YES, Shelterbox.com is an international disaster relief charity that delivers emergency shelter, warmth and dignity to people affected by disaster worldwide.

Shelter Boxes are green plastic units that are similiar in size and shape to the large plastic storage containers that many people keep Christmas decorations in, only sturdier.

A bigger difference is what’s inside. Each shelter box contains enough supplies for an extended family of up to 10 people with a tent and essential equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless.

Inside every Shelter Box is a ten-person tent. It’s sturdy, made to withstand extreme temperatures, high winds and rain. It even has privacy partitions to allow the inside space to be divided.

For the kids, each Shelter Box also contains coloring books, crayons and pens.

Also included are essentials, blankets, insulated ground sheets, mosquito nets (where needed), a tool kit (hammer, axe, saw, shovel, hoe head, pliers and wire cutters). There’s even a small wood burning or multi-fuel stove as well as pans, utensils, bowls mugs and storage containers. Plus the Shelter Box itself is reusable from storage to seating to a baby bed.

You can read more about Shelter Box and donate on their website at http://www.shelterbox.com.

Shelter Box

So Others Might Eat serves over a thousand meals a day. Their ‘Empty Bowls’ event is a fundraiser where guests give a $20 donation for a soup dinner and receive a handmade clay bowl. The bowls are ’symbols of hunger.

The annual event raises thousands for the program.

Many charities focus on many different aspects of life, health, hunger, housing. Sometimes you find a charity that has one single problem to solve. SmileTrain.org fits that bill.

Smile Train is all about repairing cleft lips and palates the world over. In face, Smile Train helps children in 77 of the world’s poorest countries.

Many children with cleft palate damage cannot eat or speak properly. They can’t attend school to learn, or hold a job. These kids grow up to face a life filled with shame, hiding their faces.

Every single solitary child born with a cleft can be helped with surgery. This surgery can cost as little as $250 (USD) and takes around an hour to repair.

Smile Train’s objective is to provide free cleft repair surgery for millions of poor children and to provide free training for medical professional.

Smile Train is a worth charity. We suggest you visit their website at smiletrain.org to learn more.

The Tree Bank Foundation has been going strong in Oklahoma for over two decades. This urban forestry project for public non-profit organizational land educates the public through the promotion, development and management of urban forestry projects through public and private partners.

The Tree Bank Foundation’s vision is to change, one tree at a time, Oklahoma’s landscape into thousands of trees. Trees provide beauty, color, character, community pride, architectural definition, improved air quality, and well being into the community.

Since it’s inception in 87, the Tree Bank Foundation has provided about a 100,000 trees. Each tree is of substantial size when planted (5’ or taller) and have a high success rate. Each individual tree receives maintenance through a 3 year agreement. The Tree Bank has also distributed over 100,000 seedlings.

You can find Tree Bank trees all over Oklahoma, although the projects are primarily in central Oklahoma. They’re located at public buildings, common areas, non-profits, on highways, parks and schools.

The Tree Bank also partners with Girl Scouts, The Air National Guard, Neighborhood Associations and other groups. Oklahoma treehuggers and the general populace all benefit from this great organization.

In September of 08, America’s Second Harvest changed its name to Feeding America. Their new name conveys their mission—providing food to Americans living with hunger.

Even though America’s Second Harvest has been fighting hunger for over 30 years, they still were basically unknown by the average American. Their new name, Feeding America is better able to convey their mission. Feeding America says it all. They provide access to food to people who need it. The name communicates positive connotations.

Feeding America is the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity and works through a nationwide network of member food banks in the fight to end hunger.

Each year, the Feeding America network provides food to more than 25 million low-income people facing hunger in the United States, including more than 9 million children nearly 3 million senior citizens.

Feeding America consists of a network of more than 200 food banks serves all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, securing and distributing more than 2.5 billion pounds of food and grocery products annually. Those member food banks support approximately 63,000 local charitable agencies and 70,000 programs, which provide food directly to individuals and families in need.

People sharing green solutions for a greener lifestyle, sharing knowledge and experiences. There are articles, blogs, groups and green friends.

Their name, Greenwala, comes from ‘green’ and ‘wala’. Wala is a slang term from Asia and India that means a person with answers. Greenwala was created as a positive place to support a greener, cleaner Earth with like minded people.

Join me, make friends with other green minded folks, read, post, participate and shop for green products.

Greenwala’s Plant a Tree program for new memberships is coordinated with Trees for the Future. Trees for the Future

You can also merge Greenwala into your Facebook account.

