International Development Enterprises

International Development Enterprises (IDE) is an international nonprofit organization, with affiliates in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. Founded by Paul Polak, IDE has been helping poor farmers in developing countries for over 25 years.

The organization uses a market based approach that enables millions to permanently escape poverty. They use business principles to facilitate unsubsidized market systems in which the rural can can participate effectively as micro-entrepreneurs and earn income. IDE programs create an environment that helps these farmers progress from subsistence agriculture to commercial farming.

IDE maintains right country programs in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa, areas marked by extreme poverty. These programs are in the following locations: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. 

Please visit IDE's website for more information. The site provides a lot of great information, including success stories from IDE's programs.

You can now join IDE on facebook as well, click here to join the cause.

Somos Children's Village

Today's organization is working towards a significant goal- building a village for abandoned and orphaned children in Guatemala.

The Somos Project is creating Children's Village, housing 49 children, in seven homes with seven foster mothers raising the household of children. These children will not be adopted out. The homes are meant to be long-term,  creating a permanent foster family. The Village will focus on education, leadership, and the arts, with the children attending the local community school.

Beyond the seven homes, the Village will also have buildings for activities, guest rooms, art and music workshops, a library, administrative space, a larger playground and soccer field. The Village will be eco-sustainable, with alternative power, rain water capture, grey water recycling, solar energy, and organic gardens and orchards.  

The Village is working with the local Guatemalan community. Children's Village will be managed by the Village Director, who is a local Guatemalan. More local Guatemalans will be employed in various areas of the Village.

I urge you to visit the site. It's filled with detailed information about every aspect of the project. There is a very clear mission, and very clear plan how to achieve that mission. This is a wonderful project to provide a loving home and happy life for children whose young lives have already experience a great deal of sadness. For more information about Project Somos' progress or how you can get involved please visit their site.

Inspiration Corporation

Today's feature is  Inspiration Corporation, a Chicago based organization fighting poverty and homelessness, by providing dignity and respect and cultivating self-reliance to the people they serve.

The organization's mission is to "help people who are affected by homelessness and poverty to improve their lives and increase self- sufficiency though the provision of social services, employment training and placement, and housing."

The Inspiration Corporation is formed from the Inspiration Cafe, founded by Lisa Nigro in 1989. The Cafe started as a red wagon delivering meals to the homeless. From there it grew until it opened as a formal restaurant, where homeless men and women can sit down, order from a menu, and be served. 

In 2003, Inspiration Cafe joined forces with The Living Room Cafe, founded by Jennifer Kihm, a former Inspiration Cafe intern. The Living Room Cafe offered meals and supportive services to a community on Chicago's South Side.  The merging of the two organization created Inspiration Corporation. Two years later the organization merged with The Employment Project, founded by Luke Weisberg. The Employment Project provided homeless and low-income Chicagoans with employment training, career counseling and job placement. Together these three organizations have formed one organization to have a greater impact and achieve their shared vision. 

Today Inspiration Corporation serves 2,500 individuals per year, by providing meals, support services, housing, employment preparation, and vocational training and free voice mail - serving as a catalyst for self reliance. 

For more information please visit Inspiration Corporation's website.

It's All in the Clothes

Today's organizations focus on the what clothing can do to change lives. These are organizations whose clothing collections focus on a specific need, whether it's to help secure employment, build confidence,  or make a teen girl's high school dreams come true.

Career Gear- a suit- a second chance. 

Founded in 1998 by Gary Field, the organization has one goal: to help men get jobs and keep jobs.  As the name implies, the organization began with the simple goal of providing appropriate business apparel for men seeking employment. Career Gear has seen grown to include: career counseling, interview coaching, and follow-up job support.

Career Gear, who began in New York City now has affiliates in Boston, Houston, Miami, New Haven, and Washington.

For more information of how you can get involved, please visit Career Gear's website.

Dress for Success- Suits to Self-Sufficiency. 

