 80-110 households per month from our Food Closet. We are here for those in need 3 days a week.” “We have a new initiative at COOS this year,” continued Broadbent, “to distribute fresh vegetables for our visitors. We are asking our church members and people from the community who have extra items from their garden to donate to our Food Closet for distribution in our bags.” “Fresh foods and items like peanut butter and cereal are so important to these folks,” Broadbent said. “They need the protein and vitamins and, unfortunately, the foods that are best for our health are normally more expensive.”

”The people who come to our Food Closet are SO very grateful for what they receive,” said Broadbent. “Times are tough and often the support of the community is quite helpful.”

The food bank is a bulk supplier to local churches or organizations, such as the Salvation Army, that operate food pantries and soup kitchens. The food bank also helps schools distribute snacks to kids and individuals, who can go directly to the food bank one time. There they’ll receive about 62 pounds of food for a family of four, help applying for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called food stamps, and a list of nearby pantries and kitchens.

Through those outlets from Charlottesville to Lexington and Winchester, the food bank expects to distribute 18 million pounds of food this fiscal year. That’s nearly double the amount of two years ago and translates into 1.8 million meals in the Charlottesville area alone.

“When it comes to clients,” adds the food bank’s Director of Communications Ruth Jones, across its entire region, “we’ve seen the clients go from about 65,000 to 70,000 people served each month, to 83,000 to 90,000 people each month. Over the next few months, we expect to serve close to 100,000 people in one month’s time.”

If you would like to donate food items, stop by the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank (MAP) or the Church of Our Saviour  (MAP).  Your donations are tremendously appreciated!

Related articles

• Food bank struggles to meet basic human need (yumasun.com)
• Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin-Robbins donates $50,000 to northeast regional food banks (troyrecord.com)
• Food Bank Distributes Fresh Produce in Ashland (wsaz.com)

 

Tour de Charity

Our 23^rd annual Tour de Vine took place this past weekend in the beautiful foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Fully supported 25-, 50-, 75-, and 100-mile bike tours along with overnight activities ranging from wine tasting to live music. Cyclists not only face the challenge of the course, but together they fight the challenges of their friends, family and co-workers living with multiple sclerosis.  The sponsorships for their tour go to MS research and the Tour de Vine itself raises awareness of MS and it’s affect on those afflicted.

Multiple sclerosis (or MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system (CNS), which is made

up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another. Today, new treatments and advances in research are giving new hope to people affected by the disease.  The National MS Society is a collective of passionate individuals who want to do something about MS now—to move together toward a world free of multiple sclerosis. MS stops people from moving. They exist to make sure it doesn’t.

They’re an increasingly common sight on country roads: packs of cyclists, often wearing matching jerseys advertising their favorite charity, pumping out the miles in pursuit of some good cause.  Helped by cycling’s rising popularity, there are rides in every part of the country. Tens of millions of dollars have been generated for the fight against cancer, diabetes, heart and stroke disease, multiple sclerosis and myriad other causes.

“Cycling is the on-trend activity,” Paul Alofs, president and CEO of the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation. “Cycling is the new golf.”  Mr. Alofs, who was gearing up to participate over the weekend in Ride to Conquer Cancer, during which nearly 5,000 riders raised $18.1-million for the foundation, said the event started in response to research showing a noticeable growth of riders.  It’s a trend seen across the country.

Some attribute it to the Lance Armstrong effect, arguing that the seven-time Tour de France winner helped popularize the sport in North America. Others believe it is driven by boomers seeking a lower-impact activity than running. Whatever the reason, numerous charities have benefited from the new popularity, the biggest of them raising millions each.

In a twist that lets rider keep raising funds in the fall, when weather become iffier, the Ride for Diabetes Research is done inside on spinning bikes indoors. With more than 22,000 participants at locations across the country last year, the events raised more than $7.2-million. They are aiming for $7.9-million this year.

And more than 10,000 people are expected to participate this year in the 22 one- or two-day MS Bike Tour events taking place nationwide between this month and September.

To find out more about bike riding for charity, visit http://www.worldbiking.info/charity.html

Wounded Warrior Project

This past Saturday, The UVA Foundation, along with Bad to the Bone Endurance Sports, hosted the 2nd annual 4 the Wounded 5k! The on and off-road event that was held at the University of Virginia Research Park to raise money for Wounded Warrior Project, which benefits wounded veterans returning from overseas.

There were 984 Central Virginians running for a terrific, and often overlooked cause.

The mission of the Wounded Warrior Project’s Mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors.  To foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation’s history.

• To raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members.
• To help injured service members aid and assist each other.
• To provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members.

