news: "Charity Bar In Houston Will Give All Earnings To Nonprofits"

Cheers to this: A soon-to-be-opened Houston bar will donate 100 percent of its proceeds to a different local cause each month, handpicked by the patrons themselves. We'll drink to that! Read more:

Charity Bar In Houston Will Give All Earnings To Nonprofits

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one hope wine

TGIF! It's almost happy hour and...the weekend! Why not enjoy a glass of wine or 8 (responsibly, of course) and do some good for the world at the same time?

ONEHOPE Wine donates 50% of its profits to partner charities benefiting a variety of causes. Founded in 2007 by eight friends on a mission to help a friend battling cancer, ONEHOPE Wine has raised over $750,000 for a range of charitable organizations. They combine the belief that hope is all about making the world better, giving people an easy way to make a difference, and that wine is a living, breathing commodity that has always helped bring people together in common purpose. Plus, wine is awesome. We're in love.

Each bottle sold helps support a designated charity ($3 - 4 per bottle):

Fight Against Autism
Fight Against Breast Cancer
Fight Against AIDS
Supporting Our Planet
Supporting Our Troops
Supporting Children's Hospitals
ONEHOPE Many Causes
Medal of Honor Foundation

But that's not all. ONEHOPE goes even further and also lets you choose where to put an additional donation with each bottle purchased (another $2 - 4). Choose from:

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

It’s All About the Kids Foundation 

RainCatcher

Snowball Express

UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

Wholesome Wave

Wounded Warrior Project

Keep a Child Alive 

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

Prostate Cancer Foundation

Room to Read

ACT Today! 

American Forest Foundation

charity: water 

National Breast Cancer Foundation

World Food Programme

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation

ASPCA

City of Hope

ONEHOPE Foundation

They have every varietal of California wine you could want, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel, and even Sparkling. Buy by the bottle, case, or purchase a gift set. These wines make fantastic gifts for just about any occasion. Just think: you'll be giving back and also spreading the word about a wonderful company dedicated to doing great things. Planning a wedding? Give back to others on your big day and make your wedding a ONEHOPE wedding! You can find ONEHOPE Wine for sale in restaurants and stores right now in 18 states and online.

We at goodiegoodie are great friends with wine, and we have tried several varietals of ONEHOPE. We are pleased to report that we have enjoyed every bottle we've tried so far and promise to continue testing them all for you. You're welcome.

One last thing: if you're a real wine connoisseur, sign up for the ONEHOPE Wine Club or Craft1933 from ONEHOPE Wine. Craft1933 is a members-only experience connecting discerning wine consumers with access to a curated selection of hand-crafted, premium wines. Members receive up to 60% off wines that also support great causes with every purchase. Cheers!

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adopt a book

We want to tell you about a couple of awesome kids who are making a difference in the world. Meet Alex and Hannah, eight-year old twins from Cincinnati. They love to read, and when they learned that an entire school of kids had no books, they decided to do something about it. With the help of their mother, Alex and Hannah started Adopt A Book, a 501(c)(3) that provides new and gently used books to children.

Adopt A Book collects new and gently used books and donates them to organizations and charities that support disadvantaged kids in the Cincinnati area. These little do-gooders have already collected thousands of books and donated to several organizations and schools since December 2011.

If you'd like to donate some books to this great little organization, send them an email or contact them via Facebook to make arrangements. And by the way, we looove stories about little goodiegoodies. If you know about kids that are doing cool things and working to make the world a better place, be sure to let us know!

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moral eyes

I learned about today's featured company from the fabulous website, Shop With Meaning. In the spirit of full disclosure I will tell you that I am the Social Media Manager for the aforementioned fabulous site. If you like my blog I promise that you will love Shop With Meaning site, too. But today, we are focusing on an awesome one for one eyewear company called Moral Eyes.

