Season of Giving - Charitable (monetary) Donations

[pixy0stix]

We all have that favorite charity that we like to support this time of year, here is a place to share with everyone what that charity is! Please provide a link so we can spread some good light throughout the universe.

[downtoearth]

I love this organization - a friend runs it and she just got some amazing federal grants to work on mental health support surround childbirth/post-partum for economically disadvantaged women. But they provide support and guidance for parents and kids (health care sponsorships, science-based guidance, and mental health care) for so many in our state.

hmhb-mt.org/

Our Mission
Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies- The Montana Coalition endeavors to improve the health, safety, and well-being of Montana families by supporting mothers and babies, age zero to three.

Our Vision
There will be a safe and healthy beginning for all babies in Montana.

Our Commitments

To effectively advocate at the local, state and federal levels for public policies that will achieve our mission.
To ensure families have the support they need to raise a healthy next generation of Montanans.
To build collaborative partnerships to create a integrated network of support for maternal and child health services.

[Deleted]

This is a charity that I volunteer with year round, but I definitely amp things up around the holidays. There is a warehouse/distribution center local to me in Philly and they also have locations in Boston and Chicago. 

www.cradlestocrayons.org/

They collect gently used clothes/books/toys as well as of course monetary donations. Certain things like pajamas, socks, and underwear, they only can accept new, so every December I do a socks and underwear drive that I collect and then deliver right before Christmas. I also collect anything else that people want to donate, but my focus is the socks and underwear.

[seeyalater52]

One organization that is doing great work to support federal and state health advocacy on a variety of specific health priorities (kids, substance use disorders, Medicaid, Marketplace insurance, health equity) is Community Catalyst.

www.communitycatalyst.org/

(leshoequeen)

Mission



Community Catalyst's mission is to organize and sustain a powerful consumer voice to ensure that all individuals and communities can influence the local, state and national decisions that affect their health.



Our Values



Empowerment: We seek to enhance the impact and build the power of state and local leaders and communities engaged in health advocacy, particularly those that are - or that represent – the most vulnerable and underserved constituencies. We do this by educating individuals and groups about the health system, and by providing our partners with the tools and support they need to make the strategic and tactical decisions necessary to achieve their goals.



Pragmatism: We believe there are opportunities at every level to achieve a more accountable health care system and more rational policies through consumer and community activism. We believe those opportunities must be seized wherever and whenever they are found. Local victories strengthen work in other communities, and achievements in one state serve as models and buoy the efforts of advocates in other states. Linking consumer advocates together to share information and strategies is essential in order to translate incremental change to larger-scale state or federal policy response.



Diversity: We seek to build a movement that is led by and responsive to the needs of diverse individuals and communities. Those most at risk under our current health system are disproportionately poor and members of racial, ethnic and cultural minorities. Their active engagement is critical to a strong movement. We strongly promote this value to our local partners.



Collaboration: Building a strong and effective health care justice movement is something that no group can do by itself. In working with other organizations, we try always to emphasize the things that unite us rather than the differences. We strive to avoid engaging in competition with allies and to avoid focusing on our own narrow organizational interests. We try to serve as a role model for other groups through our willingness to listen and to share information and resources.



Learning: The ability to work effectively to protect consumer interests in a rapidly changing health care environment requires innovation, creativity, and the ability to rapidly assimilate new ideas and information. We are willing to question the "common wisdom” and to challenge assumptions – our own and our colleagues' – as we develop solutions. Our work environment supports and facilitates this kind of learning.

[1confused1]

Do I need an @ warning? If so, this is related to pediatric cancer.






Unravel Pediatric Cancer was started after the Kranz family lost their 6 year old daughter to an inoperable, un-treatable brain tumor called DIPG. The organization raises money for pediatric cancer research, which is severally underfunded.

unravelpediatriccancer.org/about/our-mission/

[AJL]

Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center (monetary donations) - Las Americas is a 28-year-old nonprofit organization in El Paso, Texas dedicated to serving the legal needs of low-income immigrants, including battered women, refugees seeking asylum and those seeking family reunification. We believe that the American Dream should not be for sale and accessible to all deserving individuals, regardless of their countries of origin and their financial status. At the core of our work is the goal to end prejudice and discrimination against immigrants. To this end, the mission of Las Americas is to provide high quality legal service to low-income immigrants and to advocate for human rights.

[DotAndBuzz]

I have a personal connection to this one:

www.studentsuccessstores.org

www.facebook.com/pg/studentsuccessstores

It serves middle school students in Columbus (Ohio) City Schools, where 89% of students live at or below the poverty level, to provide them with basic needs. A current high-need school is the English immersion school which hosts immigrant and refugee families from 55 countries. It's a place where kids can go to anonymously shop for hygiene, clothing, school supplies, etc. They have an amazon wishlist, but also accept PayPal donations. Website isn't as "full" as their facebook page, but it still has links to donate on there.