 Wounded Warrior Project™ (WWP) serves military service members who incurred service-connected wounded, injuries, or illnesses on or after September 11, 2001 and their families. On that date, America watched in horror as approximately 3,000 people died including hundreds of firefighters and rescue workers. Many warriors note a sense of duty to volunteer for the military following these tragic events.

A generous, tax deductible donation to Wounded Warrior Project enables them to help thousands of injured warriors returning home from the current conflicts and to provide assistance to their families. As the number of wounded steadily increases, it is easy to see how the needs of these brave individuals also increase.

Related articles

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• Wounded Warriors and Communities Across the Country Unite for Day of Service (prweb.com)

Support For Happy Days

This is not a LOCAL story, but is an interesting one just the same.  Ever wonder if TV or Movie Stars use their popularity and bank accounts to help those in need?  Many do.  The one I will mention today is really COOL!  Aaaaaay!  Henry Winkler – AKA “the fonz” is a huge supporter of charitable causes… notably, raising awareness for a fairly unknown disease that afflicted his own mother – Upper Limb Spasticity.

Today’s Caregiver magazine and Caregiver.com, the nation’s foremost print magazine and Web community educating, training and supporting family and professional caregivers since 1995, will present the Robert M. Barg Memorial Achievement Award to actor, director, author and producer, Henry Winkler during the May 24th Western Connecticut Fearless Caregiver Conference in Southbury, Connecticut.

“This prestigious award has only been presented to a select few caregiver advocates in the organization’s 17 year history who represent a special brand of kindness and advocacy and whose hard work truly makes a difference in the lives of those in need,” said Gary Barg, founder and editor-in-chief of the first national magazine for caregivers, Today’s Caregiver magazine, Caregiver.com, and the Fearless Caregiver Conferences.  Prior recipients of the Robert M. Barg Memorial Achievement Award include Debbie Reynolds, Clay Aiken, Della Reese, Robert Urich, Leeza Gibbons, Clay Walker, Patricia Richardson and Linda Dano.

Legendary “Happy Days” star Henry Winkler  is the ambassador for the “Open Arms: Raising Awareness of Upper Limb Spasticity” educational campaign which aims to reach those who are impacted by upper limb spasticity and don’t know where to turn for help. Winkler is personally familiar with the impact that upper limb spasticity can have on a person. His late mother struggled with the condition, without treatment, for 10 years following a stroke before she passed away.

From Actor to Caregiver  –  Henry Winkler

To many of you reading this, my mother’s experience with upper limb spasticity will be sadly familiar.

I had always known my mother to be a busy bee, full of life and a force of nature – that’s who she was. Even in her later years, my mother kept very active – whether it was her regular card games with friends, organizing and participating in events at her synagogue or just even driving around town, doing her daily errands, she was always on the move.

However, things pretty much ground to a halt after she began to experience upper limb spasticity after she had a stroke. Her arm became tight, involuntarily stuck close to her body, which severely limited her ability to get around on her own. Soon her upper limb spasticity became so problematic that my sister and I, as well as her other caregivers, had to help her with the simplest of tasks – tying her shoes, helping her get dressed and eating.

My mother struggled with upper limb spasticity for 10 long years before she passed. Unfortunately, there was so much less known about upper limb spasticity back then. Today, not only do we have a better understanding of upper limb spasticity, we also know more on how to manage the condition.

Sadly, there continues to be low awareness and under-diagnosis of the condition. The problem is that upper limb spasticity can come on months, and sometimes even years after the original injury – sometimes after patients are out of the hospital and are no longer seeing specialists, like neurologists or physiatrists, who see the condition on a regular basis and are specifically trained to manage and treat it.

That’s why I chose to become an Ambassador of the “Open Arms” educational campaign. I’ve joined forces with this incredible team of national patient advocacy groups and Allergan, the maker of BOTOX^® (onabotulinumtoxinA), to raise awareness for upper limb spasticity and let people know that upper limb spasticity treatment options are available. Seeing what my mother went through, I feel I owe it to others with the condition to do what I can to help.

Children’s Charity

What is more important in this world than our children?  We have no future without them, yet so many are not taken care of leading them to live terrible lives.  We do need to be aware of child-charities almost more-so than adults because these are people who CAN’T help themselves and need our help and guidance.  There is a Global Children’s Campaign called K.I.D.S. that was designed to do just that.

Kids in Distressed Situations’ (K.I.D.S.) mission is to provide NEW clothing, toys, shoes, baby products, books and more to children and families challenged by poverty, homelessness, domestic abuse, low literacy, military family service, major illness, incarcerated family members, and disaster survival. Over the past 26 years, K.I.D.S. has provided more than 70 million underprivileged and disaster-struck children with over one billion dollars of merchandise, giving these children, and often their entire families, hope and self-esteem through a gift of something BRAND NEW.

