Light Gives Heat Gives Hope to Africa and AmericaI

Image credit: LightGivesHeat.org

Founded by husband and wife team Dave and Morgan Hansow, Light Gives Heat is a non-profit organization that seeks to create world-changing opportunities in both Africa and America. Based in Grand Junction, Colorado and Jinja, Uganda, Light Gives Heat empowers over a hundred Ugandan artisans by providing consistent incomes every week and offers Americans a way to support the less fortunate, urging them to “be the change they want to see in the world.”

Through its brands SUUBI and EPOH, Light Gives Heat sells stylish women's jewelry and bags in America and reinvests 100 percent of profits back into the Ugandan communities it serves. According to Light Gives Heat, charity doesn't work, but work does; hence, it offers training, management, and jobs to people who need them.

Light Gives Heat was formed in March of 2007, not long before the Hansows and their son moved to Uganda to adopt their daughter.

Falling Whistles Campaigns for Peace in Congo

Image credit: FallingWhistles.com

Right now, the world's deadliest war since WWII is taking place in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 6 million people have lost their lives to this war over the past decade. Every day, nearly 1,500 more people are killed. Additionally, sexual violence is more rampant in Congo than anywhere else in the world. Sean Carasso learned about these horrifying truths when he visited the country in late 2007. After traveling the world and volunteering with TOMS Shoes and Invisible Children, Carasso made a stop in Congo. During his stay, he heard of children being sent to the front lines of war; those who were too small to carry a gun were armed with nothing but a whistle.

Carasso wrote about these young boys being forced to fight (and oftentimes die), and people who read his account began asking what can be done. That journal entry quickly gave birth to a campaign for peace in Congo. Carasso and David Lewis founded Falling Whistles, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the war in Congo, helping the individuals affected by it, and ultimately putting an end to the conflict.

While it accepts donations, Falling Whistles mainly employs a commerce-based business model, selling fashionable metal whistle necklaces for $34 to $54. The organization encourages people to become whistleblowers for peace by wearing the necklaces as a symbol of protest and spreading the word about the movement. Sales from the whistles go toward funding the campaign; Falling Whistles partners with local community leaders who rehabilitate children affected by the war through education, medical treatment, nutrition, art, vocational skills training, and other services.

To date, Falling Whistles has invested in 8 Congolese leaders and gained the support of 35 congressmen, 16 senators, 77 organizations, 200 retailers, and 50,000 whistleblowers – all within the span of three years.

Malaria No More Fights Malaria With Comedy for Latest Project

Malaria is preventable and treatable; it was eradicated in the US six decades ago. Yet, in Africa, it still kills a child every minute – 40 percent of the continent's health resources go towards treating malaria, which costs $12 billion annually in lost productivity. Malaria No More, a non-profit organization based in New York, wants to end malaria deaths in Africa by 2015. Together with partner organizations UNICEF, the American Red Cross, the Global Business Coalition, and many others, Malaria No More is working towards its goal through initiatives such as distributing mosquito nets, educating African families and communities about malaria, and providing diagnostic tools and medicines.

Since its founding in December of 2006, Malaria No More has delivered 2.7 million mosquito nets to families in 13 African countries, enough to protect more than 5 million people. The organization also assisted in launching NightWatch, a nightly reminder campaign that promotes the use of mosquito nets. After a successful run in Senegal, NighWatch was introduced in Chad and Cameroon. Additionally, Malaria No More has collaborated with Presidents Youssou Ndour of Senegal and Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania to roll out social mobilization campaigns in their countries.

Recently, Malaria No More teamed up with popular comedy website CollegeHumor to create Malarious, a collection of 24 funny one-minute videos featuring more than 30 celebrities and comedians. Malarious can be viewed on CollegeHumor for a minimum contribution of $1; proceeds will benefit Malaria No More. Stars who took part in the project include Ed Helms, Rainn Wilson, Gilbert Gottfried, Elizabeth Banks, and Rachael Harris.

