Rescuing Children from Prisons

Pushpa Basnet doesn't need an alarm clock. Every morning, the sounds of 40 children wake her up in the two-story home she shares with them.  As she helps the children dress for school, Basnet might appear to be a housemother of sorts. But the real story is more complicated.  All of these children once lived in Nepal's prisons. This 28-year-old woman has saved every one of them from a life behind bars.

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world -- according to UNICEF, 55% of the population lives below the international poverty line -- so it lacks the social safety net that exists in most Western nations. Space is extremely limited in the few children's homes affiliated with the government.

So when no local guardian is available, an arrested parent often must choose between bringing their children to jail with them or letting them live on the streets. Nepal's Department of Prison Management estimates 80 children live in the nation's prisons.

"It's not fair for (these) children to live in the prison because they haven't done anything wrong," said Basnet, who started a nongovernmental organization to help. "My mission is to make sure no child grows up behind prison walls."

Basnet is one of several in Nepal who have started groups to get children out of prison. Since 2005, she has assisted more than 100 children of incarcerated parents. She runs a day care program for children under 6 and a residential home where mostly older children receive education, food, medical care and a chance to live a more normal life.

Pushpa Basnet has been nominated as a 2012 CNN Hero.

Teen Starts 3 Nonprofit Organizations

Jillian Roels knows what it's like being bullied.  The grief she experienced in junior high school inspired her to start three nonprofits, including a chapter of Girl Talk, a mentoring program for middle-school girls.

“I wish I’d had something like this to go to when I was dealing with tough stuff in junior high,” she said.

Jillian meets with a group of elementary school girls at Rosa Parks Elementary once a week. Using free materials provided by Girl Talk, the girls discuss subjects such as body image, friendship, and dealing with divorce.

She also meets with a group of junior high girls once or twice a month, discussing topics more appropriate for this age group, such as teen partying, depression and dating. By sharing her own experiences, Jillian helps the girls open up about theirs.

Listening skills are emphasized. Vanessa, a sixth grader, says, “You can say what’s on your mind, and they’ll listen and try to help sometimes.”

Marisa, also in sixth grade, was very shy when she joined the group. Now she speaks up confidently and likes being able to share her feelings. She also likes having an older role model.

“Jillian is a good person to look up to,” she said.

BEFORE STARTING her Girl Talk chapter, Jillian was already giving back in big—and small—ways. Two years ago, she created Spark Your Heart to inspire and perform small acts of kindness.

The idea grew out of an encounter with a homeless man selling roses on a street corner. She brought him snacks and small gifts to cheer him up, and the experience inspired her to continue performing acts of kindness all over town.

Since then, Jillian has babysat for special needs students, cheered on Special Olympics participants, written letters to military personnel overseas, brought flowers to retirement homes, collected items for the homeless, and—well, the list goes on.

“My passion lies in helping others,” she said.

When she learned about families who couldn’t pay the bills for their children’s medical care, Jillian created Spark Your Little Heart, a Seattle Children’s Hospital Guild that raises funds for uncompensated care. She has organized auctions, teddy bear teas and other events, and recently collected hats for children with cancer and stuffed animals for young hospital patients.


Many of these community service projects have been done in tandem with Jillian’s Girl Talk groups.

“Every day provides an opportunity to make a difference, and even a little bit goes a long way," she says.

Two years ago, she decided to try something new: a scholarship pageant. Besides the chance for scholarships, Jillian said she entered "for the experience.” She was chosen Miss Redmond Teen USA 2011, and she also competed in the Miss Seattle Pageant this Saturday, earning the scholarship award for community outreach.

Jillian is excited about college next year, where she plans to major in sociology. She hopes to find a way to combine her studies with some of her other interests—working with special needs kids, writing and interior design.

Whatever Jillian chooses to do with her life, you can be sure it will be more than just talk.

Source.

