Bone Marrow Urgency

This is a very short post but urgent request:

http://www.curesonia.org/ Sign up for the bone marrow registry and help! If you can't get to a bone marrow drive you can register online at:http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/index.html

Even if you are not a match for her, you might be for someone else in need. It's a easy process to register and they will send you a kit at the end of the process. If you want to register sooner, you can help by registering at a bone marrow drive. Although there is a very high need for South Asian donors, anyone can register.

"Start giving. See the joy of giving" - N. Krishnan

As a new feature, we want to shine a light on those who go above and beyond for the greater good. If you would like to recommend someone among your peers or in your community to be featured, send us an email or leave a comment. If you would like to write the feature as a guest, you're more than welcome to do so!

To start things off, One of the CNN Heroes of 2010 - Narayanan Krishnan. Giving up a career as a chef in a 5 star hotel so he can cook, feed, shave and bathe those who are in unfortunate living conditions. He does this 365 days a year. Rain or shine.

In his own words: Protecting the powerless.

Although voting has ended, you can always help. Visit Akshya Trust and find out how.

Buy gifts that give back!

Amazing ways to give back this year: Charitable Gifts. You can help with everything from Global fight against Aids (Apple) and pediatric cancer reseach (St. Judes Children's Hospital) to new artists and teach for america. Click on the article above for more information and ideas.

Google Chrome for a Cause

A great new and very easy way to give back: Google Chrome for a Cause. Each and every tab you open between dec 15 - dec 19 raises money for a charity. It's really that simple.

Update: I wrote this post shortly after I set-up the Google Chrome for a Cause. Since then, I've already had 2oo tabs! It really does add up quickly and can go towards planting trees, providing vaccines, books, clean water and shelter!

No Child Left Inside

Stay tuned for a future post about the Pepsi Refresh Project and my all time favorite organization: Big Brother, Big Sisters of America. As a former 'little sister' I can't say enough about BBBS. Most of my favorite stories and memories for years involved BBBS and my 'big sister' Patty.

For now, check out and (hopefully!) vote for: No Child Left Inside. The deadline to vote is November 30th. You can vote by clicking the previous link or by text: 104145 to Pepsi (73774).

Pratham USA: Every Child in School and Learning Well

Pratham USA launched in 1999 to support the founding Pratham organization in India. They aim to raise awareness about the illiteracy in India and to raise funds in order to educate via public libraries, direct urban programs, pre-schools and remedial learning programs. Pratham USA has 12 chapters around the country that aim to raise awareness and funds through various activities. The largest chapter based in New York/Tri State will be holding a GALA on Thursday the 21st of October. For more information, check out the flyer below or visit the website.

Heifer International: Pass on the gift

The idea here is simple. Heifer's mission is to end poverty by providing long term, sustainable solutions rather than short term relief. By providing livestock, plants and training, Heifer not only changes a family but a community. 60 years and the success of ending poverty for millions of families proves just how incredible this non-profit is.

Take a minute and watch:

Heifer in 60 Seconds

To learn more about how to donate and help:

Gift Catalog

Charitable Gift Giving

Official website:

Heifer International

Charity: Water & TOMS shoe UPDATE

Thanks to the Charity: Water feature we previously posted, we were sent an email with the following by the Charity: Water team.

Really excited to see two of my favorite charity's working together! Five dollars for every shoe purchased goes towards building a well. TOMS will also donate a new pair of shoes to a child in need with every shoe you purchase. Need more of an incentive? Thanks to the water project funded by their first charity, Water shoe will serve 540(!) people with clean drinking water in the Sekura Village, Ethiopia.

Read more at: http://www.charitywater.org/TOMS/

TOMS will be featured on a future post.

*Have a suggestion for a volunteer opportunity, non-profit or charity that you would like to see featured? Send us a message or leave a comment with your suggestion.

Charity: Water

"Almost a billion people on the planet (1 in 8 of us) don’t have access to clean drinking water. Unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all disease and kill more people than all forms of violence, including war. 90% of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are to children under five years old. We're working to change that." - Charity: Water

Thanks to private donors covering operating costs, 100% of your money goes directly to the project. Here are a few ways to help through the secure Charity: Water website.

1. Educate yourself through the Charity: Water website, Water log and Video

2. Start a fundraiser. Not only will it help spread awareness, it can be very easy thanks to all the social networking sites! Do it in lieu of gifts for your birthday (how it all started) and holidays for example.

3. Donating to water projects around the world. As little as $20 dollars provides clean water to an individual for 20 years! Check if your company will match your donation.

4. Sponsor a well. $5,000 = Freshwater well in a village and provide 250+ people with fresh water.

5. Monthly giving through Paypal. Anywhere from $20 to $500 a month to change lives.

6. Buying Merchandise to promote the cause. Profits support behind the scene costs of running the charity.

7. Send an E-card.

There's A LOT of information on the Charity: Water website so take a few minutes to check it out.

Donors Choose

We featured Donors Choose back in 2009 but wanted to shine some light to this charity again. In the previous post, we mentioned micro-lending via Vittana. Donors Choose works along the same lines in regards to lending for education. In this case however, it's not a loan but there are promises of thank you notes and pictures from the students you help. You can donate as little as $1 and pick from a variety of projects based on your interests.

For a great source of information on Donors Choose (aside from the official website and our blog of course :D ) by a blogger currently going through this process, check out 'The Professor in Training' below. According to the future professor, HP will match your contribution so there's no excuse not to donate!

http://scientopia.org/blogs/trainingprofessor/2010/10/10/donors-choose-your-chance-to-help-kids-in-need/

Vittana: Building a world where anyone can get an education

Meet Daisy Mora, a nine year old from Colombia. Seen carrying her five year old brother in a cloth bag, while she zip lines it to the opposite bank via an old rusty pulley system. Her daily trek includes going 40mph and over 1300ft above ground just to make it to school.

A not so yellow bus to school

After going through such extremes for years, can you imagine not having a chance to get a higher education?

Taking a page out of Kiva, Vittana aims to use micro-lending in order to educate those in developing countries. Since loans don't exist in most developing countries, a family would have to fund the entire education. However, in countries that are mainly comprised of families with a very low and sometimes non-existent income, funding higher education is not an option.

As we previously blogged about Kiva, the process is very simple and anyone can contribute with as little as $25 dollars. Simply visit the Vittana website, choose a student, make the loan, get the loan repaid after the student graduates and ideally, repeat.

For a more detailed look at the success stories of Vittana, visit:

Faces of Vittana