• Children
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• Humanitarian Aid/International Humanity
• Volunteerism

Many young people are inspired to make change in their communities and schools but lack the resources to make it happen. Youth Venture is committed to giving 12- to 20-year-olds access to seed money, materials, workshops, and technical support to lead their own social enterprises. New Venture teams have organized and launched everything from teen-based television news programs to middle-school hockey leagues to their own non-profits encouraging youth community involvement.

To find out more information or submit a Youth Venture application, visit Youth Venture.


DID YOU KNOW how the Ronald McDonald House helps Japanese families with sick children?

Families with seriously ill children at Tokyo's National Okura Hospital now have a new place to call "home." A four-story Ronald McDonald House recently opened its doors and welcomed families who want to stay near their sick children rather than travel back and forth to their homes, often hundreds of miles away. With 18 bedrooms, a family room, children's playroom, and modern kitchen facility, the Donald McDonald House (as it is called in Japan) is an example of the country's growing non-profit movement. Ronald McDonald Houses are in 19 countries and provide more than 5,000 bedrooms for families worldwide.

For more information, visit the Ronald McDonald House Charities.


DID YOU KNOW about the CASA system and how it helps abused children?

Faced with making decisions about abused and neglected children's lives without sufficient information, one Seattle judge conceived of the idea of using trained community volunteers to speak in court for the best interests of such children. Today, more than 900 Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) programs are in operation, and 52,000 women and men from all backgrounds and lifestyles are serving as CASA volunteers. No legal expertise is required, simply a commitment to helping one child. CASA volunteers are vital, as they may be the only constant the child knows as s/he moves through the labyrinth of the child welfare system.

For more information, visit CASA.


DID YOU KNOW what the group Paramedics For Children is doing in Honduras?

Paramedics For Children, an all-volunteer international charity dedicated to improving the lives of children around the world, has established the first rescue squad in Copan Ruinas, Honduras. More than 180 people in the village volunteered to take a training course so that the effort could be run locally. Recently, 86 people in the group graduated and now take an average of 10 calls per week caring for sick and malnourished children. Volunteers report that Paramedics for Children is creating community cohesiveness not seen since the devastating Hurricane Mitch.

For more details, visit Paramedics For Children.


DID YOU KNOW one nonprofit has set up the first mobile child abuse prevention center in the US?

Childhelp USA Tennessee recently launched the new Mobile Children's Advocacy Center, which will bring investigative interviews, medical examinations, therapy, and an increased community awareness of child abuse and educational services to rural Tennessee. By providing one-stop multi-disciplinary services, the mobile center will reduce the time, trauma, and number of investigative interviews the children and families will undergo. Founded in 1959, Childhelp USA is one of the oldest and largest national nonprofits dedicated to preventing and treating child abuse.

For more details, visit:
Childhelp USA.


DID YOU KNOW that seven playgrounds could be built in seven days?

KaBOOM!, a playground-building charity, teamed up with Computer Associates International, Inc., and local community groups in the United Kingdom and the United States to build "7 Playgrounds in 7 Days" in communities that lacked safe, accessible, well-designed places for children to play. This project will benefit more than 4,000 children.

For more information, visit KaBOOM!'s Web site.


DID YOU KNOW your child's reading habits could help others?

With the help of kids nationwide, ClassroomsCare, a Scholastic Book Clubs literacy campaign, is donating one million books to needy children. For each class that registers and reads 100 books by December 14, 2001, Scholastic Book Clubs will donate 100 books to either Save the Children, First Book, the Hello Friend/Ennis William Cosby Foundation, or Reading Is Fundamental.

For more information, visit Scholastic's Web site.

Blackwell Youth Use Art to Effect Positive Change in Community

Approximately 25 middle-school children spent the summer at the forefront of an effort to revitalize the historic Blackwell neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia, by creating an "art wall," heralding the opening of a new park. The community is undergoing a dramatic transformation through the HOPE VI Revitalization Program. Working under the guidance of professional artists, the children participated in the nationally recognized six-week HOPE VI Blackwell Children's Summer Arts Program 2001. The materials for this wall were funded by an event hosted by Richmond firefighters.

Administered by the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, the City of Richmond's Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the Blackwell Community Civic Association, the HOPE VI Blackwell Children's Summer Arts Program 2001 endeavored to teach young people that they can use their energy and creativity to change Blackwell for the better and that adults and community officials are interested in what they have to say.

For more information, visit the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority.


Teen Pilot Completes Record-Setting Flight;
** 50 States / 14,250 Miles / 50 Days / 253 Kids Flown **

A 19-year-old pilot landed back at his home airport in Long Beach, California, on Thursday morning, August 9, 2001, after accomplishing a feat of flying kids by himself in all 50 of the United States. Kevin Gustafson flew solo in a small airplane more than 14,000 miles this summer to show other children what the freedom of flying is all about. He calls his mission, "Kid Flights Across the USA."