You can go to Kiva’s website and lend to someone across the globe who needs a loan for their business – like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks. Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent – and you get updates letting you know how the entrepreneur is going.

The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back – and Kiva’s loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly.

I just made a loan to an entrepreneur named Jehova Jireh Group in Peru. They still need another $2,000.00 to complete their loan request of $3,200.00 (you can loan as little as $25.00!). Help me get this entrepreneur off the ground by clicking on the link below to make a loan to Jehova Jireh Group too:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=146321

It’s finally easy to actually do something about poverty – using Kiva I know exactly who my money is loaned to and what they’re using it for. And most of all, I know that I’m helping them build a
sustainable business that will provide income to feed, clothe, house and educate their family long after my loan is paid back.

Join me in changing the world – one loan at a time.

Thanks!

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What others are saying about www.Kiva.org:

‘Revolutionising how donors and lenders in the US are connecting with small entrepreneurs in developing countries.’
– BBC

‘If you’ve got 25 bucks, a PC and a PayPal account, you’ve now got the wherewithal to be an international financier.’
– CNN Money

‘Smaller investors can make loans of as little as $25 to specific individual entrepreneurs through a service launched last fall by Kiva.org.’
– The Wall Street Journal

‘An inexpensive feel-good investment opportunity…All loaned funds go directly to the applicants, and most loans are repaid in full.’
– Entrepreneur Magazine

It’s Wish Upon A Hero.  The site was created by Dave Girgenti in the aftermath of 9-11.  He watched people post photos of missing loved ones and decided there was a better way to connect people in need with people who could help, with that thought WishUponAHero.com was born.

The site is free to use and registrants can request up to three wishes at a time. It’s a good place to check in your daily pursuit of sharing the good.

The Jefferson is awarded to ordinary people who do extraordinary things.  The goal of the award is to inspire others to become interested and involved in service.

Past award winners include the Gates, Lance Armstrong, and Oprah.

Universal Giving helps people find volunteer opportunities in their own neighborhood.

December 4 Workshop: www.uniteforsight.org/global-health-university/global-health-workshop

Overview

Unite For Sight’s Founder and CEO will hold a 1/2-day dynamic, immersive global health workshop. Currently, 4 billion people in the world own cell phones, including those in villages where healthcare is non-existent. What enables the delivery and distribution of goods at the “base of the pyramid,” and what hinders healthcare delivery? What strategies can be applied to provide healthcare for the world’s poorest people? This workshop is aimed at future leaders in global health who will gain skills and knowledge about global health delivery. The workshop will be a small, intimate forum with a limited capacity of no more than 10 participants.

* Who: Students and professionals are eligible to apply. Successful applicants will have demonstrated an interest in global health.
* When: Friday, December 4, 1-5pm
* Where: Unite For Sight headquarters in downtown New Haven (across the street from Yale’s Whitney Humanities Center)

Workshop Schedule: 1-5pm on Friday, December 4

This is the preliminary schedule, which may be subject to change.

* 1:00-3:00pm – The Realities and Complexities of Global Health: Best Practices, Worst Practices, Ethics, and Strategies
- A comprehensive discussion about the principles and strategies of global health. What are best practices, and what is the significant harm of worst practices in global health? How does one look beyond good intentions and ensure that they avoid the pitfalls? During this session, participants will learn from the lessons of successful and unsuccessful models, programs, and organizations.
* 3:00-3:30pm – Evidence-Based Design and Measuring Outcomes
- What are metrics, and how are outcomes measured? What is the difference between outcomes and outputs? What evaluative frameworks are used to evaluate global health programming?
* 3:30-4:30pm – Innovation in Healthcare Delivery
- This session will discuss successful strategies and models of healthcare delivery. What makes a healthcare strategy work, and what are models of innovation?
* 4:30-5:00pm – Roundtable Discussion
- This session includes a round-table discussion. The workshop participants are an impressive, diverse group who are committed to improving health and development worldwide. They are encouraged to network and collaborate.

How To Apply

Unite For Sight accepts applications on a rolling basis, and the first qualified applicants will be accepted.
Please submit your application to TBryant@uniteforsight.org and reference “Global Health Workshop” in the subject line. Submit a resume and a short essay (suggested length: 300-500 words) that describes your interest in the workshop and your past involvement (if any) in global health.

Complete details online at http://www.uniteforsight.org/global-health-university/global-health-workshop