African Passions: Education and Sport for a Better Life

African Passions (AP) is a small but dedicated UK charity aiming to unlock opportunities for young Africans by promoting education through sports. Co-founded by Aaron Zipper and Harry Tyndall, AP gives students the chance to join football teams that play in a professional-style league. In return, they must agree to attend school and do well.

AP works with underdeveloped communities that have great potential. Though members are good-natured, generous, enthusiastic about education, and possess community values, they face numerous obstacles that prevent them from realizing their true potential. African Passions hopes to serve as the stepping stone that will enable these bright communities and individuals to overcome the hurdles in their way. The charity's community projects keep children engaged, out of trouble, and off the street by providing something that's fun, enriching, and productive – sport.


In 2010, AP's first project was launched in rural Kisii, Kenya. The project comprises eight 11-a-side football clubs, each run by a volunteer coach/captain/manager who organizes, trains, and oversees the players. Each team is also affiliated with a local school to help keep track of the players' attendance and grades. Students who increase their academic performances are rewarded with the opportunity to belong to a team, have a mentor, and own their own football kit and boots. They also gain hope, optimism, and key life skills such as teamwork, responsibility, discipline, punctuality, self-confidence, and more.

African Passions expanded into South Africa, particularly the township of Langa, in 2012. Teams are taken to world-class facilities in nearby Cape Town once a week to play their league games. As with the Kenyan project, each club is managed by an older member who also supervises the members' academic attendance and acts as their mentor.

To date, AP has raised thousands of sports merchandise such as kits, boots, and balls, as well as money that has mostly gone directly to the source of need.

Action Duchenne: Working Towards a DMD-Free World

Based in London, England, Action Duchenne is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness and finding a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a rare genetic disorder that involves muscle weakness and occurs primarily in boys. Founded in 2001, Action Duchenne prioritizes the funding of DMD research, as well as increases public awareness of the condition, campaigns to improve care services, and provides support and programs for people living with Duchenne. To date, the charity has generated £5 million for new DMD research alone.

Led by individuals and families affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Action Duchenne takes a positive and proactive approach by working in partnership with other charities, families, government agencies, NHS and care organizations, academic and scientific groups, and biotech companies around the world. In addition, Action Duchenne organizes regional workshops, lobbies, and an annual international Duchenne research conference. Meanwhile, the charity's Decipha and Takin' Charge projects help to improve the educational attainment and quality of life for young people living with DMD.

Feathered Friends Forever: A Sanctuary for Neglected Birds

Feathered Friends Forever is a non-profit organization and licensed animal shelter located in Harlem, Georgia. Feathered Friends Forever is dedicated to improving the lives of companion birds by providing them with a temporary or permanent home while working to promote avian welfare through public education efforts. With approximately 1,400 residents at its 10-acre Harlem facility and over 400 more birds at affiliate sites, Feathered Friends Forever is the largest non-profit parrot rescue in America. About 600 of its birds are adoptable.

In 2006, Feathered Friends Forever opened Paradise Parrot Park to the public. Folks interested in adopting are encouraged to get to know the birds first. There is even a camping area for visitors who wish to spend the night.

Feathered Friends Forever also offers a “Birdy Camp” program for service men and women who need someone to take care of their parrots while they are away on overseas assignments.

Non-Profit Uses Girl Power to Find a Cure for Rett Syndrome

Ingrid Harding will never forget the first day she and her daughter Sarah showed up for kindergarten at their mainstream school. Sarah has Rett Syndrome, a debilitating neurological disorder that mainly affects females. Though baby girls are born normal, they start to lose acquired skills between the ages of 1 and 3. Caused by a single gene mutation that results in the underproduction of an important brain protein, Rett Syndrome leaves most girls unable to speak, walk, or use their hands.

That day, Harding asked the school administrators if Sarah could be placed in a regular class. They hesitantly agreed, and Harding had doubts herself. She wondered what the other kids and their parents would think and how they would treat her. She wondered if the teacher would be able to handle the situation and how Sarah would cope.

