GIVE IT BACK
Today I’m 34. Why does that matter to you (after all this isn't facebook)? Well it doesn’t everyday someone has a birthday maybe yours is tomorrow or the next? The Dutch have a tradition of giving ‘traktatie’ on their birthdays. But here’s the catch, the person whose birthday it is must give out these little sweets to their friends, classmates or colleagues.
This got me thinking, it’s completely opposed to the way of celebrating one’s birthday I grew up with. You expect a surprise party thrown by your closest friends and family. Gifts galore wrapped beautifully and waiting to be torn open to reveal the satisfaction of your latest cravings for that “thing” you wanted…of course within reason - I didn’t get an Aston Martin this year….but perhaps some will.
Instead this year I’m going to do something a bit different, I’m going to offer 34 gifts to YOU the reader. With the hopes of flipping my own tradition on its head and instead of TAKING I want to GIVE BACK.
So join me if you will through the 34 ways we can give it back by partnering with some fabulous corporations in their creative ways of giving meaning by GIVING VALUE and making the place we call home just a little bit better off.
And hey, in the end isn’t that what we are here for? If life isn’t a bit better, someone else a bit better off or the world just a tiny bit better because you were here doesn't that make it worthwhile?
So, let go, and GIVE IT BACK....
THE COALITION AGAINST PEDIATRIC PAIN
The Coalition against Pediatric Pain is actively involved in creating awareness of the challenges these children face every day. The lack of medical care, the isolation as many cannot attend school, etc… the lack of medical benefits, travel, etc. can be crippling to these families. TCAPP is 100% volunteer run, and 100% of the donations go to the kids. NOBODY within the TCAPP organization gets a penny.
GO: www.TCAPP.org
NIKE REUSE-A-SHOE
The program has collected 28 million shoes for recycling. And, in 2008, Nike placed Reuse-A-Shoe bins in all of its U.S. retail stores — more than 150 locations. If you have a pair of athletic shoes that have reached the end of their useful life, consider dropping them off at one of Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe drop-off locations.
GO: https://news.nike.com/news/noel-kinder-nike-sustainability
DRESS FOR SUCCESS
Dress for Success is an international not-for-profit organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.
GO: https://dressforsuccess.org/affiliate-list/
AMAZON SMILE
Over 250 million people use Amazon, but only a fraction use Amazon Smile, a simple and automatic way to support your favorite charity. When you shop through smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the same selection and low prices with an added bonus: Amazon will donate 0.5 percent of the price of your purchases to your favorite charity. The donation is automatic after checkout
GOODSEARCH
Goodsearch is a simple way to make a difference -- each time you search the web (through Yahoo!-powered Goodsearch), shop online (at the 2,800+ stores on Goodshop), a donation is made to your favorite cause.
GO: https://www.goodsearch.org/
CATCHAFIRE
Catchafire matches skilled professional volunteers with nonprofits to help them increase their capacity and achieve their missions.
GO: https://www.catchafire.org/howitworks
CHARITY MILES
Charity Miles sends money to a charity of your choosing for each mile that you walk, hike, run, or cycle. Simply download the app for your Android or iOS device, select a charity, and then perform your exercise as you normally would. The charity that you select earns money for every mile completed
SHIRTS FOR A CURE
This charity rocks—literally. They sell t-shirts exclusively designed by dozens of different rock bands (Bad Religion, Blink 182, The Used and many more), with proceeds going to help women fight breast cancer. Launched by punk-rock scene photographer Mark Beemer, whose wife, Syrentha J. Savio, died of breast cancer, the organization sells the shirts at a reasonable $15 each. To learn more about breast cancer and how you can help, check out These Women Reveal What It’s Like to Have Breast Cancer.
GO: https://sfac.merchnow.com/
CHILD'S PLAY CHARITY
Being in the hospital is a downer, of course, for many reasons, but one that’s often overlooked is how mind-numbingly boring things can get—especially if you’re a kid in dire need of some entertainment. That’s where this organization comes in, which works with 140 hospitals to provide video games (and other toys) to children who can use some entertainment
GO: https://www.childsplaycharity.org/
BUILD A NEST
This nonprofit aims to aid “handworkers”—artisans trying to build a business or make a living with their crafts—throughout the world. It offers professional fellowships to provide mentorship and training, a sourcing network that provides materials without the price-gouging middlemen and networking services and events to help its members communicate with and learn from one another.
GO: https://www.buildanest.org/
HANDS ON NETWORKING
Visit the HandsOn network to find a volunteer action center near you and discover where help is needed in your community. HandsOn Network includes 250 volunteer action centers that extend to 16 countries around the world. These centers help people find and engage in volunteer opportunities in their local communities.
IGIVE
Shop online at more than 1,000 stores and iGive will donate a percentage of the proceeds to a charity you select. Sign-up to iGive.com and install their button on your browser. They do the rest by tracking the purchases of each individual iGive member with a member ID number. Causes always receive 100% of the donation amount which is advertised on their web site.
BIDDING FOR GOOD
Check out the auctions of donated items and shop for a cause at BiddingForGood. BiddingForGood is a charitable e-commerce company that connects fundraisers, cause-conscious shoppers, and socially responsible businesses. They provide an online auction platform, where nonprofits and schools, consumers and businesses converge to create fundraising events
LENDING CLUB
Since 2007, they’ve been bringing borrowers and investors together, transforming the way people access credit. Over the last 10 years, they've helped millions of people take control of their debt, grow their small businesses, and invest for the future.
GO: https://www.lendingclub.com/
GO FUND ME
GoFundMe is a for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to 2017, over $5 billion was raised on the platform for over two million individual campaigns and 50 million donors.
