The MAD MAC Foundation: Making a Difference, Making a Change in Communities

The MAD MAC Foundation is a non-profit, grassroots organization dedicated to rebuilding broken lives. Its mission is to educate and empower youth and adults to become self-sufficient. Founder Kevin Kim, who was educated in the “school of hard knocks” in La Puente, California, has a passion for helping the disenfranchised, at-risk youth, people facing unemployment, the homeless, the incarcerated, and those struggling with addictions. The MAD MAC Foundation provides resources, training, services, jobs, affordable housing, and educational and entrepreneurial opportunities in local communities to assist everyday people in need.

The MAD MAC Foundation not only meets the needs of people where they are but also encourages them to pay it forward by helping others in need however they can. Comprised of ordinary people who are committed to “Making a Difference, Making a Change,” the MAD MAC Foundation believes that each of us has the responsibility and ability to make an immediate impact in our communities.

V-Day: Ending Violence Against Girls and Women Worldwide

V-Day is a non-profit organization and global activist movement to end violence against women and girls. Envisioning a world where women and girls are free to thrive and not merely survive, V-Day promotes creative events to raise awareness and money for issues such as rape, incest, battery, female genital mutilation, and sex slavery.

V-Day was founded on Valentine's Day, 1998 by playwright and activist Eve Ensler, who wrote The Vagina Monologues. The popular play, which addressed women's sexuality and the social stigma surrounding rape and abuse, ran Off-Broadway in New York for five years before touring the United States. After every performance, Ensler found women waiting to share their own stories of survival, and she realized that The Vagina Monologues could be more than a moving work of art.



Each year, thousands of V-Day benefit events are produced by activists worldwide, educating millions about the reality of violence against women and girls. Through V-Day campaigns, volunteers and college students produce annual benefit performances of The Vagina Monologues, as well as documentary film screenings, workshops, and more to increase awareness and funds for anti-violence groups in their local communities.

In addition, V-Day stages large-scale benefits and produces campaigns, films, and gatherings to change social attitudes towards violence against women and girls. Projects include the documentary Until the Violence Stops; the Afghan Women's Summit; community briefings on missing and murdered women in Juarez, Mexico; the Indian Country Project; the V-Girls Campaign; and the V-Men Campaign. In Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, V-Day commits ongoing support to build anti-violence networks and movements. V-Day has helped establish the first women's shelters in Egypt and Iraq and sponsored annual workshops and national campaigns in Afghanistan, among others.

A top-rated organization on Charity Navigator and Guidestar, V-Day has also been named one of Worth's “100 Best Charities” and one of Marie Claire's “Top 10 Charities.”

South Central LA Youth Center Is a Home Away From Home

A Place Called Home (APCH) is a safe haven in South Central Los Angeles where underserved youth are empowered to improve their lives and are inspired to make a difference in their community and the world. At APCH, kids, teens, and young adults ages 8-21 have access to love, safety, training, enrichment, and opportunities through educational programs, mentorship, and counseling. After-school, weekend, and all-day summer programs and services include tutoring, homework assistance, and instruction in the arts, dance, music, and athletics. APCH also provides year-round support for college preparation, college counseling, SAT tutoring, and scholarships.

The primary goal of A Place Called Home is to help youth stay in school, go on to higher education, pursue successful careers, and transform into contributing citizens and leaders. APCH was founded in 1993 by Debrah Constance following the 1992 Los Angeles Riots and Civil Unrest. Constance wanted to give gang-affected kids and teens in the area a safe place to go after school – a place where they could do their homework, hang out with friends, and be with caring adults. At present, APCH serves more than 300 youth each day.

The 100 Club of Arizona: Protecting Those Who Protect Us

Headquartered in Phoenix, the 100 Club of Arizona is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the men and women who stand behind the badge. The 100 Club of Arizona's mission is to provide assistance to the families of those in fire, public safety, or law enforcement who are seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. Offering financial aid, emotional support, safety enhancement stipends, and scholarships, the charity supports all city, county, state, federal, and tribal fire services, public safety agencies, probation, corrections, parole, and law enforcement departments that serve the citizens of Arizona.