Moral Eyes believes that everyone has the right to see clearly. They sell awesome reading glasses and sunglasses, and for every pair that they sell they donate a pair of new reading glasses to someone in need. To do this, they've partnered with New Eyes for the Needy, a non-profit organization that collects and distributes glasses to those less fortunate. Now you get to look adorable, see better, and also transform lives. Win win win.

A little more about New Eyes for the Needy. They are a non-profit organization that has brought improved vision and hope for a better future to more than 7 million people in the US and around the world. If you don't need glasses but want to help improve the vision of a person in need, you can make a direct donation.

You can also help by recycling your old glasses! Between my husband and I, we must have a village's worth of old glasses taking up valuable drawer space. We should donate our old eyeglasses (in good condition) to New Eyes and they will send them to medical missions and international charitable organizations for distribution to the poor in developing nations. You can ship your old glasses directly to New Eyes, or, if you're in the NYC area, drop them off at one of their Recycling Collection Locations.

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one laptop per child

A few years ago, I volunteered at a school in Costa Rica for extremely impoverished kids. They'd been working for years at the school to build a computer lab in the hopes that computers would teach the students valuable skills and motivate them by showing them that there exists an entirely different world outside of their shantytown. Through technology and education, they hoped to give these kids a chance. The school in Costa Rica has computers now, I am very happy to report. But millions of children around the world still do not have access to computers or quality education.

You can help put laptops directly into the hands of children around the world by doing something a lot of you may already do every day - buy groceries. Purchase specially-marked packages of Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Roll-Ups, and Gushers and enter the URL code from the box on the Win One Give One website. For every 100 UPC codes entered, Betty Crocker® will donate an XO laptop™from One Laptop Per Child to a child in Africa (up to 1,725 laptops). Apparently, you will also be entered to win a laptop, too...so that's cool.

If, like me, you don't eat Fruit Roll-Ups regularly anymore, I urge you to go and check out One Laptop Per Child and find one of the many other ways you can help. OLPC's mission is to create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning. Most of the more than one billion children in the emerging world don’t have access to adequate education. When children have access to this type of tool they get engaged in their own education. They learn, share, create, and collaborate. They become connected to each other, to the world and to a brighter future.

OLPC's cool little XO laptop is designed and built especially for children in developing countries. It’s about the size of a small textbook, has built-in wireless, and a unique screen that is readable under direct sunlight for children who go to school outdoors. It’s extremely durable, brilliantly functional, energy-efficient, and fun for the kids. Almost everywhere kids have XO laptops, school attendance increases dramatically as the children begin to open their minds and explore their own potential.

You can give a laptop to a child in the developing world with a donation of $199. You can also donate any other amount you wish and when you donate in someone's name, they will receive a card honoring the donation.

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cystic fibrosis lifestyle foundation

My sister-in-law told me about this fantastic organization that is run by a high school friend of hers. He and one of his brothers have cystic fibrosis and he is, according to my sister-in-law, "living life to the fullest knowing any day could be his last." Cystic fibrosis is a disease passed down through families that causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in the lungs, digestive tract, and other areas of the body. It is a life-threatening disorder and one of the most common chronic lung diseases in children and young adults. The Cystic Fibrosis Lifestyle Foundation helps provide opportunities to people living with cystic fibrosis.

CFLF helps by giving people living with CF access to healthy and active lifestyles through recreation. They provide people living with CF with $500 Recreation Grants to pay for activities that will help improve their lifestyle. Each Recreation Grant also comes with the opportunity for guidance and support through mentorship or peer support. CFLF also help by educating people with CF on the critical psychological, social, and emotional connections between their lifestyle and their health.

You can help CFLF support people living with cystic fibrosis by making a tax-deductible donation. They also hold fundraising events like cycling challenges and you can find out what they've got coming up this year by signing up for the email list on their website.

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the nature conservancy

Here's another way to give someone a very cool gift while saving the planet this holiday season. Chances are very good that you've probably heard of The Nature Conservancy. The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. Their vision is to leave a sustainable world for future generations.

