15 Days of Giving

Yes, there are 12 days of Christmas, but why not 15 days of giving?! Check out this list for all the simple actions you can take to help out others in need this year - you'll even find some GREAT gifts for those hard to buys on your list!

December 10th: Kick off this holiday month right by checking out Oxfam Unwrapped - the fab site that lets you buy bikes, chickens, safe water and all sorts of great things for villages in need!

December 11th: Give the gift of your wisdom! That's right, there's are loads of kidlets out there just waiting to hear all the amazing advice you have on clothes, boys, coffee, well pretty much life! Kids.now provides you with everything you need to become a fantastic mentor!

December 12th: Grab a gift card from Just Give for a friend and they can redeem it to donate to a charity of their choice.

December 13th: Bring home a furry friend. Or find a mate for a friend and head to your nearest adoption to centre to bring a little buddy home just in time for the holidays.
December 14th: Buy (Red) Products for everyone! There's cute tees, rings and candles for

your girlfriends, wicked headphones for your beau and even Penguin Classic books for that hard to buy boss - all helping to eliminate AIDS in Africa.

December 15th: Help Abused Women. Mimi + You is a fantastic handmade jewelry company that makes gorgeous and statement necklace pieces - all their proceeds from their Celebrate

Courage line goes to support abused womens' shelter.
December 16th: Find an Elegant Gift with Charity Buzz. Your cousin that loves Lady Gaga -

no problem bid on VIP tickets! Your mom that ohs and ahs over the sexy Ralph Lauren - get her a trip to meet him in person! And the best part is, all the proceeds from these extravagant gifts go

directly to charity!

December 17th: Feed a Hungry Kid in South Africa through the Lunchbox Fund - or get a gift for your family by sponsoring a child for a whole year for only $80!

December 18th: Get Your Colleagues cute office slippers from TOMS. For each pair sold, another pair is sent to a child in a developing country.

December 19th: Keep Mosquitos away. Every 30 seconds a child in Africa dies from Malaria.

Send two mosquito safety nets through World Vision in honor of pretty much anyone on your Christmas list.

December 20th: Become Worldly. With jewelry, skirts, rings, and shoes from all over the world - you can get your girlfriends, mom, or even yourself ;) a fabulous gift from Live Worldly that supports local charities in the artisans' home countries.

December 21st: Support Learning! What about getting your little cousins, nieces and nephews a cool, totally gross gift that their parents' won't hate you for! Check out Elephant Thoughts and all their great eco-friendly gifts for the science nerd in everyone!

December 22nd: Give Cuddles to kids who need it the most. Noah's Ark helps abused children through amazing pet therapy - your donation helps pays for the basics like dog food (they go through 800 pounds a year), new clothing and toys.

December 23rd: Make a Wish come true by buying a wrapped toy and delivering it

straight to the many drop offs for the Chum Christmas Wish.

December 24th: Indulge in the gorgeous handmade jewelry by the female Ugandan artisans of Beads for Life. Not only are the colors and patterns stunning, buteach purchase is helping to end poverty in Ugandan villages.

December 25th: Make this holiday the best. Take a moment today to look around you at all the amazing things life has given you. Great friends, great food, great gifts, great family (even if they're insane!) and okay, great wine. Appreciate what you have, and then vow to make things

better for others - even if it's as simple as these actions - buying a funky gift, clicking and learning more, or making a tiny donation - YOU ARE making a difference!

* A big thank you to GLAMOUR Magazine for giving me the idea for this article - if you get a chance check out this month's "31 Days Giving" Article - it's all American charities, but it's really great!

Hey What Happened to the UNICEF Halloween Donation Boxes?!

This year, don't worry about having a bowl of change next to your trick-or-treats, UNICEF is doing things a little bit differently now.

I have vague (but very fond) memories of stumbling around in my mushroom costume (that's

right, when other girls were dressing up as princesses and figure skater, I was desperate to be a pizza topping) going around collecting yummy chocolate, and adding to my exceedingly weighty UNICEF box. UNICEF boxes were so popular that kids would not only compete for the most chocolate bars, but also the heaviest orange and black box. And what a great idea it was! Even at 7, bundled up in my green stem and giant mushroom-top hat, I knew that I was doing something good for kids who maybe couldn't go out and trick-or-treat - it was a great way to teach kids about those less fortunate, in a fun, engaging way.