Corporate Relations Manager, Erin Moran was kind enough to provide us with the following information:

"Dress for Success is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Since starting operations in 1997, Dress for Success has expanded to more than 90 cities in the U.S., Canada, Jamaica, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland and the UK. To date, Dress for Success has helped more than 500,000 women work towards self-sufficiency. The professional retention programs and ongoing support symbolize Dress for Success's belief in every woman's ability to be self-sufficient and successful in her career."

For more information please visit the Dress for Success website.

Becca's Closet - The organization was created as a legacy to Rebecca Kirtman and the project she started. Becca's Closet provides formal attire to high schools girls who otherwise would not be able to attend their prom/homecoming. Their mission is to continue Rebecca's dream of helping others. In addition, the organization also awards scholarships to deserving high school students to advance their education.

Becca's Closet now has 82 chapters in 32 states. For more information on how you can donate a dress, start a chapter, or to learn more please visit their website.

John Legend

John Legend's mostly known as a grammy winning, multi-platinum artist, but today it's his philanthropic work that's getting recognized. Listed below are the organizations Legend has founded or advocates for. Inspired to create songs about the tragedies in Africa, Legend took those words and decided words weren't enough. And now he encourages us to move beyond words toward action. Please check out this amazing organizations, and visit their sites to find out more information.

The Show Me Campaign - Launched in 2007, the organization works to improve the living situations and prospects of victims of extreme poverty in Mbola, Tanzania. The mission of the organization is, "to fight economic and spiritual poverty through fostering sustainable development (personal, social, education, economic) at the individual, family, and small community levels. The Show Me Campaign is grassroots movement that engages all of its participants as agents of transformative change from the bottom up."

The Campaign supports Mbola, a remote village in Tanzania, in an effort to permanently lift itself from extreme poverty. The Campaign works with Millennium Promise and the local Mbola community to implement practical solutions to advance its mission. I highly recommend visiting the Show Me Campaign's website to see an outline of the seven initiatives to help this village. They range from providing fertilizer to help farmers to education and internet. They  not only provide relief, but also offer sustainable solutions. These life-changing initiatives can be secured for just $60 per villager per year over 5 years. 

Millennium Promise - their mission "is to support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals to halve extreme poverty in Africa by 2015. To that end, Millennium Promise works with impoverished communities, national and local governments, and partner organizations to implement high-impact programs aimed at transforming lives on the continent and engaging donor nations, corporations, an the general public in the effort. Our work is premised on the belief that, for the first time in history, our generation has the opportunity to end extreme poverty, hunger, and disease." They envision the end extreme worldwide poverty by 2025.

"Millennium Development Goals are the world's time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions-income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusion- while promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability. They are also basic human rights- the rights of each person on the planet to health, education, shelter, and security." 

These eight goals are:

• Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty
• Achieve Universal Primary Education
• Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
• Reduce Child Mortality
• Improve Maternal Health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
• Ensure Environmental Sustainability
• Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) - a national nonprofit that develops African American, Hispanic and Native American young people for leadership positions in corporations, nonprofits, and entrepreneurial ventures where these minority groups are under-represented. The organization partners with MBA programs and blue-chip corporations to provide programming at critical career transition points: high school to college, college to early career, early career to MBA, and MBA to executive leadership. MLT provides high-potential minority talent with the skills needed to succeed. To date the organization has over 300 Career Prep alumni and 500 MBA Prep alumni.

The Gentlemen's Fund -  an initiative established in 2007 to commemorate GQ's 50th anniversary. The Fund has partnered with five charities and five celebrity ambassadors to support the five cornerstones essential to men: Opportunity, Health, Education, Environment, and Mentorship. As an ambassador, John Legend, raises support and awareness for organizations that embody these five principles.

For more information about these organizations, their work and how you can help please visit their websites.

Play for Peace

PLAY for PEACE's mission is "to bring together children, youth, and organizations from communities in conflict, using cooperative play to create laughter, compassion and play." The organization seeks to prevent violence in conflict-torn areas by teaching people how to live, play, and work together.

PLAY for PEACE objectives:

• To promote positive relationships among the people of societies in conflict
• To foster leaders for peace around the world
• To build self-sustaining learning communities in which all regions work interdependently to build a more peaceful world
• To create a non-threatening environment, free from fear, in which people of all ages can experience the joys of play.