You can make a good, old fashioned donation to The Nature Conservancy to help support their conservation projects all around the world. Or, you can shop the Nature Conservancy Marketplace and pick a specific conservation project to support in your name or on behalf of someone else. Protect sea turtles for $25 (and get a cute stuffed turtle as a special gift) or adopt an acre in Costa Rica for $50 (sadly, this one does not come with a free trip to Costa Rica). You can also shop the Marketplace for clothing, jewelry, ornaments, water bottles, books, DVDs, etc. and 10% of sales will go toward the Nature Conservancy. Not sure whether your mother-in-law would appreciate a donation to rhinos on her behalf? Get her a gift certificate to The Nature Conservancy Marketplace instead and let her choose for herself!

You can also join The Nature Conservancy's Plant a Billion Trees campaign. The Conservancy is working with local partners to bring the Atlantic Forest of Brazil - one of the world's biggest and most endangered tropical forests - back by reforesting 1 million acres of land. They are close to their goal of planting 1 billion trees by 2015 (they're at 9,953,810 trees right now!). One dollar plants one tree. You can also give a gift of trees by planting trees on someone's behalf.

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CARE

I read this news story a few months ago and cried. My heart absolutely breaks for the people suffering in East Africa. (Uplifting way to kick off a post, eh?) Earlier this year, the United Nations declared famine in six regions in the Horn of Africa. More than 13 million people are in urgent need of lifesaving humanitarian assistance. Women and children in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have been particularly hit hard and humanitarian agencies like CARE are working around the clock to respond to the crises and save lives.

CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. They have been rapidly scaling up their response in the Horn of Africa,  and their emergency interventions have already directly reached over a million people across the region. CARE is working alongside partners to provide food, water, health, education, protection, livelihoods, and prevention of gender-based violence in the Dadaab refugee camps.

CARE not only feeds the hungry, they also help tackle underlying causes of poverty so that people can become self-sufficient. Recognizing that women and children suffer disproportionately from poverty, CARE places special emphasis on working with women to create permanent social change. CARE also provides people in need assistance with water/sanitation/hygiene, food, education, gender-based violence, psychosocial support, and psychological counseling. In 2010, CARE worked in 87 countries around the world, supporting 905 poverty-fighting projects to reach more than 82 million people, over half of whom are women. You can learn more about what they do or search their project database.

If you make one donation this year, consider supporting a humanitarian organization like CARE. They are literally saving lives every day. Make a general donation to CARE between now and December 31 and your donation will automatically be doubled. Over 90% of funds go to help people directly through CARE programs. Make a donation for someone else and send them a CARE holiday e-card.

You can also donate by building and sending a CARE Package. This is actually really cool. You drag and drop customized gifts of empowerment into a virtual CAREpackage that will go to help poor girls and women access the resources they need to lift themselves out of poverty. Or, you can send a care package to someone else and let them choose the items they want to donate. You can also invite your friends, family, and colleagues to add items to your group CAREpackage. $12 can add a lifesaving mosquito net. $60 can provide one family with Unimix, an enriched corn and bean flour to fight malnutrition, for a month.

There are other ways you can help. Donate your cell phone through the CollectiveGood program. It’s designed to capture idle mobile phones in North America and redeploy them, solving an environmental problem, raising funds for CARE, and bridging the digital divide. Send your used mobile phone(s) with the extra batteries, charging unit, automobile power plug, case, etc. All phones will be recycled or disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner and you will receive an acknowledgement letter from CARE for your donation.

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[UPDATED] google chrome for a cause

This one is so easy, you literally do good just by turning it on.

If you use Google Chrome to surf the interwebs, install the Chrome for a Cause extension and your web browsing will drive donations made to charities around the world. Each tab you open between December 15 -19 will raise money for charity. At the end of each day, contribute your tabs by choosing one of five charities to support:

The Nature Conservancy is a conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.

charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

Doctors Without Borders is an independent, international medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid in nearly 70 countries to those most in need.