Throughout its history, K.I.D.S. has partnered with social service agencies across the country to distribute the new product that it receives as donations from manufacturers and retailers. Building on the foundation we have laid in every state of the country, in 2012, K.I.D.S. is establishing an overall national campaign to solicit product, raise money and increase awareness that connects the dots  between our local and national activities.

The campaign will also build on K.I.D.S.’ relationship with several retailers in which product is picked up or delivered to community agencies from the hundred plus stores that are located in communities throughout the country. Whether working with the local doors of Toys”R”Us, Gymboree, Carter’s or Lord & Taylor, K.I.D.S. has brought together the store managers with recipients to realize the “gift of giving.” These community partnerships will be strengthened and highlighted during the course of the year, ensuring that communities can more actively avail themselves of the donation process.

In addition, local friend and fundraisers will be held not only to raise resources but to increase awareness of K.I.D.S’ within local communities. While families are being helped by K.I.D.S. in the smallest to largest communities in our country, most people hardly know of the organization behind the giving and caring that takes place at K.I.D.S.

Related articles

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Local wins $50k For Charity From “The Give”

An Albemarle County teacher won $50,000 for the Belwop Project (a USA-based organization that supports and promotes the well-being of violated, neglected, and orphaned children in Kenya) through an online contest hosted by Cultivate Wines.

Albemarle County teacher submitted the charity in “The Give” contest and won $50,000 to be used in building an orphanage in Kenya that will house more than 100 children.  Hartley Jeffrees, a spanish teacher at St. Annes Belfield, supports the Belwop Project that was  started in March 2005, born out of the call and desire to serve underprivileged children.  “My endeavors in trying to rescue less privileged children and place them in already existing organizations was ineffective and frustrating,” stated Veronica Mumbi, founder of the Belwop Project.  “This lead me to establish a more effective and direct way of achieving my objectives.”

Cultivate, the company who awarded the $50k to the Belwop project, is actually a Wine Producer out of Colorado.  But they are evidently more than making wine.  Cultivate has vowed to give a portion of all of their wine sales to causes relating to education and basic human needs.  Cultivate is giving away a total of $100,000 per quarter to non-profits via a democratic voting system. The winner will receive $50,000, and the five runners-up will each receive $10,000.     To submit your non-profit, visit the Cultivate website and:

1. If you work for a non-profit, you can submit a cause via the “Submit a Cause” page by explaining what your organization does and what you will use the money for.
2. Along with the form, a short video is required as part of the pitch for why your project should receive funding.
3. They’ll review the submissions to see that they meet eligibility requirements. A primary eligibility standard is that the money is going to fund a tangible project– for more on eligibility, please see the FAQ page and read the Terms & Conditions.
4. Of the eligible applications, they’ll hand-pick 15 submissions and select another 15 at random and post them to the voting page.

This terrific company is not only giving back to their community, they’re giving back to the world.  We’ve heard it said a million times – Whitney Houston said it best “I believe the children are the future…”  They are.  And it’s a good thing that Cultivate Wines and the Belwop Project exists to take care of them.  Don’t you think?

If you have ideas for worthy charitable projects, please share them with me.  Take a look at this video of the Belwop Project:

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Creative Charity

One of the reasons I love writing Win Win blogs is that we writers are encouraged to write about our passions. So I’m shamelessly taking this opportunity to share my passion for fundraising, my charity fundraising ideas, and to solicit you, the reader, for even more creative fundraising ideas. The more we share ideas, the more we can do together!

Whether you’re raising money for charity for the first time, or you’re a veteran, there are always challenges to meeting your fundraising goals. The first challenge, and the greatest in my opinion, is realizing that everyone may not share your passion for the worthy cause you’re promoting. Some people will care and will help, but many have their own causes.

I say this because realizing this key fact can actually help you accomplish your goals; it also highlights the need for creative fundraising ideas.

Don’t be disappointed if you hear “no” when requesting that someone give to your charity. At the same time, there are people who want to say yes, and it’s your job find them.

Charity Fundraising Ideas: Setting Goals

Start by charting your personal fundraising goal. Track your goals and accomplishments using a calendar or a handmade poster. Charting your goal will help you visualize what you’ve done and what’s left to do. It’s also very motivating.

Creative Charity Fundraising Ideas

1. Do you have a birthday coming or a holiday? I recently went to a thirteen-year-old boy’s birthday party. He requested that instead of gifts, donations be made to his favorite charity. WOW! That’s a great idea. He raised a lot of money for his charity and gift givers were more than happy to give.