Based on the creation of ongoing learning partnerships, the organization allows each person to build positive, life-long connections with others. This community building strategy has a special focus among peoples with a history of intercultural tension. The organization believes cooperative play is an effective tool to promote cross-cultural relationships. PLAY for PEACE works in Guatemala, India, the Middle East, Northern Ireland, and North America.

PLAY for PEACE is a global organization. It works through Hub Organizations, who work with their community to instill change by cultivating local leadership. PLAY for PEACE, and its Hub Organizations, work through community leaders and youth facilitators to teach children, teens, and adults to trust and respect each other, and to break down cultural barriers.

PLAY for PEACE was kind enough to supply the following information on their organization and work:

"Currently operating out of six hub institutions (NEIU in Chicago, Hazlewood College in Northern Ireland, Illinois State University, Shaishav in India, Jerusalem International YMCA in Israel, and the University of San Carlos in Guatemala), "PLAY for PEACE" is a cross-cultural community that works together as a system to build lasting peace and give the children of the world hope for a better life.

In the past four four years, the global "PLAY for PEACE" community has provided over 4.1 million participant days to these communities. Through the cooperation of our regional Hub and Partner organizations, teenagers from conflicting cultures are brought together to be leaders for peace in their neighborhoods. These youth facilitators learn experience-based educational methodologies and models that empower them to be effective in their service. They come together week-by-week to facilitate cooperative, relationship building activities for the community's younger children. Then, motivated by the peace-building lessons they have learned, they frequently unite in creating and leading other local initiatives that promote positive, lasting relationships between the conflicting cultures of their community."

For more information please visit the PLAY for PEACE website.

Habele

Habele: Outer Island Education Fund

Habele translated means to realize a future; to wish.  Based in South Carolina, the organization makes this wish a reality through its dedication to the advancement of educational opportunities in the remote islands and atolls of Micronesia, an impoverished former American trust territory in the Central Pacific. This mission is achieved through two objectives. 

The primary goal of Habele is to provide scholarships and tuition-assistance grants to children living in the "low" or "outer" islands, so these children can attend independent schools located in larger district centers.

Secondly, the organization supports public schools through book donations, material assistance, and performance-based teaching awards.

What's great about this fund? Well for starters, the Board members are all former teachers, who have lived and taught in the Outer Islands. They understand the needs of the children and schools to help cultivate the educational process. It's also worth noting that the organization is run entirely by volunteers, as in no paid employees. 

Please visit Habele's website for more information on how you can donate money, books, supplies or time.

The Heifer Project

In 1944, Dan West founded the Heifer Project with the hope of ending hunger by providing a source of food, rather than a short-term remedy.  More than 60 years later, the organization has served millions of families in 128 countries.

Their mission is simple: to work with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth. Their strategy is simple: have people share their animals offspring with others, in other words, "pass on the gift."

Passing on the Gift means that each family receiving a heifer, (a young cow that hasn't yet given birth), agrees to donate the female offspring to another family in need. Thus the gift of food is never ending.

Since it's start the organization has expanded its initiatives to advance its mission. These initiatives include: Agroecology, Animal Well-Being, Gender Equity, HIV/AIDS, Micro-enterprise, Urban Agriculture, and Young People's Initiatives.

The website is filled with information on the various programs and the many ways you can get involved. Please visit the site to learn more.

Common Ground

Common Ground's mission is pretty direct: to end homelessness.

Founded in 1990, by Rosanne Haggerty and based in New York, Common Ground promotes the development of supportive housing and other research-based practices that end homelessness.  The strategy has three components:

• affordable housing
• outreach
• prevention

The organization includes the following programs:

Street to Home- which assists individuals who have been living on the street for a year or more to move into housing.

Homelink- reducing family homelessness in Brownsville, Brooklyn- one of ten NYC neighborhoods producing the highest number of homeless families each year.

Re-Entry Housing Initiative- provides individuals who have served their time in prison with housing assistance and the help and structure they need to build a new life. 

