Arthritis Foundation Healing Hands for Arthritis is on September 18

In the mood for a massage? Why not make an appointment at your local Massage Envy for “Healing Hands For Arthritis”, September 18, and help yourself while helping an important nonprofit organization get some badly needed funding.

Think the Arthritis Foundation is only helping OLD people? This disease afflicts at least three hundred thousand children, and millions of adults in some form or another.

The Arthritis Association’s objectives are:
·      To do life-changing research
·      Fight for health-care policies that could improve the lives of millions
·      Partner with families to provide programs and information
·      Ultimate goal: Find a cure

10% of each massage is donated to the Arthritis Foundation. There are 700 locations nationwide. To find a location, go here:www.massageenvy.com/locations.aspx‎

 

 

 

Help Alzheimer’s Research through purchase of mini art quilts

Ami Simms, of Flint, Michigan, has been a long-time quilter. Her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.

In 2006 Ami started a nonprofit organization called Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative where quilters would make quilts and donate them to Ami’s group. They in turn sold these quilts through auctions and donated the money to fund Alzheimer’s research.

These are special quilts – they are MINI Quilts – and are very artistic and creative. Take a look here: http://www.alzquilts.org/quiltauction.html

According to Ami, they are almost at ONE MILLION dollars in sales of the quilts – which has been donated to Alzheimer’s Research.

What started out as a simple desire to help in some small way with donations, AAQI has blown into a huge full-time endeavor for Ami and her board of directors and volunteers.

This year will be the last year for AAQI, as Ami has made the decision to retire after almost eight years of service to do some quilting of her own.

AAQI needs your help! They have over 2500 quilts that need to be sold by the end of this year. They sponsor a monthly auction, so stop by and take a look at these magnificent pieces of work.

Help out, and own a small but beautiful piece of art!

Ann Bailey

 

http://www.alzquilts.org/

World Vision’s Beyond Five Program saves young children

 

In one recent year, almost seven million babies and toddlers died needlessly throughout the world from preventable causes.

World Vision, a nonprofit organization, located outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, started the Beyond Five program to address children’s health issues in children under the age of five.

“World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.

They offer these statistics on children’s health throughout this world:

·       Each year, 6.9 million children die before their fifth birthdays, many in their first month of life and most from preventable and treatable causes. (UNICEF 2012)

·        The top killers are pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, and neonatal causes such as birth complications and infections. Malnutrition also underlies at least a third of these deaths. (WHO) http://www.who.int/en/

·        Children in the developing world are 10 times more likely to die of preventable diseases than those in developed countries.

·        Of all childhood deaths, 99% occur in low income and middle-income countries, with half in sub-Saharan Africa and 33% in southern Asia. (CDC) www.cdc.gov

·        About 350,000 mothers die in or shortly after childbirth each year, leaving their children up to 10 times more likely to die before age five. (WHO)

·        Millions more children can be saved with low-cost, effective interventions like bed nets to prevent malaria; basic childhood immunizations; getting proper nutrients; clean drinking water and hand washing with soap to avoid diarrhea, and oral rehydration therapy to treat it.

Contact World Vision at www.worldvision.org to see how you can help.

BeadForLife eradicating poverty among women

Co-founders Torkin Wakefield, Ginny Jordan, and Devin Hibbard, of Colorado, US,  walked the streets of a Ugandan slum, where they came upon a woman making beautiful paper beads. This woman and her children all worked during the day at a backbreaking hard-labor job just to make enough money to buy one meal a day for the family.

The American women were astounded at the poverty there and at the same time the beauty of the beads this woman was making. They purchased several from the woman and wore them throughout their visit, piquing the interest of others.

Upon their return to the States, the three women were determined to make a difference for the women living in poverty, and BeadsForLife was born. This was 2004. Their mission is:

BeadforLife creates sustainable opportunities for women to lift their families out of extreme poverty by connecting people worldwide in a circle of exchange that enriches everyone.