“Our organization has played in the comedy space before, but never with the simple one-to-one ratio of Malarious,” says Malaria No More CEO Dr. David Bowen. “With ease and a little pocket change, viewers can watch their favorite celebrities and save a life in the matter of one minute. It doesn't get much better than that.”

D-PAN: Representing Deaf and Hard of Hearing Professionals in the Arts

Founded by Sean Forbes and Joel Martin in 2006, the Deaf Professional Arts Network or D-PAN is a Detroit, Michigan-based non-profit dedicated to helping deaf and hard of hearing individuals pursue careers in the entertainment, media arts, and visual arts industries. Originally known as the Deaf Performing Artists Network and focusing only on music and music videos, D-PAN eventually expanded its mission to also represent photographers, tattoo artists, filmmakers, writers, craftspersons, and other creative professionals.

Additionally, the organization runs D-PAN Productions, a video production house that offers a variety of services including animation, editing, cinematography, and original music composition. Recognized by ASCAP and CNN, D-PAN Productions employ mostly deaf or hard of hearing professionals.

In the near future, D-PAN will be launching two scholarship programs to advance its commitment to education – the Sean Forbes scholarship will be awarded to deaf or hard of hearing individuals who wish to obtain a degree or certification at an entertainment, visual arts, or media arts institution, while the Joel Martin Scholarship will be given to hearing individuals already pursuing a degree or certification in American Sign Language.

WildAid Provides Aid for Wild Animals

Founded in 2000, WildAid is a charity committed to raising awareness and public support for wildlife conservation. With offices in London, San Francisco, Ecuador, China, Canada, and India, WildAid is currently led by Steve Trent, one of the original four founders of the organization. The only group focused on reducing the demand for endangered species products, WildAid creates customized, culturally sensitive multimedia campaigns to promote a positive shift in consumer behavior. Furthermore, the organization works to protect critical areas around the world to ensure the safety of wild animals.

WildAid ambassador and former NBA star Yao Ming recently visited the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, which is home to various African wildlife, including the endangered black rhino.

“Poaching has become such a serious problem in East Africa, that last year alone, Ol Pejeta lost five of their 88 rhinos to poachers, which has been their greatest loss in twenty years,” wrote Yao on his blog. He is presently in Africa to help bring awareness to the poaching crisis that the continent's rhinos and elephants are facing.

CeeLo Green to Launch Environmental Charity With Sister

Founded by Grammy Award-winning artist CeeLo Green and his sister Shedonna Alexander, the GreenHouse Foundation is a new non-profit organization dedicated to delivering “green education” to school-aged children in underprivileged areas. The foundation will officially launch on August 17th at Green's elementary school, Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy in Georgia, with a dedication to the siblings' late mother, Sheila J. Callaway Tyler.

The GreenHouse Foundation's first initiative is the Green Garden Education Program, which will provide participating public, private, and charter schools with the tools, resources, and curriculum needed to start and maintain an outdoor “teaching” garden.

According to Alexander, “The Green Garden program will use outdoor gardening as an innovative tool to teach math and science. It will allow students to experience a new approach to 'green education.'”

The program will teach children the basics of gardening and the health and environmental benefits of growing their own food. Additionally, they will learn how to run their own school farmers market and donate the proceeds to other non-profit organizations to help reduce hunger in their community.

“The hands of our children will help feed those in need, like the homeless or elderly who live in 'grocery deserts' with no access to fresh produce,” says Green.

This is only the beginning for the GreenHouse Foundation; many more initiatives are on the way, including the annual Clean Atlanta Green Day, which will rally local schools, businesses, and government officials to clean up the city every Earth Day. The GreenHouse Community Gardens Programs will build organic community gardens managed by volunteers around Atlanta, while the Green Collar Career Development and Training Program will introduce students to jobs that have an impact on the environment.

“We are committed to the mission to empower children with the knowledge, attitude, and desire to positively influence their futures, their communities, and the long-term sustainability of their planet,” says Alexander.