The concept of the “100 Club” began in Detroit in 1952 following the fatal shooting of a young officer. William M. Packer, the largest Pontiac dealer in the country and a friend of the police commissioner, wrote to 100 of his friends and urged them to contribute to a fund for the fallen officer. All 100 friends agreed to his request. Packer and the commissioner met with the officer's expectant widow, reviewed her finances, and arranged to pay off the mortgage on their new home, create an education account for the unborn child, pay all the bills, and deposited $7,000 in her checking account.

In 1965, a young officer in Phoenix was killed in the line of duty. A group of concerned citizens who knew about the Detroit 100 Club got together and started the Phoenix 100 Club. Three years later, the 100 Club of Arizona was officially incorporated as a 501(c)(3).

The original mission of the 100 Club of Arizona was to provide immediate financial assistance to the family of an officer who was killed in the line of duty. This mission has evolved over the years, and today, the 100 Club of Arizona aims to deliver any type of support needed by beneficiary families. While money can never make up for the loss or disability of a loved one, it can be helpful in covering immediate expenses. The 100 Club of Arizona also has a committee of experts comprising CPAs, attorneys, brokers, employee benefits consultants, and more who can advise and counsel families without cost or obligation.

Live to Love: Positive Actions for Positive Results

Live to Love is an international non-profit organization dedicated to creating long-term, sustainable solutions to the world's modern problems. Its five main areas of focus are: education, environmental protection, medical services, heritage preservation, and relief aid. Several Live to Love projects address many of these issues simultaneously.

Most of Live to Love's model projects are based in the Himalayas, with satellite projects around the globe including North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. The charity has chapters and projects in Bhutan, Darjeeling, Delhi, Geneva, Hamburg, Kathmandu, Ladakh, London, New York, Rio de Janeiro, and Penang, among others. Live to Love believes that every community, no matter how remote, is connected to one another.

As of August 2013, Live to Love has planted more than 149,000 trees in the Himalayas, provided nearly 1,000 free cataract surgeries, delivered medical aid to about 10,000 people, provided continuous free education to almost 300 students, and collected 2 tons of plastic waste during eco walks.

The League Against Cruel Sports: Campaigning Against Bloodsports Since 1924

The League Against Cruel Sports is the leading UK charity working to expose and end the cruelty inflicted on animals in the name of sport. Founded in 1924, the League successfully uses lawful investigations, lobbying, and campaigning to make a difference in the UK and around the world. Its current campaigns include hunting, bullfighting, snaring, shooting, dog fighting, racing animals, and the badger cull.

The League was established by members of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) who felt strongly that animal cruelty inflicted in the name of sport had to be ended and were frustrated at the organization's lack of action on the hunting issue. The League's goals were to ban fox hunting, otter hunting, stag hunting, hare hunting, and hare coursing in the UK.

Campaigning proved to be a challenge early on because a wealthy and powerful minority enjoyed and protected bloodsports. But in the late 1950s, the League started to gain momentum by investigating hunts and collecting evidence of the cruelty involved. In addition, it acquired woods and fields in the West Country as sanctuaries for hunted animals.

Over the decades, the League Against Cruel Sports has developed effective methods to thwart bloodsports through legislative change, public education, and causing difficulty for the people inflicting cruelty. To accomplish its goals, the League focuses on exposing the barbaric nature of cruel sports and those involved; raising awareness and campaigning for change by lobbying businesses, politicians, and government; helping individuals whose lives are being detrimentally affected by cruel sports and wildlife crime; and holding sanctuary land and sporting rights in heavily hunted areas.

The League's biggest achievement to date is getting hunting banned in England and Wales (Hunting Act 2004) and Scotland (Protection of Wild Mammals Act) after 80 years of campaigning. Other key accomplishments include the constant defense and enforcement of the Hunting Act 2004 and the formation of Team Badger, the coalition of animal welfare organizations campaigning against the 2012 and 2013 badger culls.