In each state, Kevin flew some local children on free introductory flights as part of a youth aviation program called "Young Eagles". The goal of the "Young Eagles" program is to fly one million children (ages 8-17) before the year 2003, which is the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight. It was one of these introductory flights that started Kevin's interest in aviation when he was 10 years old. He is now working toward a career as a pilot.

The teen-age college student was able to convince several corporations to help sponsor the flights. He was on the road by himself for 50 days with the small airplane being his transportation and magic carpet for the more than 253 kids flown. For many of the children, it was their first flight in an airplane.

"It has been amazing to see the excitement and enthusiasm of the kids when they are in the air," Kevin said. "I hope I have inspired and helped others just as people have done for me."

To learn more about Kevin's journey, visit Kid Flights.

In September 2000, Timberland Company, known for its footwear and apparel, launched City Year New Hampshire in its offices, the first time a youth service corps has been housed inside a corporate headquarters. City Year is a national youth service organization that engages young people ages 17-24 in a full year of community service and leadership development across the country. Timberland employees lead the youth in resume-building workshops and career seminars. Additionally, employees are allowed 40 hours of company time per year to contribute to the community during regular work hours.

For more details, visit: City Year
Timberland


Starbucks Supports Crime Victims

Starbucks Coffee Company was recently recognized for its work in providing exemplary service and assistance on behalf of crime victims. The Starbucks Memorial Fund was established in 1997 through the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region and serves as a living memorial to three employees who tragically lost their lives at a Starbucks in Washington DC's Georgetown neighborhood. All net profits from the Georgetown store are donated to the Memorial Fund and are distributed in the form of grants, which support programs dedicated to violence prevention and victim assistance in metropolitan Washington. This year, eight grants worth a total of $80,000 have reached recipients such as Community Dispute Resolution Center/Center for Dispute Settlement and Women Empowered Against Violence.

For more information, visit:
Starbucks
Community Foundation for the National Capital Region

Levi's(R) Partners With Destiny's Child and MTV's 'Fight For Your Rights' Anti-Discrimination Campaign to Encourage Purchasing With a Purpose

On August 15, 2001, Levi's(R) launched its national anti-discrimination campaign with the help of platinum pop stars Destiny's Child who appeared at the Original Levi's(R) Store in New York City to let youth know how they can fight discrimination while doing their back-to-school shopping.

As an extension of Levi's(R) sponsorship of the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), the three-week fundraising promotion will benefit MTV's "Fight For Your Rights" charities working to take a stand against discrimination. From August 15 through September 6 at Federated department stores and Original Levi's(R) Stores nationwide, Levi's(R) will donate 100 percent of the proceeds from its hottest-selling Levi's(R) Superlow Jeans for girls and 569 Loose Straight Jeans for guys to "Fight For Your Rights" charities, up to $50,000.

For more information about the program, visit Fight for Your Rights at MTV. To learn more about Levi Strauss & Company's charitable work and efforts in social responsibility, visit Levi's.


Bank of America Honored by America's Promise;
Four-Year Commitment Helps America's Youth

Bank of America has been honored for fulfilling a four-year commitment to America's Promise-The Alliance for Youth, a program that aims to build the character and competence of young people throughout the nation.

In July 2001, Colin Powell, founding chairman of America's Promise, delivered a 650-page "Report to the Nation 2001" to President George W. Bush. The report documented the progress made by Bank of America and more than a thousand other corporations, states and communities to fulfill their commitments to help the country's youth.

Bank of America had committed to complete 1.25 million hours of volunteer service through 2001, to donate $1 million in educational scholarships to graduates of the Youth Job Fund program through 2001, and to open 25 Make a Difference Centers, which were designed to provide after-school programs and other activities for 250,000 youth and adults through 2000. In addition, the company contributed $6.2 million to the Take Stock in Children Program, which provides mentors and support to 4,500 children.

To learn more about America's Promise, a national organization committed to helping America's youth by fulfilling five promises, visit America's Promise. For details about Bank of America's efforts to help the community, visit Bank of America.


Cathay Pacific Kicks Off Change for Good Campaign

Cathay Pacific Airways and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) officially launched their annual Change for Good inflight fund-raising program on August 10, 2001, at a ceremony held in Cathay Pacific City, a new office complex at the Hong Kong International Airport. This year, the fund-raising period will be extended from six months to a year.

Change for Good involves asking passengers to donate the spare change they bring back from trips overseas for charity. The money raised is used to support UNICEF's relief programs in 161 developing countries around the world. Between August 15, 2001, and August 14, 2002, Cathay Pacific passengers can make a donation by placing their spare foreign change in a Change for Good envelope, which they can find in their seat pockets. Passengers then hand over the envelopes to Cathay Pacific's cabin crew members as they prepare to disembark the airplane.