Well it seems UNCIEF has really honed on to the educationally part of Halloween donations - while the Halloween box donations were a great way to get kids involved, the donations of pennies and nickels (plus the complexities and organization involved in getting those weighty donations to their head offices) usually didn't amount to that much. But much in the

way sugar highs pass by November 1st, so to do the excitement and interest in international development.

This year, UNICEF has declared October 31st as National UNICEF day! Instead of the donation boxes, UNICEF provides people with Halloween fundraising tool kits - allowing people to fundraise in their own way. UNICEF provides ideas for fundraising events at work, at school, in your community, or at a party! You can even create a personalized online fundraising page - so instead of your party goers handing over cash, they can go online and donate directly to UNICEF with debit, VISA or Amex.

But don't worry, UNICEF hasn't lost their fun kids' stuff either. There are tons of online tools and helpful ideas to get kids engaged. Teachers can download teaching plans to organize parties, games and lectures all focused around learning about third world countries and how to give back. And kids can learn on their own too - UNICEF provides them with online games about accessing clean water, helping disaster zones and a quiz show on UNCIEF itself.

A great place to stop for last minute party ideas for Saturday and Sunday, or sit down and play a game with your kid while learning about those in need. And for those of you who LOVE Halloween (like myself), start planning your massive fundraising BASH for next year!!

Charity Buzz - How to Do Good and Live Well

While doing some research for our Think Pink Month piece (more to come), I stumbled across one of the most innovative, interesting and fun fundraising sites I have seen in a long while.

The concept is relatively simple - people like auctions and people like donating money (in theory)...what if you could not only donate money - and in fairly large amounts - which also buys you something that is completely unusual, fabulous and frivolous? The answer is CharityBuzz.

CharityBuzz showcases a collection of super rare items being sold on auction, with the proceeds going to the seller's charity of choice. All the items are completely unique trips and experiences, like a tour by Ralph Lauren himself of his world famous car collection, an opportunity to star in a new horror movie, or VIP backstage pass tickets to Lady Gaga - each one of which support a great cause!

These auction items are in some cases ridiculously expensive - a dinner reservation at NY's Rao restaurant is currently going for $7500....and that's just for the table, not the food! - but some of the items are the perfect gift for those tough-to-buys, or the best way to spoil yourself.

With causes and organizations like the Ralph Lauren Pink Pony, the Lollipop Theatre Network, and the World Wildlife Fund it's definitely worth a peek at all the drool-worthy items on sale.

Funding Opportunity for Small Charities

AtlasCare's Care to Share program provides local initiatives and organizations with an opportunity to receive $1,000, as well as promotion through Atlas Care's many media tools (ie website, press releases, ect).

There are many worthwhile causes doing important work. The Care to Share program includes not only the larger, better-known charities, but also the smaller local causes that can include fundraising and charity events in Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, or anyplace within the AtlasCare service area. This opportunity is available every month and even volunteers can nominate the charity they work with. Winners are selected by a random draw and not based on the quality of the submission. Our donation program can make a difference for your charity. Apply today!

Volunteer Abroad!

Check out Cross-Cultural Solutions - the leading organization in the field of international volunteering. Think of it like a travel vacation, to some of the most beautiful and remote places in the world, with a purpose!

With Cross-Cultural Solutions, you’ll volunteer side-by-side with local people and experience another culture like never before. The CCS experience also includes cultural activities and learning experiences, so that you can learn about the local culture. These include an in-depth orientation, language training, guest speakers and more. There is also plenty of free time to relax, reflect, or explore the community.

The Experience:

Volunteer Abroad is available in 12 countries - Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Morocco, Peru, Russia, South Africa,Tanzania and Thailand.

You can pick to stay anywhere between 1 week and 12 weeks.

CCS volunteers work in orphanages and child care centers, schools, health clinics and hospitals, homes for the elderly, centers for the disabled, and other communityorganizations.