To date the organization has enable 4000 individuals to overcome homelessness. In fact, their housing costs less- significantly less- per night to operate than public expenditures for a city shelter bed or prison cell. Common Ground's site offers even more eye opening statistics.

For more information please visit Common Ground's site. 

Living Earth Television

Living Earth Television (LETV) is the world's first global, noncommercial broadcasting service. LETV finds nonfiction programs made by local tv producers and independents around the world, and translate them for broadcast to an international audience. It's mission is to "promote understanding, appreciation and respect as foundations for sustainability and peace."

Founded in 2001 by Martha Foster, LETV's Executive Director, it is the organization's belief that by sharing these programs, from around the world, viewers can learn about their global neighbors. Through understanding and celebration of similarities and differences they can build a more peaceful and sustainable world.

Programming showcases the following facets of life:

• Our global neighborhood
• The World of Children
• Earth works
• Arts and Artisans
• Spiritual Practices
• Peace Makers
• Bridges

You can see LETV's first series on LinkTV and select PBS's stations this year. For more program information and information on how you can get involved, including how you can submit programs visit LETV's site.

Infinite Skies

Founded in 2006 and based in Alexandria, VA, Infinite Skies is "dedicated to improving the life of children and promoting awareness of children's needs and issues." They have a special focus on children with special needs, including the seriously ill, abused, neglected, and socio-economically disadvantaged.

Their call to "Reach for the Stars" is a collection of programs under the categories: Research, Education, Awareness, Culture, and Health to pursue the organization mission. Here's a brief overview of each category.

Research for Kids- raises and contributes funds to programs, centers, and hospitals dedicated to research on issues and illness affecting infants through adolescents. 

Educating Kids- designed to promote learning and provide educational opportunities for children and schools in need. These programs include providing educational supplies, scholarships, learning conferences, and tutoring services.

Awareness Makes a Difference- programs dedicated to inspiring community involvement, addressing subject matter concerning children, and promoting awareness of children's issues through its volunteer program, educational seminars, discussion clubs for adults, and newsletters.

Cultural Kids- programs include a series of activities and field trips designed to provide exposure to the arts and music, promote cultural awareness, and inspire creativity and confidence.

Healthy Kids- programs are designed to improve the physical and emotional well being of children, including entertainment, performances, and gifts.

For more information please visit the Infinite Skies site.

The Pajama Program

The Pajama Program provides new, warm pajamas and books to children in need in the US and around the world. Many of these children are waiting and hoping to be adopted by a loving family.  The organization's 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 a better tomorrow."

Founded in 2001 by Genevieve Piturro and Alice Quirk, the program finds key institutions in major cities where children are living in temporary housing as they wait for adoption. To date the organization has sent pajamas and books throughout the US and to Armenia, Bosnia, Brazil, Columbia, Greece, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, and the Ukraine.

The Pajama Program is a great example about how something, which seems so small to many of us, can mean so much and have such a big impact.  I strongly urge to visit the Pajama Program website to see how you can get involved. It's also a great way for young people to get involved in philanthropy.

For more about how you can help go to www.PajamaProgram.org 

Academy for Educational Development

Academy for Educational Development's (AED) mission "is to make a positive difference in people's lives by working in partnership to create and implement innovative solutions to critical social and economic problems."

To achieve this AED implements more than 250 human and social development programs throughout the US and in more than 150 countries. The organization works with local and national partners, developing sustainable strategies, to improve education, health, civil society, and economic development.

Programs focus on education, economic development, health, HIV/AIDS, and leadership. AED uses a variety of approaches to combat these issues, including research and evaluation, behavior change, partnerships, social marketing, and training.

Founded in 1961, the organization "envisions a world in which all individuals have the opportunity to reach their full potential and contribute to the well-being of their family, community, country, and world." 

Please visit AED's website for more information on how you can contribute.  And for anyone concerned about how much money goes to running an organization of this size, 91% of expenses are directly related to AED programs. In other words, you know your dollars are going to support AED programs.

