Bare Abundance

Got lots of leftover food? Never fear: Bare Abundance won't let it go to waste!

Located in Berkeley, California, Bare Abundance aims to distribute food so as to help those in need of it.

Here's their website:
www.bareabundance.org/

(If that's not working, you can find them on the University of California, Berkeley website's "Big Ideas" subdomain.)

Thank you for reading about Bare Abundance!

Project Night Night

Located in San Francisco but helping out all over the U.S., Project Night Night delivers packages containing a blanket, book and stuffed animal to homeless children up to age 12.

You can read more on their website:
http://www.projectnightnight.org

Sources:

http://www.projectnightnight.org
http://www.projectnightnight.org/about-us/
http://www.projectnightnight.org/frequently-asked-questions/
http://www.projectnightnight.org/find-a-shelter/
http://www.projectnightnight.org/find-a-shelter/vermont/
http://www.projectnightnight.org/find-a-shelter/kansas/
http://www.projectnightnight.org/find-a-shelt…/north-dakota/
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/…/project-night-night-b…/

Humane Society of the United States

This one might ring a bell, as it's pretty well-known: The Humane Society of the United States.

The largest animal protection agency in the nation, the Humane Society of the United States and their affiliates aid over 100,000 animals annually.

Here's their website:
http://www.humanesociety.org/…

SOURCES
http://www.humanesociety.org/…
http://www.humanesociety.org/about/…

All sources retrieved on Thursday, December 22, 2016.

National Veterans Foundation

The National Veterans Foundation is an organization operated by U.S. military veterans, for U.S. military veterans (and for their families).

Founded in 1985 as the Vietnam Veterans Aid Foundation, they provide assistance, training, and necessities (food, clothing, etc.) to those who served in the military, no matter when that was.

They have a free phone line, "Lifeline for Vets", which provides crisis and information services to veterans and their families.

This is their website:
http://nvf.org

Sources:

http://nvf.org
http://nvf.org/about-national-veterans-foundation/
http://nvf.org/today-day-support-lifeline-vets-givingtuesd…/

All sources retrieved on Friday, December 16, 2016.

Family Giving Tree

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, then perhaps you've heard of Family Giving Tree and their Holiday Wish Drive.

Family Giving Tree has helped more than 1.2 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their annual Holiday Wish Drive fulfilled over 70,000 holiday wishes in 2015.

Feel free to participate. It's easy – all you really have to do is give an impoverished child (or family, or senior citizen) a gift for Christmas.

They also have a Back-to-School drive for Elementary, Middle and High School students, where they deliver backpacks and school supplies.

You can see a more detailed explanation on Family Giving Tree's website:
http://www.familygivingtree.org

UNICEF

UNICEF stands for "United Nations Children's Fund". (It was originally "United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund", hence the I and the E, but that changed in 1953.)

Founded in 1946, shortly after World War II, UNICEF operates in over 190 countries around the world. For context, there's about 200 total.

They have seventeen goals to achieve for children throughout the world by 2030, called Sustainable Development Goals.

Here's UNICEF's website:

https://www.unicef.org

SOURCES

(1) https://www.unicef.org

(2) https://www.unicef.org/what-we-do

(3) https://www.unicef.org/take-action

(4) https://www.unicef.org/sowc2016/

(5) https://www.unicef.org/search/search.php?q=Sustainable%20Development%20Goals

(6) https://www.unicef.org/agenda2030/69525_69527.html

National Coalition for Homeless Veterans

With approximately 40,000 homeless veterans in the United States, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans does what they can as a "resource and technical assistance center" (1) for them.

What they do exactly varies depending on where you are, but they generally serve as a place for homeless veterans to locate organizations that'll help them out, be it by helping them find a home, a job, medical treatment, etc.

For more information, here's their website:
http://nchv.org

Here's their list of ways you can help:
http://nchv.org/i…/getinvolved/getinvolved/how_you_can_help/

SOURCES

(1) The website, http://nchv.org, on the page, "Who Is NCHV?" (in the folder, "About"), retrieved from the url, "http://nchv.org/index.php/about/about/who_is_nchv/", on Thursday, November 10, 2016.

South County Outreach

If you live in South Orange County, then perhaps you've heard about the South County Outreach. 