Colby Salerno's Hope for a Heart

Video Courtesy: CTNOW (dot) com

Colby Salerno doesn't feel his "story is more important than anyone else's" he writes on his Tales from the 10th Floor blog.  But he's thrilled about his own role in increasing awareness about organ donations in Connecticut.  The 24-year-old has spent the last 3 months in the hospital waiting for a heart transplant. Salerno has been living with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy for half of his young life. The condition causes the heart muscle to thicken, forcing the heart to work harder to pump blood. A heart transplant is Salerno's best chance at life, and 3 months of hospital living haven't soured him on his dream to go to medical school and become a cardiologist.

Besides having his story spotlighted for organ donation education, more than 5,600 people have rallied in support of Salerno on facebook on the Have a Heart for Colby page. The local Fox station in Hartford featured Salerno's blog, Tales for the Tenth Floor, and the $5,000 donation pledge that came from the Eric De La Cruz Hope for Hearts Foundation for financial assistance to the Salerno family.  The money was raised through the recent Raise a Glass wine mixer and benefit.

"Colby is an amazing young man whose strength, positivity, courage and overall approach to his illness is more than inspiring. I believe he has something to teach us all about life."  Veronica De La Cruz, Hope for Hearts Foundation

Veronica De La Cruz is an NBC/MSNBC anchor. She founded Hope for Hearts after the death of her younger brother, Eric, who suffered from severe dilated cardiomyopathy and was denied insurance coverage due to his pre-existing condition. Veronica worked diligently and feverishly through social media and raised funds for her brother's heart transplant, but Eric De La Cruz passed away on July 4, 2009 before the surgery could happen.  She's made it her mission since to help other heart transplant patients like Colby Salerno navigate the exhausting process.

With humor and infinite patience, Salerno regularly shares his life now on his tumblr blog.  You can send your good will his way with greeting cards mailed to: Hartford Hospital 80 Seymour St., Bliss 10-I, Room 6, Hartford, CT 06102

And a fund established for Colby's cause accepts donations:

The Colby Heart Transplant Fund 

P.O. Box 225

Cheshire, CT 06410-0225

Raise a Glass for Healthy Hearts

On Tuesday February 28, 2012, The Eric De La Cruz Hope for Hearts Foundation will be hosting, Raise A Glass, a wine mixer and benefit. This event will take place at Vinatta Project, 69 Gansevoort St., NY, from 6 to 9 P.M. The benefit is to raise funds for heart transplant patients.

Along with a night of celebrating February as National Heart month, with MSNBC’s Veronica De La Cruz and other special guests, a silent auction will be conducted and all the proceeds will be towards the Hope for Hearts Foundation.

“The Eric De La Cruz Hope For Hearts Foundation has been formed to honor the memory of Eric De La Cruz and fulfill his wish that no heart transplant patient would ever again have to suffer because of a lack of insurance or the inability to pay for life-saving medical treatment.”

For more information or to make a reservation visit: http://www.hopeforheartsfoundation.org/raise.html

http://twitter.com/veronicadlcruz

@VeronicaDLCruz

February 28. Save the date and help a heart patient!

Source

Good.is, for people striving to make the world better

Left, right. In, out. Greed, altruism. Us, them. These are the defaults and they are broken. We are the alternative model. We are the reasonable people who give a damn. No dogma. No party lines. No borders. We care about what works--what is sustainable, prosperous, productive, creative, and just--for all of us and each of us. This isn’t easy, but we are not afraid to fail. We’ll figure it out as we go.

Good is a collection of people, businesses, moms, kids, artists, organizations, policymakers, students, teachers, and engineers. Everyone is participating in one simple idea that each is elevated by being connected to others.

• Good funds ideas that correct problems.
• Good promotes business that think about more than profits.
• Good applauds technology that makes doctors more compassionate.
• Good is science that leads to understanding.
• Good cares about environments that make a cleaner world or a saner working space.

Good's range of interest is a wide as every human imagination.

The Moth: Preserving the Storytelling Tradition

Stories attract people like moths to a flame.  Poet and novelist, George Dawes Green considered this in naming his foundation, The Moth.

George wanted to recreate, in New York, the feeling of sultry summer evenings in his native Georgia, where he and his friends would gather on his friend Wanda’s porch to share spellbinding tales. There was a hole in the screen which let in moths that were attracted to the light, and the group started calling themselves The Moths. The first New York Moth event was held in George’s living room, but word spread fast, and the events soon moved to cafes and clubs throughout the city. 

