Karin's Space

American Red Cross. The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters, taught lifesaving skills to millions, and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money and blood to do its work.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Boys & Girls Clubs of America comprises a national network of some 4,000 neighborhood-based facilities annually serving more than 4.6 million young people, in all 50 states and on U.S. military bases worldwide. Known as “The Positive Place for Kids,” the Clubs provide guidance-oriented character development programs daily. Key programs emphasize leadership development, education and career exploration, financial literacy, health and life skills, the arts, sports, fitness and recreation, and family outreach.

The National AIDS Fund. Since 1988, the National AIDS Fund (NAF) has been promoting leadership and generating resources for effective community responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. NAF continues to build healthy communities through an expanding network of Community Partnerships that support over 400 grass-roots organizations every year. These groups provide HIV prevention, care and support services to individuals and families most impacted by HIV/AIDS: youth, communities of color, women and gay men. NAF makes sure communities have access to the most effective programs for preventing HIV.

National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society. MS stops people from moving. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society exists to make sure it doesn’t. Founded in 1946, the Society helps each person address the challenges of living with MS through its 50-state network of Chapters. The Society funds more MS research, provides more services for people with MS, offers more professional education and furthers more advocacy efforts than any other MS organization in the world. The Society is dedicated to achieving a world free of MS. The Society wants to do something about MS now. Join the movement at http://nationalmssociety.org.

ninemillion.org. ninemillion.org is a UN Refugee Agency-led campaign to raise awareness and funds for 9 million refugee children around the world. Many of these children have suffered atrocities and are forced to spend years of their young lives away from home with little hope of returning. They have extremely limited access to education and often no opportunities to play. They are considered the most forgotten children in the world. ninemillion.org gives these children a voice, and the opportunity to a better future by providing innovative education and sport programs.

Sierra Club. Sierra Club is one of America’s oldest, largest and most influential grass-roots environmental organizations, and its members are more than 750,000 of your friends and neighbors. Inspired by nature, Sierra Club’s members work together to protect our communities and the planet. Since 1960, the Sierra Club and its members have worked to keep our air and water clean, and have protected more than 160 million acres of wild lands, including national treasures such as the Grand Canyon, the Florida Everglades, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and the Giant Sequoia National Monument.

Stopglobalwarming.org. The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is a nonpartisan effort to bring citizens together to declare that global warming is here now and that it is time to demand solutions. Global warming is one of the most urgent issues of our time, and although the problem is of worldwide significance, the movement recognizes that the United States is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and doing the least about it. The necessary first step must be to encourage Americans to take action. This online grass-roots movement is about change — as individuals, as a country and as a global community. We are all contributors to global warming and must all be part of the solution.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest, most progressive grass-roots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events such as the Komen Race for the Cure, the network has invested nearly
$1 billion to fulfill its promise: becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

U.S. Fund for UNICEF. For more than 60 years, UNICEF has been the world’s leading children’s organization, saving more young lives than any other humanitarian organization. Working in over 150 countries and territories, UNICEF knows how to save the lives of children with low-cost, high-impact programs. From child health and nutrition, water and sanitation, education and protection, UNICEF’s experience, resources, global presence and perspective are unsurpassed in helping save children’s lives.