Pittsburgh-based Chatham University is playing a key role in BeadForLife:

We are excited to feature Chatham University and its Social Work Is for Real (SWIRL) club as our featured partner. Chatham's commitment to women's leadership, sustainability and global understanding makes it a perfect fit with BeadforLife. For the past 5 years Chatham's SWIRL club has raised nearly $10,000 for BeadforLife, and hosted 

The Opportunity Tour on their campus in Pittsburgh, PA. Webale Nyo, Nyo (Thank You So Much) Chatham University and SWIRL for your unending passionate support of BeadforLife."

You can get involved with BeadForLife in one or more of these ways:

•   Host a bead party at home, work, church, school, social gathering or a community event.

The funds you raise by selling our recycled paper bead jewelry and shea butter body care products will be invested in programs that empower impoverished."

 

We are a Fair Trade Federation member and aprovisional member of the World Fair Trade Organization. We offer wholesale opportunities to stores worldwide; join the movement and learn how your ethical purchases make a positive impact in the world marketplace.

 

 

 

·      Volunteer

·      Donate

Please visit BeadForLife  here to contribute in whichever way you’d like.

 

 

 

 

Nonprofits are the glue that holds our world together

 

Welcome to Nonprofiteers! It's my goal to present on this site profiles of the wonderful work that is being done in this world through the nonprofit sector.

If you would like your nonprofit mentioned on Nonprofiteers, please let me know!

 

”We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone.”

Ronald Reagan

Nonprofit organizations keep our world in some array of order by reminding us of our humanity. They pique our need and desire to look outside ourselves to help others. They redeem us.

The National Center For Charitable Statistics reports there at least 1.5 million nonprofits in the United States alone. That’s a whole lot of doin’ good.

There are nonprofits that address myriads of topics: health, children, elderly, animals, the arts, music, families, research, mental health, entrepreneurship, etc. to name just a few.

There are mega-nonprofits that have stood the test of time, such as the American Red Cross, the Humane Society, the Smithsonian Institute, the Public Broadcasting System, In Touch Ministries, Teach For America, Make-A-Wish, AARP (American Association for Retired Persons and Habit For Humanity. The list can goes on.

There are brand new “grass roots” nonprofits starting up literally every day.  These are small groups of people bound together by a similar issue or problem. They see that the needs of its recipients aren’t being met by their surrounding communities, and strive to fill those needs. They will start small in their fundraising by holding community events – bake sales, concerts, walk-a-thons, etc. These grass roots nonprofits have no real money, and work very hard to provide the help their recipients need…a rather slow and arduous process, as groups learn the legal qualifications required to start a nonprofit that is able to accept donations.

I will be writing about the process of becoming a nonprofit in future articles. Don’t worry – I’ll make it an exciting read by highlighting nonprofits to illustrate the steps to become real.

It’s my desire through this site to expose the world to the very wonderful “good” that is being done in this world – and at a time where some of us wonder just what is going on in this tumultuous time. My desire is to give you the thing we all need, the ultimate mission of every nonprofit in this big world  – hope.

 

                                     Dancing Classrooms Pittsburgh

Mercy Health System, sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, was instrumental in bringing an amazing worldwide program to the students of Pittsburgh, and one that promises to have a life-long impact.

Mark Rogalsky, MSW, is the manager of Mercy Community Health’s drug and alcohol Prevention Services (and a Mercy Health System program). The program has been in Pittsburgh Public Schools for over twenty years. Around 2009, Rogalsky learned about Dancing Classrooms when his mother encouraged him to take his children to watch the movie “Mad Hot Ballroom”, the story of Dancing Classrooms. As he watched, he was impressed with a program that teaches youngsters ballroom dancing.

“Dancing Classrooms launched in 1994 as a not-for-profit project of the American Ballroom Theater Company. It is an arts-in-education program that teaches ballroom dance to students of participating schools. Dancing Classrooms is an in-school residency for every child, regardless of his or her background or experience.

Rogalsky’s program focuses on addiction prevention in the schools, but he felt that this program would also encourage “prevention” of so many other things that children suffer from such as poor social skills, lack of self confidence, and habits that do not promote good physical health and well-being – in a new way.

“The mission of Dancing Classrooms is to build social awareness, confidence and self-esteem in children through the practice of social dance.