South County Outreach assists those going through hardship by providing them with the resources they need to rise out of it.

In addition to homelessness prevention services and transitional housing, South County Outreach also has an innovative approach where they provide a computer lab for those who are unemployed or underemployed to acquire technology skills and increase job opportunities.

Self-help is heavily emphasized with South County Outreach: their self-said mission is "preventing hunger and homelessness by helping people help themselves"(1).

Here's their website:
http://www.sco-oc.org

Sources:

(1)  http://www.sco-oc.org/about/, retrieved on Monday, July 10, 2017.

Save the Children

Dating back to 1977, Save the Children International is an international "umbrella organization"* dedicated to helping children all over the world. 

They do a lot of work in developing countries. However, their mission is inclusive to all children around the world.

They have three ambitious main goals to achieve by 2030, as can be seen on their website:

https://www.savethechildren.net

Here they are:
https://www.savethechildren.net/our-global-strategy-ambitio…

FOOTNOTE

*I'm unsure if it's an official term, but by "umbrella organization", I mean an organization consisting of several, smaller organizations. It's similar to saying, "a group of organizations", but at the same time, that "group" is its own organization as well.

Sacred Heart Community Service

Another local group, today, folks:  Sacred Heart Community Service.

Founded in 1964, they have a lot of good programs for fighting poverty – causes and consequences(1). 

You can find their website at the following link:
http://sacredheartcs.org

Also, here's their calendar of events:
http://sacredheartcs.org/events/

Sources:

(1) http://sacredheartcs.org/about/

G.R.A.S.P.

G.R.A.S.P.  

It stands for Gang Rescue and Support Project.  More specifically... 

G.R.A.S.P. is an intervention program for youth (mostly at age 14-24) at risk of involvement or involved with gangs.  They're a program of Metro Denver Partners.

Founded in 1991, G.R.A.S.P. is peer-run, meaning in this case that the people who run it are mostly former gang members who managed to escape that lifestyle and turn their lives around(1).

Here's their website:

http://graspyouth.org

Sources:

(1)  http://graspyouth.org

Metro Denver Partners

Does the name "Metro Denver Partners" sound familiar?  Maybe, maybe not.  I don't know who you are, where you live, et cetera.  If, however, by some chance you happen to live in Denver (and even if you don't), you might take an interest in this group.

Founded in 1968, Metro Denver Partners works to provide a safe, growth-oriented environment for the Denver metropolitan area's at-risk youth as a response to growing juvenile delinquency.

They mentor kids between the ages of 8 and 17 years old, which should hopefully provide them with a positive role model. They're also partners with G.R.A.S.P. - an intervention service for those risking or having involvement with gangs.

Here's their website! Go check it out!
http://www.metrodenverpartners.org

Feeding America

Feeding America is a system of food banks spread throughout the United States to help alleviate the fact that, even (t)here, millions struggle with hunger.

(42 million, to be approximate.)

Founded in 1979, it was known as America's Second Harvest until 2008, so you may know it by that name.   In the United States, they are the largest organization of their kind.

Highly recommend that you check out their website.  On it are some facts about hunger which, if you think about them, might shock you.  Or they might not.  It's still worth a go.

http://www.feedingamerica.org

HealthTrust

HealthTrust.

HealthTrust is a Silicon Valley organization working to fight discrimination, making one of the world's most innovative areas a healthier one.

HealthTrust has programs to make sure that everyone in Northern San Benito County and Santa Clara County (particularly those facing prejudice) are able to access healthy food, needed services, in the case of the elderly, and to maintain their health regardless of who they might be.

They're also partners with Destination: Home, working to end chronic homelessness in Santa Clara County.

Here's their website:
http://healthtrust.org

Thanks for reading about HealthTrust!

Global Giving

This week's featured nonprofit is called Global Giving.

Founded in 2002, Global Giving is a fundraising website for charities, where people can fund projects they want to support in doing good for the world.

Perhaps it could be described as something like Kickstarter, but for charities.

Global Giving also has a rewards system for organizations, where ones who listen to the people they help, act on what they hear, and learn from the experience to become more effective can earn special benefits, which can in turn help them to promote their cause.

Here's Global Giving's website:
https://www.globalgiving.org

Thanks for reading about Global Giving!

Goodwill Industries International

This week's featured charity is Goodwill Industries International. You've probably heard of them before, as "Goodwill".