Un Techo para mi País is working in 19 countries across the Americas to improve the quality of life of impoverished families through the construction of transitional housing.

Room to Read is a non-profit organization seeking to transform the lives of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education.

You can, of course, donate to any of the charities above directly, too. Easy easy easy. Happy clicking!


UPDATE (12/15/11):

Soooo...Google Chrome for a Cause states clearly on all their web pages that the program was running from December 15 - 19. What they did not clearly state, however, was a year. It appears that they might not be running the program again this year.

I have emailed the extension developers to get some answers. If I learn that they are not running the program again this year, I will first offer my sincere apologies for my oversight. Then, I will try to use all my charms and the support you all have shown to convince Google to run the program again this year.

My apologies in advance for anyone who was looking forward to making a difference this year by using Google Chrome for a Cause and I thank you for doing good. More to come...

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childrens leukemia foundation of Michigan

A friend of mine from high school, Jessica, does a lot of work raising awareness and money for the Children's Leukemia Foundation of Michigan. The mission of Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan (CLF) is to provide and promote compassionate, personalized support to people in Michigan affected by leukemia and other related disorders. I grew up in Michigan and can think of no more noble cause than supporting children and their families in their times of need, so I was happy when she recommended them to be featured on the blog.

CLF is a statewide organization that provides information, financial assistance, and emotional support to Michigan families affected by leukemia, lymphoma, and related blood disorders. CLF offers a variety of services that help to meet the needs of its patients and families. Check out all of the different ways you can help this wonderful organization.

Living with a serious illness puts a significant strain on a family’s finances, time, and emotions. To combat some of these stresses and make the December holidays brighter, CLF distributes gift packages to child patients and their siblings, and to the children of adult patients. During the CLF Holiday Toy Drive, you can donate new, unwrapped toys for children and teens. Check out the Holiday Toys Wish List for gift ideas.

You can also make a difference when you shop! Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan has partnered with Kroger stores through its Kroger Community Rewards Program. Every time you swipe your Kroger Plus Shopper’s Card a portion of your purchase can benefit CLF. You must have a Kroger Plus Card to participate and register your card online to benefit CLF. Again, its getting a little late into this holiday season, but CLF also offers adorable holiday greeting cards designed by kids and that generate a contribution to Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan.

You can also make a donation to CLF in your name or in honor of someone on your holiday gift list. The primary focus at CLF is to support its patients so the majority of funding directly benefits patients and families.

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safe horizon

A wonderful friend, Lynette, sent me a message yesterday telling me about a cool event that's taking place in NYC today and tomorrow:

Urban Sanctuary Shopping Benefit for Safe Horizon
Thursday & Friday, December 8 & 9,  10:00am - 8:00pm
Rockefeller Center, 636 Fifth Avenue at 51st Street, New York, New York

The benefit will be held at Faconnable's 5th avenue flagship store to help raise money and awareness for Safe Horizon, the nation's largest provider of services for victims of crime and abuse. Bring an upwrapped toy with you to the event and be entered to win a VIP gift bag. It promises to be a swank event with Kelly Rutherford from 'Gossip Girl' hosting and vendors selling their wares including Vinci, Dermalogica, Smartcar, Alize, Votre Vu, Dyanne Bell Jewelry, and more! The organizers of this event, Urban Sanctuary, have a simple mission: to offer companies an opportunity to 'make a profit while making a difference' through a series of interactive retail events that raise money and awareness for various causes and organizations. We like that type of mission.