Since Cathay Pacific first conducted the Change for Good program in 1991, the airline has raised more than HK$32 million (approximately $4.1 million US) for charity.

For more information about the airline, visit Cathay Pacific.

What do you know about Kwanzaa? Two animated television shows -- one on the Disney Channel, the other on Nickelodeon -- are helping make this winter celebration of community and creativity part of the consciousness of children of all races and ethnicities.

:: Learn more about the creative ways that children are being taught about Kwanzaa.


DID YOU KNOW Ms. Magazine has just announced its "Women of the Year" for 2001?

From the superstar Williams sisters of professional tennis fame to a woman fighting for voting equity for Florida's black voters to the women of Afghanistan, the 30-year-old groundbreaking magazine has recognized its own "favorite goodthings" from the year.

Learn more on the Ms. Magazine Web site.


DID YOU KNOW a collection of 51,661 video testimonies will map the human face of the Holocaust?

Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, founded in 1994 by director Steven Spielberg, has collected 51,661 video testimonies from survivors, rescuers, liberators, and other eyewitnesses. By far the largest collection of videotaped Holocaust testimonies anywhere in the world, the testimonies are in 32 languages. The Foundation believes it is the largest publicly available video database in the world, usable by scholars, teachers, students, and, eventually, the general public.

For more information, visit Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation.


DID YOU KNOW GoodThings just announced its twenty-five Favorite GoodThings 2001 honorees?

This year's honorees represent the best of the human spirit. Among the ideas, actions, and organizations we've recognized: a small Boston-based organization working to teach tolerance and prevent youth and school violence, humanitarians striving to improve the rights of women in Afghanistan, a New York foundation that assists low-income families of victims of the September attacks, a public television show on the arts, and even a fun way to stay connected to your friends and family. Be sure to help make the Favorite GoodThings 2001 campaign matter by supporting this year's honorees.

To learn more, please visit GoodThings.


DID YOU KNOW the phrase "Mideast Optimist" is far more than an oxymoron?

To Noam Rosen, the founder of MideastOptimist.com, it's worth focusing on the strides being made toward lasting peace in the region instead of the flood of news to the contrary. He's also launched an extraordinary stand-up comedy show in Toronto that uses humor to bridge seemingly impassable divides.

For more information, visit Mideast Optimist and read an article on the cross-cultural comedy show in the New York Times.


DID YOU KNOW Hong Kong kids are benefiting from a floating classroom?

Adventure-Ship, the first Hong Kong sailing program targeted toward youth with disabilities, provides educational and recreational training at sea while teaching kids to work cooperatively and push themselves in a supportive environment. The program connects young volunteers to kids who have special needs and lets them experience an Adventure-Ship journey together. Each year, 6,000 kids -- a third of them with physical and mental disabilities -- get the opportunity to take to the high seas.

For more details, visit the Adventure-Ship.


Easter Seals Promotes Inclusion and Accomplishments of People with Disabilities

Easter Seals recently launched AccessAbility @ Your Library, a reading initiative designed to celebrate the personal accomplishments of people with disabilities. Central to the program is a list of books recommended for children and adults by the American Library Association, all featuring characters with disabilities. The selected books tell entertaining stories about how people who happen to have a disability have accomplished their personal goals, whether it be raising a family or climbing Mt. Everest.

The program strives to reinforce the values of diversity and inclusion, acknowledging individual differences. With the more than 54 million people in the U.S. with disabilities, this program can make a meaningful difference in the way that disabilities -- and the people who have them -- are perceived.

To view the recommended reading list and locate local libraries hosting displays and events, visit Easter Seals.


Secretary of Education Takes a Stand For Music Education

In an interview that aired on August 14, 2001, during "VH1 Save The Music: Report Card," a special program examining music education in the U.S., Secretary of Education Rod Paige discussed the importance of music and arts education in our classrooms.

Secretary Paige voiced his concern over the prospect of cuts to music programs by public schools, commenting, "I think music and the arts should be considered core subjects in our nation's schools. There is absolutely no conflict between the expansion of our fine arts programs, our music programs and focus on other academic programs."

The Secretary's statement comes at a time when heavy emphasis on improving math and reading scores in U.S. schools and proposed mandatory testing for students has raised the concern that some public school systems may drop music programs from their curriculum.

For more information about the campaign, visit VH1's Save the Music.


Best Buy and APQC Build an Internet for Educators;
Innovative Program Lets Teachers Share "What Works'"

Best Buy Co., Inc., a specialty retailer of consumer electronics, and the American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC), a Houston-based knowledge management research firm, have created a computer network that will allow public school educators to share effective teaching tools and techniques. The network, currently in a pilot phase of development, was announced on June 21, 2001, and is scheduled to be finalized this fall. APQC and Best Buy are collaborating with a number of national nonprofit organizations to determine where the system could provide the most impact.

