Goal

This year I want to promote and support many of my favorite charities. Some of these will be personally important, some will be timely based on world events and some may be groups I discover over this year of giving. I hope by creating this blog, donating my daily $5.00 and bringing attention to the cause, I can change the world in a good way. Please consider following my lead by making a donation to any of the groups that resonate with you.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

ALL DONE

This site has completed it's mission, to donate $5 every day in 2014.  Although it was only a small drop, I hope it created a ripple that will continue to move across the wonderful world we live in.  All the posts from 2014 are archived and can be viewed by clicking on the menu to the right.


What a wonderful year 2014 has been. Cheers to a bright and happy future.


Wednesday, December 31, 2014

THE LAST ONE: Indonesian Parrot Project

THE END OF THE YEAR OF GIVING!!!


We provide alternate means of sustainable income to villagers in parrot-rich areas of Indonesia, who in turn will protect the birds from trapping. Such alternatives collecting nuts of the kenari tree and organizing eco-tours to our major sites of work (Seram Island and the Raja Ampat Islands off West Papua), which in turn will bring income to ex-trappers who now act as bird guides and porters.

Direct provision of needed improvements to selected villages—such as improvements in schools, medical care, sanitation, and capital improvements.

Projects to improve local pride of the villagers in "their" rare and beautiful avifauna.

Funding of villagers to gather for us much-needed information on the ecology of selected birds.

Funding of selected scientific studies, such as census or breeding analyses, resulting in published scientific data useful to help conserve these birds in the wild.

Provision of educational unpublished information to members in order both to disseminate knowledge about the critical state of their populations, as well as to stimulate funding of our projects. Some will be in written articles; some via our web-site; some via public talks.

Click on the image above to go to their website.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Zoo Conservation Outreach Group


Founded in 1988, Zoo Conservation Outreach Group (ZCOG) is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit coalition of zoos, aquariums, and related partners dedicated to promoting wildlife and habitat conservation throughout the Americas. The group accomplishes its core mission by developing conservation leadership capacity in Latin American zoological institutions and providing direct technical, material, and financial support to collaborative, zoo and aquarium-based conservation programs. The former is achieved by providing access to information and training opportunities through a well-coordinated Conservation Training Scholarship Program, while the latter is accomplished by pooling technical, material, and financial support from North American partners and delivering these resources to our counterparts in Latin America and the Caribbean Basin.

Monday, December 29, 2014

Macaw Rescue Foundation


The Macaw Rescue Foundation (MRF)

Scarlet Macaw Rescue, Inc. reaches out to save the lives of threatened by abandonment or seizure and not having a permanent home. You can help bring hope to these magnificent, protected species for a lifetime of better care or provide solutions to owners of these creatures in times of crisis or disaster that threatens their ability to care for their pets. Many Macaw species are endangered in the wild and in the years to come some species will only be found in captivity.
            Macaw Rescue, Inc. is located in Palm City, Florida on a 5 acre ranchette called Yardley Farms . Palm City is on Florida's east coast about halfway between Orlando and Miami.
            The organization is governed by a Board of Directors elected from the membership with voting rights. The day to day operation is overseen by an Executive Director along with a staff of care givers and maintenance personnel.
            The membership is comprised of various levels of voting and non-voting members. Funds to support operations are derived exclusively from donations.  Macaw Rescue Inc. is registered as a non-profit entity under IRS Section 501(C)3 Public Charity Rules. It also enjoys Florida State Tax Exemption privileges and is licensed by the State of Florida to undertake Fund Raising activities. The Facility also maintains a current License to possess CLASS III Wildlife for Exhibition or Public Sale issued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Sunday, December 28, 2014

UC Davis Honeybee Research Fund


Honeybees are in trouble and need your help. One third of our diet depends on honeybee pollination. Gifts to the UC Davis Honeybee Research Fund support research, education and outreach efforts in the areas of honeybee biology, health and pollination services.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

HarpSeals.org


Harpseals.org seeks to bring about a permanent end to the massacres of harp seals in Canada . We are utilizing mass media and grassroots activism to raise awareness about the continued killing of the seals in Canada and are promoting a boycott of Canadian seafood to pressure the sealers (who are fishermen) to call for an end to the killing. Harpseals.org is focusing on the power that Americans have to stop this slaughter because Americans buy about 70% of Canadian seafood exports. Harpseals.org is working to spread the message about the Canadian seafood boycott through mass media advertising, such as billboards, radio and television commercials, and print ads and through grassroots outreach, including leafletting, tabling, speaking engagements, and demonstrations. We also seek to educate the public and raise funds through special events that generate media attention. We welcome volunteers of all ages with all kinds of skills and interests and creative ideas.

Friday, December 26, 2014

Quilts for Kids


MISSION STATEMENT:
Transforming fabrics into patchwork quilts that comfort children with life-threatening illnesses and children of abuse.

