Good Monkeys

Family Ties

When I put out a call for non-profits to feature in this blog, I'll admit I was surprised to hear from an 800- year old family. It never occurred to me that a family would start a non-profit around it's heritage, but I have to admit, I think it's a lovely idea. And Duncan Carmichael seems very passionate about it.

According to Duncan, the Clan Carmichael is organized and operated exclusively for the following purposes:

• Promoting public knowledge of and interest in Scottish culture, such as literature, music, poetry and art.
• Encouraging and supporting education and training in piping, dancing and athletic contests.
• Supporting educational programs in Scottish culture.
• Engaging in other charitable ventures as shall preserve Scottish customs, tradition and heritage.

There is a US division of the clan whose main purposes are to:

• host clan Carmichael tents at Scottish and Celtic Festivals around the country and throughout the year as a means of meeting other Carmichaels and educating the public about our Scottish heritage and clan Carmichael history. Chief Richard Carmichael has attended a number of these events in recent years in order to support Clan Carmichael USA in this goal.
• maintain a scholarship fund which awards scholarships periodically to applicants who will attend a four-year college, with preference given for studies or research in Scottish history and culture.
• raise donations to restore Carmichael House ruins in Scotland

I had a great time exploring the Clan's website, learning about Scottish heritage, Highland Games and Carmichael Estate's history.

If you're a Carmichael in any way, you might want to consider membership in the group. I have to say, it looks like fun!

Easing The Transition From Shelters

As I started to write about this wonderful, Richmond, VA-based organization, I realized I couldn't say it any better than they have on their website. Here is their story.

Embrace Richmond was started when a group of suburban women began to dream of ways of helping their urban neighbors. One of these women, Wendy McCaig, met a homeless woman, named Shannon through a CARITAS shelter.        

When Shannon and her baby daughter exited the shelter they found themselves sleeping on the floor. Wendy recruited her suburban friends to help collect furniture for the family. In just two days these women collected enough furniture to completely furnish the family's home. The story would have ended there, but over the next few months Wendy and Shannon became friends. 

      

One day, Wendy asked Shannon, “What do you want to do with your life?” Shannon responded “I want to help others the way so many people have helped me.”

That is how Embrace Richmond got started. It was born out of the desire of a homeless woman who wanted to give back. That “pay-it-forward” philosophy is ingrained in everything Embrace does. Embrace is run almost entirely by volunteers.

More than 80% of the volunteer hours served every week are served by formerly homeless individuals.

It is the passion and commitment of the homeless families served by Embrace that gives Embrace it’s unique culture and fuels it’s vision of being a place that unites people from all backgrounds.

      

        Embrace distributes Home Starter Packages to homeless families as they exit local shelters. Home Starter Packages consist of basic furniture items,  linens, dishes and other household items. The Home Starter Package eases the economic stress of families moving in to a new home and improves the health and well-being of families.

There are numerous ways to get involved with Embrace Richmond. You can host a party to collect household items, volunteer to help move a family's furniture, become a personal shopper or even a family encourager.

Contact Embrace Richmond to learn more about ways you can help.

At this holiday time of year, when you're getting new gifts from family and friends, consider donating an old item for each new item you take into your home. It's a great way to reduce clutter while helping someone else with a hand up.

Protecting Reproductive Health

Founded in 1940 by a group of concerned citizens, the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood's mission is to ensure that individuals and families have the freedom, information, and ability to make their own informed reproductive choices.

The organization provides a wide range of services towards this mission.

At their center in Richmond, VA, the group offers affordable and confidential health care including birth control and emergency contraception, 1st trimester abortion services, reproductive health services for men, women, and teens, HIV testing and counseling, and screening and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.

They have even expanded to include pre-natal care for low-income women who are not eligible for Medicaid.

One of the primary focuses of VLPP is education. Their Becoming a Responsible Teen program is a culturally appropriate, HIV prevention curriculum designed especially for African-American adolescents in non-school, community-based settings.

In addition to the BART program, the VLPP website offers a host of information about birth control, pregnancy and sexual health. There is even a special section for to help parents talk to their kids about sex.The information isn't just for women; there is lots to learn for men also.

VLPP is undergoing a major project this year and expanding their building and services dramatically. If you know an individual or group that would interested in helping raise money for their capital campaign, please contact VLPP.

As the daughter of a woman who had her first child at eighteen because of inadequate access to education and health services, I'm thankful for organizations like VLPP. Please consider spreading the word if you know a young man or woman who needs information.

Stories, Please!

I need your help.

One of the reasons I started this blog was to share stories about good people in the world. I've started by featuring good non-profit groups but I'd like to expand, if you can help me.

Let's collect some stories together.

Currently, I don't have time to interview each organization and get stories about the people and animals they have helped. Some websites have success stories, but many don't have the resources to post them.

If you know someone who has been touched by one of these groups, can you ask them to write a comment on the post and tell their story? Just send them a link to the site (you can get a link to a particular post by clicking "permalink" that is at the end of each one) and ask them to share.

If you are involved in one of these organizations, would be post a comment and share your story? You can tell us how it feels to volunteer, a story about a special someone you've helped, anything so that we can get to know more about the organization.

I've been getting lovely emails from the groups on the blog but it would be so nice for others to join in te pleasure.

There is so much power in a good story. Please share yours. You may never know who you inspire to change the world.

And don't forget to subscribe so you know what new group is featured each day. It will save you having to remember to run back to the blog and check. If you're anything like me, having to remember something is a hit or miss affair.

Thanks again for all the wonderful things you do to make the world a little better place.

Providing Shelter Where It Is Needed

What would you do if a hurricane blows away your house? Or if a tsunami washed away everything you own? How would you find shelter from the storms and a place to cook basic meals?

Those are the questions asked by a group of Rotarians in Cornwall in the UK.

The answer they came up with was "Shelter Box."

These ingenious men and women created a tough as nails plastic bin filled with all the basic supplies a family of 10 would need to keep them alive.

Each Shelter Box consists of a large, waterproof tent with a center area for sleeping and wings so that men and women can sleep separately. There are ten sleeping bags as well as ground covers and thermal blankets for sleeping. For cooking, there are pots, pans, utensils, dishes and a multi-fuel stove included in the box. In addition, there are water containers and water purification kits. On top of that, the designers have thought to include a tool kit containing a hammer, saw, shovel and other necessary items.

It is simply amazing how much they can pack into one little space.

To date, they have shipped over 50,000 Shelter Boxes to over 40 countries around the world, providing a new home for over 500,000 people.

The idea has proved so popular that the fine folks in Cornwall have extended the program to Rotary clubs throughout the US, Canada, Australia and Germany and they have even gotten schoolchildren involved.

Through their "A Million In Africa" program, they are teaching children across the UK about giving while they learn about the problems of refugees and homelessness in Africa. Hundreds of schools around the country have signed up to become Shelter Box donors.

If you'd like to learn more about the Shelter Box program, please visit their website or one of their sister sites in the US, Australia, or Canada. You don't have to be a Rotarian to get involved as a volunteer or donor.