To learn more about the center, visit APQC. For information about Best Buy's community relations program, visit Best Buy.


Dell Launches National Technology Training Program
for At-Risk Middle School Students

On July 31, 2001, Dell announced that it will donate up to 4,000 refurbished computer systems to school districts nationwide as part of the Dell Learn and Earn program. The program, based on the Denver Public Schools model, uses technology training and the promise of a student-built computer to keep "at risk" middle school youth in school and focused on their grades. Dell recently donated 500 computer systems to the Denver schools in support of this program.

Dell will work with its education customers and others to identify districts interested in establishing a Dell Learn and Earn program. The company expects to initiate the program in as many as 15 districts in the next two years, depending on the number of interested school districts and the quantity of systems they require. Denver Public Schools developed the program two years ago to address the increasing drop-out rate of middle school-aged African American and Hispanic students. Through Dell Learn and Earn, students receive 40 hours of classroom training on how to take apart and reassemble computers, load software, set up and run printers, upgrade hardware, diagnose and correct basic hardware problems and use the Internet. Upon completion of the program, students receive a computer and one year of free Internet access.

"Since the program's inception, 650 middle school students and more than 90 adults from 15 middle school sites have graduated," said Jennifer Frederico, community program manager, Denver Public Schools. "Grades are up, absenteeism is down, and students are graduating from middle school to high school with more confidence and higher self esteem."

The Denver program is supported by companies including Dell, Microsoft and Qwest and includes partnerships with four universities and colleges and 20 local businesses.

For information about Dell's vision for the community, visit Dell.


Oakland Education Association: Oakland Teachers Fight for Kids

Teachers in Oakland, California, donated all or part of their SAT9 API award money to sponsor an ad that appeared in the August 12, 2001, San Francisco Chronicle. More than $3,400 was collected from eight school sites.

Sheila Quintana, President of the Oakland Education Association, said, "We applaud our teachers who have donated their API money and encourage others to join us. As educators, we are compelled to oppose the use of norm-referenced standardized tests due to the visible harm they do to poor children, children of color, and students with language barriers."

The Oakland Education Association opposes the use of the SAT9 as the single measure of student performance and teacher effectiveness because of the numerous inequities and flaws inherent in any norm-referenced test.

For more information about "fair testing," visit The National Center for Fair & Open Testing.

The Chinook Book and Blue Sky Guide have only just launched, but they're long overdue. Now available in Minneapolis, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, the books make great $18 gifts for anybody with half a mind to make a difference in the world. The books are full of easy-to-use, action-oriented information about living more responsibly, with answers to all the questions you ask yourself all the time: how to recycle, how to use transit, where to get hiking information, how to find environmentally sound materials for home repair. And once you get the information you need, the books are overflowing with thousands of dollars worth of valuable coupons from area businesses that care about the impact the things they sell have on the planet.

The GoodBuzz can't recommend the Chinook Book and Blue Sky Guide highly enough.

Check out the helpful Web site to get inspiration and useful ideas, no matter where you call home.

[Buy your copy if you're from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Portland, or Seattle.]


DID YOU KNOW the environmental group Conservation International now has the means to begin realizing its important vision?

Gordon Moore, founder of computer-chip maker INTEL, and his wife Betty have recently endowed the environmental group, Conservation International, with an historic $261 million program grant, by far the largest of its kind to support environmental protection and wildlife conservation. According to board chair and CEO Peter Seligmann, it's a wonderful beginning to the group's ambitious long-range quest to stabilize the world's ecosystems over the next century. Seligmann thinks that since September, many people have come to see the earth as the interconnected place it actually is and are more committed than ever to supporting efforts that will guarantee its health.

:: Learn more about the grant and the work of Conservation International on the organization's Web site.

:: Prefer to listen to the whole story from National Public Radio's Morning Edition on the NPR Web site? Click here.

:: Learn more about how GoodThings keeps you up to speed on the best of public radio. Click here.


DID YOU KNOW recycling is not just about cans and bottles anymore?

One North Carolina university student has taken the concept of recycling to new heights. She convinced her college that recycling her dormitory simply made good sense. Learn more about Summer Starling's amazing goodthing.


DID YOU KNOW young people are winning their own sort of "Nobel Prize" for environmental leadership?

And more importantly, did you know each of this year's award winners has a unique story about how they're becoming leaders in drawing attention to and solving ecological problems in the world around them? Following in the footsteps of the late and legendary environmentalist David Brower, the six winners -- all between the ages of 13 and 22 -- were awarded the Brower Youth Award in an October 13 ceremony in Berkeley, California. The multifaceted nonprofit sponsor of the awards, Earth Island Institute, says of the winners: "Their efforts have inspired us to believe that this generation -- often portrayed by the media as clueless and self-absorbed -- has been unfairly stereotyped."