This event will benefit Safe Horizon, the largest victims’ services agency in the United States. They have 57 locations serving more than 250,000 children, adults, and families affected by crime and abuse throughout New York City each year. Safe Horizon offers a number of vitally important programs, including 24-hour hotlines. If you need help, call. If you see abuse, report it. Safe Horizon provides a Streetwork Project for Homeless Youth, Child Advocacy Centers, Domestic Violence Law Project, Immigration Law Project, Counseling Centers, Community Programs, Court Programs, Domestic Violence Shelters, and Project SAFE - a free service that installs new locks or cylinders in the homes of those who have filed police reports.

You don't have to go to a fancy shopping event to help Safe Horizon. Make this holiday a special one for children and youth who wish for comfort, safety, and happiness with a donation. Your donation supports their 24-hour hotlines, domestic violence shelters, community services, Child Advocacy Centers, trauma counseling, and group services for victims of crime and abuse, homeless youth, and families of homicide victims. Safe Horizon spends 84 cents per dollar on programs that help those affected by violence and abuse. You can also buy a gift for someone from Safe Horizon's online store, Hope Shop, where you can purchase special gifts that are fashionable and powerful.

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project night night

1 in 50 American children will face homelessness in his or her lifetime.

That sucks. But there is something we can do to help homeless kids feel a little bit better. Check out Project Night Night. This is such sweet idea, pointed out to me by a college friend of mine (thanks, Stacy!) Project Night Night is a 501(c)(3) organization that helps homeless children have sweeter dreams.

Project Night Night donates over 25,000 Night Night Packages each year, free of charge, to homeless children who need childhood essentials to feel secure, cozy, ready to learn, and significant. Each Night Night Package contains a new security blanket, an age-appropriate children's book, and a stuffed animal -- all nestled inside of a new canvas tote bag. By providing objects of reliable comfort, Project Night Night reduces trauma and advances the emotional and cognitive well-being of the children they serve. Every child who receives a Night Night Packages gets to leave the shelter owning a book which encourages reading and family bonding, a security blanket to cuddle, and a stuffed animal which can become a cherished friend. Project Night Night's mission is to deliver a Night Night Package to every homeless child in the country who needs one.

You can help Project Night Night with a tax-deductible donation. You can donate any amount to help them run their wonderful program. You can also sponsor a Night Night Package with a $20 donation that will underwrite the cost of one Night Night Package to be delivered to a homeless child. This holiday season, you can also make a tribute donation on behalf of someone on your gift list and Project Night Night will send them a card of recognition.

You can also help Project Night Night without spending any money. Yay! Volunteer your time making and delivering Night Night Packages to local shelters or donate items for Night Night Packages (they are quite specific, so please be sure to read carefully the guidelines for donating items). Here's wishing you all a good night!

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heshima kenya

I want to tell you about an amazing organization helping a local community half a world away. NY Times' intrepid reporter and co-author of the incredible book "Half the Sky" (which you'll learn more about in a later post), Nick Kristof, tweeted a story last weekend about Chicagoans selling scarves to support refugee girls in Kenya. You can read the whole story here: "Shop Local, Help the World."

This holiday season, buy someone a gift of one of these gorgeous handmade scarves and help support Heshima Kenya, a nonprofit organization that provides shelter and comprehensive support services for east African refugee girls in Nairobi, Kenya. Girls served by Heshima make the scarves as part of the organization's Maisha Collective, a program that teaches business skills to girls who have completed tailoring and financial literacy training. All profits from the sales of the scarves are returned directly to Collective participants as weekly wages and support of their ongoing engagement in Heshima Kenya's education and shelter programs.

The Maisha Collective, a project of Heshima Kenya, empowers refugee girls and young women from DR Congo, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Burundi with economic opportunities to rebuild their lives with peace and dignity. By managing a business collective that designs and produces a line of unique hand-dyed scarves, participants gain life-long business and marketing skills that develop their confidence and prepare them for future independence. Of the 60 girls currently served by Heshima, 18 participate in the collective and 10 of them are now self-reliant. Excuse me while I editorialize for just a moment, but I think that is amazing.

