Tag Archives: give back

How to help Soapbox make personal hygiene kits that will be donated to local charities

Soapbox Giving Tour is traveling through 16 cities to donate soap and personal hygiene kits that will be donated to local charities and volunteers are needed.

By Heather Newgen

Clean beauty company Soapbox is raising awareness for the importance of hand hygiene by doing a multi-city tour donating hand soap and personal hygiene kits. Volunteers are needed and “Gossip Girl” star Savannah Lee Smith joined Soapbox in NYC to assemble hygiene kits in Comfort Cases for local charities and kick off The Soapbox Giving Tour, featuring the world’s largest bottle of soap. The tour, and a 21ft bottle of Soapbox hand soap, will travel to 16 cities, remind people to continue to wash their hands and garner a Guinness Book World Record for most hygiene products donated in a week.

soapbox – New York, NY – 07/16/2021 – Savannah Lee Smith joined Soapbox in NYC to kick off The Soapbox Giving Tour.
-PICTURED: Savannah Lee Smith PHOTO by: Michael Simon/startraksphoto.com

The 21-foot tall, 8.5-foot diameter, 2500-pound metal and fiberglass bottle will then travel to 15 other cities: Boston, Mass. (July 16); Manchester, N.H. (July 17); Buffalo, N.Y. (July 18); Chicago, Ill. (July 20); Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn (July 21).; Bentonville, Ark. (July 23); Dallas, Texas (July 24); Austin, Texas (July 25); Atlanta, Ga. (July 27); Rockville, Md. (July 29); Virginia Beach, Va. (July 31); Raleigh, N.C. (August 1); Washington, DC (August 2); Philadelphia, Pa. (August 3) and Pittsburgh, Pa. (August 4).

Soapbox

Soapbox, which operates on a buy-one-give-one model — where every product sold donates a bar of soap to someone in need — will donate pallets of soap and personal hygiene kits to local charities at every stop, including 144,000 bars of soap and 3,900 hygiene kits to Comfort Cases. Soapbox will earn a world records over the course of the tour: the most hygiene products donated within a week.

Retailers Walgreens, Wegmans, Sally Beauty, Hannaford, Hy-Vee, Rite Aid, Giant Food, Giant Eagle, Lowes Food, and H-E-B will welcome the world’s biggest bottle of soap at select stores. Shoppers and community members are invited to take photos, enter a raffle for product giveaways, and assist with assembling hygiene kits that will be donated to children in the foster care system within their local community.

“The COVID pandemic has helped highlight the importance of handwashing, but as mask mandates go away, we can’t let our guard down,” Soapbox co-founder and CEO David Simnick told The Voluntourist in an email statement. “People around the world get sick and die every day because they can’t properly wash their hands due to lack of access to soap and water.”

“In the U.S., food stamps don’t cover personal hygiene products like soap,” continues Simnick. “We hope this tour brings attention to that important issue as well.”

Simnick was inspired to launch Soapbox in 2010 after an internship with USAID exposed him first-hand to communities lacking soap and clean water. To date, the company has donated more than 22 million bars of soap worldwide.

“We are honored to be a part of this tour,” says Comfort Cases founder Rob Scheer, whose charity provides backpacks filled with comfort and personal care items to youth entering the foster care system. “Teaching children the importance of handwashing, particularly in underserved communities, can be a lifesaver.”

According to the United Nations, handwashing with soap is one of the most effective barriers to the spread of diseases. Around 297,000 children under five – more than 800 every day – die annually from diseases due to poor hygiene, poor sanitation, or unsafe drinking water.

To volunteer with Soapbox, message them on Instagram to sign up.

July 19, 2021 admin

Virtual Volunteer Opportunities for Pride 2021

Want to volunteer for Pride, but you’re not comfortable attending in person events? We’ve compiled a list of virtual volunteer opportunities you can get involved with.

By Sharon Knolle

If you missed your neighborhood’s Pride parade this year — or if it’s been canceled because of COVID — there are still plenty of virtual volunteer opportunities to help LBGTQ+ communities across the country. Consider donating your time and energy to these organizations who are welcoming virtual volunteers.