For more details, visit:
Earth Island Institute
Environmental News Network


Real Watershed Moment

More than $1.5 million in Chesapeake Bay Program Small Watershed Grants have been awarded to 59 community-based organizations and local governments from across the Chesapeake Bay region, which includes parts of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. The Watershed Grants program supports communities in developing and implementing watershed management plans that encourage innovative, local programs improving water quality and restoring important habitats within the Chesapeake Bay basin. By promoting community-based stewardship of local lands, the program fosters greater citizen understanding of the relationship between the condition of their local watersheds and the overall health of the Bay.

For a complete listing and map of the 2001 Small Watershed Grants recipients, visit the Chesapeake Bay Program.
To learn more about the protection of the Chesapeake Bay, visit the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.


The Home Depot Joins Program to Recycle Rechargeable Batteries

The Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, and the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC), a nonprofit, public service organization dedicated to recycling rechargeable batteries, announced a new partnership on August 10, 2001, that integrates RBRC's recycling program into The Home Depot stores throughout the U.S. and Canada.

"The Home Depot Power Tool Rechargeable Battery Recycling Program" will recycle all used portable rechargeable batteries -- those batteries commonly found in cordless power tools: Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd) and Nickel Metal Hydride(Ni-MH). The program will also recycle Lithium Ion (Li-ion) and Small Sealed Lead* (Pb) batteries found in other portable electronics products (* weighing less than 2 lbs./1kg.).

Supported by rechargeable battery and product manufacturers, RBRC's battery recycling program is unique in industry product stewardship. The Home Depot/RBRC partnership brings together a major retailer, power tool manufacturers and a non-profit organization to make a difference for the environment.

For details about the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation, visit RBRC. To learn more about Home Depot's work in the community, visit Home Depot.


Chesapeake Bay Program Announces Small Watershed Grant Recipients

At a Bayside ceremony on August 7, 2001, in Maryland, EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, US Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD), Congressman Wayne T. Gilchrest (R-MD), and The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Executive Director John Berry announced more than $ 1.5 million in Chesapeake Bay Program Small Watershed Grants to 59 community-led organizations and local governments from across the Bay watershed.

The Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants Program supports communities in developing and implementing watershed management plans and encourages innovative, local programs that improve water quality and restore important habitats within the Chesapeake Bay basin. By promoting community-based stewardship of local lands, the program provides citizens a greater understanding of the relationship between the condition of their local watersheds and the health of the Bay.

For a complete listing and map of the 2001 Small Watershed Grants recipients, visit The Chesapeake Bay Program. To learn more about the foundation's work, visit The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

The Los Angeles-based Young Musicians Foundation (YMF) helps put used and long-forgotten instruments into the hands of kids who will play them. YMF's Instrument Loan Program provides hundreds of elementary school students with the tools for pursuing their musical dreams. Since 1955, YMF has been solidifying the importance of music in young lives.

Learn more:
:: Read the Los Angeles Times story
:: Visit the Young Musicians Foundation Web site


DID YOU KNOW students are receiving scholarships in return for community service?

Every year, the Bonner Foundation provides four-year community service scholarships to 1500 students who have high financial need and a commitment to service. The scholarship offers a different type of work/study program, one that trades volunteer hours for financial aid. It's designed to broaden the overall education students receive by engaging them in ongoing service work and helping them develop the tools and the knowledge necessary to make that work meaningful and lasting.

For more details, visit the Bonner Foundation.


DID YOU KNOW your old cellular phone could save a life?

Call to Protect is a domestic violence prevention project that arms those in danger with wireless phones. Donated phones are refurbished and preprogrammed to call only 911 so that victims can reach help with the push of a button. Domestic violence professionals are also given phones making it easier for them to contact victims and emergency services.

For more information, visit the Wireless Foundation's Web site.


Investing in Strong Young Women

The Women's Sports Foundation Scholarship Fund with the support of the Mervyn's department store has announced the winners of more than $300,000 in scholarships awarded to young female athletes. 286 recent high school graduates from 21 states were chosen for their participation in athletics, as well as their community and leadership activities. Women's Sports Foundation founder and former tennis star Billie Jean King recognized fourteen of the 286 winners at a recent benefit in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area.

For more information, visit the Women's Sports Foundation.
Learn more about Mervyn's community involvement.