We believe that free time is important so you can get to know the community and people in your own way. That’s why you’ll always have some afternoons, most evenings, and every weekend all to yourself. Whether alone or with fellow volunteers, this is your chance to visit local attractions, take the path less traveled, or simply take time to rest and reflect.

There is also a great opportunity for teens 15 to 17 - Teen Volunteer Abroad. The teen program runs much like their other programs, however their is 24 hour security, supervision and protection, so you know your teen is safe!

Head to their website and learn everything you need to know to get you started on a life changing trip!

Micro-Volunteering

Looking to give back but don't have the time? What about all the time you spend waiting in line at the post office? During subway delays? Avoiding work on Facebook? What if you could turn these dull drum moments into volunteering success?

With the Extraordinaries micro-volunteering opportunities you could be volunteering for the Library of Congress with just a click of a button! Originally created for the iPhone, The Extraordinaries provides a database of simple opportunities that can be done on your phone, or on your computer. The Extraordinaries harnesses the power of crowdsourcing by aggregating thousands of micro-actions dedicated to over 20 different organizations including the Smithsonian Institute.

Click to try it out live!

Google to Give $10 Million Funding for Organizations

Do you know of an organization that might be able to help implement one of Google's Project 10^100 ideas? If so, they could be eligible for the $10 million that Google has committed to help fund up to five of the best ideas. Project 10^100 looked to the general public for ideas to change the world by helping as may people as possible. And the response to the call was overwhelming - thousands of people from over 170 countries submitted more than 150 000 ideas.

Here are the final 16 ideas:

1) Make government more transparent - Create a website that enables people from any country or municipality to easily learn about the workings of their government, and rally their fellow citizens to take action to improve it.
2) Provide quality education to African students
3) Help social entrepreneurs drive change
4) Create real-time natural crisis tracking system - Make rapid-response crisis-mapping data available to help policymakers better coordinate response efforts during hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters.
5) Build better banking tools for everyone
6) Collect and organize the world's urban data - Information about the urban planet is ever more invaluable in helping understand humanity's impact on our surroundings, thus empowering citizens and helping leaders make better-informed decisions.
7) Work toward socially conscious tax policies
8) Encourage positive media depictions of engineers and scientists
9) Enhance science and engineering education
10) Create real-world issue reporting system
11) Promote health monitoring and data analysis
12) Create genocide monitoring and alert system
13) Drive innovation in public transport - Develop new transportation technologies to help move more people with less energy, greater efficiency and fewer casualties.
14) Make educational content available online for free
15) Build real-time, user-reported news service
16) Create more efficient landmine removal programs - There are an estimated 110 million landmines still active in 70 countries; they have been blamed for over 5,000 casualties annually, ~70% of which are civilians, and nearly half of those are children.* (www.icbl.org)

International Peace Day causes ripples around the world.

Peace One Day looks to engage all sectors of society, including governments, organizations under the UN, and individuals through a worldwide ceasefire in an attempt to create a united and sustainable world.

The creator, Jeremy Gilley set out to create a film about peace, when he realized there was no fixed date in our calendar for an international day without violence or war. This became his mission and the focus of his truly amazing and inspiring film: The Day After Peace.

The film follows Jeremy's 10 year struggle to create and promote Peace Day. First, he hopes to develop a fixed international Peace Day. In 2001, the member states of the United Nations (UN) unanimously adopted September 21st as the official Peace Day. However, Jeremy's battles is far from complete. He needs corporate sponsorship to continue filming, and he quickly learns that so many other things are happening in the world (the official UN announcement of Peace Day occurs in New York, on the morning of September 11, 2001 and is of course overshadowed) that it will be difficult to get Peace Day the coverage it needs to spread the word.

But he gets support from all the right kind of people; a press conference with Angelina Jolie, a concert with Annie Lennox, and a trip to Afghanistan with Jude Law, get the press and the interest Jeremy needs. The trip to Afghanistan is the most inspiring, when in 2006, Jude Law and Jeremy receive ceasefire agreements from the Afghan government, NATO, and the Taliban. These agreements allowed the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and the Ministry of Public Health to enter areas of the country that were otherwise inaccessible and to provide 1.4 million children with polio vaccinations.