The not-for-profit organization is dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. Experts and novices alike are allowed to share their stories as performance pieces. The former police officer in the video above tells of a humiliating experience as a rookie when he locked himself in the back of his own squad car.

Since 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide.

The Soup Movement

GPSoup is a gathering of like-minded citizens whose goal is to fund local initiatives by providing them with seed money that launches an idea or project.  It started with twitter and emails then became a monthly gathering.

Now GPSoup meets the last Sunday of every month. Everyone is asked to bring a $10 donation and a can of soup to be donated as well.

The $10 donation gets participants three things. A bowl. A spoon. A vote.

After a meal of soup and bread we will, as a group, listen to proposals from members of our community. Each proposal has five minutes to explain to those gathered why their idea would benefit the citizens of their community.  At the end of the presentations, you will be asked to submit your vote as to which idea has the most merit. We are not looking for the biggest, or the best idea. We as a group will have roughly $500-$1000 to grant someone, that's not a lot of money, unless there's some real ingenuity involved.

The idea should be new and something that hasn't been done before. It should be a new solution to an old problem.  Groups brainstorming for solving social issues are popping up throughout the U.S. and Canada.  NPR has more.

Georgia's Friends of Refugees

The Perennial Plate Episode 90: Refugee Garden from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.

Friends of Refugees nurtures the Atlanta Metro area's refugees through relationships and opportunities that "provide for their well-being, education and employment as they become contributing members of society."

Thousands of refugees come to the U.S. each year seeking a better life. In the community of Clarkston, GA, near Atlanta, approximately 60,000 refugees have settled since the 1990s.  More 150 different ethnic groups are represented and Clarkston has been named “the most diverse square mile in America” by the New York Times.

Community Gardens are one way Georgia's newest residents can develop friendships while providing fresh, wholesome food for their families. Iraqis, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Burmese and others make the opportunity to raise produce.  Friends of Refugees also offers employment help, English classes, and after-school tutoring.  Literacy classes and summer camps are also provided by this 501 (c)(3) nonprofit.

Operation: Glass Slipper

The Ordway’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's “Cinderella” partners with a nonprofit to bring fairy tale moments for girls in low-income families. Operation Glass Slipper is the fairy godmother to these girls who dream of attending their high school proms.  The project provides dresses, new shoes, and accessories hoping to make a memorable prom experience in the spring.

“Its such a lovely mission that Operation Glass Slipper has,” said Ordway president Patricia Mitchell. “The Ordway was really happy to be a part of helping them achieve it.”

In January, Operation Glass Slipper received 200 dresses, 40 pairs of shoes and 50 pieces of jewelry.  Besides individual donations, the nonprofit also received help from local bridal and prom shops, as well as corporations.

In 2011, Operation Glass Slipper helped 1,100 girls prepare for prom.

Archi's Acres: From Combat Fields to Farms

Archi's Acres understands the problems facing veterans leaving combat service.  One of the farm's founders served as a Marine.  Colin Archipley and his wife Karen started farming with avocado trees.  When their methods proved unprofitable, they went for more sustainable methods by switching to raising basil and using hydroponic methods.  Their choice brought them success; so, they wanted to share their knowledge with returning veterans:

The USDA has a push right now to create a 100,000 farmers per year over the next five years.  They're not going to meet those goals, but we think we have a population that can certainly help who have the motivation and the willingness to do this; as well as the leadership skills and the management ability to operate a business.  --Colin Archipley

About half of veterans come from rural areas.  The Archipleys see farming as a natural transition back home for a veteran and the active military spend a lot of time outdoors.  Archi's Acres offers Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training (VSAT) through a local community college.

With the help of VSAT, retired Marine Mike Hanes invented a wholesome and nutritional hot sauce called Dang!.