Chief Judge Colbath Helps to Secure a $400,000 Grant for Innovative Cost-Saving Pilot Project One Court/One Family

On June 28, 2001, the Quantum Foundation announced that will give $400,000 to The 15th Judicial Circuit in West Palm Beach, Florida, for the One Court/One Family Project. The project addresses overlapping jurisdiction and conflicting orders, and will identify and protect persons at risk of domestic violence. It will also reduce court costs and repeated court appearances of the families, and give judges the comprehensive information needed for appropriate legal determinations.

According to Chief Judge Walter Colbath, "This program will allow Palm Beach County to keep children from bouncing from judge to judge. It's really to prevent children from getting lost in the system. By streamlining the process, families should move through the court system faster."

The program, which will serve from 300 to 500 children, ages 6 to 12, will begin as a two-year pilot project involving children in the custody of the Department of Children and Families.

For more information about the foundation, a perpetual grant-making organization that has granted more than $26 million in funds, visit The Quantum Foundation.


Mervyn's and the Women's Sports Foundation Awards More Than $300,000 in Scholarships to Young Women Athletes;
Annual Program Recognizes Students Across The Country

Mervyn's and the Women's Sports Foundation Scholarship Fund has announced the winners of more than $300,000 in scholarships awarded to young female athletes. Each of the recent 286 high school graduates from 21 states was chosen for her participation in athletics, as well as her community and leadership activities.

On June 16, 2001, fourteen scholarship winners from the Dallas/Fort Worth area were recognized at a Women's Sports Foundation benefit hosted by founder Billie Jean King. The remaining national winners were notified over the next few weeks.

For more information about the foundation, visit The Women's Sports Foundation. To learn more about Mervyn's, visit Mervyn's.

New medical technology -- POPS, or portable organ preservation system -- will revolutionize the science of vital organ donation and save lives in the process.

Learn more by reading the story on ABC's Web site.


DID YOU KNOW a child with cancer can benefit from your simple act of kindness?

Time for a haircut? Your shaggy trimmings could provide a child stricken with cancer with wonderful dignity. At hair salons across the country, people are donating their "Locks of Love" to make life just a little better for people who have lost their hair as a result of grave illness. And as the Seattle Times newspaper suggests in a recent article, it's just one of many simple acts that can restore faith in the fundamental goodness of humanity during these trying times.

For more information, read the Seattle Times article and learn about the non-profit Locks of Love project.


DID YOU KNOW Saturday, December 1 is World AIDS Day?

Over 8,000 people throughout the world die of AIDS everyday. Most are in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of the Caribbean and Asia. But UN Secretary General and Noble Peace Prize winner Kofi Annan says there have never been better opportunities to make breakthroughs in the AIDS crisis and that real change will result from the extraordinary coordinated efforts of wealthy nations, the developing world, and committed individuals. What will you do to help make the UN's Millennium Pledge to reverse the devastating spread of AIDS by 2015 a reality?

For more information, visit the World AIDS Day Web site and read Kofi Annan's inspiring editorial about the importance of the ongoing fight against AIDS in the Washington Post.


DID YOU KNOW a flying hospital is fighting world blindness?

The ORBIS flying-eye hospital is a DC-10 jet that has been converted into a self-contained teaching hospital specializing in eye care. A global humanitarian organization, ORBIS travels to developing countries to provide hands-on training, public health education, and improved access to eye care. Since 1982, ORBIS has completed more than 440 programs in 80 countries and envisions a world of quality eye care for every human being. Currently, there are 140 million cases of avoidable blindness in the world.

For more details, visit ORBIS


DID YOU KNOW you can help protect the health of children?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched a national Smoke-Free Home Pledge Initiative asking parents to make their homes smoke-free to protect their children from the serious health effects of secondhand tobacco smoke. The pledge encourages parents to "go out for their kids" until they can quit smoking. Nine to twelve million American children are exposed everyday to secondhand smoke at home, which has been linked to bronchitis, pneumonia, wheezing and coughing spells, SIDS, and asthma.

To learn more, visit the Environmental Protection Agency.


DID YOU KNOW the Rotary Club is working to eradicate polio in west Africa?

A group of 30 Rotary Club members for the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, Maine, returned on October 30, from the nation of Ghana in west Africa where they assisted local Rotarians in their efforts to provide polio vaccinations to every child under the age of five. The group of volunteers administered drops of oral polio vaccine to children, assisted parents in getting their children vaccinated, transported health workers, and recruited fellow volunteers during Ghana's National Immunization Day. Eradicating polio is Rotary's top priority, and the club has sent volunteers to Ghana for almost a decade. So far this year, zero new cases of polio have been reported in the country, compared to 107 cases last year.

To learn more, visit Rotary International.


DID YOU KNOW your idling computer can help find a cure for Alzheimer's?