Support the Latino Equality Alliance and Win Stuff

Buy a raffle ticket for the Purple Lily Awards, which honors leaders who helped create a safer, healthier, more inclusive space for the Latinx LGBTQ+ community in Los Angeles, and you can win major prizes, such as a 43″ flat screen Smart TV, football tickets, Magic Mountain passes and gym passes. This virtual awards ceremony will be held on June 24, but raffle winners don’t have to be present to claim a prize. Proceeds from the event will benefit LEA’s LGBTQ+ youth/parent empowerment and wellness programs.

RSVP for general admission or buy raffle tickets here:

Write Thank-You Letters to Donors

Take part in a letter-writing campaign to thank donors to COLORS LGBTQ+ Youth Counseling Services, which provides free counseling and psychotherapeutic services to LGBTQ+ youth under 25, their partners, and their families in the Greater Los Angeles Area. People can also share personal stories about the impact that mental health services have had in their lives. Join this virtual event on Saturday June 26th at 1pm.

Raise Money for 2021 Virtual Walk for AIDS to Benefit House of Mercy

A virtual 2021 Walk for AIDS will take place Saturday, September 18, 2021. The money raised will benefit House of Mercy. It’s a North Carolina nonprofit that was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1991 to provide housing and medical care for low-income persons living with AIDS. House of Mercy also needs help with administrative duties, many of which can be done remotely, such as HR support, social media and grant writing. Here is their virtual Volunteer Application form.

You can also buy items off House of Mercy’s Amazon wish list.

YEAR-ROUND VOLUNTEERING

Join an Encircle Online Friendship Group

You can join an online friendship circle to provide connection, belonging, and community to LGBTQ+ people who might not have the support they need offline. Encircle’s goal is to offer support and encouragement and help attendees of all ages feel more authentically themselves. For more information about this Utah-based organization, visit here.

Find Auction Items for TIHAN (Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network)

This Tucson Arizona group, which benefits people living with HIV and AIDS, needs help finding items for their charity auction. If you can spend two to five hours a week emailing businesses and individuals — or doing research on who might be a corporate donor — email them at VolunteerCoordinator@tihan.org.

Answer Crisis Calls for LGBTQ Youth

Help provide life-saving support to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth with The Trevor Project. They are looking for volunteers to staff their crisis intervention services for LGBTQ+ youth who are struggling with issues such as coming out, identity, depression, and suicide. Digital Crisis Counselors are trained to answer chats or texts 24 hours a day. Volunteers 18 and over are encouraged to apply if you can make a commitment of one three-hour shift/week for at least one year.

Other organizations looking for volunteers:

Equality Time: Contact lawmakers to help the LGBTQ+ community access essential services without fear of harassment or discrimination.

NQAPIA

The Federation of LGBTQ+ Asian American, South Asian, Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander Organizations supports the Queer Asian community across the country.

Pride Foundation: Pride Foundation is seeking volunteers, including BIPOC, those living in rural areas, and trans and gender-diverse people in the Pacific Northwest.

DC Anti-Violence Project

June 14, 2021 admin

Bono’s One Campaign and Hive Launch Pandemica to shine a light on the Covid-19 Vaccine Inequality

Bono, Penélope Cruz, David Oyelowo, Kumail Nanjiani, Phoebe Robinson, and more to star in Pandemica, ONE Campaign’s animated series to raise awareness of vaccine access crisis.

By Heather Newgen

To help spread the word about the importance of getting the Covid-19 vaccine, the ONE Campaign, which is co-founded by Bono, is premiering Pandemica, an animated content series created by Hive about a world of never-ending pandemic purgatory, where COVID-19 never goes away, but continues to mutate and cross borders. The message the creators at hive aim to send – unless the vaccine is everywhere, the pandemic isn’t going anywhere.