OPCC: Working to End Human Suffering in Los Angeles County

The largest provider of housing and social services in the Los Angeles Westside, Ocean Park Community Center (OPCC) empowers people to rebuild their lives and aims to end, not merely manage, human suffering. An independent, community-supported organization, OPCC addresses the effects of poverty, neglect, abuse, and discrimination through programs designed to help the disadvantaged access the resources they need to end their victimization and improve the quality of their life.

OPCC serves at risk youth; women and children experiencing domestic violence; veterans; and people dealing with physical illness, disabilities, or mental illness. The organization's key services include housing, medical care, mental health care, substance abuse treatment, domestic violence services, and assistance in obtaining income. All services are tailored to each individual and family to help them attain self-sufficiency.

In one year's time, OPCC is able to support more than 1,500 homeless persons and 2,500 victims of domestic violence. Over the past three years, OPCC has placed nearly 1,000 people into permanent housing and 95 percent remain housed today.

Equality Now: Securing Girls' and Women's Rights Worldwide for 22 Years

Since 1992, Equality Now has been working to protect and promote the human rights of girls and women around the world. The non-profit organization began with a small group of dedicated volunteer activists in a few countries and initially relied on street T-shirt sales for startup funding. Today, Equality Now has offices in New York, Nairobi, and London, as well as a presence in Amman and Washington, DC.



Equality Now combines grassroots activism with regional, national, and global legal advocacy, documenting violence and discrimination against women and girls and mobilizing international action to support efforts to stop these abuses. Envisioning a world where women and men have equal rights and full enjoyment of those rights, Equality Now focuses on four areas: discrimination in law, sexual violence, female genital mutilation (FGM), and trafficking.

Equality Now's strategies to secure women's rights include international advocacy through the Equality Action Network, whose more than 35,000 members in 160 countries call on governments and policy makers to guarantee girls' and women's rights; establishing partnerships with grassroots women's rights groups to amplify local and global advocacy; and mobilizing support for partners on the ground. Additionally, Equality Now raises awareness about violations against women and girls and uses the media to bring these stories to the public.

While there is still much work to be done to end violence and discrimination against girls and women, Equality Now has reached significant milestones on the path to gender equality over the last 22 years. Key achievements include playing a crucial role in the prosecution and conviction of a New York sex tour company in 2006; launching the Fund for Grassroots Activism to End Sex Trafficking in 2007; and being named Secretariat of the first UK All Party Parliamentary Group in 2011 to address the practice of FGM in the United Kingdom.

London Non-Profit Enables Families Living on Landfill Sites to Take Small Steps Out of Poverty

Small Steps Project is a London-based humanitarian organization dedicated to supporting children and families who live on garbage dumps around the world. The mission of Small Steps is to empower children and families surviving on landfill sites to take small steps out of poverty and to inspire everyone to make a difference by taking small steps. The non-profit currently has projects in Cambodia, Laos, Nicaragua, Romania, and Timor Leste.

Through film and events, Small Steps raises awareness and money that goes directly to those who need it the most. Small Steps first delivers emergency aid, food, shoes, clothing, and other items that protect people from the immediate dangers on garbage dumps. After identifying the demographics of the site, the Small Steps team implements sustainable projects that help children get into education and adults into employment.



Small Steps Project was founded by former celebrity journalist Amy Hanson. In 2009, while working at an HIV hospice in Cambodia, she visited the Stung Meanchey Dump in Phnom Penh, where she saw hundreds of barefoot children scavenging in trash. When she asked the families living there what they needed the most, they said shoes. Without proper footwear, people were constantly suffering severe injuries on their feet.

In 2010, Small Steps launched its Celebrity Shoe Auction initiative, which has become the biggest event of its kind in the world. More than 200 celebrities have donated their shoes to the project to date, including Debbie Harry, the Rolling Stones, Dame Helen Mirren, Elton John, Natalie Portman, Madonna, Tom Hiddleston, Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, Jessie J, Naomi Campbell, Vivienne Westwood, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Roger Federer, and Gerard Pique.

The Celebrity Shoe Auction is held every year in two formats: online and live. The live event usually includes a film screening and a photo exhibit, and some celebrities even auction off their own shoes. In 2013, the auction raised more than $83,000 for charity.