Putting an End to Eating Disorders

At some point in their life, 20 million women and 10 million men in the United States suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder. In a national survey, 40 percent of respondents reported that they have known someone or personally suffered from an eating disorder. Often misunderstood as lifestyle choices, eating disorders receive inadequate funding for research and treatment; thus, many individuals and families affected by eating disorders are often left feeling helpless and hopeless.

The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is working to change that. The leading non-profit organization in America advocating on behalf of individuals with eating disorders and their families, NEDA was formed in 2001 when two of the largest and longest standing eating disorders organizations in the world joined forces – the American Anorexia Bulimia Association (AABA) and Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention (EDAP).


NEDA reaches millions of people each year, working with partners and volunteers to create programs and tools for anyone who needs help. The organization campaigns for prevention, better access to quality treatment, and more funding for research as well. NEDA envisions a world without eating disorders and aims to achieve this with increased awareness, early intervention, and improved access to treatment. Consequently, NEDA offers various programs and services for individuals with eating disorders and their families.

NEDA runs a confidential helpline that connects patients with treatment, support groups, and other resources. The organization also has programs designed to provide personal support on a wide range of issues, from insurance to loss to recovery maintenance, as well as a large library of educational materials for personal use or distribution in schools and communities. Additionally, NEDA manages Proud2BMe, an interactive online community for teens that promotes positive body image and healthy attitudes about food and weight.

Alice Cooper's Solid Rock Foundation Lifts Up Arizona Youth

Founded in 1995 by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Alice Cooper and his friend Chuck Savale, the Solid Rock Foundation is a faith-based, non-profit organization dedicated to making a long-term difference in the lives of Arizona kids and teens. Originally a fundraising foundation for other like-minded groups, Solid Rock eventually established its own teen center that fosters confidence, self-expression, and creativity in a safe and supportive environment.

In spring 2012, The Rock Teen Center at 32nd Street opened its doors, giving young Arizonians access to music, dance, art, and vocational opportunities in the sound, lighting, and staging industry. According to Cooper, “The Rock will be one of the first of many teen centers in Arizona and, ultimately, around the country.”

A collaboration between the Solid Rock Foundation and Genesis Church, The Rock will provide teens with creative and meaningful alternatives to gangs, drugs, and violence, reinforcing the Solid Rock Foundation's goal to help meet the spiritual, economical, social, and physical needs of children and teens.

Create Now: Healing SoCal's Neediest Kids Through the Arts

Founded in the 1990s, Create Now is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the neediest youth in the Southern California region. Through arts mentoring and experiences, Create Now seeks to transform the lives of vulnerable kids ages 2 to 21 who have been abused, abandoned, and neglected. At the heart of the organization's work are the “forgotten children” in shelters, detention facilities, group homes, special centers, and schools, including the homeless, incarcerated, runaways, gang members, substance abusers, teen parents, children of prisoners, and victims of domestic violence.


Create Now was started by Jill Gurr, who felt a need to make a difference in the world. In 1994, she began a screenwriting workshop at a boys' detention center, spending several months writing a screenplay with 30 teenage boys who were incarcerated for different crimes. The workshop was a success, with many previously illiterate kids learning how to read and write through the program. Other boys wanted to go back to school, and a gang leader even had his loyalty tattoos removed. Gurr held a second screenwriting workshop at a coed detention facility with equal success. In 1996, impressed by Gurr's idea and passion to help, Leslie Stevens from the American Film Institute gave her a $5,000 donation to start a non-profit organization.

Create Now began as Write Now!, teaching literacy through various forms of creative writing. Today, Create Now has five program areas – writing, music, art, performing arts, and cultural excursions – to help the neediest youth express themselves in positive ways and gain life skills. The organization also brings thousands of kids to free plays, concerts, and other cultural events each year, introducing them to new types of theater, music, and art while bringing them joy and relief. Since its inception, Create Now has served more than 30,000 kids in Southern California.

Newlife Foundation: A Fighting Chance for Terminally Ill and Disabled Children in the UK

There are now more disabled children in the UK than ever before, and Newlife Foundation has been working to help disabled and terminally ill children in the country since 1991. Over the years, the charity has become the specialists for special children, improving health and saving lives through its programs.

Newlife Foundation funds medical research to help understand, prevent, and treat childhood disabilities, illnesses, and other life-limiting conditions. Newlife also runs a national helpline that provides support and information for families seeking to care for their child or need help accessing local services. Manned by Newlife Nurses, the free helpline assures confidentiality and professionalism. Further, Newlife Foundation works with policy makers at local and ministerial levels to ensure that disabled and terminally ill children and their families do not go unnoticed.

Newlife operates an equipment grants and loans programs as well, assisting children and families to obtain equipment that can aid mobility, relieve pain, provide independence, and keep a child safe.

Vitamin Angels: Saving Little Lives With Micronutrients

Founded in early 1994 by Howard Schiffer, Vitamin Angels is a charity that distributes lifesaving and life-changing vitamins to at-risk populations in need, particularly children under five, pregnant women, and new mothers. Vitamin Angels targets places most governments do not, reaching the remaining 30 percent of undernourished children who are neglected. The organization currently has projects in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nigeria, Somalia, Thailand, and Vietnam, among many others.

Millions of children around the world need micronutrients that can prevent diseases and even death. Vitamin Angels aims to stop these preventable childhood deaths and end “hidden hunger” by giving infants and children access to essential nutrients. In addition to reducing child mortality rates in at-risk populations, multivitamins help children develop stronger immune systems, increase their potential for educational and economic achievements, and give them the opportunity to lead productive lives.

From giving away 100,000 vitamins in its first year, Vitamin Angels now distributes millions of supplements every year.

