New Hope for LA's At-Risk Youth and Their Families

Located in Los Angeles, California, Aviva Family and Children's Services is a non-profit, non-sectarian social service and mental health agency dedicated to serving mistreated and at-risk youth and their families through a comprehensive range of diverse and culturally sensitive therapeutic and educational programs. Aviva is certified by the Council on Accreditation, an international, independent accrediting organization for providers of behavioral health care and child and family services.

The history of Aviva began almost a century ago, when the Ida Strauss Day Nursery was founded in 1915 to find loving homes for WWI orphans and provide day care to the children of working mothers and widows. Three years later, the Ida Strauss Day Nursery added a small residential program and community center and became the Jewish Alliance. In 1927, the organization was renamed the Hamburger Home to honor a major benefactor. For the next four decades, the Hamburger Home provided lodging for young, single, and working Jewish women. During the 1960s, the women's residence transformed into a residential treatment program for physically and sexually abused adolescent girls of all races and religions. To reflect its commitment to helping its young clients attain a brighter future, the agency changed its name once again to Aviva, which means “rebirth” or “renewal” in Hebrew.

The programs offered by Aviva Family and Children's Services today include enrichment programs for infants and children, foster care and adoption, community-based services such as gang intervention and juvenile justice, and Aviva High School, a special education high school for young girls who have been abused or neglected. Aviva High School, which helps at-risk teen girls graduate from high school and go on to post-secondary education, was awarded the highest level of accreditation (six years) by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, an independent organization that accredits high schools and higher education programs.

Singer Anthony Brown's Foundation Peaces It Together

Founded by singer and peace ambassador Anthony Brown, the Peacing It Together Foundation is a non-profit organization that promotes peace and justice through music and the spoken word. Understanding that music is the universal language, Brown has visited many war-torn areas in the world to bring hope and healing to people using the power of music. As an African-American, Brown has personally experienced racism and indifference. He invites his listeners to join the movement for peace, justice, and freedom, performing concerts that focus on harmony, humanity, and African-American spirituals.

The Peacing It Together Foundation expands the work of Brown, seeking to serve the global community as a resource and catalyst for peace and social justice. Believing that peace begins with oneself and is extended to others, Peacing It Together carries out activities that emphasize connectedness among all people regardless culture, nationality, ethnicity, or religion, as well as champion the rights and dignity of those who are socially, politically, or economically disadvantaged.

Every Mother Counts: A Campaign for Global Maternal Health

Founded by American model Christy Turlington Burns, Every Mother Counts is a non-profit organization committed to ending preventable deaths caused by pregnancy and childbirth worldwide. Every Mother Counts informs and inspires new audiences to take action to improve the health and well-being of girls and women around the globe. Burns has spent the last several years advocating for global maternal health, a subject she has been passionate about since becoming a mother in 2003.

Following the birth of her first child, Burns experienced a complication called post-partum hemorrhage (PPH), which is the leading cause of pregnancy-related death in the world. After learning that nearly 90 percent of deaths due to PPH are preventable, Burns committed herself to doing everything she could to change the statistics. In 2009, she traveled to Bangladesh, Guatemala, and Tanzania to film the documentary, “No Woman, No Cry,” which tells the stories of at-risk pregnant women. Every Mother Counts is an offshoot of “No Woman, No Cry,” serving as a resource for people who want to get involved and make a difference.

Room to Read: Literacy and Quality Education for All Children

In 1998, John Wood was a burned-out Microsoft executive in desperate need of a vacation. Thus, he headed off to Nepal. As he was hiking in the Himalayas, he met a Nepalese “Education Resource Officer” who invited him to visit a school in a nearby village. Wood was stunned to see a bedraggled schoolroom with a handful of books that were left behind by backpackers, including a Danielle Steele title and the Lonely Planet Guide to Mongolia. These books were so precious that they were kept locked up to protect them from the children. The schoolmaster requested that maybe Wood would come back with books one day. Back home, Wood started emailing friends for help collecting children's books. Within a couple of months, he had amassed more than 3,000.

The following year, Wood and his father returned to the village with the books, which they transported with the assistance of eight donkeys. Seeing the children's faces convinced Wood to leave the corporate world, and he quit his job at Microsoft in late 1999. He subsequently founded Room to Read with Dinesh Shrestha, and they began building schools and libraries in Nepal.

Today, Room to Read is an award-winning, global organization dedicated to promoting literacy and gender equality in education. Envisioning a world where all children can pursue a quality education, reach their full potential, and contribute to the world, Room to Read works with local communities and governments across Asia and Africa to develop literacy skills and a reading habit among primary school children as well as support girls to complete secondary school with the life skills necessary to succeed in school and beyond. Room to Read's operations in program countries are completely run by local staff and the programs are adapted to suit the local context for the greatest possible effect.

One of the few non-profits that have received Charity Navigator four-star ratings for seven consecutive years, Room to Read has helped more than 7.8 million children to date. In addition, the organization has established 1,627 schools and 15,082 libraries; published 874 books; distributed 12.8 million books; and welcomed 20,378 participants in its girl's education programs.