[statgirl]

I don't know if this counts, but Bay County, Florida is still reeling from Hurricane Michael. Our students returned to school over the last two weeks after being out since October 5. A sizable amount of students lost their school clothes and supplies. School supplies have been donated and distributed, basic school clothes have been donated and purchased (shirts, pants, shoes, socks, underwear), but there is a jacket drive going on. A local screen printing company is coordinating purchasing jackets wholesale to be donated: brillianttees.biz/jackets/shop/home. All sizes are needed and it is estimated that 14,000 children in the area are without school clothing. If you are led to help in other ways, the Bay District Schools Facebook page shares a lot of the local drives that are going on currently. Thank you for reading this.

[captainobvious]

Shelter to Soldier is a 501(c)3 non-profit that adopts dogs from area animal shelters and trains them to be psychological service animals for combat veterans suffering from PTSD, TBI and other associated injuries. They are located in Oceanside, CA and are currently serving San Diego and Orange counties with this program. They provide the dog, training, boarding, etc. for the veteran free of charge and for the life of the dog. The training program is approximately 12 months with the dog and trainer, then an additional 6-8 once they have been matched with their handler.

I volunteer with them, and know how important these animals are to the veterans they help. They accept money and in-kind donations (I can send the list to anyone that is interested if this organization is not selected at large, and am happy to bring anything needed to them.)

[lilac05]

We have a new chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace in our area. www.shpbeds.org (It is not a religious organization.) Their mission is to make sure that no child sleeps on the floor in our town. There are 118 chapters in 39 states, and growing...quickly! There are no paid employees. It is 100% volunteer run. There has been a great response from our community and they’re hoping to deliver 100 beds this Nov/Dec. (Caveat on donations: I will be donating to our local chapter, as there’s not much information about how donations to the national organization are used.)

They accept donations for construction materials for beds. Also, each bed is delivered with a mattress, mattress pad, sheeps, pillow, pillow case, and “as supplies last” comforters. That “as supplies last” gets me. It’s COLD here. They accept donations of new items or use donated funds to purchase them. Here, they’re holding build days every weekend...but last week, the beds couldn’t be stained because the stain was frozen solid (inside the building where volunteers were working).

I think often about kids who have no home or no food, but naively, had never given much thought to how many kids have roofs over their heads, but are sleeping on the floor at night.

[katfco]

Charity Newsies They're a local (Columbus, Ohio) organization that helps provide children in need with school clothes. I have not specifically worked with them, but many of my students have gotten clothes through them. Our city has had a huge influx of refugees in the last decade and many come without suitable clothing. Charity Newsies helps provide for them. 

[lightbulbsun]

I'm a board member for a new charity organization called Trenton Animals Rock. Our mission is to help support the Trenton Animal Shelter, where I volunteer. tarnj.org/

The city has a small amount of money that each animal gets for medical care, which basically covers spay/neuter, a basic exam with blood tests, and 6 in 1 vaccines. If an animal comes to us with an injury or other illness then we need to either try to get approval from the city to fund the procedure, try to get the animal to a rescue which can take care of medical, or try to do a gofundme to raise money. All of these options take time, so Trenton Animals Rock was created to start a fund to support medical funds for Trenton Shelter animals as soon as they come into the shelter.

[irishbride2]

Suncoast Voices for Children

www.suncoastvoices.org/

I am very involved in this organization. It helps children who have been removed from their homes and need immediate items such as beds, car seats, or other important things. We also help pay for extras for these kids, such as sports fees/uniforms, music lessons, tutoring, and camp fees, to help keep a sense of normalcy. We work fast to make sure these needs are met within hours. We have a TINY staff and most of this work is done by volunteers.

Link to donate: secure.qgiv.com/for/uihnbd/

"Our Vision is that every child in Pinellas and Pasco Counties is enjoying a childhood without fear and deprivation.

Our Mission is to provide for the unmet physical, psychological, educational and social needs of abused, abandoned and neglected children in Pinellas and Pasco Counties."

[redheadbaker]

Nov 13, 2018 11:07:05 GMT -5 @sameoldstory said:

This is a charity that I volunteer with year round, but I definitely amp things up around the holidays. There is a warehouse/distribution center local to me in Philly and they also have locations in Boston and Chicago. 

www.cradlestocrayons.org/

They collect gently used clothes/books/toys as well as of course monetary donations. Certain things like pajamas, socks, and underwear, they only can accept new, so every December I do a socks and underwear drive that I collect and then deliver right before Christmas. I also collect anything else that people want to donate, but my focus is the socks and underwear.