The fastest way to end the COVID-19 pandemic is to ensure vaccines are available to everyone, everywhere. But, people living in the world’s poorest countries are being left behind. Currently, one-third of the world’s countries have yet to see a single dose of vaccine, while a handful of wealthy countries have enough vaccines to inoculate their entire populations and still have more than 1 billion doses left over –including 550 million excess doses secured by the US alone. And, without every country able to roll-out vaccinations, we could see twice as many deaths.

“Pandemica’s animated world animates a simple truth –that where you live shouldn’t determine whether you get these life-saving shots,” said Bono, lead singer, U2 and co-founder of ONE and (RED). “Even while many of us still wait our turn, we need to commit to making sure that billions of people around the world aren’t left at the back of the line. It’s the right thing to do, obviously, but it’s also the only way out of this pandemic for all of us. If the vaccine isn’t everywhere, this pandemic isn’t going anywhere.”

“Pandemica is a compelling illustration of the inequality around the world,” said Penélope Cruz, who lends her voice in the Pandemica series. “I hope that everyone who watches this series will use their voice and take action to ensure that no one gets left behind.”

“We’re all trapped in Pandemica, but only some can get out. This virus thrives on inequality, and right now billions of people around the world are seeing the promise of a vaccine, but not the opportunity to receive it,” said David Oyelowo, actor and Mountaineer in Pandemica. “We must step up and do what it takes to end this pandemic for everyone, everywhere.”

To raise awareness about the vaccine access crisis, Hive, a social impact agency that creates campaigns to spark positive change, teamed up with Bono’s One Campaign. The company has recently created high profile campaigns including ONE’s #PasstheMic , VOW to End Child Marriage for Girls Not Brides and Give Bold #Get Equal for equal rights for women and girls. For this campaign Jenifer Willig, co-founder and CEO of Hive said, “We’re so honored to work with ONE and help them ring the alarm about the urgent need for a global response to COVID-19. The truth is we’re in a race against the virus and its variants and run the risk of keeping the world in lockdown if vaccines and treatments aren’t made available globally. We created Pandemica to highlight COVID inequity and the urgency and importance of fair vaccine distribution.”

March 26, 2021 admin

How Ready, Set, Gold Helps Kids Get Healthy

With the help of Olympians and Paralympians, Ready, Set, Gold inspires kids in Southern California schools to adopt healthy lifestyles.

By Heather Newgen

To help students prepare for healthy lifestyles, Ready, Set, Gold teams up with Olympians and Paralympians who visit SoCal schools to share their stories, workout with kids and help motivate them to stay physically active. The program was founded in 1988, “Ready, Set, Gold was actually spawn from a failed Olympic bid, but it was such a great concept and vision that sponsors gravitated towards it,” President & CEO of the LA Sports Council and Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games, David Siegel said.

He continued, “And the program has been going on for 14 years. We put Olympians and Paralympians into SoCal area schools and the whole idea is olympians and paralympians demonstrate a proven track record for overcoming adversity and obstacles to achieve their dreams and our program. We’re a between the bell program. We’re not an after school program. Each lesson includes not only a fitness element, but a growth mindset element in which the athlete shares a personal story and that could be setting and achieving personal goals and fitness goals. Growth mindset is what we’re looking to get for the kids. There’s not another program like it in the world. It offers a very special opportunity for students to connect and work with these olympic champions to create enduring bonds and demonstrate that hard work leads to long term physical and well being and personal achievement. 84% of those schools are underscored schools in those title 1 communities.”

Like everything else, Ready, Set, Gold had to readjust their program due to Covid, but as a result, they’ve been able to reach more kids, Usually, the program operates in five school districts at 72 schools, serving almost 10,000 students in person to date.

However, the pandemic forced Ready, Set, Gold to go virtual. Launching in the fall of 2020, Ready, Set, Gold successfully hosted an eight-week series of 30 minute videos with a spring semester that just launched running from March 1-April 26. A new video will drop every Monday (minus March 29) showcasing a workout that’s free for children of all ages with one of its 40 current athletes on its rapidly growing roster. To date, Ready, Set, Gold has helped 15,000 children stay active while school has been closed, though they’ve decided to keep this element of their program going when schools reopen.