The Thirst Project Aims to Bring Clean Water to 1 Million By 2015

In the summer of 2007, Seth Maxwell learned about the global water crisis through a friend who had just returned from a humanitarian service trip in Uganda. Over the following months, Maxwell researched about the issue further and felt compelled to do something about it. As a 19-year-old college student at that time, he wasn't sure what he could do, but he recruited seven of his closest college friends and the group decided to raise awareness about the problem. Armed with 1,000 bottles of water they had purchased, Maxwell and his friends headed to Hollywood Boulevard, where they gave the bottles away to get people to listen to them. That day, they were able to raise $1,700, which went into funding their first freshwater well rehabilitation project.

Maxwell and his friends thought that that first undertaking would also be their last. To their surprise, they started receiving requests to talk about the water crisis at schools and churches. Hence, The Thirst Project was formed. During their first month of speaking, the group raised over $12,000. Since then, The Thirst Project has raised more than $2.6 million, which have helped give over 100,000 people in developing nations access to clean water.

Today, Maxwell and company travel all around the United States to middle schools, high schools, and college campuses to shed light on the fact that nearly a billion people on the planet don't have access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation. According to The Thirst Project, most communities are simply too poor to drill down to the water source that already exists in aquifers 100 to 300 feet below the ground. A freshwater well that costs between $5,000 and $12,000 can bring clean water to 500 people, cut the disease rate by 80 percent, and reduce the child mortality rate by 99 percent. Through its various programs and events, The Thirst Project plans to make this a reality for one million people by the year 2015.

Helping LA's Homeless and Drug Addicts

Founded by Reverend I.L. Eldridge in 1936, the Los Angeles Mission is a faith-based, non-profit organization dedicated to addressing the needs of the homeless and underprivileged in Los Angeles. Initially a small rescue mission, it is now one of America's largest homeless charities, headquartered in a 156,000-square-foot facility at 303 East 5th Street.

The Los Angeles Mission assists men, women, and children in need through various services and projects. Specifically, the organization provides emergency, transitional, and permanent housing, as well as offers food and clothing to those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. As a Christian charity, the Los Angeles Mission also runs residential and non-residential discipleship programs designed to help drug addicts overcome their dependencies.

In addition, the Los Angeles Mission's Urban Training Institute provides vocational training to help people build their skills, further their professional careers, and ultimately lead a self-sufficient life. The institute has a career development team that exists to constantly create new employment opportunities for graduates.

It Takes A Whole Village to Raise A Child: Children’s Miracle Network

Non-profits, whether they aim to empower people coping with natural disaster or find cures for terminal illnesses, grow and thrive with the donations. Some funding support comes from private donors, some from fundraisers, and some from corporate sponsors who translate portions of profit to the causes that matter. Hanks Fine Furniture stands one of these businesses that aims to give back, effectively translating the success of their 14 stores in 5 states to a population of children who need assistance. In September of 2011, Hank’s Fine Furniture offered a part of their sales to the Children’s Miracle Network, a group that funds a string of hospitals supporting youths across the country and beyond.

Hank's Fine Furniture translated funds towards Children’s Miracle Network affiliated hospitals in Little Rock, Arkansas; Pensacola, Florida; Springfield, Missouri; and Mobile, Alabama.  Since its establishment in 1983, the charity garnered upwards of $4.3 billion in funding that goes towards the treatment of children facing everything from common injuries and afflictions to life-threatening diseases. The 172 institutions associated with the Children’s Miracle Network benefit from corporate partnerships with major businesses including Delta Air Lines, Dairy Queen, Ace Hardware, Kiwanis International, and USA Gymnastics. Children’s Miracle Network also complete various advocacy efforts including a telethon, A Celebration of Real Miracles, and various dance marathons at schools throughout the U.S. Throughout the years, various celebrities stepped up to represent the goals of the organization, among them Marie Osmond, Glenn Beck, Le-Ann Rimes, Drew Lachey, and Justin Bieber. To learn about what you can do to further the mission of the Children’s Miracle Network, visit childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org.