Heshima Kenya recently partnered with The Girl Effect on a fundraising campaign, and I think by now you know how I feel about the movement and the awesome potential and importance of empowering girls. If you want to help, but don't want to purchase a scarf, you can make a donation directly to Heshima Kenya and help girls lift up their own lives and the world around them. If you live in the Chicago area, you can also purchase a scarf at Flourish Studios, 3020 N. Lincoln Chicago, Illinois (I am adoring the Flourish Studios website right now, too, by the way. You should check it out.)

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movember

During the last of couple years a strange phenomenon has occurred. Moustaches mysteriously sprouted on thousands of men’s faces during the month of November, in the US and around the world. It's not evolution or hibernation, folks...it's Movember.

Men start Movember 1st clean shaven, and then for the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, effectively become walking, talking billboards for the often ignored issue of men’s health. Movember raises awareness and funds for causes that support prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men. The funds raised are directed to programs run directly by Movember and their men’s health partners, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation. 

This month, the hubs is getting on the philanthropy bandwagon and literally putting his money where his mouth is (well, just above) and growing his own Movember 'stache (Matt Hooban if you're searching the site). He's gotten quite a lot of looks and started quite a lot of conversations, I must say. And that is the whole idea: getting men involved in their own health and changing attitudes and habits relating to men’s health. Via the moustache, Movember aims to fulfill its vision of having an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health by continuing to spark conversation and spread awareness of men’s health issues each year.

And that's working, too. Last year, Movember raised over $80 million by over 400,000 participants around the globe. 83% of raised funds go toward programs supporting prostate cancer and other cancers effecting men. It's fairly certain that if you ask around, you will find someone who is participating in Movember, and you can support them by making a donation. If you don't know anyone, might I suggest you donate to a certain husband of mine? I also know a couple more awesome moustached gents who could use some donations, too. Or, you can just make a general donation.

Here's are what I think are the most important takeaways from this campaign: 1. Men are awesome givers, too. And not just of their money, but of their time and even their faces. 2. Most cancers are highly curable if caught in the early stages - including prostate and testicular cancer. Early detection, diagnosis, and effective treatment are vitally important and will ultimately reduce the number of deaths from cancer.

And for those of you just catching the tail end of Movember and sad that you missed out on all the fun - there's still one more day left in Movember, so here ya go...

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happy thanks-giving: redux

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! A year ago (tomorrow to be exact), I started this little blog to encourage people to think about giving more than just games and toys to their loved ones for the holiday season. This year (Hello!) I ask for more of the same. I think that given the current economic climate and some of the most destitute conditions for some people on the planet that we've seen in our lifetime, it's more important than ever that we reach out and make an effort to help those in need.

In my continued effort to make the world a little bit better, I will endeavor to post about a different cause, organization, or charity every day between now and Christmas. My hope is that one will call out to you and you will respond by helping them do their good work, either in your name or on behalf of someone else. Most of us don't really need more stuff...but there are people out there who need so much - and a little bit can often go a long way.

So, let's get to giving again, shall we? Along the way, please let me know if you have feedback or ideas. And thank you to those of you who have already given me so many great ideas! Happy Giving, y'all!

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the pajama program

Another college friend, Kara, pointed me in the direction of this adorable charity.

http://www.sproutonline.com/sprout/GreatTuckIn/
The Great Sprout Tuck-In
As part of Sprout's Kindness Counts prosocial initiative, they have partnered with The Pajama Program to deliver new PJ's and new bedtime books to children in need. The website has this awesome tab called "Teach Kids About Giving" which is, in itself, worth visiting. For those of you not in the know (me included until just now), Sprout is a 24 hour preschool television channel that "parents and kids share together." You know, Barney, Bob the Builder and the like.

Kindness Counts: http://kindnesscounts.sproutonline.com/ "because small acts matter big."

http://www.sproutonline.com/sprout/greattuckin/giving.aspx

Lead a donation drive:
Organize your community to help collect new books and PJs through a local school, church or other organization. We have printable posters and flyers, along with other materials to make the experience easy and fun.