Goodwill Industries International operates several services, such as job training, for those having trouble finding employment. They're funded through a chain of thrift stores.

The organization has a network of 164 individual Goodwills in the U.S. and Canada alone, also operating in other nations.

Weekly Charity's not affiliated with Goodwill Industries International, but does encourage helping them out.

Now, here's some stats:

Charity Watch gives Goodwill Industries International (National Office)*: An "A" rating

Goodwill Industries International meets the BBB Wise Giving Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability.

Here's Goodwill Industries International's website:
http://www.goodwill.org

Thanks for reading about Goodwill!

Greenpeace & Greenpeace Fund

Hello there! Today Weekly Charity's piece concerns ... Greenpeace!

Greenpeace

Greenpeace, also known as Greenpeace International, works to protect the environment, taking action in areas where they can make the most impact.

Greenpeace works by investigating and exposing environmental crimes, and bringing people together to stop them. They do this "using peaceful direct action and creative communication" (1).

Their current* campaigns include "Saving the Arctic", "Protecting Forests", "Fighting Global Warming", "Protecting Our Oceans", "Living Toxic-Free", "Promoting Sustainable Agriculture", and "Defending Democracy" (2).

Greenpeace Fund

The Greenpeace Fund raises money for Greenpeace International, the organization featured above. If you want to donate to Greenpeace International, you should probably do it through the Greenpeace Fund.

As Greenpeace USA's website puts it, "while both organizations work on the same mission, they do so through different strategies" (3).

The Greenpeace Fund does not solicit donations from governments or corporations, but only from individuals.

Statistics:

Charity Navigator gives Greenpeace Fund: 3 out of 4 stars
Greenpeace Fund meets the BBB Wise Giving Alliance's 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Weekly Charity is not affiliated with Greenpeace or Greenpeace Fund, but does encourage helping them out.

Here's a link to the Greenpeace website:
http://www.greenpeace.org

Here's Greenpeace Fund's website:

http://www.greenpeacefund.org

Thanks for reading about Greenpeace and Greenpeace Fund!

FOOTNOTE

*As of Thursday, August 11, 2016.

SOURCES

(1) The website, www.greenpeace.org, on the page, "How It Works", retrieved from the url, "http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/how-it-works/", on Thursday, August 11, 2016.

(2) The website, www.greenpeace.org, on the page, "What We're Doing", retrieved from the url, "http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/what-we-do/", on Thursday, August 11, 2016.

(3) The website, www.greenpeace.org, on the page, "Membership FAQ", retrieved from the url, "http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/membership-faq/", on Friday, August 19, 2016.

Fistula Foundation

This week's featured charity is the Fistula Foundation!

The Fistula Foundation works to raise awareness and funding for fistula.

For those of you who didn't know, a fistula is a hole in a woman's reproductive system, caused by receiving inadequate blood flow after going into obstructed labor.

When it was originally founded in 2000, it was made up entirely of volunteers, supporting a hospital in Ethiopia. Now, however, they've expanded the scope of their mission, supporting "fistula treatment in 32 countries at sites on two continents, Africa and Asia" (1).

Weekly Charity is not officially working with the Fistula Foundation, but does encourage helping them out.

Now for some stats:

Charity Navigator gives Fistula Foundation: 4 out of 4 stars
Charity Watch gives Fistula Foundation: An "A" rating
Fistula Foundation meets the BBB Wise Giving Alliance's 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Here's the Fistula Foundation's website:
https://www.fistulafoundation.org

Thank you for reading about the Fistula Foundation!

SOURCES

(1) The website, www.fistulafoundation.org, on the page, "About Us", retrieved from the url, "https://www.fistulafoundation.org/about-us/", on Thursday, August 4, 2016.

HomeFirst (EHC Lifebuilders)

This featured charity is a local one. It works in Santa Clara County in an effort to end homelessness. This charity is ... HomeFirst.

HomeFirst is an organization providing programs for Santa Clara County's homeless population.

Founded in 1980 as Emergency Housing Consortium, and renamed EHC Lifebuilders in 2005, HomeFirst took on its current title in 2014.

There are over 2,000 people in Santa Clara County who are chronically homeless. HomeFirst, however, "has one of the highest success rates in finding permanent housing for them" (1).