A Letter from the Founder
It seems like only yesterday that I discovered a wealth of discontinued fabric samples being thrown away. In those days it never occurred to me that we’d be an international organization today. I was only looking to save some fabric samples from a landfill. I was assured by all my friends and family that this was a dumb idea and no one would make quilts for some stranger’s child…and do it for free! Well, 14 years later you have managed to prove these nay-sayers wrong, for you have given from your hearts and helped to turn tears into smiles for tens of thousands of children that you never even knew existed. Our goal continues to be donating 30,000 yearly.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

American Forests


American Forests, the oldest national nonprofit conservation organization in the country, advocates for the protection and expansion of America’s forests. Since 1990, we have planted more than 45 million trees. We restore watersheds to help provide clean drinking water. We replant forests destroyed by human action and by natural disasters.

Our work is guided by science: choosing the right mix of trees for particular locations, the best trees to act as windbreaks or to filter water, the trees that will provide wildlife habitat, or are most suitable for city streets and parks.

Our advocacy is also guided by science: keeping policymakers informed about how trees interact with climate, sequester carbon, manage water, and benefit cities. We explain that ecological services from trees and forests have real economic value. We work in and advocate for federal, state, and urban forests, and sometimes our work takes us beyond US borders.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Guardian Angels for Soldiers Pets


Guardian Angels for Soldier’s Pet incorporated in the state of Arkansas on 28 January, 2005 after founders Linda Spurlin-Dominik and Carol Olmedo learned that military service members across the country had pets that needed a caring and safe home to care for them during the pet owner’s deployment or an unforeseen hardship situation, but had not been able to find someone to care for them. This left the deploying heroes or veterans with only one option, which was to legally surrender their pets and pet ownership rights to an animal shelter or rescue group never to see their pets again, know if they got a new good home, or ended up being euthanized.

We are not an animal shelter or rescue organization involved with re-homing of pets owned by the military community or a resource to assist shelters/rescues with re-homing situations involving military owned pets that have been legally surrendered to a specific shelter/rescue.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Americas Wetland Foundation



The America's WETLAND Foundation (AWF) established in Louisiana, and working throughout the Gulf region, was founded in 2002 in response to a comprehensive coastal study calling on the need to alert the nation to the devastating loss of Louisiana's coastal wetlands and how their loss impacts the rest of the nation.

As a balanced forum for problem-solving and sharing of best practices for environmental and economic interests, the Foundation's goal has been to transcend historic and parochial differences for the higher good of saving national environmental and economic assets that support a broad U.S. economy and provides for domestic energy security.

AWF serves successfully as a neutral arbiter, bringing diverse interests to the table to seek and establish solutions for ensuring the sustainability of the Gulf coast yielding critical environmental and economic benefits for the nation, particularly the 31 states of the Mississippi watershed.

Monday, December 22, 2014

Bayou Rebirth


Bayou Rebirth Mission: In an effort to increase public awareness of coastal land loss and the need for urban resilience to climate change impacts, Bayou Rebirth seeks to bring together, educate, and empower residents of and visitors to South Louisiana through hands-on wetlands restoration and stewardship projects. - See more at: http://www.bayourebirth.org/about-us/mission/#sthash.Ar6D3CKr.dpuf

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Surfrider


Thirty years ago a group of surfers from Malibu, California, were concerned about the health risks associated with environmental threats posed by escalating coastal development at their favorite surf spot. They took action. Not even they could have envisioned the history they were making when they succeeded in protecting their beloved surf spot.

Since our inception in 1984, the Surfrider Foundation has evolved into one of the largest non-profit grassroots organizations with a volunteer-activist network dedicated to its mission to protect and enjoy our oceans, waves and beaches.

Today, we are measurably stronger, with more force and movement than ever before. We have 84 chapters, plus 30 high school and college clubs, and more than 250,000 supporters, volunteers and activists around the country. We are working on about 100 different campaigns in four areas: beach access, water quality, coastal preservation (coastal development) and protection. Armed with a model to defend the coast, we have achieved a record of 286 victories (and counting) since 2006.

With times of uncertainty, it hasn’t been easy. There’s still a lot of work to be done. Our work is critical. And, our long-term success and growth is a tribute to our founders’ vision: that taking on an environmental battle may not be easy, but with constant pressure, endlessly applied, it can, and will, be won.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

The Elephant Sanctuary


Our Mission

The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, founded in 1995, is the nation's largest natural habitat refuge developed specifically for endangered African and Asian elephants. The Sanctuary operates on 2,700 acres in Hohenwald, Tennessee — 85 miles southwest of Nashville.