Host a pajama party:

Invite friends and family over for some nighttime fun – during the day! Wear your PJs and collect donations for children in need. We’ll help get your party off to a great start with printable invitations, party activities and more.

Make a donation:
Send a monetary donation via check or credit card, mail in the new PJs and new books you’ve collected, or purchase items directly from the Pajama Program’s Amazon Wishlist.

http://www.pajamaprogram.org/sprout.php

Their mission is to provide a loving environment for children who have lived through a great deal of hurt in their young lives to give them hope for better tomorrow. The program identifies key institutions in major cities in the US and other countries where children are living temporarily as they wait and hope for adoption.

It is to the children in these circumstances and temporary living quarters that the pajamas are delivered with love and affection. The Pajama Program was founded in 2001. The Pajama Program depends on the generous support of volunteers, supporters, event hosts, pajama drive sponsors, and, of course, donations of cozy new pajamas and new children's books.

Donate: http://www.pajamaprogram.org/donate.html

According to their website, they've given away 891,808 new pajamas and 511, 599 new books since 2001.

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unconditional love

A little tweet from GOOD caught my eye the other day. It read, "2 hrs left to join our Document Gratitude challenge! Send us a photo of what you are grateful for to win $300." I can come up with at least a frillion things that I'm grateful for right off the top of my head, but one particular photo always sticks out in my mind.

This is our kitty, Minnie. We rescued her this summer and she has been the light of my life ever since. I am so grateful for her every day, so I submitted this picture of her for the Challenge. I noticed that a lot of the other submissions were talking about organizations they support, so I figured that this would be a fantastic way for me to pay some stuff forward.

In my submission titled "Unconditional Love", I mention that I would give some of the prize money to the rescue organization that brought Minnie into our lives, The Animal Project. The Animal Project is a wonderful, NYC-based organization that tries to find homes for rescued cats every day. They have foster families all over the city that take care of rescued animals to save them from overcrowded & kill shelters. You can help The Animal Project save precious little lives by adopting a pet! Every Saturday you can meet their adorable, adoptable animals at PETCO on the corner of 92nd Street and Broadway in Manhattan from 2 - 6pm. They mostly have cats for adoption but occasionally they have dogs as well. You can also help by becoming a friend on Facebook and spreading the word about their adoption events and encouraging everyone you know that may be thinking about adopting a pet to RESCUE an animal. They'd also be happy with some cold, hard cash donations, so no excuses for being allergic.

Not all animals are lucky enough to land with a rescue organization like The Animal Project, so they end up in city shelters. That's where Rock & Rawhide does its great work. This new charity was started by a friend of mine after she dropped off a rescued kitten at a city shelter and was heartbroken to see the poor animals on death row spending their last days of life in cold, empty cages. She started Rock & Rawhide to collect donations of toys, rawhides, treats, blankets, and more for dogs and cats placed at Animal Control and other high kill shelters. They plan to enlist artists who will help them collect items at concerts, local music gigs, touring bands, DJ events, art shows, chef events, direct from individuals and are working to raise awareness of adoption and the importance of quality of life for shelter animals. According to Rock & Rawhide, "Many shelters do not give the animals these items as they are cash-strapped and money is often spent elsewhere. While other organizations raise funds for shelters operating costs, we want to ensure the animals directly benefit...not someone's pocket." You can help them by following them on Facebook or Twitter to find out where to donate items, or you can make a donation to purchase items for the animals.

If you do nothing else, at least do a little Gratitude Challenge of your own today and think of or take a photo of something that you're grateful for. You can also check out all the other things that people are grateful for in the GOOD Gratitude Challenge here (AND THEN VOTE FOR ME!).