HomeFirst's Boccardo Reception Center is the largest service center for the homeless in Santa Clara County.

HomeFirst is a local charity working in Santa Clara County. The usual statistics provided for more widespread organizations don't seem to be readily available for it.

Here's the HomeFirst website!
http://www.ehclifebuilders.org

It's also available under the following url.
http://www.homefirstscc.org

Thank you for reading about HomeFirst!

SOURCES

(1) The website, www.homefirstscc.org, on the page, "Programs for the Chronically Homeless" (under the folder, "PROGRAMS"), as retrieved from the url, "http://www.homefirstscc.org/programs-for-the-chronically-h…/", on Thursday, July 28, 2016.

American Red Cross

This week's featured charity: American Red Cross!

American Red Cross is an organization with five different areas of service: Disaster Relief, Training & Certification, International Services, Lifesaving Blood, and Military Families (1).

Founded in 1881 by Clara Barton, the American Red Cross is not a government agency, but it has supported the United States military at times. However, its impact doesn't end with the United States, as the American Red Cross does plenty of international work as well (assisting 73 countries) (2).

American Red Cross responds "to an emergency every 8 minutes", with 90% of the disasters they respond to being home fires. (3) They also help "to provide more than 40% of America's blood supply" (4).

Weekly Charity is not officially working with American Red Cross, but does encourage helping them out.

Statistics:

Charity Navigator gives American Red Cross: 3 out of 4 stars
Charity Watch gives American Red Cross: An "A-" rating
American Red Cross meets all 20 of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability.

Here's the American Red Cross website:
http://www.redcross.org/mo2

Thank you for reading about American Red Cross!

SOURCES

(1) The website, www.redcross.org, on the page, "About Us | Our Mission", retrieved from the url, "http://www.redcross.org/about-us", on Thursday, July 21, 2016.

(2) The website, www.redcross.org, on the page, "International Services" (in the folder, "About Us"), retrieved from the url, "http://www.redcross.org/abo…/our-work/international-services" on Thursday, July 21, 2016.

(3) The website, www.redcross.org, on the page, "Disaster Relief Services | Disaster Assistance" (in the folder, "About Us"), retrieved from the url, "http://www.redcross.org/about-us/our-work/disaster-relief", on Thursday, July 21, 2016.

(4) The website, www.redcross.org, on the page, "What We Do | Emergency Management", retrieved from the url, "http://www.redcross.org/what-we-do", on Thursday, July 21, 2016.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving

M.A.D.D. That stands for ... Mothers Against Drunk Driving!

Mothers Against Drunk Driving is "the nation's largest nonprofit working to protect families from drunk driving, drugged driving and underage drinking" (1).

Primarily operating in the United States and Canada, Mothers Against Drunk Driving played a large role in reducing the limit for blood alcohol levels from BAC .10 to BAC .08.

Since Mothers Against Drunk Driving was founded in 1980, the amount of people "killed in drunk driving crashes" (2) has gone down to less than half of what it once was.

Weekly Charity is not officially working with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, but highly encourages helping them out.

Now for some statistics:

Charity Navigator gives Mothers Against Drunk Driving: 2 out of 4 stars
Mothers Against Drunk Driving meets 20/20 of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability.

Here's a link to their website:
http://www.madd.org

Thanks for reading about Mothers Against Drunk Driving!

SOURCES

(1) The website, www.madd.org, on the page, "About Us", retrieved from the url, "http://www.madd.org/about-us/", on Thursday, July 14, 2016.

(2) The website, www.madd.org, on the page, "History of Drunk Driving" (under the folder, "About Drunk Driving"), retrieved from the url, "http://www.madd.org/drunk-driving/about/history.html", on Thursday, July 14, 2016.

Muscular Dystrophy Association

Today's featured charity: The Muscular Dystrophy Association!

The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) fights muscular dystrophy and other diseases of the muscular and nervous systems.

They provide services to those with neuromuscular diseases and support research concerning said diseases, funding "about 200 research projects each year in a dozen countries" (1).

Founded in 1950, MDA fights many neuromuscular diseases, with over 90 listed on their website. They may not be far off when they say they've "contributed to almost every development in muscle biology in the last 50 years" (2).

Weekly Charity is not officially working with MDA, but does encourage helping them out.