“It’s really enabled us to scale the program in a way that we didn’t dream possible for many, many years. So now we actually have 2 components to our program. We’re going to have an in school when everyone gets back to normal and kids are able to go to school full-time and we’re going to continue to move forward with the virtual programming as well. The virtual component gives us the ability to scale across the country and around the world.”

To show your support for Ready, Set, Gold, you can tune into this year’s 16th annual LASports Awards, airing at 8pm on Spectrum SportsNet and SportsNetLA. Sports fans can bid in their silent auction where a portion of the proceeds will keep the program funded and going strong for years to come.

March 22, 2021 admin

Pianos for People is helping give the gift of music to others with free pianos

How Pianos for People is helping give the gift of music to others with free pianos.

By Sharon Knolle

The power of music is undeniable and the organization Pianos for People is making music more accessible to those with limited resources.

Jeanne and her late husband Tom Townsend started Pianos for People nine years ago in St. Louis, the non-profit has given out more than 300 pianos to people who would otherwise never be able to afford one. It’s been life-changing for several recipients, including teen prodigy Royce Martin, who’s now studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston thanks to the program.

Pianos for People

Pianos for People now has two free piano schools, one in St. Louis, and one in Ferguson, Missouri, and both are beginning to re-open after the COVID shutdown.

Recently, St. Louis Community leaders and philanthropists Jeanne and Tom Townsend were awarded with the Caucus’ Humanitarian Award, followed by a special performance by Pianos for People student prodigy Royce Martin who is now in his third year of studies at Berklee College of Music, Boston. He has collaborated with musician Jon Batiste and most recently contributed to the score of the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” reboot.

Royce Martin performance for the 38^th Annual Caucus Awards

The Voluntourist: How did you come up with the idea for Pianos for People?

Jeanne Townsend: My son Alex passed away in a car accident in 2009 when he was an art student. We created the Alex Townsend Foundation and a few projects spun off of that, including Pianos for People. My husband Tom was a very serious jazz piano player in his spare time and my son also played the piano. So Tom came up with the idea of creating an
organization to give unused pianos to lower-income people, people who wouldn’t otherwise have a piano.

The Voluntourist: When did you start the first music school?

Jeanne Townsend: After a year or two, we discovered it would be really great if we could add a lessons component. We opened our piano school in 2014, so each of the recipients of the piano could take lessons and learn how to play. That’s how it all started.

The Voluntourist: How many pianos have you given out since you started?

Jeanne Townsend: It’s about 300 now and served thousands of students at this point. We have two schools, one in Ferguson, Missouri and one in South St. Louis. Both of those schools have been closed during COVID, but are opening back up again. We did online lessons [during the lockdown] and that worked really well, too.

The Voluntourist: How did you get involved with the program, Royce? Did they come to you or did you go to them?

Royce Martin: I was playing a Casio 76 keyboard, which is really just a toy. I played that until it broke in October of 2015. And then discouraged Royce looked up “piano donations” online and Pianos for People is the first thing that popped up. I filled out an essay as if I was my mom to get the piano, but I figured out that the application that I sent in wasn’t even the one that got me the piano. I went to an arts high school, so my orchestra teacher had taken some interest in me
and realized I didn’t have a real acoustic instrument at home, so he filled out an application for Pianos for People on my behalf. February 20, 2016 is when I got the piano donated to my house from them. It was my first acoustic piano, so it was pretty exciting. And I got to practice on it a lot.

The Voluntourist: How has Pianos for People changed your life?

Royce Martin: My life has changed a lot since I was 16 [and I first got the piano]. I won this competition back home in St. Louis. Once I won the competition and got some publicity, I realized it was something I could possibly do for the rest of my life. In 2017, I got accepted into Berklee, where I’m studying composition. I want to get into composing and film scoring.

The Voluntourist: What else did you gain from the program, besides learning to play the piano?