Harding's worries soon disappeared when she saw that Sarah's classmates wanted to talk to her and help her. She noticed that the girls were especially caring – they wanted to read Sarah stories, push her wheelchair, and pick up the things she dropped. That first day of kindergarten, Harding witnessed real girl power and knew in that moment that it would be this generation of nurturing girls that would use their talents and creativity to help find a cure for Rett Syndrome.

In 2006, Harding founded Girl Power 2 Cure, a non-profit organization dedicated to making Rett Syndrome the first reversible neurological disorder. Girl Power 2 Cure raises awareness and funds for Rett Syndrome research through events such as its annual national Dress Up 2 Cure event and Garden of Hope campaign. The charity also supports Rett families by providing them with resources and tools.

Harding currently serves as executive director of Girl Power 2 Cure. In addition, she is the co-founder and a trustee of the Rett Syndrome Research Trust.

Chernobyl Children's International: Hope for Chernobyl's Young Victims

The Chernobyl meltdown was the biggest nuclear disaster in history, and while it happened nearly 30 years ago, its impact is still very real today and its effects will continue to be felt for centuries. Adi Roche began working on Chernobyl in the immediate aftermath of the accident. Five years later, while she was volunteering with a nuclear disarmament group, she received a fax message from Belarusian and Ukranian doctors asking anyone to “help us get the children out.” Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem, Roche chose to answer the appeal and founded Chernobyl Children International (CCI).

During the first year of CCI, Roche worked by herself out of a spare bedroom in her home. That summer, she organized “Rest and Recuperation” holidays for a few Chernobyl kids with the help of Irish families who were willing to host them in a healthy, loving environment. Since then, Chernobyl Children International has grown to become the largest global contributor to Belarus. Today, the internationally renowned organization works closely with the Belarusian government, the United Nations, and thousands of volunteers worldwide to support the children and the wider community affected by the Chernobyl catastrophe. CCI also advocates for their rights and works to raise public awareness about the effects of the explosion.

To date, CCI has reached hundreds of thousands of children and delivered more than €96.5 million in direct and indirect aid to Belarus, the Ukraine, and Western Russia. The original “Rest and Recuperation” program alone has brought over 24,500 children to Ireland, decreasing their contamination levels by 30 to 50 percent and returning an average of 2 years to their lifespan. CCI's other accomplishments include funding and coordinating 20,000 lifesaving surgeries for kids with “Chernobyl heart,” refurbishing day care centers throughout Belarus, and renovating Vesnovo Children's Mental Asylum, among others.

Guiding Eyes: Improving the Lives of Blind and Visually Impaired People

Headquartered in Yorktown Heights, New York, Guiding Eyes for the Blind is a non-profit, internationally accredited guide dog school enriching the lives of the blind and visually impaired by providing them with trained guide dogs. With guide dogs by their side, blind individuals gain greater independence, dignity, and access to new opportunities.

Guiding Eyes for the Blind was founded in 1954 and has since become one of the leading guide dog schools in the world, with more than 7,000 graduated guide dog teams to date. Guiding Eyes prides itself on having an average of 12 students per class for a focused, friendly, and home-like atmosphere throughout the school. It depends on contributions to fulfill its mission and provides training programs and lifelong follow-up support to students completely free of charge. Those who wish to help Guiding Eyes can make a contribution or volunteer to raise puppies, foster broods or studs, socialize dogs, or do admin work.

Cancer Support Community: No One Has to Face Cancer Alone

A Charity Navigator Four-Star Charity, Cancer Support Community (CSC) is an international non-profit organization dedicated to providing support, hope, and education to people affected by cancer so that no one has to face the disease alone. CSC was formed in 2009 following the union of The Wellness Community and Gilda's Club Worldwide, two of the foremost cancer support organizations. Cancer Support Community completes the cancer care plan and enhances patient care by providing necessary but often overlooked services such as support groups, education, counseling, and healthy lifestyle programs.

