Charities You Should Know About

During the journey of service, we meet wonderful individuals who are using their skills to benefit communities. I want to share a few of them, and encourage you to get in touch with these people to see how you can get involved. Most of all, share the information with others; that is the best way to promote someone wonderful--through your trusted recommendation.
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Brokers For Charity
I found out about this wonderful organization through word of mouth and discovered they are raising funds for charities through commercial and residential real estate transactions. As a referral service, Brokers for Charity refers real estate deals to quality agents and then gives a portion of the referral fee to the charity chosen by the agent. This is a FREE referral service for agents, which means that this is a monetary win-win for everyone.
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Bosom Buddy Bra Recycling
I met this wonderful lady at an E-women Network business luncheon. Her company recycles bras from all over the country. They gather old, used, unused bras and pick out the best ones to donate to women's shelters. The rest get sent to factories out of the country for recycling. The metal and plastic bits are pulled out and melted down; the fabric is made into rags that get reused in various products. A true green company with a huge heart. I have the pleasure of collaborating with them in our upcoming fundraiser: Karma Cups: An Uplifting Affair next month. I hope you will come and bring your unused bras. If you have a nonprofit that needs bras or wants to do fundraising, you must contact Bosom Buddy Bra Recycling.
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Hope for Women Arts
This is an art therapy program started by one of the survivors from Bravery Project, Joyce White. Hope for Women Arts is partnered with Arizona Art Alliance, which provides the art materials for volunteer teachers to teach a art classes in domestic violence shelters. If you are an artist, contact them about doing a volunteer teaching class. It's a great way to give back.
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Purple Ribbon Council
This grassroots, volunteer led organization has several wonderful programs, including the Purple Ribbon Children's Fund for kids who have lost a parent to homicide. They have several fund raising events, such as Girls Night Out, across the US that you can attend to help them raise funds that go toward prevention programs and awareness.
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International

Pixel Project
This is an example of finding a grassroots organization via social media. I met up with these people on Twitter and then Facebook. Their volunteer based group runs across four continents to promote ending violence against women on a global scale. Their goal is to raise US$1 million (or more) for Malaysia's Women's Aid Organisation (http://www.wao.org.my) and the U.S.A.'s National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (http://www.ncadv.org) during the biggest global recession ever (according to Alan Greenspan) by taking fund-and-awareness raising into the 21st Century.
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Bell Bajao
This is another social media networking win. Based out of India and New York, Bell Bajao and Breakthrough are an international human rights group that encourages the public to stand against domestic violence. They use the power of popular culture to send messages that domestic violence is not acceptable. In our Purple Ribbon Study Circles, we discussed the need for a media blitz to get the message out to as many people as possible...this organization can provide an example of just that.