charity: water September Campaign

Do you ever feel like there's so many people to help and so many things to change that you might as well just not do any of it because you won't get it all done anyways? I think about this often. About looking outside myself, trying to help, making a positive difference... they're daunting thoughts, honestly. Its easy to make excuses, or put things off, waiting. Until next month. Until you have more money. Until you have more time. But it's clear that the world is in need and we can't keep waiting to help. Too many people are thirsty, starving and homeless. I've learned that the best thing to do is begin where you are. Start with the knowledge you have and grow from there. Give of your time, money, ideas and your whole self. And you'll come out of it a thousand times richer than when you started.

This is where charity: water comes in.
charity: water is a non-profit organization that works to bring clean water to the millions of people in developing countries who don't have this luxury, one clean well at a time. water is an incredibly valuable resource and having access to clean, safe water changes a village in more ways than one. A few facts from charity: water:

-Diseases from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.
-90% of the 30,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are of children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable.
-A clean water project nearby means more than safe drinking water to women and children in developing nations; it means time, freedom and incentive to change their communities.
 
It is easy to see why clean water can elevate a village from one of poverty, disease and inequality to one that flourishes with education, opportunity, and healthy, long lives. This is the change charity: water strives to bring to these villages, this is the difference they are making. For the past five years, they have been funding drilling projects across developing countries like Liberia and Honduras and have successfully brought clean water to two million people.
 

Now they want to move even faster. The goal of their September Campaign is to raise enough money to buy a FS 250 Drilling Rig. This will enable them to dig 80 more wells and bring clean water to 40,000 more people- a year. This rig is the key to opening a literal floodgate of clean water for the people of Ethiopia, and I can't think of a better cause to donate our time, money and energy to this fall. PLUS, if they reach their goal, a donor will match it with a SECOND drilling rig! Even better!
 
You're all invited to join me in helping charity: water achieve their goal by the end of October! There are so many ways you can help:
 
1. Spread the word. Blog about it, facebook it, tweet it, morris code it. Anything and everything makes a difference!
2. Visit the charity: water September Campaign site to make a donation- 100% goes to the drilling rig. Also, you can go there to stay up-to-date on how the campaign is going.
3. Get buttons and banners here, watch the campaign trailer, and put them up on your blog or website.
4. Get invloved here by volunteering or starting your own fundraiser to raise money for the new rig. You could ask for donations to charity: water for your birthday this month or hold a yard sale- every little bit helps!
 
 
Begin where you are.

Don't wait for the easy moment. Make every moment count.
Start today.

charity:water- raising money for clean water

from charity:water

campaign: The Missfits Soccer Team
raising the money: 13 soccer players in the Seattle area
raised so far: $5,010
mission statement: “It’s very simple. Clean drinking water is a basic human right. Too many people in this world don’t have clean water to drink, and that is not ok with us!”

This team was already winning on the field, but they decided to reach for another goal: to fund an entire water project.

Less than two weeks into their campaign, they did it!

Give up your birthday. Play soccer. Sell old stuff in a garage sale. You can do anything to raise money for clean drinking water. 100% of donations go directly to water projects in developing countries. Learn more here >

The cold facts...

about the WATER situation in the world:

FUNDRAISE FOR CLEAN WATER                           Give up your birthday, run a race, shave your moustache...grow a moustache!

You can do anything to fundraise for water.  

SPONSOR A WATER PROJECT
 Do it as a family, or in the name of a loved one. Then, use one of our personalized cards to share the message.

WHAT IS THE WATER CRISIS?
One in eight people on the planet drinks water that's likely to make them sick. The water crisis and poverty go hand-in-hand.

Nika

To The Nika Community,

Our Tanzania Project from last year's Walk For Water has come to recent completion with 53 new water points and 60 rehabilitated points finished. What a success! So we're doing it again. World Water Day is this Sunday, so spreading awareness is more important now than ever. We will be teaming with Project Concern International for our annual event and invite you all to register and come out (rain or shine) to participate. Like last year, it will be held at Mission Bay/Tecolote Shores from 9am-12pm.

Plus, Nika is expanding in all sorts of exciting ways! Thanks to your interest, support and demand, Nika will be available to more of our community in new areas. By being part of the "wave of new social entrepreneurialism", we've met some great groups. Help us to connect with even more! For our local (and not so local) fans, we have awesome new ways to create more donations online and at the best fairs, festivals and fundraisers in Southern California.

The Nika Team

Guest Post; Enough Excuses

Enough Excuses: Why We Owe it to Others (and Ourselves) to Volunteer

By: Joy P., who has written at length about online accounting degrees and what it takes to become a phlebotomist.

The holiday season is upon us, and so is the call to give freely to good causes. Whether it’s donating canned goods to your local church or giving $10 to the Salvation Army Santa ringing his bell outside the mall, we’re all a little bit more generous with what we have during this time of the year.
This is also the perfect time of the year to consider giving something else to those in need—your time and effort. Volunteering is a lasting way to make an impact on others, way beyond what an equivalent monetary donation would. If you’re feeling guilty right about now, you’re not alone—we all make excuses to ourselves as to why we can’t volunteer. Consider these ways to break free of those old mantras and really give back in the new year.

