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boundlessloveproject.org   Peace Pilgrim, born Mildred Lisette Norman, was an American spiritual teacher, mystic, pacifist, vegetarian activist and peace activist. In 1952, she became the first woman to walk the entire length of the Appalachian Trail in one season . She did so to bring attention to her international message of peace. John and Ann Rush operated the first Peace Pilgrim Center from their home in Hemet, California for 18 years. In April of 2001 the center relocated to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Somerset, California about 50 miles east of Sacramento. In November of 2005 the organization moved operations out of California to Connecticut and Oklahoma. The nonprofit organization continues to believe in and spread her message of peace. While the primary organization focus over the years has been and sending out books and writings perpetuating the international message of peace of "the Peace Pilgrim" Mildred Lesette Norman the organizati

Machao Orphanage is located in Makueni Kenya. As a result of a US outreach initiative the story of the orphans resonated with Eric Riddle, of Pasadena California. Eric shared his experiences there with his mother and others in the local Pasadena community. On his visit Eric was greeted by smiling, welcoming orphans----and the conditions they  live in--- the overbearing stench of burning trash, no evidence of any sanitation, no electricity and the only food available consisting of what is grown at the orphanage. machaoorphanage.org During his time there the work of Eric's team focused on a sustainability project to build a greenhouse and chicken coop essential to improving the children's diet from only one meal a day consisting of grains. With the greenhouse and chicken coop the children have vegetables and sources of protein. Any excess can be sold at local markets. Having so little -- to the orphans these improvements are an incredible leap  yet they still do

This Southern California nonprofit group home provides special education and counseling to children of abuse, mental illness or in foster care. The main campus is 17 acres and includes 6 group homes serving kids 7 – 18.  Founded over 100 years ago HILLSIDES, based in Altadena, CA,   has made its mission is to create safe places for children, strengthen families, provide special education; and advocate for children’s rights. This Southern California nonprofit creates safe places for children in its residential treatment program where children living in the group homes, are in foster care or that have been referred by the Department of Mental Health or public school districts. On the Hillsides’’ campus   they have the chance to live in a secure, stable environment enabling them to heal and rebuild trusting relationships with adults. Hillsides works with many social and child services organizations, including Los Angeles County, Pasadena, Glendale, and San Gabriel Valley

If you haven’t heard the inspiring story already you must find a way to see the documentary “Delicious Peace Grows in a Ugandan Coffee Bean,” directed by   Curt Fissel. The film tells a story we can all learn from.   In 2003 J.J. Keki , a Ugandan coffee farmer had a dream. To make his dream a reality he walked door to door and asked his Jewish, Christian and Muslim neighbors to put their differences aside for the benefit of all. They were all third and fourth generation coffee farmers struggling to make a living with   low local coffee prices. The farmers did put difference aside and formed the Peace Kawomera Cooperative.   With help from Laura Wetzler from the US-based organization Kulanu, and   Paul Katzeff, CEO of Thanksgiving Coffee Company in Fort Bragg, CA,   these Jewish, Christian and Muslim farmers formed a coffee cooperative that is not only sharing delicious coffee around the world but also showing by example that   differences can be put aside, and with dialog and

Founded in 1988 the charity whose volunteers once built hiking trails, worked in libraries, and did myriad other tasks, has overhauled its service program to focus on a single mission: improving graduation rates in struggling public schools. The transformation was tied to a Johns Hopkins research study worked on by Robert Balfanz, brother of City Year's President  Jim Balfanz. According to the Johns Hopkins study the high-school dropout crisis is concentrated. Roughly 12 percent of the country’s high schools account for 50 percent of the students who don’t graduate. Says Robert Balfanz,  “It all sort of clicked in my mind,” he says. “They can give us a team of 10 to 15 corps members who are trained and focused and are in the building 7 to 7.” If each volunteer works with 15 students who show warning signs that they might drop out, he says, “we can now reach 150 to 200 kids a day with that constant nagging and nurturing.” The math and English tutoring and the volunte

Their music is a message in action.  Bread Over Bombs is an activist rock band that uses 100% of profits from music CD, LP and downloads sales to feed people in crisis around the world.  Through their work with the LA Regional Food Bank Bread Over Bombs has already provided more than 10,000 meals.  With the release of their new self-titled  album available on www.amazon.com  and iTunes purchases and support, which translate directly to meals to feed people in crisis, are spreading internationally. CD’s are even available at Tower Records in Japan.  And Glasgow SE Foodbank in the United Kingdom is giving away the album with every donation.  You can check out their album review on AMN- the Australian Music Network.  The music is a blend of timely and relevant messages with great music. The initiative started with Founder Brad Mitchell long ago. He began volunteering at the age of 7 alongside his grandmother in an Arizona charity-funded Navajo school and a San Francisco re

The concept was invented by Professor James Tobin of Yale University. The movement started in the UK and spreading  to  25 countries including the H.S. The Robin Hood Tax initiative is a collaboration and partnership between many nonprofit organizations, politicians and activist volunteers in countries including England, Canada, the United States, Spain, Mexico, Norway, Germany, The Netherlands and more. The idea is to turn our global financial crisis into an opportunity to provide funds to address gender equality, climate change, international maternal healthcare.  The thinking is-  as result of the financial crisis  created by  hedge funds, banks and other financial institutions  these issues have gotten worse.  An example from Britain is that according to an IMF report as a result of the global financial crisis 1 in 5 British families has to choose between food or paying for heat. Now think of conditions in  impoverished developing countries that were in the worse economic cir