Thanks to the power of peer-to-peer technology, scientific research and the personal computer have become powerful allies in helping fight some of the world's most damaging diseases. The Stanford Alzheimer and Amyloidogenic Disease Research Program, with the help of an Intel Corporation Web site, allows computer users to download "screensavers" that run in the background when the computer is on, but not in active use, creating a virtual network of computers donating unused computing cycles to scientific research. Since April, more than one million PCs have joined the network, generating more computational power than the top ten supercomputers combined.

To participate or learn more, visit Intel's Web site.

Fashion Event Heralds National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to commemorate, New York-based QVC Presents "FFANY Shoes on Sale," the Fashion Footwear Charitable Foundation's eighth annual fundraiser benefiting breast cancer research and education programs. More than 100,000 pairs of shoes from the world's top designers are being offered at half the retail price throughout October with net proceeds benefiting seven hospitals engaged in breast cancer research and awareness. This event has raised $10 million since it began, aiding in the development of a groundbreaking nationwide network of prominent breast cancer research centers.

For information about the Fashion Footwear Charitable Foundation, visit
FFANY and QVC.


Physicians For Peace, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Dicle University Launch Permanent Amputee Center in Turkey

Physicians For Peace, Ronald McDonald House Charities, and Dicle University in Diyarbakir, Turkey, opened a sustainable, modern prosthetic rehabilitation and treatment center at the university on June 28, 2001. "Throughout much of the world, the amputee victims of land mines, earthquakes and crippling accidents and disease receive little or no continuing medical treatment," said Charles E. Horton, M.D., founder and chairman of Physicians For Peace. "With the opening of this new center, Turkish citizens will be able to restore thousands of amputee victims in their country to self-sufficiency and productive lives."

Other partners include Limbs for Life Foundation of Oklahoma, which is contributing expertise and artificial limbs, Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics Corporation of Maryland, which is providing training for professionals and is obtaining donated parts from clinics, and Smith & Nephew Inc. Rehabilitation Division of Wisconsin.

For more information, please visit these Web sites:
Physicians for Peace
the Ronald McDonald House Charities
Limbs for Life
Dicle University


Armstrong's Warm Welcomes Project Wins Community Enrichment Award

The Family Resource Network of Armstrong County in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, announced on July 24, 2001, that it received a Community Enrichment Award from Dominion Peoples for its Warm Welcomes Project. Under the Warm Welcomes Project, the family of every infant born at Armstrong County Memorial Hospital is provided with a laundry basket filled with baby items, educational pamphlets, a smoke detector and an informational video entitled: "I Am Your Child."

In 1999, a committee of the Family Resource Network identified a gap in services for children from birth to three years of age in the Armstrong County area. The Warm Welcomes Project was developed to fill this need. The $8,000 grant that accompanies the Community Enrichment Award will help the program focus on the importance of the first three years of life and the impact of an early start on healthy development through childhood.

For more information about this program, visit The Warm Welcomes Project. To learn more about Dominion, an electric and natural gas company committed to their community, visit Dominion.

A new book by humanitarian activist Harsh Mander recounts stories he collected during twenty years of working to end poverty in developing countries around the world. His London-based organization, Action Aid, has established poverty-prevention programs in thirty countries in every part of the world, and his book -- Unheard Voices: Stories of Forgotten Lives -- charts the lives of many of the people in need he's encountered over the years. Mander is concerned deeply with the sense of isolation that diseases like leprosy -- still rampant in much of the world -- create in people's lives and believes in the power of storytelling to restore their humanity.

:: Learn more about Action Aid.

:: Buy a copy of Harsh Mander's book Unheard Voices: Stories of Forgotten Lives.


DID YOU KNOW that even in war-torn places like Chechnya, there's hope amongst the ruins?

The BBC radio program, Outlook, reports on an inspiring choir whose blind members endure shattered Chechnya's continual despair with undying hope.

Learn more by reading the story on the BBC's Web site.

Did you know the BBC's Outlook is one of this year's Favorite GoodThings honorees? Learn more.


DID YOU KNOW one nonprofit is committed to the "trickle-up" effect?

Since 1979, the Trickle Up program has improved the lives of more than 450,000 of the poorest people in the world by helping them start over 100,000 businesses. By providing small grants, Trickle Up targets those with few if any resources -- single mothers, street children, displaced people, and HIV-affected families -- and trains them to run home-based businesses. Trickle Up has benefited individuals across the globe. In Nepal alone, Trickle Up has given grants to develop 185 businesses in an area where women commonly fall into prostitution.

For more information, visit Trickle Up.


DID YOU KNOW about Bountiful Table's Heart of America Bus Tour?

Non-profit organization Bountiful Table is helping people give thanks this year through a new and different kind of ritual in the wake of the events of September 11. Bountiful Table's Heart of America Bus Tour began on November 21 and will carry well-known artists, chefs, activists, and volunteers from Seattle, Washington, to planned stops in Missoula, Montana; Chicago, Illinois; Boston, Massachusetts; Washington DC; and, finally, in mid-December, New York City. The goal of the tour is to encourage and facilitate community and compassion among all people, of different cultures, economic circumstances, and generations. The bus will also stop at fire stations and schools in other areas as part of a strategy to celebrate diversity and build community by sharing food, transformative dialogue, and the arts.