Now for some statistics!

Charity Navigator gives Muscular Dystrophy Association: 2 out of 4 stars
Muscular Dystrophy Association meets 20/20 of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability.

Here's the Muscular Dystrophy Association's website:
https://www.mda.org

Thanks for reading about the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA)!

SOURCES

(1) The website, www.mda.org, on the page, "FAQs" (under "About MDA"), retrieved from the url, "https://www.mda.org/about-mda/faq", on Wednesday, July 13, 2016.

(2) The website, www.mda.org, on the page, "What Has MDA Achieved?" (under "Hope Through Research"), retrieved from the url, "https://www.mda.org/research/what-has-mda-achieved", on Wednesday, July 13, 2016.

March of Dimes

This week's featured charity is the March of Dimes!

The March of Dimes works to prevent birth defects and premature birth, the latter of which "is the #1 killer of babies" (1).

Initially known as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis when founded in 1938, the organization which would later be known as the March of Dimes started off fighting polio. Its current focus is now to improve general health for babies and pregnant women.

The March of Dimes funds research in this area, awarding grants to look into ways to "improve medical diagnosis and develop treatments for a wide range of birth defects and developmental disorders" (2).

Weekly Charity is not officially working with the March of Dimes, but does encourage helping them out.

Now for some stats!

Charity Navigator gives March of Dimes: 2 out of 4 stars
March of Dimes Foundation meets 20/20 of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability.

Here's the March of Dimes website:
http://www.marchofdimes.org/index.aspx

Thank you for taking the time to read about March of Dimes!

SOURCES

(1) The website, www.marchofdimes.org, on the site's home page, retrieved from the url, "http://www.marchofdimes.org/index.aspx", on Saturday, July 9, 2016.

(2) The website, www.marchofdimes.org, on the page, "Research breakthroughs timeline" (under, "About us"), retrieved from the url, "http://www.marchofdimes.org/mis…/research-breakthroughs.aspx", on Saturday, July 9, 2016.

Volunteer Match (Impact Online)

This week's featured charity is also a tool for other charities! It's called ... Volunteer Match!

Volunteer Match, also known as Impact Online (that's impactonline.org, not impactontline.co, which is something different), is a nonprofit organization which aims to help people find other good nonprofit organizations to volunteer at.

Founded in 1998, Volunteer Match is "a service that brings good people and good causes together" (1).

Since it's founding, Volunteer Match has connected over 11 million volunteers (as of July 7, 2016)!

Weekly Charity is not directly affiliated with Volunteer Match, but does encourage helping them out ... or using their site to help other nonprofits out! Isn't that why they're out there?

No stats this time! (Volunteer Match seems to be more of a charity-finding tool than a traditional charity, so many of the sites used to rank other charities don't seem to have them for it.)

Here's the Volunteer Match website:
https://www.volunteermatch.org
You may also know it as:
http://www.impactonline.org

Thanks for reading about Volunteer Match!

SOURCES

(1) The website, www.volunteermatch.org, on the page, "Vision" (located in the "About Us" folder), retrieved from the url, "https://www.volunteermatch.org/about/vision/", on Thursday, July 7, 2016.

City Year

Have you heard of ... City Year?

City Year, founded in 1988, aims to provide support to schools and students in need of it, often in high-poverty communities.

City Year tries to reach students between third and ninth grade to help them overcome challenges they face at school, and hopefully prevent them from dropping out later.

Studies have shown that students at risk of dropping out of high school can be indicated by three "early warning indicators (poor attendance, disruptive behavior, and course failure in math and English)" (1). Students displaying even one of these by sixth grade have a 75% chance of not graduating, but that drops down to 25% if they reach tenth grade “on track and on time” (1). City Year helps to ensure that that percentage drops down.

Weekly Charity’s not officially working with City Year, but does encourage helping them out.

Okay, now it’s statistic time:

Charity Navigator gives City Year: 4 out of 4 stars

Thanks for reading about City Year! Here’s their website:
https://www.cityyear.org

SOURCES

(1) The website, www.cityyear.org, on the “Our Approach” page (under the “What We Do” folder), retrieved from the url, “https://www.cityyear.org/what-we-do/our-approach” on Sunday, June 26, 2016 (and again on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 for this citation).