2. Have a benefit yard sale. I love this idea because everybody wins! Ask people in your neighborhood to donate items to your yard sale. Start collecting items a week or two before the event. Advertise in the yard sale section of your newspaper and on craigslist. I’ve personally used this fundraising technique and have raised hundreds of dollars in one morning.

3. Take it to the Internet. If your charity has a website that dedicates pages to individual fundraising partners, take advantage of it. If your charity doesn’t offer this, then suggest it to their fundraising department.  The Internet is a powerful tool for letting the world know about your charity. With a fundraising web page, you can link to from your Facebook page, you’ll make it easy for people who want to give.

4. Take advantage of your talents. Do you have a special talent you could share with the world and raise money for you charity at the same time? If your talent is cooking handmade pasta from scratch, host a pasta making party. For say $25, guests can attend, learn to make pasta and have a meal to boot. You could do this for candy or chocolate making, scrap booking, or whatever talent you want to share.

5. Have a benefit home concert. This isn’t nearly as hard as it sounds. If you know a talented guitar player, pianist, or group of musicians, ask if they might play a small gig for your charity. (You could even host a talent show). If you have room in your home, host your informal concert there. If not, ask a local coffee house, or your church if they might be willing to host the concert. Ask for a minimum donation from guests. Guest will enjoy a night of entertainment and serve a good cause at the same time.

6. Create a letter-writing campaign. Most charities will help you compose a letter to send to friends and relatives asking for donations to the charity. If you do a letter-writing campaign, make it easy on the recipient by including a self-addressed stamped envelope. Also, hand write recipients’ addresses so that letters aren’t mistaken for junk mail. The more personalized your letters, the better.

7. Take advantage of seasonal purchase trends (while raising money for charity). For example, Easter gives special opportunities for fundraising. Many people already purchase flowers or candy for this holiday.  One year I was fundraising for a mission trip. Since I once worked in a floral shop and knew how to make flower arrangements, my team and I made well over 100 fresh arrangements. We took orders weeks in advance. They cost us about $2 to make and we sold them at church for $10 (the going rate at any grocery store). Since people already buy fresh flowers, we were serving a need.  You could do this with chocolates at Valentine’s Day, wreaths at Christmas, or stuffing mix at Thanksgiving.

8. Make a change by collecting change. If you know a local shop owner who is willing to place a tip jar near their register, this fundraising idea can really add up. Make an attractive display for your charity tip jar so that people who want to give their spare change have the opportunity.

Whether you’re raising money for a church project, cancer research, school, or community project, these charity fundraising ideas will help you meet your personal fundraising goals. The charity fundraising ideas listed here are primarily for individuals with fundraising goals, but professional fundraisers may find ideas to inspire them as well.

So now… TELL ME… what are your creative fundraising ideas???

Related articles

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Butter Energy

Giant Butter Sculpture=Alternative Energy Source?  Yes, I said ‘butter sculpture’.  You know I love stories about helping the world and everything in it.  Well this story was extremely intriguing.  I read about it at the Mother Nature Network site.  This story, boys and girls, is about how a 1,000-pound butter sculpture became an alternative power source for an entire farm in Pennsylvania.

Giant butter sculptures are evidently a fixture at the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show.  This year’s star attraction is a 1,000-pound depiction of a young boy lead­ing his prize-winning calf through a county fair.  Shown here, the sculpture is a buttery masterpiece … an artistic marvel.  But as it is made of butter, it will not last for future generations to admire.  Typically, after the Farm Show is over, a lucky local farmer breaks down the slippery substance and uses the energy to power his house and farm for a few days.  It’s certainly an unexpected alternative energy source and a MOST creative use of recycling!

Here’s how it’s done:

First the giant buttery concoction gets unceremoniously dumped into an equally huge manure pit.  This will help to transform the butter into gas.  Microorganisms present within the manure-butter mixture, warmed by a heated methane digester, do all the work as they feast on the fatty mass.  “Those microorganisms can break those fat molecules apart into the less complex molecules,” explained Glenn Cauffman, manager of Penn State University‘s Farm Operations. “Then further take that to produce a gas called methane, which burns readily in an engine, and can be converted into … electricity.”  “Those organisms at a hundred degrees, are working hard,” he added. “They’re trying to live. They’re trying to reproduce. They’re trying to eat food, be happy, make more bacterial.”  The process will probably take just less than a month before the mixture is completely broken down into methane. At that point, all that’s needed is to hook up a generator. The electricity produced should be enough to power one man’s farm for three days.

Steve Rein­ford was the lucky farmer who gets the benefit of the power, is no stranger to this kind of alternative energy. The resourceful farmer said he usually relies on fuel from a nearby Walmart, which allows him to take leftover food waste that’s gone bad for his methane digester. Often he creates so much energy that he’s able to sell much of it back to the grid.  How great is that??

Related articles

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