By 2007, Star Syringe, manufacturers of a non-reusable, auto-disabling syringe, provided safe immunization camps in 20 locations where thousands of children in countries such as India, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Uganda were vaccinated against measles, diphtheria, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and whopping cough.

This year, the war in Afghanistan saw a complete ceasefire, enforced by a written statement from President Hamid Karzai, announcing "I hope this day becomes the beginning of enduring peace in our country and the world." (link to statement) Oxfam organized kite flying, music concerts, sport events and public hearings in Kabul and remote parts of Afghanistan, and Habitat for Humanity began huge building efforts in India and South Africa. Peace Day even brought feuding brothers together when the makers of Adidas and Puma buried a 61 year old grudge by playing soccer in their home town in support of Peace Day's One Day One Goal football match campaign.

The film is definitely worth a watch: it makes you think, it makes you cry, it makes you WANT to action. To view his film click here or find out how you can take action!

Pedal 4 Pasos

In June 2009 Gus, Anne, Cody and Genevieve started their 3 month, 6200km journey from Edmonton Alberta Canada, to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Their sole method of travel was their bicycles. Traveling between 60-80km per day rain or shine and all in the effort to raise money for a clinic at their final destination. Primeros Pasos is a free clinic to anyone under 18 that provides health care, medication, and health education providing over 500 health education workshops every year.

After the conception of the trip the group started a non profit and in four short months have already raised nearly half of the clinic's annual budget. They will continue to raise funds for the clinic through donations, and are hoping to get sponsors per kilometer. For more information on how you can get involved visit their Facebook group and YouTube channel for intimate stories from along their journey. To support their work donate to the clinic online at primerospasos.org.

Share with Share IT

Share IT is the inspiration turned to action of Ranjana Mitra, another of our Get Involved profilees appearing this month on TVO (and in the "Watch" section of our website.) Her commitment to what she does is as unmistakable as is her passion. We asked her for an update on her doings and received the following reply:

"As for Share IT, in our effort to strive to foster more of reduce and reuse of used electronics, we are gearing up to take the program to the next level and create a pool of "Share It kiosks" so the model can be set-up at community/neighbourhood/city level. Also, per our passion, we would like to help those families near the e-waste dumps in China, India and Africa with protective gears and education. I know its a big undertaking --but I believe unless we touch their lives we are really not addressing the social and environmental injustice happening worldwide -- specially in marginalized communities -- most importantly with women and children who are in the most vulnerable zone in those communities. Being a mom, I feel a sense of guilt as well as a sense of responsibility towards them ! -- I guess I'm getting emotional again !!!"

It's that kind of "emotion" that moves others to take part in the Share IT program - a program that helps so many people who wouldn't otherwise be able to take part in the computerized e-world so many of us take for granted. Ranjana describes it like this:

"Every used computer and peripherals donated to the Share IT program opens up a new world for a less privileged family/child/youth/senior in our community while helping to protect our environment and the planet. If each one of us act now and demonstrate our global citizenship and responsibility, together we can touch many lives by caring for those who urgently needs our attention, empathy and helping help. This is how we express the Share IT spirit in our workshops."

Here's how a few recipients express their "Share-IT" spirit in their own words:

"Thank you for the donation the computer... As a mother of 5 children, the cost of a computer is not feasible for me. I am constantly sending the children to the library to use theirs. (With a 30 minute time limit there.) The rest of this winter holds promise for us because of this kind donation. You have made a difference."

"We are thankful for the computer that is donated by you which would be very good used by my family. We are an immigrant family that came to Canada in 2008 and we are in the process to learn English. The computer will be used by our children to their school's assignments and to us, my wife and I to learn English. Thank you very much."

If you've got used computer equipment and/or peripherals that you could donate, please check out Share IT at Share IT. Can you imagine a better fate for that old computer or printer? To donate used equipment, please call 905-463-9941 to schedule a drop-off time. Donations are accepted at Share IT's facility at 222 Advance Blvd. Unit 7, Brampton. Please click here: Donation Form for all the details.

