United Cerebral Palsy of New York City: Creating Opportunities for Children and Adults With Disabilities

United Cerebral Palsy of New York City, Inc. (UCP of NYC) is the leading non-profit agency in the Big Apple providing direct services, technology, and advocacy to individuals with cerebral palsy and other disabilities. With locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Bronx, UCP of NYC offers over 75 comprehensive programs to more than 14,000 New York City residents and families each year. These include medical, technological, educational, clinical, rehabilitative, and residential services, which are delivered by a trained and dedicated team of more than 1,500 people, many of whom have disabilities themselves.


With a mission to create opportunities for people with developmental disabilities to lead independent and fulfilling lives, United Cerebral Palsy of New York City was founded in 1946 by families of children with cerebral palsy. At the time, institutionalization was the main “service” available and the medical profession knew little about the condition. Frustrated by the lack of services, these families came together to establish UCP of NYC and alert physicians to the need for specialized services for kids with disabilities. This commitment to raising awareness about disabilities paved the way for greater advocacy and service programming in subsequent years.

In 1949, UCP of NYC founders Leonard Goldenson and Jack Hausman established a national organization to merge all parent groups into one national entity known as The United Cerebral Palsy Associations. UCP of NYC quickly became the single largest affiliate of the national association and helped make possible the civil rights movement responsible for significantly improving the lives of children and adults with developmental disabilities.

UCP of NYC's Project CONNECT helps individuals and families seeking information, guidance, and referral to the agency's many services sort through information, secure opportunities for loved ones, and understand the services they are eligible for. Project CONNECT staff is available five days a week to offer support.

The Empowerment Plan: Giving Second Chances to Detroit's Homeless

The Empowerment Plan is a humanitarian non-profit organization dedicated to serving the homeless in Detroit. Over 20,000 people in the city are homeless, spending each day wandering around with no place to get warm. Shelters are often too overwhelmed and under-supported to assist every individual in need. Thus, homeless people have to fend for themselves on the streets, a difficulty that is exacerbated during winter.

The Empowerment Plan aims to help build a better life for individuals who have become trapped in the homelessness cycle. The organization hires single parents from local shelters as full-time seamstresses. They are trained to manufacture a coat that transforms into a sleeping bag at night and a bag when not in use. The coats are then given out to homeless people living on the streets.

The Empowerment Plan's focus is to create jobs for those who want them and to provide coats at no cost for those who need them.

The Wounded Warrior Project: Honoring and Supporting Injured Veterans

Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida with offices across the United States, the Wounded Warrior Project is a veterans' charity whose mission is to honor and empower injured service members. It aims to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded servicemen and women in America's history. To this end, the Wounded Warrior Project provides unique programs and services that meet the needs of injured service members, raises public awareness about these needs, and helps wounded veterans support each other.

The Wounded Warrior Project's programs cover four main areas: mind, body, economic empowerment, and engagement. The charity offers interactive programs, outdoor rehabilitative retreats, peer support and professional services, health and nutrition programs, adaptive sports, recreational activities, higher education programs, employment assistance services, information technology training, peer mentoring, an alumni program, and a benefits service program to help wounded warriors stay mentally and physically healthy, pursue meaningful careers, and keep in touch with other service members.

Opportunity Village: Helping Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities Since 1954

One of the top charities for people with intellectual disabilities, Opportunity Village offers programs and services to enhance the lives of Southern Nevadans with intellectual and related disabilities and their families. Through free vocational training, community employment, art and life skill enrichment, social recreation, and advocacy, individuals with intellectual disabilities make new friends, pursue creative passions, realize future career paths, gain confidence and independence, and become the best they can be.


Opportunity Village was founded in 1954 by a small group of local families who wanted to improve the lives of their children with intellectual disabilities. Today, Opportunity Village is Nevada's largest private not-for-profit community rehabilitation program, reaching over 3,000 people each year.

More than a charity, Opportunity Village operates a thrift store and three employment training center campuses in Southern Nevada. It also trains and places hundreds of adults in jobs, runs a vehicle donation program, and hosts some of Las Vegas' most popular special events, including the annual Magical Forest and the Las Vegas Great Santa Run. The Magical Forest attracts more than 75,000 people every year and has been named one of HGTV's “Top Holiday Destinations.”