One of the largest providers of cancer support services in the world and likely the largest employer of psychosocial oncology mental health professionals in the US, Cancer Support Community offers a broad range of personalized services and education as well as the highest quality emotional and social support to cancer patients, survivors, families, and caregivers. CSC's services are available through a network of community-based centers, community oncology practices, hospitals, and online.

She's the First: Supporting Girls' Education in the Developing World

Headquartered in New York City with campus chapters across the United States, She's the First (STF) is a non-profit organization that sponsors girls' education in developing nations to create first-generation graduates and the next generation of global leaders. She's the First gives girls an opportunity to become the first in their families to graduate from secondary school and ultimately break cycles of generational poverty. The non-profit's educational philosophy is “quality always trumps quantity;” thus, each sponsored girl is provided with multiple tools to ensure her success in this world, both during and after her school years. STF scholars not only learn academic subjects such as science and math; they also learn how to apply their new skills in the real world with a support system encouraging them throughout the entire process.



She's the First has chosen to focus its efforts on girls as they are statistically faced with greater disadvantages. In the developing world, only one in every five girls finish primary school. In the countries where STF works, the rate of enrollment for girls in secondary school is only 33 percent, yet just less than two cents of every developmental dollar go toward helping them. Research shows that educating girls and allowing them to join the workforce considerably boosts a country's GDP. In addition, educated girls are more likely to marry later, have fewer children, educate their own kids, and be less vulnerable to sexual abuse.

Since its inception, STF and its supporters have provided 735 years of education to 346 scholars in 10 countries. The non-profit was founded by Tammy Tibbetts, who studied journalism at The College of New Jersey and was the first in her family to graduate from college. The 2013 recipient of Diane von Furstenberg's People's Voice Award, Tibbetts has been named to Fast Company's “League of Extraordinary Women” and Forbes' “30 Under 30 in Education.”

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society: Working Towards an MS-Free World

Unpredictable and often disabling, multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system that damages the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord and disrupts the flow of information between the brain and the body. MS affects 2.5 million individuals around the world and stops people from moving. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society exists to help the 400,000 Americans with MS and their families move their lives forward.

Envisioning a world free of multiple sclerosis, the National MS Society assists those affected by the disease by funding cutting-edge research; providing programs and services to individuals, families, and communities; facilitating professional education; and urging politicians and legislation to champion the needs of people with MS.

Goals that the National Multiple Sclerosis Society aims to achieve by 2015 include developing new therapies to stop disease activity in relapsing and progressive forms of MS, helping the general public better understand the disease, and increase the availability of MS health care specialists.

Birth Behind Bars: Assisting the Tampa Bay Area's Pregnant Inmates Since 2001

Tarpon Springs-based non-profit Birth Behind Bars has been supporting incarcerated moms in the Tampa Bay Area for 13 years. At any given time, pregnant inmates make up 8 to 10 percent of the jail/prison population in the United States. The Birth Behind Bars team helps these forgotten women by teaching childbirth and parenting classes and serving as doulas during birth if allowed.

Birth Behind Bars was founded by Janice Banther, a certified labor doula and childbirth educator with CAPPA and one of the first certified labor doulas with DONA International in Florida. The founder and executive director of For the Love of Birth, Inc., she has supported expecting mothers and their babies since 1983, served as a doula at more than 600 births, and taught thousands of couples in the Tampa Bay Area. Banther started Birth Behind Bars in 2001 as a program that taught childbirth classes to pregnant inmates. Within a year, she and her team of doulas were allowed to accompany and assist the inmates at the hospital when they went to give birth and follow up with the women during the postpartum months while they were still in jail.

In 2009, Birth Behind Bars began offering classes to all the women in jail and not just the ones who were pregnant. Shortly after, at the request of the programs department, Banther and her team also started teaching the men how not to hurt a child. Inmates who attend the optional classes learn positive parenting, infant CPR, and other skills to help them stop the cycle of abuse in their families.

“Birth Behind Bars is more than teaching inmates about childbirth and parenting,” says Sydnie Arnold, a certified Lamaze educator. “We encourage them to make smart choices while providing labor and postpartum support. Empowering them to make better choices that will redirect their lives.”