HEALING PHOTO ART
The unique mission of the Foundation for Photo/Art in Hospitals is to place large, framed photographs of nature and beautiful places from around the world in hospitals to give comfort and hope to patients and their families, visitors, and caregivers. The photographs are intended to provide color and an atmosphere of compassion where healing is encouraged.
GO: https://healingphotoart.org/
GREAT NONPROFITS
Whether your causes are animal shelters, food banks, or breast cancer groups, you'll find real nonprofit reviews you can trust at GreatNonprofits.
Millions of nonprofit clients, donors, and volunteers have shared their candid reviews of charities, nonprofits, and social enterprises.
GO: https://greatnonprofits.org/
RAILS TO TRAILS
RTC’s mission, and its value, is magnified in urban areas, where one mile of trail can completely redefine the livability of a community. Where trails are more than just recreational amenities, creating opportunities for active transportation and physical activity—improving our health and wellbeing—as they safely connect us to jobs, schools, businesses, parks and cultural institutions in our own neighborhoods and beyond.
GO: https://www.railstotrails.org
FREE RICE
Brain-training games have become a big business over the past few years with companies such as Lumosity and Elevate dominating the niche. But rather than paying money to exercise your brain, flex your neurons and help a charity at the same time with FreeRice.com.
VOLUNTEER MATCH
Everyone should have the chance to make a difference. That's why Volunteer Match makes it easy for good people and good causes to connect. They've connected millions of people with a great place to volunteer and helped tens of thousands of organizations better leverage volunteers to create real impact.
GO: https://www.volunteermatch.org/
GOOD NEWSLETTER
When you sign up for the Goodnewsletter, you’ll receive five good news stories in your inbox every Tuesday morning, ensuring you find hope in your weekly headlines.
GO: https://www.goodgoodgood.co/goodnewsletter
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
Habitat for Humanity partners with people in your community, and all over the world, to help them build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage.
ELDER HELPERS
Senior centers sometimes need volunteers to help out with programming. Often all they are looking for is someone to drop by to say hello, read stories, play music, or join in on a game of chess to help their aging residents feel connected to their community.
GO: https://www.elderhelpers.org/
SPONSOR A YOUTH SPORTS TEAM
Local athletics programs often require corporate or private sponsors to help subsidize costs for parents while also making sure the teams get the equipment they need. Not only will you get the name of your business out there, but it’s also a great way to give back to the teams in your community.
WORLD WILDLIFE FUND
Help an endangered animal by adopting through the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The WWF offers adoption kits that go directly to protecting the lives and habitats of animals including tigers, pandas, snowy owls, and more.
GO: https://www.worldwildlife.org/
JUSTICE RISING
Education is the most powerful tool to build peace and to break the cycle of war. Every child, regardless of circumstance, should have access to a quality education.
Justice Rising builds peace in war-affected communities by providing quality education to children at risk. They build schools, train teacher leaders, and develop community programs towards the goal of promoting peace and mitigating future conflict.
GO: https://www.justicerising.org/
MAKE-A-WISH
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes for children fighting serious, life-threatening medical conditions. In addition to donating financially, you can also donate your airline miles, hotel loyalty points, and a portion of your sales off eBay to the charity. Local chapters also accept volunteers to help make all of their wishes come true.
URBAN LIGHT
A number of organizations help girls in the sex industry, but very few work to aid young men. After a service trip during which she observed the industry in Thailand firsthand, Alezandra Russel realized that boys are often excluded from the human trafficking conversation. So she created Urban Light, an organization that works to help young men break free from child prostitution and sexual exploitation. By providing food, shelter, healthcare, and support services, the group helps restore and rebuild the lives of male victims.
GO: https://www.urban-light.org/
POLARIS PROJECT
Polaris is a leader in the global fight to eradicate modern slavery. Named after the North Star that guided slaves to freedom in the U.S., Polaris systemically disrupts the human trafficking networks that rob human beings of their lives and their freedom.
GO: https://polarisproject.org/
ADOPT A STRAY
Dedicated to the rescue of animals that are in need of a forever home. Their animals are fostered in homes where we provide love, food, medical care and socialization until adoption into a new loving home. We educate on the importance of spaying and neutering of all pets.
GO: https://adoptastray.com/ (for Shanghai based options https://www.scaashanghai.org/ )
WAR CHEST BOUTIQUE
Their mission is two-fold. We seek to market and sell handcrafted items made by at-risk and rescued men and women from around the world, supporting culturally sensitive, value-added intervention projects, while educating our shoppers about the risks the vulnerable face in our world.
GO: https://warchestboutique.com/
PARKS PROJECT
Giving back to our parklands means more than just writing a check. As an official business partner to the National Parks, Parks Project work directly with over 30 park conservancies across the US who have boots on the ground inside the parks.
GO: https://www.parksproject.us
ONE HOPE WINE
ONEHOPE was founded by eight friends with a lofty vision: to create exceptional products that inspire people to indulge while doing good. To date they have made more than $3 million in donations, provided 46,000 people with global health care, 49,000 forever homes for shelter animals, 1.8 million meals for children, 163,000 life-saving vaccines and much more.
GO: www.onehopefoundation.org.
BEST FRIENDS
For over 30 years, Best Friends Animal Society has been running the US’s largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals and building effective programs that reduce the number of animals entering shelters.
Strategic Global Mobility Leader | Relocation, Assignments, Immigration, Tax | Remote Work Strategies | M&A | ED&I | Risk & Compliance | Global Security & Crisis Management | Advisory Service | AI Enthusiast
2 周What an incredible list, there is so many ways to give back and any one or more on this list would align to all of us! A must read! A must Act!
Vice-President, Asia Region at Arpin International Group
5 年Great initiative and idea, Michael!? Thanks for bringing such a notion more exposure!?