The Elephant Sanctuary exists for two reasons:

To provide a haven for old, sick or needy elephants in a setting of green pastures,
dense forests, spring-fed ponds and heated barns for cold winter nights.
To provide education about the crisis facing these social, sensitive, passionately intense,
playful, complex, exceedingly intelligent and endangered creatures.
The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Whaleman Foundation


The Whaleman Foundation is a public IRS 501 (c) (3) non-profit research, education, conservation, and wildlife film production organization dedicated to preserving and protecting our ocean world. Whaleman’s primary mission is to educate key decision makers, while raising public awareness, on the issues that affect cetaceans (dolphins, whales & porpoises) and their critical habitats through our films, research, campaigns, and media outreach.

VH1 Save the Music


The benefits of music education are astounding, and studies have consistently exposed the tremendously positive effect music education has on a child’s academic performance, sense of community, self­-expression and self­-esteem.

But as schools across the nation increasingly face budget cuts and pressures, music is often one of the first subject areas to be cut.

At VH1 Save The Music Foundation, we develop strategic partnerships with school districts to build sustainable instrumental music programs by providing grants of brand­-new musical instruments to public elementary and middle schools.

Our goal? To give every child in this country access to a musical instrument. Find out how you can help!

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Friends of National Zoo: Red Panda Retreat


At the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, we strive to further scientific research to benefit species in the wild and provide the best quality of life for the animals in our care. But we can’t do it without you!

As a result, we have an urgent need to raise $150,000 to create a comfortable, temperature-controlled indoor retreat complete with branches for climbing and multi-level platforms for playing and sleeping for our red pandas at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

Your gift will help build this much needed facility for red pandas on Asia Trail. The success of this project will allow keeper staff to better manage the red pandas in our care so that we can continue our important conservation research. Will you join our efforts to save species and improve your Zoo by giving to the Red Panda Retreat Annual Appeal?

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

WeForest.org


Trees absorb carbon and make clouds. They also help restore ecosystems by reducing erosion, balancing the watercycle and stopping desertification. 90 % of known terrestrial species live in forests, making them the most important repository of terrestrial biodiversity. Besides this, collecting seeds, growing seedlings in nurseries, transplanting and caring for the trees create jobs and empower women out of poverty, enabling them to send their children to school.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Saving Species.org


SavingSpecies is a unique conservation organization, because of the way that we use science to drive our conservation decisions. We maximize our efforts by restoring forest connectivity, increasing species’ chances for survival and thriving. This focus keeps down costs while being extraordinarily effective for many species across the globe.
There are five steps in our model:

We use GIS and species mapping technology to identify the hottest of biodiversity hospots.
We search specifically for areas where we can reconnect forest fragments, creating wildlife corridors to increase habitat for the most rare and endangered species.
We research local organizations who know the country well and are able to negotiate land sales on our behalf.
We raise money from donors and grants to fund the land sales on behalf of the in-country organizations and to provide restoration measures.
We provide technical assistance and monitoring to measure how quickly the forest is recovering and to assure our donors that their funds are helping to save species–which can even be seen on Google Earth.
As you will see from our Golden Lion Tamarin Project in Brazil, we helped a Brazilian group to buy Brazilian land. The land was then turned over to Brazil’s national park service, to be protected in perpetuity. We also raised money to help save the bamboo lemur in Madagascar and hummingbirds and orchids in Colombia.

SavingSpecies also evaluates how much carbon dioxide will be “soaked up” by the land we help to purchase and restored. By supporting SavingSpecies our donors help us plant trees that take carbon dioxide out of the air, helping donors to be carbon neutral.

SavingSpecies provides the scientific information for donors know exactly who does what, where, and why it is important to do so. SavingSpecies solicits proposals globally that identify specific direct conservation actions with a high potential to directly prevent extinctions.

SavingSpecies monitors progress and shows donors the places we work using Google Earth. Then, we continue to show donors how the purchased lands recover, regrowing forests.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Paws for Purple Hearts


Paws for Purple Hearts (PPH) is the first program of its kind to offer therapeutic intervention for Veterans and active-duty military personnel by teaching those with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to train service dogs for their comrades with combat-related injuries. PPH is built upon the trusted and time-honored tradition of Veterans helping Veterans.

Founded in 2008 as a program of Bergin University of Canine Studies, the pilot PPH program at VA Palo Alto Health Care System, California, continues serving Veterans today. PPH initiated and trained staff to operate canine therapeutic programs at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (Maryland), the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (Maryland), and Fort Belvoir (Virginia). These programs have changed the lives of many Veterans struggling with PTSD. The PPH program has been requested at several other sites.

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Marriage Equality USA


Founded in 1996, Marriage Equality USA (MEUSA) is the nation’s oldest organization dedicated to building equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community through civil marriage equality in every state and at the federal level. With over 40,000 members as well as volunteer leaders and partner organizations in all 50 states, it is the largest volunteer-driven, grassroots organization of its kind engaged in education, training, organizing, action, and coalition building to win equal marriage rights and protections for LGBTQ couples and their families. MEUSA is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.