Mikey's Meals

A boy transforms his profound gratitude into service after receiving a life-saving operation. Michael Carraway Jr. received a liver transplant at UCSF Medical Center in 2008.  He had been a healthy, active 6th grader participating in sports, music, and Indian dance.  He became sick, and doctors placed him on a list for an organ transplant.  Michael's life was saved by a teenager who was in a traffic accident.  His recovery was swift, and by the time Christmas rolled around, Michael told his mother he wanted to feed homeless people for Christmas.  Mikey's Meals was born.

I prepared dinner and fed 25 people Christmas 2008 to start. In 2009, except for the months of April and May, when Michael was in the hospital, Mickey’s Meals feed 1,175 people in the city of Oakland, CA. Christmas 2009, in addition to providing meals to the homeless, Mikey’s Meals sponsored its first toy drive and handed out 100 gift bags that included toiletries, hats, socks, and gloves to adults.

Mikey's Meals also raises awareness about organ donations.  For his Pay-It-Forward spirit, Michael was recently featured as a CNN Hero for 2012.

Project Re-Generation: Ending Teen Idleness

Teens in Brooklyn turn away from guns, drugs and gang life thanks to the volunteer-based nonprofit founded by Barnabas Shakur. Since 2001, Project Re-Generation has attracted 5,000 volunteers who assist with legal services, career guidance, interview skills, and after school tutoring.  Shakur says the goodness of the community is what has made Project Re-Generation work.  While giving teenagers guidance is a priority, adults are encouraged to participate.
Programs for Teens:

• Foot Soldiers Program
• Knicks Poetry Program

Homeowners & Professionals Can Get Involved:

• Foot Soldiers Property Maintenance Services
• 1000 People whoBANG Professional Group Community Pride Day

Citywide, New York City faces a staggering 50% dropout rate. However, those involved in Project Re-Generation have 96% graduation rate, and many go on to pursue a university education.

Homeboy Industries Gives Hope to a Community and Futures to former Gang Members

Weary of performing funerals, Father Greg Boyle wondered, "What if?"  What if the community invested in itself, its people, instead of problem solving by incarceration?  Boyle's concern evolved into Homeboy Industries which is now operating a $14 million budget.  The organization began with a strong focus on jobs and job training as an alternative to gang violence. However, over the last twenty plus years, the organization has grown and now includes a charter high school, training facilities, tattoo removal and mental health services. Former gang members work for Homeboy Industries' Bakery, Homegirl Cafe and Homeboy Diner.

Gang-related homicides in Los Angeles county are way down over the last two decades and Homeboy has won both praise and funding from government officials -- last June, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa helped launch the opening of a Homeboy Diner at City Hall. And the organization has inspired similar initiatives in San Francisco, Boston and Missouri.

After going through Homeboy Industries job training, participants can specialize in "baking bread, learning to silkscreen, developing retail skills, or running a restaurant and catering business."

Enham's History of Helping

Enham in the UK began as a rehab community for veterans of WWI and military families.  In the ninety years since, the foundation has expanded its scope to focus on empowering people with disabilities.

"We have been responding to an ever-changing world by developing unique and innovative ways to continue to help disabled people exercise choice, control and independence."

Because of Enham, seven people with disabilities were just afforded the opportunity to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Enham empowers by opening up opportunities and supporting choices for people with disabilities or in need.

Central to the organizations mission is making sure people with special challenges can:

• Live the lives they want
• enter into sustainable, paid work
• fulfill their dreams and aspirations

True to the nonprofit's history, Enham has reached out in support to the service men and women who fulfilled tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The World Peace Game: Teaching Kids to Save the World

Devoted teacher, John Hunter found a way to allow students to resolve military conflicts and economic crisis in a classroom setting.  Hunter's The World Peace Game has "the goal to extricate each country from dangerous circumstances and achieve global prosperity with the least amount of military intervention." Students play on teams that represent different nations.

Children must wade through highly charged philosophical issues, identify ambiguity and bias in the information they receive.  They have to learn to understand what provokes antagonism and how to successfully deal with powerful enemies. Effective collaboration and refined communication becomes a skill for students navigating their way through the game.