Royce Martin: Amy Seibert was my first piano teacher. Before then, I was just playing piano by learning it off of YouTube videos. She was the nicest lady. It was piano lessons, but also almost like a therapy session. It just felt like a place to belong in the most clichéd way. I had never been able to talk on a personal level hours on end like that and have someone so interested in having me achieve something. That was what kept drawing me back to Pianos for People. It always felt like, beyond the piano, they were really interested in my personal life and helping me succeed. They would come pick me up from my house 30 minutes away and give me a free lesson and then take me back. Then I ended up going to piano camp in the summer of 2017 because they vouched for me at Pianos for People. The people I met, I can’t express it enough. Amy taught me how to drive. She would take me to the rural side of St. Louis County, where I’m from, and we would do driving lessons. She had this dedication to my success. And it wasn’t just her.

The Voluntourist: You’re an ambassador for them now. So maybe you’re helping another 16-year-old say to themselves, “Hey, I can do that too.”

Royce Martin: Yeah, that is almost precisely what I hope. When I was 16, I was really impressionable and looking for a community. I think a lot of people have similar experiences, especially young boys. Especially young black boys. I think it’s important for them to find that community. It was that sense of community that kept my head on straight and gave me
something to look forward to.

The Voluntourist: Tell me more about your staff and what kinds of things you do for your students, beyond the pianos and the lessons.

Jeanne Townsend: What we found is that the schools became much more than a piano school. They became community centers of sorts. We would get involved with the kids on a much more holistic basis than just teaching them piano. Each year, we had coat drives to make sure the kids had winter coats. In the summer, we have piano camps and we feed them
breakfast and lunch because often these kids aren’t getting the nutrition they need. When they needed rides, we would give them rides. When they needed clothes for a concert or a recital, we made sure they had the right clothes. We’ve helped kids go on AFS trips to Europe and South America. And we’ve helped kids with expenses once they leave us and go to college. We get to know the kids really well and their families. And the piano school on any given Saturday becomes a real place for the kids to be safe and their parents sometimes hang out there. They’ve formed parent groups. The holistic approach is a huge part of what we do.

The Voluntourist: How do you decide who to give the pianos to? On your site, you have thank you notes from children as young as 5. What’s your criteria?

Jeanne Townsend: If you can prove a certain income level and that your child or you are interested in pursuing the piano — because we do teach adults as well — we will give you a piano. My husband Tom was very interested in saving unwanted pianos and getting them in as many households as he could. He grew up in a household that had a piano and it changed his
life. And he firmly believed in the power of music to change lives and to heal. You don’t necessarily have to be a student of Pianos for People to receive a piano. For example, there was a person who was a Gulf War veteran who had PTSD. He applied for a piano, but he already knew how to play. We got him a piano and he played beautifully on it. He would send us videos. I remember one thank you letter we got one letter from an elderly man whose wife had died. He had played piano as a young man and he wanted to try doing that again, so we got him a piano. He sent us this lovely thank you note about how it was helping him in his grief process. All levels are people have applied, from kids to elderly people. We’ve also provided a lot of pianos to churches and nursing homes.

The Voluntourist: How can people help or volunteer for Pianos for People?

Jeanne Townsend: They can go on our website and call. We’ll gladly take your call and give you a volunteer opportunity if you’d like to help out. All of our teachers are paid, but we have had volunteers help out at the summer camps or work on our music library, or work on the garden outside. We do need and love volunteer help. We also give our older students the opportunity to volunteer or do something on a paid basis. Some of our older students help out with the summer camps. Our littlest kids start out in group lessons, so sometimes we have older students help out with the group lessons.

The Voluntourist: How has Pianos for People changed your life, Jeanne?

