Battersea Dogs & Cats Home: A World Without Homeless Animals

Founded in 1860 by Mrs. Mary Tealby, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is one of the UK's oldest and most famous animal rescue charities. Currently made up of three centers in Battersea (London), Old Windsor (Berkshire), and Brands Hatch (Kent), the Home aims to never turn away a dog or cat in need. The organization reunites lost pets with their owners; when this isn't possible, the dogs and cats are cared for until they can be placed in new homes. Battersea Dogs & Cats Home also educates the public about responsible pet ownership.

Originally established as the Temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs in Holloway, North London, the charity moved to its current location in Battersea in 1871. A little over a decade later, the Home began taking in cats. Since its inception, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home has cared for more than 3 million animals. Now London's leading animal rehoming center, it has been part of southwest London for as long as people can remember. Working towards a world where all cats and dogs are in loving and permanent homes, Battersea will look after a dog or cat for as long as necessary and never put an animal to sleep unless there are significant temperament or medical issues that will make rehoming unlikely.

In 2011, Battersea spent £13.5 million caring for 9,000 animals; found new homes for 5,255; and reunited 104 lost cats and 1,094 lost dogs with their owners. Last year, the Home's 331 staff members were assisted by 616 volunteers who donated nearly 66,200 hours of their time exercising and socializing the animals, helping in the offices and at events, and raising awareness about responsible pet ownership in schools.

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home has enjoyed royal patronage since 1884 and celebrity support since the early 1860s, when Charles Dickens wrote an article about the Home in his newspaper.

K9 Connection: Improving the Lives of At-Risk Youth and Homeless Dogs

Founded in 2005, K9 Connection is a 501(c)(3) project of the Ocean Park Community Center in Santa Monica, California. The experience-based program helps at-risk teens ages 14 to 18 gain positive self-esteem and compassion as they train homeless shelter dogs in basic obedience. In assisting the dogs learn the skills they need to become adoptable, the teenagers in turn develop the skills they need to become responsible members of the community.

K9 Connection's three-week programs are limited to eight pairs of teens and dogs per class and consist of both indoor and outdoor sessions. Inside the classroom, K9 students set and work on goals for their dogs and themselves. Outside, they are given the opportunity to apply classroom ideas in the real world as they learn to train their dogs through positive reinforcement.

The program concludes with a graduation ceremony for the teens and the placement of each dog in a loving, permanent home. After graduation, K9 Connection checks in with each student monthly to provide continued mentorship.

Beat: Helping People in the UK Beat Eating Disorders

Founded in 1989, Beat is the UK's only national non-profit organization dedicated to supporting people with eating disorders and their family and friends. The world's largest eating disorders charity as well, Beat began as the Eating Disorders Association when local charities Anorexic Aid and Anorexic Family Aid merged to form the country's first nationwide organization devoted to helping individuals affected by anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. In early 2007, the Eating Disorders Association changed its working name to Beat to reflect its new vision that “eating disorders will be beaten,” though it maintains Eating Disorders Association as its legally registered charity name.

Beat aims to help people with eating disorders believe that they can overcome their condition, improve relevant treatments and services, and change the way society views eating disorders. Consequently, Beat's programs are designed to provide support and information to people living with eating disorders, enhance the skills and understanding of professional staff, and raise the public's awareness and knowledge of eating disorders. The charity runs telephone helplines, local support groups, and a website that includes information, online chat, and message boards. Last year, Beat directly assisted 250,000 adults and young individuals in the UK, and thousands more through its website and the media.

Over the years, Beat has received a number of accolades for its work, including the Telephone Helplines Association Quality Standard Award, the Charity Awards' Highly Commended honor in the Healthcare and Medical Research category, the Royal British Legion Humanitarian Award, and the British Red Cross Humanitarian Citizen Award. Beat will not be taking any breaks this holiday season and will keep its helplines and message boards open throughout the festive period. The charity has made a Christmas appeal for donations – £25 will answer five questions on the message boards, £50 will fund its helpline for an hour, while £100 will give online support to 50 young people with an eating disorder.

Belong To: Giving Ireland's LGBT Youth a Safe Haven

Based in Dublin, Belong To is a non-profit organization that helps lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people ages 14 to 23 in Ireland. As a national youth service, Belong To provides direct youth work services to LGBT individuals in Dublin, as well as supports LGBT youth groups across the country. The organization offers safe spaces where the LGBT community can get personalized help from youth workers, meet like-minded friends, participate in various activities, and more. Additionally, Belong To runs a free, confidential, and non-judgmental drugs service that addresses any concerns LGBT youth may have about drug and alcohol use.

Aside from assisting LGBT people, Belong To works with their parents as well, giving them the tools they need to cope and ultimately support their child. Belong To also seeks to change negative societal attitudes towards LGBT youth by training youth workers and teachers, running awareness campaigns in schools, and collaborating with government departments.

826 National: Inspiring Under-resourced Students' Creativity and Imaginations

Founded in 2002 by award-winning author Dave Eggers and educator Ninive Calegari, 826 National is a non-profit organization that offers various learning, writing, and arts education programs to under-resourced students through its network of eight tutoring centers. Located in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Ann Arbor, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, and Washington, DC, 826 centers give young people ages 6 to 18 the opportunities to improve their writing skills and explore their creativity. 826 National, which also helps educators get their classes excited about writing, believes that one-on-one attention can enhance learning and that strong writing skills play an important role in future success.

The organization's free programs are designed to engage under-resourced youth, spark their imaginations, and help them realize their full potential. These include after-school tutoring, with students receiving one-on-one assistance with their homework, regardless of subject, at least four days a week. 826 National also hosts field trips, where entire classes visit an 826 tutoring center for a two-hour fun and interactive writing event. Students learn how to compose an original story as a group and go home with personalized books. For those who are unable to drop by an 826 center, the organization sends teams of volunteers to local public schools regularly. Volunteers provide one-on-one help to students with writing projects such as oral histories, school newspaper articles, and college entrance essays. Moreover, 826 National offers several workshops and scholarships, as well as runs the annual Young Authors' Publishing Project, a program that gives students the chance to be professionally published.

Over the years, 826 National has received numerous awards, including the 2010 Jim Henson Community Honor and the 2012 INFORUM 21st Century Visionary Award (presented to co-founder Dave Eggers). Between 2011 and 2012, 826 National accomplished 1,714 after-school tutoring sessions, 756 field trips for 364 schools, 1,024 publishing projects, 180 in-school projects in 88 schools, and 351 writing workshops, serving 31,669 students and 933 teachers.

Habitat for Humanity: Shelter for Everyone

Founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller, Habitat for Humanity International is a non-profit, non-denominational Christian housing ministry that works with people of all backgrounds to build and repair simple and affordable houses. Since its inception, Habitat for Humanity has become a world leader in addressing poverty housing issues, having built or repaired more than 600,000 houses and served over 3 million people globally. With headquarters in Americus and Atlanta in Georgia, the organization envisions a world where every person has a decent place to live.

Operating across the world, Habitat for Humanity works with families in need of shelter, who are selected based on their level of need, willingness to become partners in the program, and ability to repay their loan. Homeowner partner families put hundreds of hours of their own labor into building their own house as well as those of others. Habitat houses are sold at no profit, and partner families' monthly mortgage payments are used to build even more homes.