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the girl effect

If you've been following along at home, you've heard me talk about The Girl Effect before. If you're new to this blog, hello! Welcome! Here on allison's favorite give-ings, we like to make being charitable easy by telling you about worthy organizations and giving you ideas how to shop and give responsibly so that we can make the world a better place in our every day lives. Today, I am very proud to tell you about a cause that is near to my heart and that will probably end up saving the world...

I strongly believe empowering girls (and women) as a way of improving the lives and living conditions of people all around the world. Chances are good that if you're on the innernets (hi there) you've heard of The Girl Effect and perhaps have even seen one of their clever and poignant videos, like this one:



According to The Girl Effect, “there are 600 million adolescent girls living in poverty in the developing world. By giving one of these girls a chance, you start the girl effect. When girls have safe places to meet, education, legal protection, health care, and access to training and job skills, they can thrive. And if they thrive, everyone around them thrives, too." Allow me to reiterate that last part, because that is where this becomes an important concept for all humankind: "if they thrive, everyone around them thrives, too."

Now that you are in love with The Girl Effect and want to help give impoverished girls a chance to change the world, what can you do? First and foremost, my trademark advice is: donate. Choose any of of the life-changing donations available through Global Giving (a charity fundraising website that we've discussed briefly here before). A $10 donation will cover the cost of school materials for an out-of-school girl in Ethiopia for one year. A $25 donation will provide a loan for a girl to raise chickens in Tanzania. A $50 donation will train 10 girls in financial literacy in a Nairobi, Kenya slum.

What can you do if you can't afford to make a donation right now? Learn more. Go and find out more about The Girl Effect and the importance of empowering girls. That's free. There are also more than 500 of us blogging about The Girl Effect this week and you can find all of the touching, witty, and important blogs here. And you know what else is free? Spreading the word. This little ol' message is one that little ol' you can carry on behalf of hundreds of millions of girls. No pressure.

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treasure & bond

Okay, so this is a new one (I'm intrigued and impressed). A retail store that gives 100% of all their profits after costs directly to programs that benefit people in need in their own community.

Yes, you read that correctly. A non-profit retail store. And it's in Soho. IN NEW YORK CITY.

Treasure & Bond is a new boutique located at the intersection of retail and philanthropy (located for real at 350 West Broadway between Broome and Grand). They plan to donate 100% of their profits after their costs to non-profit organizations benefitting children of New York City. They claim to be part gift boutique, part art gallery, and part neighborhood gathering place. This is a very exciting experiment in giving that has one simple goal: "To help people help people—and to do so with wit, imagination and style." I. love. it.

Their plan is to give their profits to two New York City-based programs each quarter, including: The New York Public Library Programs for Children and Young Adults, New York City’s Young Men’s Initiative, the Edible Schoolyard NYC, and the Pediatric Cancer Care at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Check the website for info about these and the full list of all the programs they plan to support.

mud australia handmade porcelain

The selection in the boutique comes from all over the globe - including right down the street - for every taste, interest, and budget; and every item in the store has a story behind it. With over 150 different labels for the home and clothes for men, women and children, they've created a bazaar-like mix of some of the most compelling pieces in the market today, such as: jewelry from Akong London (not sold any where else in the U.S.), Bliss Lau’s incredible hybrid apparel-jewelry-accessory pieces, custom couture hats from Satya Twena, and authentic vintage glasses from The Vintage Frame Company (not sold any where else in the U.S.).

Huge shout-out to Treasure & Bond's owners, Nordstrom, for getting them up and running. But, heads up: they plan to operate independently and are not a mini-Nordstrom, so they won't accept Nordstrom’s credit cards. One more cool thing I like about this boutique is that they plan to be creative and scrappy in their operations by using recycled, reclaimed, or repurposed materials from their parent company in order to keep costs low and maximize their donated profits for the organizations. Plus, it's another way to keep their business and our city green.

The boutique just opened on August 19. I'm kind of obsessing over this, so I think I am going straightaway to check it out! I will report so check back or look in the comments section for an update!

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