Jeanne Townsend: I think when my husband first came up with this idea, I didn’t quite understand it. And when it turned into what it’s turned into, it all became very clear to me how important this was to our community and how much good we were doing. He passed away in 2019 pretty suddenly and I just can’t thank him enough for his vision in coming up with this.
Most of the people who worked there over the years and people who’ve come into our locations, have called it “the happiest place in St. Louis.” It’s just a magical place. Because you can see the good that we’re doing on a daily basis is just palpable. You can see it in the kids’ faces and how much they open up over the course of a few months and the confidence they gain from going on stage and getting applause. You can just see these kids blossoming and it’s just so incredibly fulfilling. It’s also been a hugely important thing for our whole family. Now, with my husband gone, the fact that I and my two children can carry on his legacy has been such a gift. From the time we lost our son, he was very convinced that music has a great power to heal. And he’s absolutely right. I’ve seen it over and over and over again.

The Voluntourist: It must be so rewarding to see someone thrive like Royce, who now has a music education and potentially a career because of Pianos for the People.

Jeanne Townsend: Royce is probably the one who has gone on to study music in the most serious way. But not everyone we serve has to be a great musician. Tom firmly believed that everybody should have some sort of interaction with music and some opportunity to play. Whether they’re great talents or mediocre or not so good, they will all derive some benefit from it. So we celebrate our mediocre students as well as students like royce. Our program builds
confidence and self-esteem and things they can carry over into other aspects of their life. We love serving all levels of talent.

March 8, 2021 admin

How Team Gwen’s Ben Allen Gives Back

Ben Allen, a Top 9 contestant on season 19 of “The Voice”, reveals how he gives back to veterans.

By Heather Newgen

Fans know Ben Allen from touring Southwest Florida with the Ben Allen Band, as well as season 19 of “The Voice”. The country singer was first on Team Blake, however, was let go during the Knockout Rounds after his coach chose the family trio Worth the Wait instead. But he was given a second chance by Gwen when she saved him from going home and viewers moved him forward to the semi-finals.

Ben Allen quickly became a fan favorite and every week has showcased his talents, which has advanced him far in the competition. While the 42-year-old keeps a busy schedule, he consistently dedicates time for volunteering at Miles Ranch in Florida.

“It’s an organization that works with veterans that come home and have PTSD. It incorporates horses in their therapy. They can go and have time with these animals and it saves the animals at the same time, so it’s kind of dual purpose,” he told The Voluntourist.

“This organization gives these animals purpose. In Florida, there’s a lot of horses that slip through the cracks. I’m not necessarily a big horse guy. I don’t know how to ride a horse, but I do know there’s a lot of horses that fall through the crack. A horse can be an expensive animal to have, so this gives these horses a purpose and a use. It works very well with these veterans to go out and get some peaceful time. [They] go out and have some peace, change their mindset and get them away from the things that they’re carrying around with them inside. They’ve done things for our country that they have to carry. If I can benefit them in some way then I’m happy to do that,” he added.

For now, Allen is in Los Angeles fighting for a spot in the finals, which his coach thinks he has. After his performance of “All About Tonight,” a Blake Shelton hit, Gwen gushed, “I think it’s funny that I’m gonna win The Voice with you doing Blake..America is gonna be all over that.”

“That was music to my ears. It was exactly what I wanted to hear in that position,” he laughed.

“Wouldn’t it just be the icing on the cake for her to win the show with the artist that Blake passes on and in his own genre as well. I think it all fits together really, really well. I don’t know if we get there but maybe we do. I’m really hoping it’s something I can have a laugh about with them in the future.”

Fans can vote for Ben Allen to advance to the next round by visiting the official The Voice voting website, casting a vote via The Voice‘s official app or voting from their Google Assistant. There is a limit of 10 votes per artist per method.

December 8, 2020 admin

How to help people impacted by Hurricane Laura

Two weeks after Hurricane Laura ripped through parts of Texas and Louisiana, a massive cleanup is underway. Here’s how you can help.

By Heather Newgen

Hurricane Laura made landfall in the Gulf Coast on August 27th as a Category 4 storm, bringing with it 150 mph winds and significant storm surge. 27 people have died as a result and according to Forbes, residents in the hardest hit areas are still without running water and power. The outlet reports, “as of Thursday afternoon, more than 280,000 people in southwest Louisiana didn’t have clean drinking water in their homes, with 14,475 lacking running water altogether.”