For more details, visit Bountiful Table.


DID YOU KNOW wind-up radios are connecting the poor in Rwanda?

In partnership with the Freeplay Foundation, Project Radio Rwanda aims to bring 63,000 wind-up and solar-powered radios to children who have been orphaned by the ravages of disease and war. In a country where electricity reaches only 2% of the population and a pack of AA batteries costs a week's wages, Freeplay radios make listening sustainable since they don't require an external power source. Being able to listen to a radio not only helps ease the children's isolation, but also provides information about practical issues like health care, clean water, improved farming methods, and civil rights.

For more details, visit the Freeplay Foundation


DID YOU KNOW people are walking across Hong Kong to help others?

A November fundraising walkathon organized by Oxfam Hong Kong will raise money for disadvantaged people in Asia and Africa. Trailwalker is an arduous, 100-km hike along the MacLehose Trail and must be completed within 48 hours. Supported by an array of companies and community organizations, the event has raised more than $120 million (Hong Kong dollars) in the last 20 years with the help of people from all over the world.

For more information, visit the Trailwalker Web site.


NetAid Channels Humanitarian Aid to Afghan Refugees

NetAid is channeling donations to humanitarian agencies that have extensive experience working with Afghan refugees in northwest Pakistan. The agencies are responding to the current crisis in Afghanistan and, in partnering with NetAid, are providing people with an opportunity to get involved. The agencies help train Afghan doctors, nurses and other health care professionals, as well as support refugees with special needs, including unaccompanied children, the elderly, the disabled, and female-headed households.

NetAid -- based on a range of public-private partnerships including the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Volunteers, the United Nations Children's Fund, and Cisco Systems -- offers a direct channel for the global public to help on the frontlines. One-hundred percent of funds donated by the public go to the projects on the ground. Regular updates are provided on the NetAid Web site so that people can see how their money is being used.

To contribute or learn more, visit NetAid.

FamilyCares, a program developed by the nonprofit Child Charitable Development Association, Inc. (CCD), gives parents an online resource to learn about the importance of youth volunteerism and the ease and fun of family community involvement. The FamilyCares Web site features dozens of step-by-step projects on a variety of themes, from the holidays to helping the elderly. The site also provides, free of charge, caring activities for kids and information to help parents teach their children about social issues such as homelessness, hunger, aging and illness. The CCD is a nonprofit, multiracial organization dedicated to the development of compassion and the spirit of charity in children through hands-on activities that help those in need.

For more information, visit FamilyCares.


DID YOU KNOW some companies are including volunteering as part of their internships?

Boeing Employees' Credit Union is now including community service opportunities, in addition to financial experience, in its paid summer internship program. Last summer, the Credit Union's twenty interns organized a backpack and school supply drive, collecting more than 430 backpacks and a truckload of school supplies from Credit Union employees and members.

For more information, visit the Boeing Employees' Credit Union Web site.


Make A Difference Day Launches Fund

As a logical extension of Make A Difference Day (the United States' largest day of volunteerism), USA Weekend Magazine and the Points of Light Foundation have partnered with the Citizens' Scholarship Foundation of America to launch the Make A Difference Day Scholarship Fund. The Fund will provide financial support over the next two to three decades for post-secondary education for children and spouses of those killed or permanently disabled in the September 11 attacks.

The 11th annual Make A Difference Day is Saturday, October 27. Nearly three million volunteers are expected to participate in a wide range of charitable activities that aid 26 million people in need.

For more details or to make a donation, visit:
Make A Difference Day
Points of Light Foundation and the Volunteer Center National Network
Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund


Summer Camp with Female Executives Helps Girls Realize Career Dreams

A group of female executives had an opportunity to return to summer camp in 2001, this time with a very important purpose--to serve as mentors to a group of young girls just beginning to think about their futures. With growing evidence that exposure to female role models can have a significant impact on young women, Andersen partnered with Girl Scouts of Southeastern Pennsylvania (GSSP) to co-host Camp VIP, a three-day program to help teenage girls set and achieve their personal and professional goals.

Camp VIP brought together a group of Girl Scouts, ages 13 through 17, and women executives from various industries (including law, medicine, media and professional services) to sit around camp fires, sleep in tents, and talk about important life issues such as career aspirations, leadership, work-life balance, and what success really looks like.

To find out more about summer camp and other activities, visit The Girl Scouts. For information about Andersen, a professional services firm that employs approximately 85,000 people in 84 countries, visit Andersen.