The David Lynch Foundation: Spreading Peace to America's Most Stressed Populations

Founded by award-winning director, writer, and producer David Lynch in 2005, the David Lynch Foundation is dedicated to transforming the lives of at-risk populations by giving them access to scientifically proven stress-reducing techniques including Transcendental Meditation. When people suffer from epidemic levels of chronic stress and stress-related conditions, violence, crime, and health costs go up. Moreover, the effectiveness of existing health, education, rehabilitation, and vocational programs are compromised. 

The David Lynch Foundation focuses on serving disadvantaged inner city students; veterans with PTSD and their families; homeless men in re-entry programs; incarcerated youths and adults; and American Indians suffering from diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high suicide rates. Additionally, the charity funds university and medical school research to evaluate the effects of its programs on academic performance, ADHD, substance abuse, anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and PTSD. Various private organizations and government agencies have endorsed the effectiveness of the foundation's programs.

Since its inception, the David Lynch Foundation has provided more than 120,000 scholarships for at-risk individuals to learn Transcendental Meditation. 

St. Giles Trust: Creating Safer Communities in the UK

It was the early 1960s and post-war London was in decline. Many had become homeless, insane, alcoholic, lost, or dispossessed. Fr. John Nichols, the vicar of St. Giles Church in Camberwell, saw the need to form a trust “for the purpose of assisting those suffering in soul, mind, or body.” The weekend before, he had just buried three suicides and attended seven attempted ones. Thus, he brought together an eclectic group that included a celebrity boxer and several local dignitaries to form the Camberwell Samaritans. The Crypt of St. Giles Church was cleared of coffins to make room for a center that offered food and shelter to the destitute. One of the first day centers for homeless people, it  was opened by the Queen Mother in 1963.

That day center has since evolved to become St. Giles Trust, a leading charity in the UK that works with ex-offenders, the homeless, and other socially excluded individuals. The organization helps them break the cycle of crime, disadvantage, and offending by offering housing support, vocational training, support into employment, and more. St. Giles Trust also provides prison-based services – its award-winning Peer Advice Project trains serving prisoners to become qualified professionals who support their fellow inmates. In addition, the charity runs a homeless weekday drop-in center which assists the partners and children of offenders as well as young people involved in gang crime. With a mission of creating safer communities throughout the UK, St. Giles Trust helps more than 15,000 people every year.

Prince William, who attended St. Giles Trust's recent 50th anniversary fundraising dinner, praised the organization for its work. “This charity truly inspires me. It has touched the lives of a quarter of a million people over the past five decades,” he said at the event. “These are people from the margins of society who, thanks to this charity, were able to recover from an appalling start and go on to live successful, productive, and positive lives.”

We Are Family Foundation: We're More Alike Than Unalike

Following the events of September 11, 2001, musician, songwriter, and producer Nile Rodgers got the idea to re-record the hit song “We Are Family,” which he wrote for Sister Sledge in the 1970s. Less than two weeks later, Rodgers and music industry exec Tom Silverman had gathered a diverse group of more than 200 people – from celebrities to firefighters to everyday citizens – to sing the song and start the healing process.



Rodgers subsequently founded the We Are Family Foundation to promote the message of one global family. Today, the non-profit runs programs designed to educate the next generation about understanding, respect, and cultural diversity. Additionally, the We Are Family Foundation strives to solve some of the world's biggest problems by producing international teen summits, forming global coalitions, creating worldwide curricula, and building schools in highly illiterate communities.

The We Are Family Foundation has declared March 11th We Are Family Day to celebrate our common humanity.

The Duck Plushie That Support Kids With Cancer

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Gabe's My Heart is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing support and education to children and families dealing with childhood cancer. The charity was founded by Louise Sipos, whose son Gabe was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma (a soft tissue tumor) in December 2002, just a week before his first birthday. Though Gabe has been declared cancer-free many years ago, Sipos continues the fight against the disease by supporting others who are experiencing what her family has gone through.

In 2004, Gabe's My Heart started Gabe's Chemo Duck Program, which gives free Chemo Duck plush toys to kids who are coping with cancer. Designed to help make cancer treatment less frightening and confusing for children, the 12-inch-tall Chemo Duck sports blue hospital scrubs, has an arm immobilizer, and a Hickman line or portacath for simulating medical care. Each toy comes with a DVD explaining the program, an educational coloring book, and access to additional resources and printable activities. Since its inception, Gabe's Chemo Duck Program has distributed over 15,000 ducks to children across the US.

Recently, Gabe's Chemo Duck Program teamed up with Flocabulary, an award-winning New York-based company that produces educational hip-hop music and learning tools. The result of the collaboration is “I'm Still Me,” an animated music video that promotes self-esteem for children who have cancer. “I'm Still Me” tells kids that despite the difficulties cancer treatment may bring, they are still themselves and they're not alone. The video encourages them to continue doing what they love, as well as sheds light on the changes they will experience during treatment. According to Sipos, Flocabulary has been instrumental in helping children understand what they're going through.

“I'm Still Me” is Flocabulary's first project in the health care industry. Co-founder and CEO Alex Rappaport says, “If we put a smile on just one kid's face, then we have done our part.”