In addition, Hurricane Laura destroyed much of the farmland in the south western part of Louisiana and now farmers are dealing with another major issue– swarms of mosquitoes are killing off thousands of cattle and horses, causing farmers to take a huge financial loss. The thick clouds of mosquitoes are attacking the livestock by draining their blood with numerous bites. The animals pace frantically in the heat trying to fight them off until they’re exhausted and pass out, USA Today reports.

Estimates vary, but most experts suggest the damage due to Hurricane Laura is in the billions.

As Covid-19 rages on, rebuilding communities will be a complicated and challenging feat. Organizations are working to give aid to the victims, but additional assistance is needed.

Here are ways to help the Hurricane Laura victims in Louisiana and Texas.

DONATE

The Louisiana Farm Bureau Foundation helps farmers affected by Hurricane Laura and is accepting donations, which will help keep agriculture alive in Louisiana.

Global Giving has set up a fund to provide food, water and shelter.

United Way of Southwest Louisiana is distributing funds to victims.

The Salvation Army disaster teams in Louisiana and Texas are “providing food, drinks, emotional & spiritual care and other emergency services in the wake of Hurricane Laura.”

Second Harvest Food Bank is providing meals to families in need.

VOLUNTEER

World Central Kitchen needs volunteers to prepare and deliver fresh meals to first responders and people affected by Hurricane Laura.

Red Cross is seeking volunteers to give blood and licensed health care professionals to work in emergency shelters.

The Houston Food Bank is accepting donations and volunteers.

Operation Blessing is on the ground in Lake Charles, an area devastated by Hurricane Laura. Volunteers are needed to help in debris cleanup and assist homeowners salvage their belongings.

September 14, 2020 admin

How to help Iowa residents after the deadly derecho storm

How to help the victims of the devastating and deadly derecho storm that ripped across Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa, which was hit the hardest.

By Heather Newgen

On August 10th, an unexpected derecho–a widespread, long-lived wind storm, swept through several states. This extremely rare weather event produced 100+ mph winds for nearly an hour flattening crops in Iowa, destroying countless homes and causing millions in damage. In addition, three confirmed deaths have been reported in relation to the storm in Iowa and one person was killed in Indiana.

“The devastation is widespread. It’s intense. Block after block of houses, every one with some amount of damage. Trees piled 6 to 10 feet high along the road. It’s like walking through a tunnel of green with some fluorescent orange of placard houses that are unsafe to enter,” Tyler Olson, a city council member from Cedar Rapids, told NPR’s Weekend Edition.

Many residents in Iowa lost everything. They have no home and are living in tents with minimal supplies. Help is needed and there are several ways to give back.

Table to Table needs volunteers to help deliver food to people Cedar Rapids, a town seriously affected by the storm. The organization, which seeks to keep food from going to waste, is also accepting donations.

United Way of East Central Iowa can use volunteers to help clean up debris, delivering and cooking food to people in need.

The Disaster Behavioral Health Response Team is looking for volunteers with a background in human services, psychology, mental health, substance abuse, social work, education or spirituality to help provide mental health services following a disaster.

The Iowa Derecho Storm Resource page on Facebook is a great resource that connects people with services. You can also find volunteering opportunities and hear directly from locals what they need.

Donate to the Eastern Iowa Diaper Bank or purchase something from its Amazon wish list to get diapers and wipes to families.

August 24, 2020 admin

Love for the Elderly puts smiles on seniors’ faces with handwritten letters

How Love for the Elderly uplifts seniors with handwritten letters and inspiring video messages from you!

By Kristen Kabal

We’ve all gotten a taste of what it’s like to be socially distanced from everyone and it’s not fun. For the senior community in nursing homes and hospice care this time is exceptionally lonely and isolating since they’re not permitted visitors.

So 19-year Jacob Cramer is doing something about it.

