Operation Santa's Soldier

SGT Joshua Evans created Operation: Santa's Soldiers as a way to give back to those in need. His organization donates winter coats and boots to homeless shelters in the U.S.  Evans knows firsthand the struggles of being homeless:

"Just six years ago, Evans lost his job, home and had to send his daughter to live with his in-laws, KSTP.com reports. Today, the 33-year-old is finishing up his second deployment in Kuwait and [working to emerge as a nonprofit.] The organization provides warm coats and boots to those in need. 'I want this to go on in a pay-it-forward kind of way,' Evans told Stripes.com." Source.

Evans' mission is to give the gift of warmth to people less fortunate. Operation: Santa's Soldier is still growing.  Evans wants to see the effort spread beyond his own unit in Kuwait.  You can keep up with his work by following him on Facebook.

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.

One Acre Fund: Breaking New Ground

Family farmers in Africa grow a year's food supply using a hoe and seeds harvested from the previous year.  Often the supply comes up short, and people experience a season of hunger.  Yale business student Andrew Youn saw a way to create solutions with the One Acre Fund.

Our core service package for farmers includes: group formation, education, seed and fertilizer delivery, flexible payments (credit or sales), and market access. Farmers pay for these services.

One Acre Fund helps poor farmers grow more, loans money for tools, and serves 75,000 east African farmers.  On average, farmers double their income.

One Acre Fund was the recipient of the Financial Times Sustainable Banking Award for Achievement in Basic Needs Financing. The award recognizes groundbreaking programs, transactions, and initiatives that use the power of finance to address the scarcity of essential goods across society.

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.

The Trevor Project for Teen Suicide Prevention

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among LGBT and questioning adolescents.  The Trevor Project makes itself available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by telephone for young people in crisis:

We promise to create a safe space, through our lifeline and online, for LGBTQ youth. We promise to deliver our message of suicide prevention in schools throughout the country. We promise to hire a highly qualified and professional staff and providing them with incentives. We promise to operate our board, our committees, our lifeline, our offices and our events with the utmost integrity.

The Trevor Lifeline is 866-488-7386. It's free and confidential.  TrevorChat is also an option.  Youth can access instant messaging each Friday.  With the help of sponsors like Wells Fargo, Google, and Levi Strauss, The Trevor Project has fielded more than 200,000 calls from teens in crisis.

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.

The Women's Bean Project: Transforming Lives

The Women's Bean Project knows that empowering a woman is more than opening up a future for one.  The lives of her children, friends, and other family members are lifted.  The project dedicates itself to helping women break the cycle of poverty and unemployment.  The organization's mission is an ascent to self-sufficiency through social enterprise for every woman that participates in the program.

Job and life skill training is used to end problems like chronic unemployment and poverty.  The women, who are often former prisoners or drug users, tap their undiscovered talents and develop skills for the workplace.

With this stepping stone toward success, the women will be able to support themselves and their families and create stronger role models for future generations.   --Women's Bean Project

The 501 (c)(3) nonprofit makes and sells salsa mixes, spice rubs, coffee beans, and jelly beans in addition to  soups and chili, along with gift baskets, baking mixes, and much more.  The Women's Bean Project is rated highest at 4 stars by Charity Navigator.

Free the Children (from poverty, exploitation, and powerlessness)

Free the Children aims to free children from poverty, exploitation, and a sense of powerlessness.  Changing the world for good is in the hands of anyone who wants to try.  Free The Children inspires youth "to develop as socially conscious global citizens and become agents of change" through local and global empowerment programs:

• Adopt a Village
• Turn students into youth leaders
• Promote Self-Sufficiency

This 501 (c)(3) nonprofit has built more than 650 schools and school rooms around the world and has reached more than one million young people through outreach in North America and the United Kingdom.

Earthspun Clothing Line: Giving Customers an Eco-Friendly Alternative

Forty-seven million barrels of oil are needed each year just to supply America with all of the plastic bottles used.  A textile company that's been around since the American Revolution has found an innovative way to reduce oil consumption.  Patrick Yarns makes its Earthspun® brand clothing from recycled plastic bottles and recycled cotton.  No dyes are used because the green, blue, and brown bottles plus old X-ray films provide the color for this apparel.  Here are some facts the company highlights for those interested in making an eco-friendly choice:

• 1 shirt is made from .5 pound of fiber or about 6 bottles.
• 1 ton of recycled plastic saves 3.8 barrels of oil.
• 1 million recycled plastic bottles eliminate 180 metric tons of CO2.
• 10% of all US oil, 2 million barrels, is used to make plastics.
• 500 tee-shirts made from Earthspun® yarns save about 1 barrel of oil.

Because of an adaptive and innovative business model, Patrick Yarns remained profitable even after the recession hit, and the owners kept their textile plants in the U.S. (Source)

Beagle Freedom Project: from lab animals to pets

ARME, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, created the Beagle Freedom Project to address the immediate need of placing beagles, a popular breed among researchers. These dogs are preferred because of their docile natures and their adaptability to life in a cage.  ARME works with labs to legally obtain ownership of the animals and prep them for adoption.  Lab beagles come with special challenges:

"Anyone interested in fostering or adopting a lab beagle should be aware of the challenges these dogs have. They will not be accustomed to life in a home and will not have experience with children, cats, or other dogs. They will not be house-trained and accidents will happen, although they learn quickly. Many have gone directly from a commercial breeder to the lab, and have never felt grass under their feet or even seen the sun. They will have been fed a special diet formulated for lab animals and may be difficult to adjust to new foods. They will be unfamiliar with treats, toys, bedding and may never have walked on a leash. They will have lived in cages with steel wire floors and may have inflamed or infected paws from the pressure. They may be fearful of people initially and may have phobias from a lifetime in confinement or from being restrained. They are likely to have been surgically de-barked by the breeder."

A lab in Spain turned over 41 dogs to the Beagle Freedom Project.  ARME organizers are now looking for foster and adoptive homes.