• I’m just too busy: Really? Count up the hours you spend eating out at restaurants, watching TV, and surfing the Internet every week. You can’t cut back one hour of that time to put towards a good cause? I think you can--and once you start, you’ll realize that it’s much more rewarding than those other diversions.
• I don’t know where to start: It’s easy: start with what you know and are interested in. Do you love kids? Be a big brother or big sister. Antisocial? Consider writing a column for the local activist newsletter. The number of volunteer opportunities is endless. Just start with something you’re already passionate about.
• I can’t become attached to someone like that: Most people won’t admit it, but one of the scariest things about volunteering is growing to care about another person or a cause in a deep way. While you’re worried about spreading yourself too thin, however, did you ever consider that the person you’re helping will probably give you as much support as you give them? It’s not a one way street—volunteering is fulfilling for everyone involved.
• I don’t have anything to offer: Everyone likes to bring their own insecurities in as an excuse. “I’m just a silly freelance writer,” I say to myself, “what could I ever have to give anyone?” Did you ever stop to consider that the skills you have that you take for granted—being a decent writer, for example—are likely someone else’s dream? Don’t sell yourself short; there’s someone out there who would love to have you teach them what you know.
• I’m no saint—how can I help others?: Some people make the mistake of thinking they have to be a righteous, perfect person to volunteer without being a hypocrite. In some cases, though, a flawed mentor is the best role model of all. I had a writing teacher who admitted to me that she was too scared to write throughout her twenties, though she now has a successful book and fellowship at a great university. Being honest and sharing your true self is potentially one of the best things you can do to inspire someone else.
• I can’t make a regular time commitment: Do you think you’re the only person in the world who has trouble upholding your weekly duties? You’re not alone, my friend, and there’s no reason why that should stop you from volunteering. Many volunteer opportunities are intermittent or low commitment; there’s no guilt if you miss a time, but you’re still free to show up if you can. From a monthly church clean up to helping with a food bank, check out a “training wheels” volunteer opportunity where you can help out, but not feel burdened by it.

Guest Post; 5 Ways Volunteering Can Change Your Life

5 Ways Volunteering Can Change Your Life

By: PJ Molan, who helped compile the list of the best social work schools and is working towards becoming a forensic scientist.

There are lots of persuasive reasons not to volunteer. It’s time consuming, often uncomfortable, and can force you to face facts about the state of the world and yourself that you’d perhaps rather leave alone. Once you take the plunge, however, you come to realize that all those excuses are far outweighed by the transformative ways volunteering can change your life, for the better.

1. Realize Your Ability to Change Lives

Throughout my college and young adult years, I’d cultivated a view of the world that went something like this: “It’s terribly screwed up, way beyond my ability to do anything about it.” This perspective left me with a general sense of anger, and powerlessness. A few years ago, I joined a group of writers that teaches the process of creative writing to inner city kids, and I realized that any skill you possess has the ability to change lives, and in the process, make a small but non-negligible impact on the world. It’s how you decide to use those skills that matters.

2. Get Catapulted Out of Your Comfort Zone

I grew up in a poor household, and although I harbored a lot of anger about the economic disparities in the U.S., once I got a decent job I didn’t want to think about the realities of being poor anymore. Seeing those inner city kids face the stress and anxiety that comes from growing up without security, I realized how selfish and ultimately comfortable I had been in my own apathy. Volunteering will take you out of your own apathetic zone, and reawaken the issues that matter to you.

3. Form Life-Long Relationships With Other Volunteers

Modern society is defined by a general sense of anonymity. It’s easy, if you don’t make the effort, to go through life with a series of superficial friendships that don’t go at all beneath the surface. As you’re volunteering and going through this personal transformation, there will be other volunteers going through it as well, people who you’re likely to form lasting, rich relationships with, due to your shared experiences.

4. Experience the Joy of Giving

Giving of yourself in a serious manner is exhausting, and that’s why most people don’t bother to do it. It’s easier and nicer in a lot of ways to put all your time and money into pampering yourself. When you volunteer and see the look of gratitude on the faces of the people you’re trying to help, however, you’ll experience a profound satisfaction at your ability to make someone else’s life a little easier. It’s a feeling of connectedness between people of very different cultures and backgrounds that few get to experience in their lifetime.

5. Gain Confidence In Yourself

Volunteering may be one of the hardest challenges you’ve faced to date. Your project may go incredibly off course, and you may be upset at your inability to enact the changes you had planned. If you’re working in the third world, you’ll probably be homesick, hot, and uncomfortable for a good chunk of the time. But once you’ve made it through you’ll know that you can do anything—a very empowering feeling that you will carry with you throughout your life.

Special Feature: Volunteer Capital Centre

Today I want to introduce you to my new favorite non-profit org:
Volunteer Capital Centre
This is an awesome program providing aid in Africa- and they have opportunities for growth! Looking to volunteer and have an amazing service experience, to make a difference??? Check out Voulnteer Capital Centre.