When Cramer was 10-years-old his grandfather, whom he was extremely close to, died.

“I cried for weeks knowing my grandpa, a role model in my life, would no longer be there to give me his famous criticism about “not shaking hands like a dead fish,” to go on weekly strolls through our neighborhood park, or to celebrate with on holidays. Nor could he attend my wedding, meet my future children, or hug me ever again,” he wrote on his site.

But Cramer quickly turned that grief into a way to give back. He jumped into action by volunteering at his local nursing home so he could help impact their lives the way they impacted so many. While volunteering, he saw firsthand how many seniors didn’t get visitors. Knowing that others across the nation experienced the same isolation, Cramer started writing letters to the senior community when he was 13. Soon, others began to join his mission and Love for the Elderly was created. The organization aims to inspires others to interact with elders and bridge the age barrier.

“In 2014, only around 1 in ten donors self-reported contributing to organizations that help the elderly. Compare this to half supporting places of worship and a quarter supporting animal protection organizations,” Cramer stated on his site.

Anyone is encouraged to handwrite a letter or send a 30 second inspiring video message.

Since Cramer started Love for the Elderly 100,000 cards have been sent out the senior community. The need for them to feel loved and wanted has always been there, but even more so this year due to the pandemic because many are separated from families and their community.

So how does Love for the Elderly work?

Cramer and his team of volunteer Kindness Ambassadors find senior communities to work with. They sort through all the letters received, read every one, bundle them in the quantity a center requests and send it to one person which helps make it so much easier on these senior communities to distribute.

It’s that simple. So send your letter to the address below.

Love For The Elderly
P. O. Box 24248
Cleveland, OH 44124
USA

Send your video message to @love4theelderly on Instagram or Love for the Elderly’s Facebook page.

Volunteers are also needed to help read and sort letters. For more information click here.

July 20, 2020 admin

Bridget Pettis steps away from WNBA to focus on her community

Bridget Pettis is leaving the WNBA to focus on her nonprofit Project Roots AZ amid health concerns for the players over coronavirus.

By: Heather Newgen

Fans have seen the last of Bridget Pettis on the court. The former WNBA star recently left her position as assistant coach of the Chicago Sky due to health concerns over Covid-19, as well as the civil unrest around the country.

Pettis will instead put her focus on her community in Phoenix, Arizona, where she founded the nonprofit Project Roots AZ. The organization’s mission is to have healthy affordable food available to everyone by teaching people to grow their own food through various educational programs. Besides growing gardens to help others, Project Roots AZ supports people experiencing homelessness by feeding them from their community gardens and mobile kitchen service, while supplying clothing and shelter.

“I asked a lot of questions that not too many people were happy about. I discovered that some medical staff of teams not only believe it’s not safe, but also the women don’t have enough resources as they believe we should unlike the NBA going into this bubble,” Pettis said in a statement. “If the WNBA cannot upgrade the situation even more with safety I feel the WNBA should wait and play the following season. Why put ourselves and players in Florida as cases increase?”

Pettis believes giving back to others is the pivot needed right now. “I feel the WNBA should use it’s platform this year in the communities of the teams and the communities where players live, said Pettis. “I encourage others to find a project they are passionate about and jump in 100%. We can play next year.”

She added, “I definitely understand the WNBA is a business, but we need healthy players for this type of business to function properly, said Pettis. “We seek to provide and promote a healthier, natural and more sustainable way of living in urban areas where there is a need. This is the right decision for me and others as we move forward during the pandemic.”

Bridget Pettis is working full-time on the nonprofit and is always in need of volunteers to help plant, weed and harvest at their two gardens located at Spaces of Opportunity (1200 W Vineyard Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85041) and Agave Farms (4300 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85012.).

Along with volunteering in their gardens, the nonprofit also offers seasonal produce bags, sells garden boxes for home use, makes soup for the homeless and sells at the Spaces of Opportunities farmers markets.

For more information visit www.projectrootsaz.org.

July 13, 2020 admin

Just voluntourist