We’re in the business of helping people give of themselves to their communities, their neighbors, and the world. We take great joy in making it easier to volunteer.
This time of year gratitude is at the front of our minds and we wanted to do something to say this: thanks. Thanks for going places other people are unwilling go. Thanks for being someone who cares about others. Thanks for giving back.
To show our gratitude, each business day from November 16-22 leading up to Thanksgiving, we’d like to provide a chance for you to win some cool stuff. But this is not your average giveaway contest! We selected prizes from like-minded organizations that are also in the business of giving back. We hope you love it as much as we do.
We’ve kept the conditions as simple as possible so we can bypass the redtape and stick to the gratitude.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16. Roma Provisions combines fashion with charity. They design and sell rain boots while their subsidiary, Roma for All, distributes boots to children living in poverty.
HOW TO WIN A PAIR OF ROMA BOOTS: Tweet @volunteercard with a photo of something you’re thankful for. Use hashtag #day1.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17. Project 7 is another great cause-related company that makes everyday goods and uses profits to give back to those in need. We love their coffe, so we’re giving away an 18 count case of freshly ground coffee. The ”House the Homeless” blend provides food, shelter, education, and healthcare for orphans.
HOW TO WIN PROJECT 7 COFFEE: Let us know about some good that is happening. Tweet “Hey @volunteercard, check out the good ______ is doing!” Use hashtag #day2.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18. Village of Hope orphans in Northern Uganda roll each bead by hand from recycled paper. Orphans (ages 12-18) making these beads receive food, education and medical care as a way of providing for themselves and their siblings. All profits from the sale of these items go directly to the projects that support the orphans of Village of Hope Uganda.
HOW TO WIN BEADS OF HOPE BRACELETS: Tweet @volunteercard with one specific way you plan to give back this holiday season. Use hashtag #day3.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21. You have causes that you care about. As a personal thank you, we’d love to give $100 donation to the nonprofit of your choice.
HOW TO WIN $100 DONATION TO YOUR CHOICE OF NONPROFIT: Leave a comment on this blog entry that explains what you love about your nonprofit choice. Be sure to include their link so we can check them out.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22. In the spirit of Toms’ One for One, we’d like to give you two pairs of Toms: one for you and one for a friend.
HOW TO WIN TOMS FOR YOU + A FRIEND: Head on over to our Facebook page and share a story or experience that first made you want to volunteer or give back.
I spent this last summer participating in a sports mission in the Phillippines with the International Sports Federation. Their website is http://www.sportsmissions.com Cheyrl Wolfinger and her people do amazing things for people all around the world! I would love to win this donation for them! When I was in the Phillippines we spent time teaching different sports to school children there! They did not me or my team to leave! What a gratifying experience!
Great idea!!
but what about the people who don’t use twitter…..
I would like to nominate Tuko Pamoja Mkyashi for this award.
Tuko Pamoja Mkyashi, which means “We are Together” in Swahili, is the product of 2 students who traveled to Tanzania and left with an eagerness to give back to the village in which they stayed through social entreprenuership.
TPM helps the men, women, and children of Mkyashi Village in Tanzania. The people of Mkyashi have all of the inner tools needed to live full and productive lives, but many people lack the physical and educational tools necessary for success. The goal of TMP is to provide friends in Mkyashi with the critical resources needed to live a full life. This is done through the creation of jobs, funding of local projects, engagement in micro-finance, exposure people to diverse cultures and ideas, and the assistance to villagers and guests to form friendships across continents.
The mission of TPM is to collaborate with the people of Mkyashi Village to build a world-class eco-lodge dedicated to economic development through job creation, project funding, and social investment.
Would love to win the donation for my favorite charity, Uganda Village Project. $100 goes a long way in Uganda. Thanks for doing this!
I personally work with this organization. We all raise our own support, none of Children’s Cup money goes to pay the missionaries. The organization’s donations goes to helping orphan and vulnerable children around the world in a holistic approach. (currently in Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Philippines and looking into Vietnam). We just had preschool graduation for children who attend our CarePoints!! (school is Jan to Nov here in Swaziland, Africa). Exciting ministry that impacts young lives in life changing ways! “Giving Hope. Inspiring Dream. Changing Worlds”
http://www.facebook.com/Somebodycares.malawi
http://www.somebodycaresmalawi.org
I am just finishing up a year long volunteer period with an NGO called Somebody Cares.
They are based in Malawi, Africa and they do amazing work.
I love that all of their employees are locals who have a huge heart for the people they are working with. Many of the people who work at Somebody Cares have come from backgrounds that are similar to those who they are helping, so they can understand and empathize with those they are working with in the villages.