Update from TUNAHAKI

Leora Eisen and her family returned from Tanzania with some amazing stories. And thanks to many GI members they received musical instruments and art supplies with them to Tunahaki Orphanage. Leora send this note along with some pictures to tell the story. Seeing my guitar in the hands of these kids put a huge smile on my face.



Note from Leora to everyone"
Asanta sana means "thank you very much" in Swahili...and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart on behalf of the kids at Tunahaki. They were really excited and touched by your generosity. As you can see from the photos, music is indeed a universal language. These kids absolutely love being able to express themselves through music, and can now experience the joy playing an instrument can bring. Thanks for the guitar, fabulous percussion instruments , and all your interest and compassion.
Best Leora , Rob , Jaime and Lauren

To find out more about TUNAHAKI or to donate to this amazing organization. Check out the story on our WATCH PAGE or check out their profile.

WORLD WATER DAY - March 22nd, 2009

WORLD WATER DAY The United Nations has declared March 22nd of each year as World Water Day, recognizing that access to clean water and sanitation is vital to human health, promotes gender equality, supports primary education and generates economic benefits, yet according to studies, 2.5 billion people have no place to go and nearly one billion don’t have access to safe water.
Our friends at Taking IT Global TIG are taking part in the WaterCan initiative, the National Toilet Seat Petition, uniting the voices of concerned Canadians from coast to coast.
This is how they put it:
“The Sanitation and Water Action Network Canada (SWAN), of which WaterCan is a member, has launched a National Toilet Seat Petition to make a stink about this ongoing crisis in the developing world! On World Water Day 2009 Parliament Hill will be filled with signed toilet seats calling on the government of Canada to make water and sanitation a foreign aid priority! Help us meet our goal by taking part in this campaign. Start a toilet seat petition and spread the word. Now is our chance to make an impact.”
I’ll say! For more information on how to create your own Toilet Seat Petition to send in, please click here: WATERCAN

Join the Call, Toilets for All!

Plan to celebrate - March 8th is International Women's Day!

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY Impossible as it may seem, since the early 1900’s even before women got the vote, they were celebrating International Women’s Day. (Though they probably had to provide all the food and amusements, serve and clean up afterward…)
But the spirit of the movement that responded to the oppression and inequality women experienced over a hundred years ago still goes on today. In fact in some countries it’s a national holiday. (Not now in North America… but maybe someday!) On March 8th thousands of events are planned all over the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. (In fact in the US, the entire month is “Women’s History Month”. Don’t worry if you’re not an American – you can celebrate every day too.) So think globally and act locally. The theme for this year according to the United Nations is: “women and men united to end violence against women and girls”. Personally, I like it – but feel free to celebrate in any you feel is right.
Check out: IWD EVENTS and click on “Events” in the navigation bar, which will take you to an events page that by selecting first “Canada” and then your region (I went to “Toronto”) you’ll find dozens of events in which to take part. I like the sound of this event: TORONTO IWD which is actually taking place March 3rd in Toronto – the theme is: “Advancing Your Career During an Economic Downturn”. But pick what you like – there’s something for everyone!

THIS WEEK: Get Involved by Thinking about what you Buy

FairtradeCertified has a channel on YouTube that is producing some wonderful content that not only informs you about the impact of buying fair trade products but show you the impact in a clear and compelling way.
Take a look at the videos in our video bar to the right we have a sampling of their videos for you to easily preview. Or go directly to their channel and subscribe.

To find out where you can buy fairtrade goods across Canada go to Transfair Canada

Back to Africa

Last year,when our family went to Tanzania to climb Mt. Kiliminjaro and volunteer at an orphanage, we had no idea how much it would change our lives. Now we're leaving for Africa again on the 24th and climbing a different kind of mountain -- mile high mounds of donated clothes, musical instruments, art supplies. dental supplies and xmas presents for the kids at the TunaHAKI Centre for Child Development. The generosity of not only our friends but people we've never met is astounding. A classroom of students at Claude Watson School for the Arts have handpicked gifts for each individual child at the orphanage. Someone who saw us on Get Involved donated sketchbooks for every child. We're touched by how eager people are to give to vulnerable children on the other side of the world. And we're so excited to go back to Tanzania and see the kids once again. We'll fill you in when we return from our trip!
The Eisens