Musicians On Call Brings Music and Joy to Hospital Bedsides

In 1999, singer and guitarist Kenli Mattus played a show at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The event was sponsored by the Kristen Ann Carr Fund and organized by entertainment executives Michael Solomon and Vivek Tiwary. Once Mattus started performing, patients began to smile and move their heads and feet to the beat. When a nurse mentioned that it was such a shame that some patients couldn't attend because they were in treatment or too sick to leave their rooms, Mattus visited those who had missed the concert and played at their bedsides. Solomon and Tiwary, who witnessed the magic that ensued, knew they had to form an organization that would bring music to those who need it most; thus, they founded Musicians On Call. Since its inception 13 years ago, Musicians On Call has performed for more than 300,000 patients and their families, delivering joy and the healing power of music to healthcare facilities in six US states. The charity plans to expand nationally and internationally.

Drug Prevention Charity Urges Kids to Pursue Their Natural High

Jon Sundt lost both of his younger brothers to drugs. Steven died of a cocaine overdose in the backseat of a police car, while Eric committed suicide due to depression that was very likely linked to his long-term drug use. For more than a decade, the Sundt family struggled with Steven and Eric's drug addiction and looked for adequate resources to help them get well. During their search, the Sundts came across privately funded programs that provided free treatment to young people with substance abuse issues. Encouraged by these non-profit centers and believing that they could also make a lasting impact in the lives of children, Sundt, with the support of his wife and family, started the Sundt Memorial Foundation in 1994.


Following the deaths of his brothers, Sundt realized that they might not have gotten into drugs if they were aware of how devastating the effects were. This led to the production of the Natural High DVDs, a series of videos that aim to steer young people away from drugs. Featuring interviews with drug-free celebrities, athletes, and role models, as well as exciting music and action shots, the DVDs encourage kids to say no to drugs and alcohol and say yes to life and pursue their natural high. Previous celebrity messengers include Grammy-nominated rock band Switchfoot, WNBA player Lisa Leslie, and professional skateboarder Paul Rodriguez, Jr.

In 2011, the Sundt Memorial Foundation officially changed its name to Natural High after the series it is best known for. The DVDs are sent free to public, private, and alternative schools throughout the US. There are currently five volumes, with Natural High 6 scheduled to be released in fall 2013. Aside from the DVDs, Natural High also produces an online series of short videos that kids can view from home or teachers can assign as homework.

City Hearts: Introducing Underprivileged Kids to the Arts

In 1984, criminal defense attorneys Sherry and Bob Jason established City Hearts: Kids Say “Yes” to the Arts to offer free visual and performing arts classes to the disadvantaged and at-risk youth of Los Angeles. The non-profit organization believes that the arts are the most effective means to reach out to troubled children and teens; thus, it intervenes in a supportive and nurturing way by providing the highest quality arts education and experiences that foster creativity, self-esteem, literacy, vitality, and social and academic skills.

City Hearts runs a number of programs to achieve its goal of helping kids become productive and creative members of their community. Among them are: Fresh Focus, a photography class that encourages at-risk youth to shoot with cameras, not guns; Let's Make a Show, a two-week intensive course that culminates in a full-length production of a musical, dance performance, or Shakespeare play; and Kids Sew for Kids, a program wherein participants make functional products to give to other children.

Kitten Rescue: Saving LA's Stray and Abandoned Cats Since 1997

Founded in the spring of 1997, Kitten Rescue is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization dedicated to saving homeless and abandoned felines in Los Angeles. Since then, it has grown into one of the biggest animal welfare groups in the city, placing about 1,000 cats and kittens into new homes every year. Kitten Rescue provides for the medical needs of all its rescued cats; prior to adoption, each feline is spayed or neutered, vaccinated, dewormed, tested for leukemia and FIV, treated for fleas, and microchipped. Furthermore, the organization offers public education and assistance regarding the importance of spaying and neutering, responsible pet ownership, and the proper maintenance of feral cat colonies.

In early 2006, Kitten Rescue achieved one of its primary goals of owning a shelter. The Kitten Rescue Sanctuary is a private, no-kill shelter and boarding facility that houses around 150 residents at any given time. Located in the Atwater Village neighborhood of LA, the Sanctuary is operated by a full-time staff and several volunteers and allows Kitten Rescue to save more animals, carry out large-scale rescues, and move faster during emergencies.

On Sunday, October 7th, Kitten Rescue will host its fifth annual Fur Ball. Taking place at the Avalon Theater, the fundraising event will feature silent and live auctions to benefit the organization's programs, a no-limit Texas hold 'em poker tournament, casino gaming tables where guests can win raffle tickets to bid on prizes, food and drinks, and music by DJ Kid Fish. This year's Fur Ball will honor Jackson Galaxy of Animal Planet's “My Cat From Hell” for his advocacy work, as well as Kitten Rescue's Volunteer of the Year Sandra Harrison. The event will be a star-studded one – celebrities confirmed to attend include Tricia Helfer, Kyle Massey, Katrina Parker, Justin Hopkins, Shanna Moakler, Nestor Serrano, and more.