Los Angeles resident Owliya Dima, a former immigrant herself,   along with her daughter Meymuna   are founders of the Tiyya Foundation. Their premise is that for the most part residents of American immigrant communities are often preoccupied with helping others overseas.   Having lived the experience of   transitioning to American life Owliya and her family created the Orange County based nonprofit. The Tiyya Foundation helps not only provide basic necessities to refugees and displaced American families the organization also helps families with the transition to become active participants in society. Services for clients include English as a second language coaching, homework tutoring, a community soccer program to help children with their transition and volunteers that help families navigate social and civic processes. The ultimate goal is to foster self-sufficiency.   Through a partnership with the University of California Irvine Tiyya   provides college campus

The Southern Rural Black Woman’s Initiative (SRBWI), founded in 2000, works in 77 counties across the Black Belt regions of Alabama and Southwest Georgia, and the Delta in Mississippi. SRBWI is focused on meeting the needs of unemployed and underemployed Black women using advocacy, self empowerment, capacity building, technical assistance and public education activities so that low income women become advocates for themselves and others.  The organization’s mission is to support and facilitate the capacity of women to take responsibility for their own personal and economic lives. SRBWI, through outreach programs, engages women in advocacy and policy initiatives to redirect local, state, and federal resources to help ensure women’s full access to economic and social justice.  SRBWI also helps build links between women’s groups focused on this common goal.  They also have an economic and community development agenda for women which includes workforce development for wome

Roughly 9 years ago while her mother was recovering from cancer Yael Cohen over heard the phrase "fuck cancer," said in passing.  It resonated with her... that and the fact that her generation... Gen Y has been left out of the cancer conversation because they are not the target demographic most susceptible to the disease. But Yael thought "We've taught our parents about technology. We've talked to our parents about watching their cholesterol. Why aren't we talking to them about saving themselves from this disease? While the organization started out raising money and awareness by selling t-shirts with that explicit phrase-- and a PG version,  F___Cancer, the organization has grown to much more than t-shirt sales. The mission and message of Fuck Cancer is to promote early detection, prevention and awareness by engaging Gen Y'ers to engage their parents in "the cancer conversation." The organization's event-based truly approach to re

Carmel Judd is Rising International's Founder & Executive Director. In 2002 she gave up the successful business she owned and ran for 20 years to start Rising International, the first non-profit to use the home party business model to contribute to solving poverty.  Rising International sells crafts made by the world's poorest people - women. In addition, Rising trains under-employed women in the U.S. to run their own Rising Home Party businesses. Today Rising works with women in 27 countries, focusing on areas of the world where it's the hardest to be alive as woman.  To hear Carmel tell the story of Rising International use this TedX link (and share it with your social networks) http://www.tedxsantacruz.org/ Encourage your social connections to get involved--- send them to www.risinginternational.org

That unfortunately is a myth.  The Native American Heritage Association was started in 1993 by David G. Myers after witnessing the extreme poverty and desperate circumstances of Native Americans families living on Sioux reservations in South Dakota and Wyoming. It is a 501 c 3 nonprofit providing self-help services, clothing and food donations, transportation services for the sick and elderly and even propane for heat and cooking. Please, through your social media networks, encourage your fans, followers, connections and "retweetters" to visit their site,  http://www.naha-inc.org , where you and your network can view a slide show of a typical day of deliveries, driving hundreds of miles, by truck drivers Vern and Dick. Or for info email info@naha-inc.org.

It all started when Gil Garcetti spoke at Barbara Goldberg’s Salon Forum in 2008 sharing powerful photos he had taken in Western Africa. He shared the dire need for safe drinking water and the endless struggles of women and girls to get it.     In 2009 Barbara founded Wells Bring Hope and, partnering with World Vision, drilled 10 wells the first year. Inspired by the commitment of Wells Bring Hope Gil Garcetti continues help share the story of this struggle for safe drinking water through speaking opportunities and his photography. In the Fall of 2007, the UCLA Fowler Museum had an exhibition of his photographs, “Women, Water and Wells.” In 2009, many of these photos were on exhibition in the visitors lobby of the United Nations in New York. In February, 2008, these same photographs and his words inspired the founding of “Wells Bring Hope.” Since its start Wells Bring Hope has funded 511 wells helping over 514,567 people in West Africa. Both Gil Garcetti and Barba

For this Netherlands-based charity a very special set of unique skills, along with passion, are required. And according to founder Pascal van Erp, “It is very important to show the world how big the problem is that we are talking about.” “There are lots of nets out in the oceans.” Each dive costs between $2,000 and $2,700. Thus far the group’s only source of support has come from the Dutch government: $530,400 from a pool created by the sale of lottery tickets. Pascal leads a team of 30 to 40 volunteer divers in the North Sea. His group coordinates and works with a loosely integrated network of like-minded divers around the world. “In the last three years, we have made 100 dives and removed 10 tons of fishing gear from the sea,” he says. The nets are then recycled into socks and other textiles. Their efforts are both difficult and dangerous. “It’s the most difficult type of diving I’ve ever done,” says Heather Hamza, one of roughly 50 volunteer divers who make up

Founded in 2014 STEAM Coders has already served nearly 400 greater Los Angeles area students. The Pasadena, CA-based nonprofit   is teaching disadvantaged and underrepresented middle and high school students of color the fundamentals of Science, Technology, Engineering,   Art and Math (STEAM). While ethnic and racial groups that have historically comprised a minority of the U.S. population are growing in size and influence, they remain underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics nationally. 4% of minority students are awarded degrees in physical science while 12% of other students receive degrees in this area. In 2011 National Science Foundation Reports Low Minority Representation on STEM Faculties. And according to the New York Times, in 2013, both women and people of color earned fewer higher education STEM degrees than ever. STEAM Coders is on point to, through hands on activities, field trips and classroom instruction, help stude