Here's what they do:

Volunteer Capital Centre was formed to provide volunteer opportunities in third world countries. The volunteers will be placed in nonprofit organizations, community based organizations, faith based organizations, and government agencies. We make the process of making volunteering in third world countries a safe and comfortable as possible procedure. As our motto says we want to give the opportunity for others to leave a finger print in the life of another, this involves changing the life of another for the better. We make the process to be safe, affordable and high quality. To our volunteers we offer responsible volunteer travel experiences, exceptional training and career development opportunities, and facilitates the ability to make a real difference.


We are committed to provide exemplary services to our volunteers and to our local partners. We provide safe and comfortable accommodation to our volunteers who get to work in local centres. Our first priority is safety and as such we place our volunteers in home stays where they are in a safe and comfortable family.

We are also accountable to the local organizations who we partner with. We offer them volunteers who are highly responsible and eager to work with them to help achieve their goals and targets. We firmly believed that the locals are the experts and they are the ones who know how to solve their problems more efficiently. We provide our partners with volunteers who want to change the life of another and they help the partners

The programs available are for English speaking individuals who are 18 years and older. There are no educational requirements but some programs need some academic qualifications like working in a clinic. We have flexible programs where you can pick how many hours you want to work in a day. Our program durations are between one week and three months. We also offer customized programs where you choose how you will work and the best times for you.

The programs that we offer include the following:
Teaching
Volunteers will teach public schools, orphanages and community schools. Schools are in demand for teachers and the students are willing to learn this gives you a chance to impact the life of a young child. The volunteer will be involved in teaching English, Math, Science social Studies and physical education. The volunteers will partner with local teachers and other volunteers to provide proper education to the children.

Health professionals
There are many clinics and volunteer organizations in such areas that offer medical help to the poor. In conjunction with the clinics and the health centres (dispensaries) the volunteer will work alongside them to provide medical service

HIV/ AIDS program
As a volunteer you will be asked to help in the outreach programs to help educate the local and create awareness about the disease. Supporting the infected and affected will be done through provision of food and medical supplies. You will be counseling them, encourage and help empower them. Our partner organization will be carrying out outreach programs in schools, community centres and public occasions.

Caring for people with disabilities
As a volunteer you will be expected to help through capacity building. Empowering the disabled is important as they will be able to be independent from other people and can be self reliant. There is also a social aspect to the help given to the disabled. There is a wonderful effect felt caused by the special care and attention given to the disabled. The impact felt by the organization is tremendous; the disabled people’s lives are changed for good.

Orphanages
Many of the babies are orphaned because their parents had abandoned them, while other are because the parents died of HIV/ AIDS. Some kids are very young and they don’t understand why their lives are like that. As such they need special care and attention so that they don’t feel abandoned

Community Development
We work with organizations that provide a number of services to the local community. Our volunteers have the unique opportunity to become involved in a number of activities on a daily basis, including education, empowerment, construction, and vocational training.



Thanks Volunteer Capital Centre for the work you're doing! can't wait to see more good things from you in the future!

Volunteers Build 225 Kona AfricaBikes in The Gambia

Run for Congo Women!

Run for Congo Women

In 2006, Lisa Shannon’s life changed. She was watching an episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” on which Women for Women International founder and CEO Zainab Salbi was explaining the crisis facing women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). “I learned about Congo, widely called the worst place on earth to be a woman,” Lisa said. “Awakened to the atrocities—millions dead, women being raped and tortured, children starving and dying in shocking numbers—I had to do something.”

Moved by DRC survivors’ stories, Lisa took action, sponsoring two women in the DRC and starting a program called Run for Congo Women.

Lisa began running alone, raising nearly $28,000 on her first run. The movement has since expanded to runs and walks throughout the United States. Run for Congo Women participants have raised more than $600,000—enough money to sponsor 1,444 women in the DRC.

During January and February 2007, Lisa traveled to Eastern DRC’s South Kivu province, and returned again in May 2008 and February 2010. Experiences from her trips inspired her newly released book, “A Thousand Sisters” (Seal Press, 2010). “‘A Thousand Sisters’ is a portrait of the world’s deadliest civil war through the intimate lens of friendship,” Lisa said.

Lisa currently lives in her hometown of Portland, Oregon, where a run will take place this summer—she no longer runs alone.

Want to Run for Congo Women? There are 3 races planned over the next two months- register for one today!

Chicago, IL 5K — October 2, 2010, Register here

Tempe, AZ 5K — October 10, 2010, Register here

Conover, NC 12.9 or 4.3 mile — November 6, 2010, Register here

Keep checking back for more races to be posted! 

OR, PLAN YOUR OWN RUN FOR CONGO WOMEN!  Follow these steps and make a difference for women in the DRC along with your fellow runners! 

This is such an awesome way to help others and get my running fix at the same time- I'm definitely going to try and make the AZ race in November! See you there!