Homeless Children's Playtime Project

Founded in 2003,  Homeless Children's Playtime Project (HCPP) is dedicated to nurturing healthy childhood development and reducing the trauma of children living in temporary housing programs in Washington D.C. The organization also promotes affordable housing.

The organization's vision states, "We believe that play is a human right that all children deserve, regardless of housing status. We seek to help create a city that provides every opportunity for homeless children to succeed by advocating for affordable housing and safe shelters for all families."

HCPP's trained volunteers from the community provide children in emergency shelters and transitional housing with arts and educational activities, healthy snacks, sports and recreation, special events, and bicycle, equipment, and toy drives.

In the past five years, 200 volunteers have served more than 500 children at six playtime sites in Washington D.C.

I urge you to visit HCPP's website for more information on how you can get involved.

Bikes for the World

Based in Arlington, VA, Bikes for the World's mission is to assist the poor in overseas countries become more productive citizens by providing bicycles to nonprofit organizations abroad. These bicycles provide much needed transportation to work, school, healthcare, and recreation.

It's secondary focus is on creating a community of volunteers in America, based on the common goal of providing vehicles to improve the quality of life for the poor, by donating, collecting, storing, and shipping bicycles and spare parts.

Founded in 2005, the organization has already provided 31,000 bicycles to 15 organizations in ten countries and the US. It is the largest bicycle reuse program in America and has supplied bicycles to nonprofit agencies in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. In 2007 Bikes for the World introduced the Rockville Youth Bicycle Program, a subsidiary program aimed at serving local youth in Montgomery, MD.

Bikes for the World Director, Keith Oberg say, "One point we would like to emphasize... we wish to join with others to foster a continent-wide movement to collect and donate  usable bicycles in developing countries, moving beyond our modest geographic footprint."

Please visit the site for more information on how you can get involved. This is a great organization for anyone interested in providing necessary tools to developing countries.

Cross Cultural Solutions

Cross Cultural Solutions, (CCS), is an international volunteer program that matches volunteers with local organizations to work on community led initiatives.  Their mission is "dedicated to the vision of a world where people value cultures different from their own, are aware of global issues, and are empowered to effect positive change."

Founded in 1995, CCS operates in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. The organization offering three different volunteering experiences: Volunteer Abroad, Intern Abroad, and Insight Abroad. These programs range from from 1 to 12 weeks and volunteers have over 20 program sites to choose from. Volunteer placements are within the following categories: Caregiving, Community Development, Healthcare, and Teaching. The objective of volunteer placement is to match the immediate needs of the community with the skills and interests of each volunteer.

This organization is great for anyone who is interested in getting involved on a more international level. Or wishes to support the organization's global initiatives. 

Dave Eggers

Today's nonprofit tidbit focuses on philanthropist, advocate, and author, Dave Eggers. 

Eggers is a pretty busy guy, he's a novelist, launched an independent publishing house, which publishes books, a quarterly journal (McSweeney's), and a monthly magazine (The Believer), and spends his free time founding non-profits. 

826 Valencia  is a nonprofit organization founded in 2002 by Dave Eggers and Ninive Calegari. Their mission is to help students ages 6 to 18 develop their writing skills and help teachers get their students excited about writing and the literary arts. This is achieved through one-on-one tutoring, field trips, in-school programs and workshops- for free. Since it's founding, 826 has expanded to seven locations known collectively as 826 National.

Once Upon a School developed from Dave Eggers TED Prize wish, this website collects the stories of private citizens who are engaged in their communities by helping their local public schools. Not only can site visitors submit stories, but it also helps match donors with school projects. "The site helps you find a creative way of supporting local public school."

Voice of Witness  is a nonprofit oral history book series, which "seeks to illuminate human rights crises by humanizing the victims.  By allowing them to tell their stories, we seek to engender greater understanding." It's aim is "engaging readers of all levels- from high school to college students to policy makers."

I urge you to visit Dave Eggers' page at Ted  and learn more about his work. It's a great opportunity to hear more about Dave Eggers' work in his own words. More importantly, I urge to check out these organizations.