The World Peace Game Foundation aims to help develop self-awareness in children and elevate their concept of world citizen:

The Foundation seeks to foster the concept of peace not as a utopian dream but as an attainable goal to strive for, and to stimulate the creative development of tools for this effort. It supports development of collaboration and communication skills for resolving and transforming conflicts, and the development of the skills of compromise, all while accommodating different perspectives and interests.

You can find out more about the Foundation's projects by visiting their website.

The Family Giving Tree

The Family Giving Tree believes giving empowers.  The organization's emphasis is on helping children realize their critical role in their communities.  Kindness, philanthropy and volunteerism are the core values, and special emphasis is placed on making sure kids have all the supplies they need as school starts each year:

"The Family Giving Tree began in 1990 as a San Jose State University MBA class project. Jennifer Cullenbine and Todd Yoshida were asked to "create a program that adds value to someone else's life." They created the Family Giving Tree with the hope of providing holiday gifts to 300 children in East Palo Alto. Encouraged by the success of the first year, Jennifer decided to continue and expand the organization. In the 20th year of the program's existence, the total number of gifts and backpacks donated had grown to over 700,000, making the Family Giving Tree the largest gift and backpack donation program in California." (Source)

The Family Giving Tree also provides for the holiday wishes of homeless and low income children.  Volunteers and other nonprofits are encouraged to host their own holiday gift drives to help make Christmas wishes happen.

Bridge Communities: Adopt a Family this Christmas

The nonprofit Bridge Communities allows anyone to take responsibility for providing Christmas gifts, clothes and food for homeless children.

Many people associate “family” with the holiday season. We spend time with families. We celebrate family traditional. We send cards and gifts to our families. We reminisce about past holidays celebrated with family. This year, why not create your own extended family? Adopt a homeless family that’s currently in Bridge Communities’ Transitional Housing Program, and you can give even more during the season of giving. When you adopt a Bridge client family, you’ll experience the joy of giving love and hope to a Bridge family. --Bridge Communities

All year round Bridge Communities commits its efforts to transforming the lives of homeless families through partnering with talented, resourceful individuals and groups. The programs aim to empower families in the direction of self sufficiency.

LETT 'em play: Tennis Anyone?

LETT, Learning Excellence Through Tennis, is a small nonprofit serving Birmingham, Alabama.  Beginning in 1998 as the Birmingham Area Tennis Association, the organization provides tennis and academic opportunities to youth with an eye on improving health and offering a productive activity for children when they are not in school. Additionally, tennis teaches discipline, social skills, improves self-esteem, and promotes physical fitness.

LETT reaches 10,000 children each year with after-school, summer camp, and academic programs.  Children who are interested are given access to all the equipment necessary to play. The organization gears itself to take on beginners and see them through to USTA Youth Team Tennis competitions.

Vets4Warriors: Vets Helping Vets

Photo Courtesy: Vets 4 Warriors (dot) com
A local New Jersey help line is going national in services veterans all around America.  Vets 4 Warriors' assistance by phone, email and live chat focuses on suicide prevention and crisis counseling.  The success of the organization was rewarded with $5 million--making the nationwide service possible.

From the mission statement:

For any issue, at any time, a Veteran is here to help. We all need a helping hand sometimes and Vets4Warriors provide 24/7 confidential peer support, information, and referrals for all National Guard and Reserve service members.

1-855-VET-TALK is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Vets 4 Warriors staff undergoes specialized training to address the particular needs of military personnel in trouble.  Confidentiality is guaranteed. Vets 4 Warriors want no one to "suffer in silence."

Help Portrait: Snapshots of Hope

Help Portrait brings together photographers from around the world to use their art and talent in the service of others.  Participating photographers are asked to grab their cameras, find people in need, and show them how beautiful they are.  The portraits are not for sale but rather a photographer's opportunity to give back to the community.

Help-Portrait recruits volunteer makeup artists also.  Pros, amateurs, and hobbyists are welcome.  Those interested can visit the organization's community page.  If there isn't an event near you, you can see who's local be connecting with their facebook page.

An organizer in Toledo, Ohio welcomed people from a homeless shelter for a Help-Portait photo shoot.