Meeting with school, city and county officials, Rogalsky and Mercy Health Systems pitched Dancing Classrooms and was successful in bringing the program to Pittsburgh.

Today Dancing Classrooms is in fifth grade classes in sixteen schools and eighth grade classes in four schools. Rogalski stated “the program provides curriculum integration because it teaches various other academic subjects such as writing, artwork, math, and health and wellness.” The program is taught by world-class dance instructors Terry and Rozana Sweeney, and Gena Melago. It was founded by Pierre Dulaine.

Preliminary research of Dancing Schools’ effect on the children has been found to have a significant impact.

Rogalsky relates one mother’s  powerful comment regarding her son’s participation in Dancing Schools: “My son showed me how a woman should be treated.”

For more information contact Mr. Rogalsky at 412-320-2321.
www.dancingclassroomspgh.org

http://www.mercybehavioral.org/

Photo © 2013 Archie Carpenter and Pittsburgh Mercy Health System.


 

Knitting for charity during National Hobby Month

In celebration of National Hobby Month (January) it is worth noting the increasing number of people – men, women and children - who are using the fiber arts for charity. They are knitting, crocheting, quilting, and more for others in need.

The Craft Yarn Councilhttp://www.craftyarncouncil.com/know.html states there are 38 million knitters and crocheters in the US ranging in ages from 18 and up. A resurgence of the needle arts has exploded, and CYC tells us

“For 49% of respondents (to a recent survey), part of their time is spent making charitable items. On average, they participated in knit/crochet charities on 5.5 occasions in 2011. As you might expect, older adults have more time to spend on charitable work but it is important to 35% of younger knitters/crocheters 18–34 years old as well.

Erin Bailey Kopp, owner of Fiberolio, http://www.etsy.com/shop/FiberOlio a company that makes handspun yarn of any type imaginable (ever hear of yarn made from milk?), has seen a tremendous increase in sales from people who are knitting and crocheting for others.

“We encourage our customers to give back by using their talent to comfort those in need.”

The seeming increase in natural disasters has inspired needle crafters to do what they do best to help – make scarves, gloves, hats and blankets.

Kyla Quinn, of Knitting For Charity  added

“Charity knitting focus can take many forms. It can focus internationally, for people on the other side of the world. It can focus nationally, on people all around your own country. Or, it can focus on a more localized level.

“I have long had a love for charity and making a difference, so knitting for charity was a natural fit for me. The more I learned of charities designed to warm, comfort, and even save the lives of those in need, the more I wanted to do everything I could to help. And so here I am -- knitting for charity and always looking for more ways to make the world a better place through yarn and needles!

At knittingforcharity.org, you'll find the answers to just about ALL of your questions about knitting for charity - the variety of projects, how great the need is, what kinds of yarn to use, and more!

“If I do say so myself, I think we're a pretty generous bunch, and the creative ways in which we seek to help those who are suffering are truly inspiring.

Sign-up for her newsletter, Knitting Nuggets for an ongoing list of charities that knit or crochet for others.

Pittsburgh is well known for being a generous city in many ways. Natural Stitches, a yarn shop located in the East End of Pittsburgh, has a group that meets each Sunday called “Sunday Knitting For The Soul”. Manager Yvonne Spencer stated

“We meet to knit scarves and hats and donate them to  Bethlehem Haven". Bethlehem Haven is a nonprofit organization that provides a continuum of care for homeless women that leads toward self-sufficiency. Spencer added, “We welcome all knitters to come out on Sundays and join us.”

Sewickley’s Yarns Unlimited has a different and amazing approach. They have committed to sending UPMC Magee Women’s Hospital www.magee.upmc.com preemie caps and chemo caps. They are looking for volunteer knitters and crocheters to make the caps. Yarns Unlimited stands squarely behind their commitment because they will even provide the yarn and supplies needed to needlecrafters.

Begin your charity knitting journey by contacting either of these Pittsburgh shops:

Natural Stitches

The Village of East Side

6401 Penn Avenue

Pittsburgh PA 15206

412 – 441- 4410  Contact Manager Yvonne Spencer

Yarns Unlimited

435 Beaver Street

Sewickley PA 15143

412-741-8894  Contact Cathy