Opportunity Village's impact extends throughout the entire community as the organization fulfills assembly, packaging, mass mailings, and other B2B services for local businesses. In addition, several companies hire Opportunity Village clients as regular employees.

Opportunity Village was the official manufacturer of Elvis Presley's scarves and the buttons that welcomed the thousands who saw “Elvis Live at the Hilton.” Each year, Opportunity Village clients clean over 3 million square feet of office space, community centers, clinics, and parking lots, as well as serve 350,000 meals to the troops at Nellis Air Force Base.

Recognized as “Las Vegas' Best Community Organization,” Opportunity Village is almost entirely self-funded thanks to the support of Southern Nevadans.

North Shore Animal League America Has Saved Over 1 Million Animals

Founded in 1944, North Shore Animal League America is the world's largest no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization. A pioneer in the no-kill movement, the Animal League is committed to rescuing and rehabilitating animals instead of euthanizing them and has saved over 1 million lives to date. The organization strongly promotes the acceptance of mixed breed animals through advocacy and education, as well as serves as a trusted source of information and resources that enhance the lives of animals and adopters.

North Shore Animal League America strives to create a more sustainable world for all pets by rescuing animals from unwanted litters, overcrowded shelters, and owners who can no longer care for them. In addition, the Animal League works to increase adoptions, raise awareness of shelter animals, reduce euthanasia, and end animal cruelty through innovative programs and partnerships. The Animal League's headquarters in Port Washington, New York offers a wide range of services for residents of the New York metropolitan/tri-state area.

SportsAid: Nurturing Tomorrow's British Sports Stars

Headquartered in London, England, SportsAid is a charity dedicated to helping the next generation of British sports stars by providing financial support and recognition during the critical early years of their careers. SportsAid Awards, which are funded by the charity's partners, donors, and fundraisers, are given to aspiring athletes typically aged 12 to 18. Recognizing their achievements and potential before anyone else, SportsAid Awards help them train harder and compete more effectively so they can move on to the senior and/or international levels of their sport. Many then go on to become Olympians and Paralympians.

Competing at the national and international levels requires a tremendous amount of physical, mental, and financial commitment. Young athletes usually train for more than 15 hours a week on top of school, travel 650 miles per month to train and compete, and spend over £6,400 annually on their sport. At this early stage of an athlete's career, it can be difficult to land sponsorship deals, so most rely on their family and SportsAid for financial support. SportsAid assists talented able and disabled athletes in reaching their goals by helping them meet essential costs such as travel, training, accommodation, equipment, and competition fees.

To ensure the right people get the right help at the right time, SportsAid works with the governing bodies of 75 sporting disciplines, including summer, winter, Olympic, Paralympic, and other sports. These governing bodies nominate athletes to SportsAid, which then looks for appropriate donors to fund their awards. About 2,000 athletes receive this support each year.

Since its inception in 1976, SportsAid has contributed more than £50 million to the future of British sport. Some of the most successful athletes who have been helped by the charity include Chris Hoy, Kelly Holmes, David Weir, Rebecca Adlington, and Jessica Ennis. At the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, nearly two-thirds of the British team were former and current SportsAid athletes. They won 20 Olympic and 27 Paralympic gold medals between them.

Robin Hood: Fighting Poverty in New York

New York is one of the richest cities in the world, yet there are over 1.8 million New Yorkers living in poverty. For 25 years, Robin Hood has been fighting poverty in the Big Apple. The largest anti-poverty organization in NYC, Robin Hood focuses on finding, funding, and creating programs and schools that generate meaningful results for families in the city's poorest neighborhoods. Since its founding in 1988, the non-profit has raised more than $1.95 billion in funds, goods, and services to provide hundreds of the most effective schools, homeless shelters, job training programs, soup kitchens, and other services that underprivileged New Yorkers need to improve their lives.

To maximize impact, Robin Hood makes grant decisions much like a financial manager selects investments to maximize profit. In 2013, the organization invested $132 million in more than 200 of the most effective poverty-fighting programs in New York City. Additionally, Robin Hood's board of directors covers all administrative and fundraising costs, so 100 percent of donations goes directly to fighting poverty.