This was our winning charitable organization last year  

[downtoearth]

I am moving this one over from the other thread b/c I just talked with my friend and her sister-in-law is the director and they are out of room for storing large donations right now - it's a good thing b/c another town just donated a moving-truck-load worth of welcome baskets. I can still help coordinate if you want to donate to this and send Amazon/online gifts to a local person, but it sounds like another group just did a huge donation and they aren't in critical need anymore.

----------------------

I have one this year, a wonderful friend of a friend runs this program to help refugee settlement in our MT communities - mostly the western area of MT. They help with the physical and financial needs, but also focus on helping with the social and integration (we are not a very diverse community in MT and want people to be openly welcomed).

softlandingmissoula.org/

Open our city, arms, and hearts to refugees from around the world.
Our vision is to help Missoula be a welcoming, supportive and informed community that can assist refugees to integrate and thrive. Soft Landing Missoula operates under the Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

I can talk with the director to see if she needs specific holiday needs for families, but feel free to donate off their needs/wish lists and create many "welcome baskets":

softlandingmissoula.org/needed-immediately/
If you open the "Welcome Kit" link, it might ask you the program, I chose Word and it worked.

[lilles]

www.runners-heal.com

From their site:

At Runners Heal our mission is to relieve hunger and drive education in East Africa.

Each shirt you buy, we guarantee one child with one month of school meals. Not only relieving hunger in some of the poorest corners of the world, but also driving school attendance.

[WOT?*]

So many excellent organizations.

I have a number I'm involved in but I'm not going to tout those here.


I'm going to suggest Native American Heritage Association. Our Puget Sound tribes are fortunate to live in a highly populated, diverse area and are financially stable, even thriving, and have strong political representation at the local and state level as well. Not all tribes/nations are as fortunate. I have been to and through Southwest and Plains reservations in the past and the conditions are not stellar, to put it mildly. NAHA helps reservations in South Dakota with food and basic needs, and are a four-star charity on Charitynavigator.org.

www.naha-inc.org/

Also consider the American Indian College Fund (3 star rating on CN) for monetary donations. They provide scholarships to students of Native American heritage. Many Native Americans don't have the financial resources to pay for college, and they are among the lowest percentages of college-bound, college-ready and attending students. AICF works to change those statistics.

collegefund.org/

Also, the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center, which was suggested to me by someone in the NA community (rather than me just internet sleuthing). Working to improve the safety of women in the indigenous community. This is a group that I *will* be supporting in the future, as my grandson's paternal grandfather is the product of an assault on a NA teen many years ago, with no consequences to him and a lifelong trauma to her and her family.

www.niwrc.org/

[katfco]

I accidentally put this in the other charity one, but it should go here. Charity Newsies is a Columbus, Ohio organization that provides new school clothes for kids. Our community has had a huge influx of refugees in the last 10 years and that adds to existing high-poverty neighborhoods. 

The goal of Charity Newsies is to provide school children with NEW clothes, including coats, underwear and shoes. Many of my students have received clothes from them. One hundred percent of donations go to buying clothes. 

[bowies]

A friend works for this organization. It is a partnership between area public schools, governmental organizations, and the charitable organization to provide an academically rigorous education to students at or below the poverty level. Graduates go on to college/military careers and become community leaders and mentors to the next generation.

achievabledream.org/our-program/

[carmenere]

PDQ because I have a personal connection.

Breakthrough Atlanta has a dual mission to close the opportunity gap for students from Atlanta's under-resourced public schools and to build the pipeline of future teachers. Breakthrough provides a six-year path to college for students that includes academic support, social-emotional development, and guidance to help them navigate the college planning process. Breakthrough also provides a teaching internship experience for college students to inspire the next generation of teachers.

Breakthrough Atlanta is part of the Breakthrough Collaborative, a network of Breakthrough programs across the country. If you aren't connected to Atlanta, I encourage you to check out the list of Breakthrough sites and consider supporting one in your area.

[munkii]

If you want to help the Caravan, I came across this org on Insta this morning.

Caravan Aid Support in Tijuana Baja California: www.borderangels.org/campaigns/support-caravan-tijuana/

Thousands of asylum seekers arrive in Tijuana as part of the Central American Caravan. Most of the migrant shelters in Tijuana are full, overflowing with men, women and children who are in desperate need of accommodations, warm clothing, food, water and hygiene supplies. Our Embajda Migrante in Playas de Tijuana has began to distribute donations and host as many migrants as possible. Help us continue to support this caravan.

On this page, they have links to a GoFundMe page and a direct donation link for their organization in general. Plus, they have links to Target and Walmart wish lists.

[notsocreepylurker]

I volunteer with this animal shelter here in Houston, TX. They are the only no kill animal shelter in the area. No animal is put down unless it is for quality of life reasons. They pull lots of animals that are about to be euthanized and work with them to get them adoptable (medical issues, behavior issues, shy animals, etc). During Hurricane Harvey they actually worked with the city to allow people to shelter with their pets down at the convention center. They also have a pet food bank so people can keep their pets if they are only struggling with affording food.