Starlight Children's Foundation: Brightening the Lives of Hospitalized Kids Worldwide

Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Starlight Children's Foundation is a charity founded in 1982 by filmmaker Peter Samuelson and his cousin, actress Emma Samms, after they brought a terminally ill boy from London to LA to fulfill his lifelong dream of going to Disneyland. Since then, Starlight has provided quality programs to brighten the lives of seriously ill children and their families around the world. The organization partners with experts in entertainment, technology, and pediatric care to offer a comprehensive selection of outpatient, hospital-based, and online programs and resources that support children and their families from diagnosis through medical treatment. Serving millions of kids each year, Starlight works with over 1,750 healthcare facilities and every major pediatric hospital in Australia, New Zealand, Israel, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States to help seriously ill children and their families cope with their daily challenges.

Inside hospitals, Starlight Children's Foundation sets up Fun Centers and Starlight Sites. Fun Centers are mobile entertainment units equipped with a DVD player and a Nintendo game system that roll bedside to provide fun and distraction and help pediatric patients pass the long hours in the hospital. Meanwhile, Starlight Sites are beautifully designed hospital playrooms, teen lounges, and care rooms where young patients can play or receive treatments in a reassuring environment. Starlight also brings Hospital Happenings to patients in hospitals; these are parties, workshops, entertainment, and other events designed to give hospitalized kids a break from medical treatment. In addition, Starlight has partnered with Radio Flyer, Inc. since 2001 to bring over 6,000 Radio Flyer wagons to hospitals throughout the US and Canada. The wagons are used in place of wheelchairs or stretchers to transport kids to and from treatment rooms and surgeries, providing them with more comfort and less stress.

Beyond hospitals, Starlight runs Starbright World, the premier online social network for teens with chronic and life-threatening illnesses and their siblings. The charity also organizes fun-filled events for families and offers a host of engaging, educational resources including DVDs, interactive games, websites, and comic books.

Wine to Water: Providing Clean Water to All

Based in North Carolina, Wine to Water is a non-profit aid organization dedicated to providing clean water to people in need around the world. Nearly 1 billion people worldwide lack access to clean water and 2.5 billion lack access to improved sanitation. Wine represents wealth in our society, and Wine to Water aims to give those who are better off an opportunity to help the less fortunate.

Wine to Water was founded by Doc Hendley, who came up with the concept of the organization while he was tending bar and playing music in nightclubs around Raleigh. In early 2004, he held his first fundraiser to see if people would respond to the cause. It was a success, and Hendley put on more benefit wine events to raise money for water projects around the world. In 2007, Wine to Water officially became a 501(c)(3). Since then, the organization has provided clean water and sanitation in countries such as Uganda, Haiti, Sudan, Ethiopia, India, and Cambodia.

GEMS: Helping Survivors of Sexual Exploitation Develop to Their Full Potential

In 1997, Rachel Lloyd came to the US to serve as a missionary and help women exit prostitution. While working with women on the streets and in correctional facilities, she noticed that young women at risk for sexual exploitation were being neglected by traditional social service agencies. Recognizing the overwhelming need for specialized services, Lloyd started Girls Educational & Mentoring Services (GEMS) the following year with just a computer and $30.

A survivor of sexual exploitation herself, Lloyd founded GEMS to support girls and young women who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking. Starting out as a one-woman kitchen table project, GEMS is now a nationally recognized and acclaimed organization – one of the largest in America and the only one in New York state that specifically serves commercially sexually exploited and domestically trafficked youth in the country.

GEMS provides girls and young women with empathic and consistent support as well as viable opportunities for positive change. The organization's services include prevention and outreach, direct intervention, holistic case management, transitional and supportive housing, and court advocacy. Following a multifaceted, holistic approach to sexual exploitation, GEMS bases its programs on the philosophy that every girl and young woman is deserving and needs help to treat the violence and trauma she has gone through. Additionally, GEMS advocates at the local, state, and national levels to promote policies that support those who have been commercially sexually exploited and domestically trafficked. Since its inception, the organization has helped hundreds of girls and young women ages 12 to 24 leave the commercial sex industry and develop to their full potential.

An Ashoka Fellow and recipient of the Reebok Human Rights Award, founder Rachel Lloyd has been named one of “50 Women Who Change the World” by Ms. Magazine. She played a key role in the passage of New York's Safe Harbor Act for Sexually Exploited Youth, the first law in the US to end the prosecution of child victims of sex trafficking.

The Wild Bird Fund: Giving the Gift of Flight, Again

People come to New York for many reasons: the culture, the opportunity, the history, the architecture. The destination of all urban locales, New York certainly offers a number of gifts—and an equal variety of organizations work to preserve them. As a longtime New Yorker and major cultural contributor, antiques dealer Carlton Hobbs supports a number of groups that aim to support the larger five-borough community, among them the Wild Bird Fund.

Founded to preserve the avian life that calls New York City parks home, the Wild Bird Fund advocates for the flying population in a number of regards. In Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the institution oversees the city’s sole accredited wildlife rehabilitation center. There, birds from wild turkeys to great blue herons to ruby-throated hummingbirds receive both preventative care and emergency treatment. Outside of providing care to hurt wings and other maladies, the Wild Bird Fund offers educational resources to individuals who are passionate about the bird community. The center frequently offers courses and workshops, among them Avian Wound Healing and Management Techniques and Injured Bird Transporter Training Session. Additionally, WBF’s website presents insight into a number of matters with articles including Pigeon Rescue Guide, How To Rescue A Bird That Has Hit A Window, Domestic Cat Predation on Birds and Other Wildlife, and What To Do If You Find An Injured Woodcock. The Wild Bird Fund thrives exclusively with the help of generous New Yorkers, among them Carlton Hobbs, who hosts the annual gala. At the 2013 event, animal research scientists and exotic animals will mingle at his historic mansion.