Day 4 - NPR

Considering how much they've given to me my donation seems an unfair trade.

I doubt I have to really introduce NPR to anyone. I do my best to diversify my news sources, but NPR will always be my favorite. I know a truly unbiased news source is a silly pipe dream, but at least NPR is still in the business of dreaming. One of the few holdouts in a media landscape that has become more advertising than information I'm glad that there is one news source that my dollars can directly support.

In the Seattle area I choose KPLU 88.5, and I use the NPR News App for iOs. Beyond "morning edition" and "all things considered" I am also addicted to "planet money" and "radio lab", and obviously am counting the days for "serial" season 2 like the rest of you.

The Rundown
I gave $10 to kplu
their website
click here to donate
Give enabled! 

Day 3 - Apopo

Now for a truly stranger than fiction charity- the African Hero Rat.

This is a giant African pouched rat. They are crazy smart, have keen senses of smell, live to be quite old (by rat standards) and weigh only  a couple pounds. This all adds up to make them the perfect landmine detectors!

Every year landmines kill 15,000 to 20,000 people, most of them children, women and the elderly. Scattered about 78 countries and still in frequent use, they remain dangerous for many many years after first planted. It is estimated that 110 million landmines have been spread through the world since world war II. Long after conflicts these mines remain behind, and can cost between $300 and $1000 per mine to remove- until the hero rats arrived!

Easily trainable (thanks to their love of bananas) they can sniff out landmines without ever setting one off. They can clear 200 hundred square meters in just 20 minutes, an area that would take humans with metal detectors 5 days to cover! And because they are so light no rat has ever been killed while working in the field.

Resting after an important day of clearing landmines :)

Apopo is an organization that has done an absolutely incredible job of training these little guys and treating them like the heros they are. The hero rats always share kennels with their siblings, they have several outside pens where they can play and be outside and their pens are created to simulate a natural environment with lots of dirt to create tunnels. They work for 6 years and then get to retire and eat all the bananas they want for the remaining few years of their lives.

AND as if that isn't enough- it has been discovered that the rats can actually smell and diagnose tuberculosis! They can evaluate in ten minutes more samples than a lab technician can do in an entire day.

I chose to give a one time donation, but you can choose to "adopt" a rat which comes with the honor of giving your rat a name! Adoption only costs $7 a month. 

The Rundown

I donated $10

their website

click here to donate

Give enabled!

Day 2 - Refugees Welcome

At this point I'm sure everyone is aware of the massive migrant crisis flooding the shores of Europe right now. The stories are overwhelmingly heart breaking, and I'm sure we don't need another sad story.

(it's ok! someone started him an indigogo and now he and his two daughters are safe, and helping their fellow Syrians)

However among all the chaos, fear and racism, the there are some incredible stories of people stepping up to offer everything they have to help strangers find a better life. Ordinary citizens across Europe are bring supplies, words of welcome, and most amazingly opening their homes to refugees, and fluechtlinge-willkommen is one of my favorite organizations doing just that.

A couple of dedicated individuals started simply by welcoming refugees into their own homes, but saw the need to do more. Now they are working to help place refugees in homes with charitable citizens. What started as just a personal gift has grown into a fully fledged program that has already placed 181 refugees in only the past few months. Your donations go not only to directly help refugees, but to support these generous citizens in their support of their new house mates. Who says 1 person can't make a difference?

Now here are some images of the German people welcoming refugees to brighten up you Friday :)

Refugee children arrive in Germany welcomed by new toys donated by German citizens

German citizens bring supplies to welcome their new countrymen

A refugee family makes it safely to Germany!

A German policeman welcomes a little boy to his new home

The Rundown

I gave $20

donate here

their website

Not on Charity Navigator yet

Eligible for Microsoft match yet

 

Day 1 - Women for Women International

For my first charity I am going with one I have supported in years past, Women for Women International.

Started by an incredible woman, Zainab Salbi after she read about the atrocities committed against women during the Yugoslav Wars in the "rape camps" (which are exactly as horrific as they sound). Frustrated by the slow international response she launched a "sister-to-sister" sponsorship program between women in the US and the survivors in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Zainab herself fled her native Iraq to escape the abusive power of her father's boss, Saddam Hussein.

Women for Women International now works all over the globe and has landed on one of the most effective forms of aid: supporting women. Working in countries where the status of women is especially awful they provide the women in their program a range of support focused on helping them earn and save money, influence decisions in their local communities and improve the health and education of their entire family. Time and again data has shown how transformative it is for an entire community to empower mothers, and I think Women for Women International has one of the best holistic programs available.

In addition their sponsorship programs is one of the most rewarding ways to give back. For $30 a month you are given a "sister" that your donations are directly supporting. My first sister was a lovely woman named Susan Monday from South Sudan. She had two children and wanted to do anything she could to make sure they got an education. As you can see she is going to graduate this month from her 12 month training program.

AND if you donate before October 15th your money will be matched by a private donor. That means that my donation is going to be tripled between my money, Microsoft and this donor.

The Rundown
I gave $10
Click here to donate
Their website
Charity Navigator Score: 81.62

31 Days of Giving

I spend a lot of time reading about amazing NGOs and the work they do. So much time in fact that sometimes I don't give myself a change to actually step up and put my money where my mouth is. In October I am going to finally take that time to highlight and support some of my favorite causes.

In honor of Microsoft's annual Give Campaign I am going to donate to 31 charities in the month of October, and give a quick write up on why I chose to support them. I know so many people are generous, but it takes an event, a person, a face or something personal to get them to take action. A little can go a long way, especially if you work for a company like Microsoft that matches all donations dollar for dollar. I hope that in my list you find something that inspires you to give, and always remember to get your donations (and volunteer hours) matched if you can :)