They have an Amazon wish list or you can support them via smile.amazon.com.

friends4life.org

www.amazon.com/wishlist/38UDPR0TN80V6/ref=sr_1_1_acs_wl_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382480066&sr=8-1-acs

[outnumbered]

My best friend died this spring at the age of 44 from ovarian cancer. The Clearity Foundation was an invaluable resource to Alice and her family. They were a wealth of knowledge and compassion. www.clearityfoundation.org/



Clearity takes a comprehensive, hands-on approach to help women identify the treatments that may work best against their unique disease. Assessing their medical history, as well as tumor molecular profiles and other diagnostics, Clearity professionals help women and their physicians chart the most advantageous course of treatment.

When a treatment decision needs to be made, Clearity provides information about the standard options for each patient’s clinical situation, as well as access to genomic information about their cancer to help inform their decision-making.

Clearity offers Tumor Blueprints, which identify the molecular characteristics in a tumor that may be driving its growth and survival. The Blueprint is generated by measuring specific protein biomarkers and genetic variations in a patient’s cancer and linking those findings to potential treatments. The online, interactive Tumor Blueprint Report provides results from each patient’s molecular profile, including drugs that match.

This profile can help prioritize treatment options already being considered by the clinical team and may also suggest options they have not yet considered, including off-label medicines or drugs being tested in clinical trials. Clearity experts review this information with patients, answer their questions about the results and help them find clinical trials when appropriate.

Clearity also offers assistance for women who do not want to get their tumor profiled or have already obtained a tumor profile and want help understanding it. As with those receiving Tumor Blueprints, Clearity can discuss standard of care options and identify appropriate trials.

Clearity does not provide medical advice about which treatments they should receive. Instead, our staff explain Tumor Blueprint results and provide potential questions, and other information, that patients can discuss with their physicians.

All of Clearity’s services are provided free of charge. We believe all patients should have access to the most advanced care, personalized for them, regardless of their ability to pay.

Advancing Care
Since 2008, Clearity has profiled tumors for hundreds of women. The Clearity database records the results from each woman’s Tumor Blueprint, along with information about the therapies they received and how well they worked.

Matching molecular profiles with outcomes provides additional evidence to help guide treatment decisions. Clearity has created a separate data repository that stores privacy-protected clinical and tumor profiling data. As this database grows, it supports research studies and helps Clearity provide more up-to-date information about the therapies being considered by the women and physicians who come to Clearity for support and scientific guidance.

Someone Who Listens
Clearity exists to help women find credible information about their ovarian cancer and the treatments that can help them survive. We are scientists, but we also know that cancer’s impact goes way beyond a clinical diagnosis. Our goal is to understand each patient’s unique priorities and needs. That means long, purposeful discussions informed by both science and compassion.

[bimbi284]

Help end the War on Drugs by giving to Students for Sensible Drug Policy this month (full disclosure, this is one of my employers).

Currently, we have a match challenge going on, where 2 major cannabis industry firms (that are progressive and actually CARE about ensuring equity in the industry) are matching donations this month up to $50k.

“Students for Sensible Drug Policy is quite literally the ground game for the movement to end the War on Drugs. They not only change laws that save lives, the organization trains and cultivates the next generation of reform leaders and provides an educated and motivated workforce for the emerging cannabis industry. Anyone who cares about ending drug prohibition or has an interest in marijuana business should make a donation to this great organization. 4Front is proud to match your donation and support SSDP’s important work.” - Kris Krane '98, Co-Founder and President, 4Front

ssdp.nationbuilder.com/2018match?fbclid=IwAR3kJITHU8EbhMaQPXQZltRL0Zxiuu7mF1KLpEqLFw2XOZ6x2J-iaoUIRtA

I am more than happy to answer any questions about our work!

Also related, two of our alums have just started their own organization, the Rights Restoration Project. www.gofundme.com/support-the-rights-restoration-project?fbclid=IwAR1F4iR_zmTdZcFdvBigHqMdABsKI9DuLNGEkDinlqfFvdsSdCUUp_RQIV4

One of the founders is my former intern so this project has a special place in my heart! He developed 2 apps, CanIExpunge and CanIVote, which help people with criminal records learn about their eligibility to expunge their records, and their eligibility to vote, respectively.

Lastly, I am in the process of starting a non-for-profit harm reduction center to address the needs of people who use drugs, and have mental health conditions, particularly those who have limited resources to access this kind of care. One of our first major projects is getting set up as an Expanded Access Site under the MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD clinical trials. Me and my team are under consideration to be one of the first 6 sites in the U.S. to be able to provide MDMA-assisted therapy under the expanded access program that the research organization is applying for with the FDA. If anyone has particular interest in this work and might want to donate to our cause, please PM me and I'll tell you more!