I love that Somebody Cares has seen transformation in the communities that they work with. HIV/AIDS is decreasing, children are getting nutritious meals, widows are learning about income generating and putting it into practice, men are treating women with respect, everyone has clean water to drink, etc…..
Project Helping Hands is a fabulous, dedicated non-profit started by one man, a nurse who saw a need for medical care in poorer parts of the planet. This humanitarian organization coordinates medical care teams to many countries around the world– all teams are made up of volunteers (nurses, doctors, non-medical folk) who pay their own way and provide all the supplies and medicines they take with them. Many splinter efforts have come about through the efforts of these volunteers as well– Project Underpants, working to provide needed garments and sanitary supplies to school age girls in Uganda so that they stay in school; a permanent clinic is underway in Oyugis, Kenya– the building is almost done! Another permanent clinic is in it’s early stages in Haiti. These folks are doing great work and I would love to see this award granted to them to support their efforts.
Thanks for including Project 7!
World Altering Medicine, or WAM for short, has been doing great work with the rural community of Kabudula in Malawi. Projects include helpting to support the 100 bed hospital that serves a catchment area of 350,000 people but has no doctor. Also recently a number of projects have gotten under way at the local school, with hopes to build the first library the school or community has ever seen!
I served as an English teacher and homework assistant for Punarbal Plus in Kathmandu, Nepal. They are an HIV orphanage dedicated to serving AIDS infected or affected orphans. The orphanage is well-run by wonderful, caring people. It was clear that these children were healthy, loved, and receiving the best education possible. I would love to see the donation go to this organization as they could work wonders with the increased income! I <3 my little students Laxman, Durga, Raj, Anjali, and Sunita. They are precious and deserve the best that life can offer! Please help these children who have so little opportunity in Nepal to be supported and educated.
I have worked with a ministry in Andhra Pradesh, India recently and will do so again. We traveled to remote tribal Hindu villages to work with the local church in preaching, orphanages, sewing schools and leper colonies. This ministry was birthed out of a vision the Lord gave to touch the untouchables of society with the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. There are many ways in which this is done. This ministry teaches women a trade along with discipleship to women in poor communities. All are welcome – Christian,Hindu and Muslim. There is a feeding program for widows, orphans and lepers. They run a seminary, host conferences for pastors who are in places that are very remote. They are DOING the Great Commission of Jesus Christ in their corner of the world. Check them out!
http://www.indiaucm.org/
I would like to nominate the Laurel Pregnancy Center. (http://www.laurelpregnancycenter.org/) The women who work here and all the supporters provide a refuge for women right here in our country and city who need a friend. All of our services are free to anyone who walks in and we work to make sure that everyone is welcomed and loved. It is a medical clinic who provides pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, options counseling, material assistance, parenting classes, mentor programs and more. They run on an extremely small budget and help hundreds of women a year. Everyone there has a passion for comforting and assisting women during the exciting and sometimes scary time of an unplanned pregnancy.
I am grateful for Centro, an organization that serves Latinos in Minneapolis. It makes me happy to know that the kids I work with (and their families) have resources.
http://www.centromn.org/
The Woodbury Life Resource Center is a place women can go to have positive options for an unplanned pregnancy. There are many women who need hope and the center offers them this and does not let them go through the pregnancy alone. I really support the center because the staff has a God-centered view of sexuality and they want to share that with the women and families who come in. I met the founder two weeks ago and he felt called to start the center after he retired. It was so neat to hear about how the Lord called him to help women understand there are options other than abortion and they are not alone when they have a baby.
Education is something everyone deserves and needs. Doulous Discovery School is the only school in the Dominican Republic that lets poor and rich children both go to school together. They are also founded on Christian princples and the kids get to have Bible study every morning!!! Most of the children are sponsored but have to make a commitment to the school through service and applying themselves to keep their scholarships. This is one of the only schools in the Dominican Republic that is helping to push kids of this country to become more educated and well round people. They are taught through experiental learning where they actually get to do things handson. This is an amazing school that nees much support!!! http://www.doulosdiscovery.org/
Why I love WAVES… http://www.wavesfordevelopment.org
For me, WAVES for Development has been an amazing way to mix passion and purpose. My passion for adventure, for the outdoors, for surfing. My purpose of giving, of hope, of inspiration. WAVES believes that surf travel should benefit the people and communities where it happens. It does this through Education programs for local youth and Surf Voluntourism programs for travelers. Surfers, while a nomadic tribe, oftentimes do, in fact, care about the destinations and precious waves they surf. However, up until recently they didn’t have an infrastructure to give back – sustainably. Now they do. WAVES offers kids in Northern Peru English, environmental conservation, entrepreneurship and surfing classes year-round, taught by locals and assisted by traveling volunteers. It’s a real blessing to be part of such a fun way to do good. That’s why I love WAVES.