Nonprofit Profiles
Help YouTube Document Hunger in America
Published November 06, 2009 @ 09:00AM PT
Do you know of or work for a nonprofit organization that helps to alleviate the causes of hunger in America? If so, our friends over at YouTube want to hear (and see!) about it.
YouTube's Video Volunteer program is a simple way to raise awareness about the organizations and issues you care about. This month, the program is seeking short videos (of no more than three minutes) profiling nonprofits that work to end hunger in America.
It doesn't matter if you're involved with Feeding America or a tiny food pantry in a rural area. This is a fantastic opportunity to show the world how you work to stop hunger in the United States everyday.
If that wasn't enough, the top three videos submitted will be featured on the YouTube homepage at the end of November.
Go out there and get those cameras rolling, and then click here to submit your video!
(Photo credit: topgold on Flickr)
How to Donate Your Ample Harvest
Published October 28, 2009 @ 09:48AM PT
Anyone who gardens can tell you that there's a certain point in September when you can't even give away all the extra tomatoes sitting out in your garden.
It was with this realization and the desire to alleviate hunger across the nation that led Gary Oppenheimer to found AmpleHarvest.org. Speaking with Mr. Oppenheimer this morning, I learned that AmpleHarvest.org was launched with the vision to become a comprehensive national database that allows anybody to find a neighborhood food pantry to donate garden produce to.
Although the site has only been live since May 2009, it already has more than 1,000 pantries registered to receive excess produce from neighborhood gardeners in all 50 states.
Mr. Oppenheimer highlighted the need for such a resource with a great example. With so few large food banks in states like Vermont, it's possible that if you had an extra bag of potatoes from your garden, you'd have to drive several hours away just to donate them. With AmpleHarvest.org, you can connect with a food pantry a few miles from your home.
Too Poor for Pets
Published September 18, 2009 @ 05:08AM PT
Those of us in the trenches with people in poverty continually think of ways to get our nation's leaders and lawmakers to pay attention. We don't want to think they just don't care; they're just, um, busy. How can we get their attention? If only poverty was...cuter? Let me throw out a few provocative poverty bones to chew on:
- Pets. Millions of pet owners in America can't afford to care for their furry friends. Yeah, feeding them and the basic veterinary activities is expensive, but what gets way out of whack is when Fido or Fluffy gets sick. One of my dog-friends, Elijah, is having some serious budget-busting health issues. At the moment, his owner can come up with payments, but not for long term. Tough spot to be in. I dunno, maybe we can use pet health care as a campaign, and then segue into human health care.
- Pet Health Insurance-you gotta know the insurance agencies are all over this cash cow. September is National Pet Health Insurance month.
- Numbers tell the story--the number of Change.org Animal Rights members is 3X the PIA members. My solution--give the homeless and poor people pets! Better yet, get more PIA members.
In all seriousness, homelessness, my issue of choice, needs to be seen as a poverty crisis, not just a "bum under the bridge" problem. It's a national concern, not just urban in nature, that affects more kids/families than single adults. And readers with a strong memory can quote me on this a year from now... I'm betting my lunch money that those on the edge of poverty, or those mired in it, will be in worse shape before (if) things get better. Kudos to NYT's Erik Eckholm and Arianna Huffington for their recent efforts to call attention to homeless kids!
Politics and poverty go hand-in-hand. Sadly, those in politics tend to know very little about the hurt of poverty (and less about homelessness). Policymakers are probably happy that few pay much attention to this growing issue. Watch out for the HEAR US Learning Curve Express!!
photos by the author
Survey on Classroom Hunger
Published August 13, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT
(Hello everyone, Greg here. This week I'd like to feature a guest post by Stephanie Keller from the nonprofit group Share Our Strength. The organization is asking teachers who have experienced child hunger in their classrooms to fill out a short survey to help Share Our Strength document and raise awareness about hunger in the classroom. If you're a teacher, please fill out the survey (link below). If you have teacher friends or colleagues, please forward this to them. Thanks in advance for all that you do!)
Every day, in classrooms across America, teachers witness the devastating impacts of hunger on the children they serve - problems that we might see as behavioral, teachers know are often the result of children not eating breakfast that morning or dinner the night before. We hear from teachers across the country that more children come to school hungry on Monday morning than any other day of the week, because they didn't eat enough over the weekend.
This summer, Share Our Strength is talking with teachers across the country about child hunger in their classrooms, and we need your help. Through a project called Hunger in America's Classrooms: Share Our Strength's Teacher Report, we hope to raise awareness about child hunger in America and build a movement of Americans dedicated to ending it.