TreePeople: Nature-Based Solutions for a Greener LA

Cities cover less than 1 percent of the planet but account for 80 percent of greenhouse gases. In sprawling cities like Los Angeles, dark-colored pavement and rooftops create “urban heat islands” that aggravate global warming; nearly all of LA's school grounds are covered by asphalt. Of all the major cities in the United States, LA has the worst air quality. In addition, it has to import most of the water it uses – a huge cost for consumers and ecosystems alike. TreePeople is an environmental non-profit organization committed to addressing these problems in LA. Seeking to heal the city with nature, TreePeople brings together the power of trees, people, and nature-inspired solutions to build a more sustainable Los Angeles.

TreePeople's mission is to inspire, engage, and support LA's residents to take personal responsibility for the urban environment and make it safe, healthy, sustainable, and fun. The organization also aims to share its process as a model for the rest of the world. Increasing the number of trees in LA is one of TreePeople's main goals, but pressing environmental issues such as global warming and the threat of water shortages have led the organization to find more ways to green the city. In places where trees can't be planted, TreePeople found solutions in nature – solutions that mimic the functions of a healthy forest in an urban environment such as French drains, permeable paving, rain barrels, swales, and cisterns.

In 2008, the TreePeople Center for Community Forestry opened its doors to the public. Here, people can learn how trees, humans, and technology can join forces to grow a sustainable future. TreePeople's other efforts include establishing a Functioning Community Forest in every neighborhood in the city by training and assisting communities to plant and care for trees, as well as educating kids and adults about environmental issues, working with government agencies on water problems, and operating a public park.

Wish of a Lifetime Makes Dreams Come True for Deserving Seniors

Founded by two-time Olympic skier and former NFL athlete Jeremy Bloom, Wish of a Lifetime is a national non-profit organization dedicated to granting the wish of a lifetime to deserving seniors across the United States. Since its inception in 2008, Wish of a Lifetime has granted wishes in 45 states and counting. Bloom established the organization in living honor of his grandmother, Donna Wheeler, and his grandfather, Jerry Bloom. Having been fortunate enough to go after and achieve his own dreams, Bloom wants to help others do the same, as well as create a cultural shift on how Americans view aging.

Wish of a Lifetime was built on the premise that seniors should be honored, respected, and aided. The foundation believes that growing older doesn't mean having to cease dreaming and living a purposeful life. Wish of a Lifetime also believes that most seniors have one thing in their life that they have always wanted to do, but many of them never get to experience these dreams. Wish of a Lifetime aims to make those wishes come true and help shape a culture that celebrates the lives of seniors.

Get Schooled Tells Teens That School Is Cool

Founded in 2009, Get Schooled is a national non-profit organization dedicated to improving high school graduation rates and empowering more students to attend and succeed in college. Believing that a better future is within students' reach given the right information and motivation, Get Schooled uses the media and pop culture figures to directly inspire and engage youth. The organization delivers the information teens need to be successful through messengers such as celebrities, influential peers, and pop culture events as well as popular channels like the web, mobile, and social media.

Since its inception, Get Schooled has reached millions and engaged hundreds of thousands of people. In 2012, nearly 1 million students, parents, and educators visited Get Schooled platforms. Due to the organization's efforts, 100 percent of seniors at Thurgood Marshall High School in Washington, D.C. completed FAFSAs and earned an LMFAO concert, while Lincoln High School in Warren, Michigan saw an 8.56 percent increase in attendance.

The National Centre for Domestic Violence: Free Legal Support for All

Founded in 2002 by qualified barrister Dr. Steve Connor OBE, the National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV) is committed to providing a fast and free emergency injunction service to survivors of domestic violence in the UK. Regardless of financial status, race, gender, or sexual orientation, anyone can apply for an injunction within 24 hours of first contact and obtain legal protection from their local county court. NCDV's other services include emergency prohibitive steps orders, emergency non-molestation and occupation orders, and in-house process serving and tracking. The organization also works closely with the police, local firms of solicitors, and domestic abuse agencies.

The story of NCDV began in 2001 when a friend who was being abused by her partner approached Dr. Connor for help. A student at the City Law School at the time, he accompanied her to the police. As his friend did not want to press charges, the police suggested going to a solicitor to take out a civil injunction. Dr. Connor and his friend ended up seeing about a dozen solicitors, all of whom were very eager to help. But there was one problem: she did not qualify for public funding on paper.

Frustrated with the fact that there was no help available to individuals who were unqualified for public funding but could not afford to pay, Dr. Connor decided to take matters into his own hands and established NCDV (originally known as the London Centre for Domestic Violence) in 2002 in Lambeth, South London. Since then, NCDV has helped tens of thousands of survivors of domestic violence obtain legal support promptly and for free. Before NCDV, people who were “not eligible” were left unprotected, and acquiring a non-molestation order was a very slow process. The organization also trains law students to act as McKenzie friends in court and offers specialist training courses to the police and government agencies nationwide.