Thurgood Marshall College Fund: Affordable Education for a Better Future

With the cost of education increasing every year, securing a scholarship has become the only chance some students from low-income families have in order to get a college degree. The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is an organization that provides deserving youth with college scholarships to any of its 47 member schools which also include medical schools, law schools, and public Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

The fund was founded in 1987 by Dr. N. Joyce Payne with the help of corporations such as Reebok, Sony Music, Miller Brewing Co., the NBA, and the American Association for State Colleges and Universities. The fund was named after Thurgood Marshall, the first African American justice appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, who was coinicidentally, a graduate of one of the TMCF’s member schools.

Since its inception, the TMCF has awarded over $200 million in scholarship grants and financial assistance to its member schools. Aside from its scholarship programs, the TMCF also connects high-performing students with some of the best employment opportunities available.

A Company Giving Back: The UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation Story

Healthcare is expensive. This is why many people invest in healthcare policies or look for jobs with great healthcare benefits. Unfortunately, there are many conditions and diseases that are not fully covered by health insurance, while some are not covered at all. Many of these conditions affect children and having to shoulder the expenses of getting treatment for a child despite having health coverage can be really frustrating for many people. UnitedHealthcare, a health insurance company, set up the UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation (UHCCF) to help their customers pay for medical services for their children that are not covered in part or in full by their policies.

The UHCCF is a non-profit organization that operates on the concept of giving the children of policy-holders access to medical care and other health care services that are not covered by commercial policies from UnitedHealthcare. The services covered under the UHCCF grants can potentially improve the child’s health or quality of life. Some examples of the services covered by the grants include speech and physical therapy, prescriptions, wheelchairs, hearing aids, and other medical equipment needed by the child. Those who wish to apply for UHCCF grants need to meet the application criteria like economic guidelines, residency, and commercial plan coverage.

The UHCCF was incorporated in 1999 in Maryland to give financial assistance to the dependents of their policy holders who are aged 16 and under in order to get the medical services that they need. By 2006, the UHCCF grants became available in all 50 states. Since 2007, the UHCCF has awarded grants worth over $26 million to the children of those covered by their individual or employer-sponsored policies. As a non-profit organization, the UHCCF relies heavily on corporate sponsorships and donations in order to be able to pay for the services they give to qualified grant applicants.

Rainforest Alliance: Environmental, Social, and Economic Sustainability for All

Progress – be it social or economic – is always a good thing. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for progress to come at the expense of the environment.

The Rainforest Alliance is an organization that was founded to change that. The organization which was founded in 1987 has been working with foresters, farmers, and people in the tourism sector to ensure biodiversity while achieving progress through sustainable means. They do this by educating people regarding biodiversity and issuing certifications to companies and groups that utilize natural resources in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. While these certifications are not a requirement, they serve as encouragement for companies to do things the right way. Other programs they are working on are the Adopt-A-Rainforest program and the Sustainable Tourism program.

Today, the Rainforest Alliance has 16 offices across the globe and employs more than 300 people. They also have roughly 35,000 members in the alliance who help promote socio-economically and environmentally sustainable business practices all over the world.

Comic Relief: Charity through Laughter

They say that laughter is the best medicine. It is also a great way to raise money for charity. One example of using comedy to help those in need is a British charity known as Comic Relief. It was founded as a response to the famine that swept through Ethiopia in 1985. Its founders are comedian Lenny Henry and comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis. The charity’s vision is to one day have a just world that is also poverty-free.

Comic Relief raises money for its projects through its biennial telethon, aptly named Red Nose Day, which is broadcast on its broadcast partner BBC. Another major fundraising project was born in 2002 when Comic Relief partnered up with BBC Sport and came up with Sport Relief. This event happens during even-ended years and alternates with Red Nose Day which is held on years that end with an odd number.

The organization has reached out to several big corporations for sponsorship. The money the sponsors give the organization goes to operating costs and other expenses. This way all the proceeds coming from their projects go directly to their beneficiaries. The charity’s major sponsors are BBC, British Airways, BT, and Sainsbury. They help by providing money or services to help the organization with its fund raising projects.

The success of Comic Relief and the Red Nose Day telethons has inspired other organizations in other countries to do the same. In the US, Bob Zmuda created Comic Relief USA which conducts irregularly dated telethons which are broadcast on HBO to raise funds to help the poor and homeless people in America. Other countries on the other hand, had adopted the symbolic Red Nose for charity projects with beneficiaries ranging from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) research to charities for children with serious and life threatening diseases.

National Black Child Development Institute: Ensuring a Better Future for Black Children

The National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) is an organization that dedicates itself to ensuring the wellbeing and success of black children. Their main focus is to look after the wellbeing, health, and education of black children and their families.

The NBCDI was launched more than 40 years ago by another group – the Black Women’s Community Development Foundation in Washington D.C. The leaders of this group were concerned with the conditions wherein they were to raise their children. During that time, poverty and racial discrimination were at its peak and this affected black children and their families the most. The NBCDI was formed in order to become an advocate for these children who deserved better healthcare and education than what they were receiving at that time.

Today, the NBCDI continues to be the voice of black children all across the nation through country-wide programs that aim to uplift the lives of black children and their families through education and proper healthcare.

PAWS Atlanta: 49 Years of Saving Pets

For many people, pets are a part of their family. Unfortunately, there are those who neglect or mistreat animals that are considered companions by others. This is why there are many organizations that look after these animals’ welfare. One of these organizations is PAWS Atlanta.

PAWS Atlanta began in 1966 as a branch of the Atlanta Humane Society. The organization which was originally called the DeKalb Humane Society was incorporated as a stand-alone organization the following year. Initially, the organization was comprised of a network of foster homes for rescued pets. These foster families kept and took care of the pets until they were adopted and placed in permanent homes. They were able to secure a property and turned it into a kennel to house the rescued pets in 1983 and this shelter was opened to the public in 1989. They changed their name to PAWS Atlanta in 2002 and continued on their quest to rescue, treat, and place neglected pets. They have also expanded their services to include spaying and neutering of pets to keep the animal population in the city under control. Vaccination services have also been offered to the public as well. PAWS Atlanta has also gone the extra mile by offering behavioral training services, as well as opening a dental clinic and food banks for pets.

PAWS Atlanta operates under a No-Kill Philosophy. This means that they only euthanize pets if they are terminally ill or show irreversible and extremely aggressive behavior that may cause harm to foster families or people who wish to adopt them. If the space they have isn’t enough to comfortably house the rescued pets, they find foster homes to take them in until they are adopted.

The organization relies mainly on donations, grants, and fund raising efforts scheduled by the group. They do not receive funding from the government for their services.