Point Foundation: Empowering LGBTQ Students to Make a Difference in the World

Based in Los Angeles, California, Point Foundation is the largest scholarship-granting organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students of merit in America. Point empowers promising LGBTQ students to achieve their full academic and leadership potential to make a significant impact on society through scholarship funding, leadership development, mentorship, and community service training.

LGBTQ students applying for Point Foundation scholarships usually have inspiring and compelling stories of overcoming obstacles in pursuit of their dreams. Many applicants have been rejected by their families – some have been cut off from all financial support, while others have been forced to leave home.



Point considers several factors when assessing scholarship applicants, including personal merit, academic achievement, leadership, involvement in the LGBTQ community, financial need, marginalization, professional experiences, and personal goals. Point seeks applicants with very strong academic performance, proven leadership skills, and a desire to make a difference in the world.

Every year, Point announces its new scholar class in June during LGBTQ Pride Month. The foundation's program year begins in July with a Leadership Conference, where scholars and alumni receive training in personal development skills, leadership development, community service guidance, and LGBTQ advocacy. Through this conference, Point helps its scholars develop a clear understanding of the connection between these attributes and the LGBTQ community, its history, and its future.

Point Foundation also matches each scholar with a mentor who is a successful professional and a prominent member of the LGBTQ and ally community. Mentors help scholars with professional career decisions and assist them in completing an annual community service project required by Point.

By identifying and supporting LGBTQ students of merit, Point hopes to provide a greater level of acceptance, respect, and tolerance for all persons regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Through its programs, Point challenges attitudes contributing to prejudice and social stigma, thus creating social change.

ArtPride New Jersey: Saving New Jersey's Arts

Founded in 1986, ArtPride New Jersey, Inc. is a non-profit organization that advocates at local, state, and national levels for support, funding, and recognition of the arts as essential to New Jersey's quality of life. Representing the arts community to the New Jersey state legislature, ArtPride New Jersey educates the public on the importance of the arts and serves as a unified voice on matters relevant to the local arts community. ArtPride was instrumental in saving the arts from being eliminated from the New Jersey state budget in 2003.

ArtPride's educational arm, the ArtPride New Jersey Foundation, works outside legislation to promote the value of the arts to New Jersey's quality of life, education, and economy. The Foundation serves as an information resource and broker between the arts and other sectors, works with other arts service organizations to provide professional development opportunities for arts administrators, and co-sponsors arts programs with the NJ State Council on the Arts.

The Adrienne Shelly Foundation: Supporting Women Filmmakers

The Adrienne Shelly Foundation is a New York-based non-profit organization with a simple yet critical mission: supporting women filmmakers. According to the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, only 6 percent of the 250 top-grossing films of 2013 were directed by women. Through partnerships with the finest academic and filmmaking institutions, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation provides scholarships, production grants, finishing funds, and living stipends to women filmmakers.

The Adrienne Shelly Foundation's partners include the American Film Institute, the Independent Filmmaker Project, the Sundance Institute, Women in Film, the Nantucket Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Institute, Columbia University, Boston University, and Rooftop Films. To date, the Foundation has granted more than 50 awards to women filmmakers, including Academy Award winner Cynthia Wade, Maryam Keshevarz, Nanette Burstein, Dee Rees, Ana Lily Amirpour, Annie Sundberg, Ricki Stern, Ondi Timoner, Lucy Mulloy, and Stacie Passon.

A talented actor, writer, and director, Adrienne Shelly began her film career in 1988 when she starred in Hal Hartley's acclaimed The Unbelievable Truth. She also starred in the classic Trust and appeared in more than 20 other films, including Factotum with Matt Dillon. Fiercely dedicated to the art of filmmaking, Shelly successfully transitioned from actor to filmmaker. She wrote, directed, and starred in three feature films: Sudden Manhattan, I'll Take You There, and Waitress. Waitress premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, was purchased hours later by Fox Searchlight Films, and became a nationwide box-office success. It is currently being developed as a Broadway musical. Serious Moonlight, another film written by Shelly, and is now being adapted for the stage.

Following Shelly's tragic death in 2006, her husband, Andy Ostroy, established the Adrienne Shelly Foundation to support other women who are also passionate about making movies and living for their art.