From now through December 31, 2007, One Laptop Per Child is offering a Give One Get One program in the United States and Canada. This is the first time the revolutionary XO laptop has been made available to the general public. For a donation of $399, one XO laptop will be sent to empower a child in a developing nation and one will be sent to the child in your life in recognition of your contribution. $200 of your donation is tax-deductible (your $399 donation minus the fair market value of the XO laptop you will be receiving).
For all U.S. donors who participate in the Give One Get One program, T-Mobile is offering one year of complimentary HotSpot access.
If you participate in Give One Get One today, you will receive your XO laptop(s) in early 2008. Your donated laptop will reach a child in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Haiti, Mongolia or Rwanda in the same early 2008 timeframe.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Give One Get One.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Kiva.org Gift Certificates Pay It Forward... and Back Again
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- 11/13/07 -- This year, give someone the opportunity to truly change the life of a person living in poverty in the developing world. Kiva.org, the world's first microlending website, lets individuals purchase gift certificates for friends and family, allowing them to make a loan directly to a developing world entrepreneur.
"A Kiva.org gift certificate is much more than a gift -- it's the start of a very positive cycle of loaning to a deserving entrepreneur, getting paid back and loaning again," said Matt Flannery, CEO and Co-Founder of Kiva.org. "We have seen so many lives changed by what we might consider a tiny loan in this country." President Clinton, who features Kiva.org in his new book, "Giving," said, "Through Kiva.org, people around the world can become micro-bankers to developing world entrepreneurs, who have their own ideas, so we can give them a chance to raise their kids with dignity, send their kids to school, and in troubled places like Afghanistan we can marginally increase the chance that peace can prevail, because people will see there is a positive alternative to conflict."
How it works
Kiva.org gift certificates are easily purchased on www.kiva.org in multiples of $25. Once received, the gift recipients go to www.kiva.org, redeem their gift online and then choose an entrepreneur to lend to, such as Damaso Clares of Bolivia, who needs $600 to buy a dairy cow, or Judith Mumbo of Kenya who needs $175 to purchase a machine for her candle-making business. Lenders then choose the amount they would like to contribute to the loan, starting at $25. Throughout the course of the loan (typically 12 months) lenders receive email updates on repayments made and the progress of the business. When the loan is repaid, the funds are returned in full to the lenders -- the ultimate recycling of money!
Why Lend
Kiva Lenders are attracted to the personal connection they feel with the entrepreneur whose business they have invested in, and the feeling of mutual respect and dignity encouraged through lending rather than donating. Ann, a lender from Seattle, said: "This was my opportunity to invest in someone else's dream. It's rewarding to know that you don't have to give much to make a huge difference in someone's life."
Lenders even find themselves "addicted" to the Kiva.org website, watching their portfolio of investments grow as loans are repaid, reloaned and new loans added. Kiva Lender Steve, of Illinois, compares his Kiva portfolio to his personal banking investment portfolio: "Conventional investment wisdom is to have a diversified portfolio of investments; this was the first time I considered emotional rewards as something I could expect besides the occasional dividend. It certainly is habit-forming." More testimonials can be found on the Kiva.org website.
Since its launch in Q4 2005, more than $14 million has been loaned by 140,000 Kiva Lenders to 22,000 entrepreneurs in 37 countries through Kiva.org. The organization has been covered by "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "The Today Show," The New York Times, PBS, ABC World News, CNN, Time, BusinessWeek, and the BBC, among others.
About Kiva.org
Kiva.org (www.kiva.org) is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to an entrepreneur in the developing world. Founded in 2004 by Matt and Jessica Flannery, Kiva.org's mission is to connect people, through lending, to alleviate poverty. Kiva.org currently connects lenders in more than 50 countries with entrepreneurs in 37 developing countries, through 65 microfinance partners. Kiva.org is headquartered in San Francisco.
CONTACT:
Fiona Ramsey
Kiva.org
(415) 358-7515
Email Contact
Sunday, November 25, 2007
MicroPlace Launches Investment Website to Address Global Poverty
New service allows U.S. consumers to invest in microfinance with as little as $100
San Jose, California, October 24, 2007
MicroPlace, a wholly-owned subsidiary of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY), today announced the launch of a new website (www.microplace.com) that provides an easy way for everyday people to invest in the world's working poor by leveraging the power of microfinance, a proven solution to alleviate global poverty.
With the launch of MicroPlace.com, for the first time, consumers in the U.S. can use the internet to make microfinance investments that can provide a financial return while also addressing global poverty. Additionally, MicroPlace's unique business model was designed to create a self-sustaining marketplace to serve as an efficient and scalable way for capital to flow into the microfinance industry.
"In the past, microfinance investing has generally been pursued by large financial institutions or high- net-worth individuals, and has been less accessible for most people," said Tracey Pettengill Turner, Founder and General Manager of MicroPlace. "MicroPlace now offers an easy way for the everyday investor to participate in microfinance; the opportunity to receive a return on their investment; and empower the world's working poor to lift themselves from poverty."
Through MicroPlace's secure platform, everyday people can purchase investments – for as little as $100 – from microfinance security issuers. MicroPlace also enables investors to direct the impact of their investment to a specific country and microfinance institution in the developing world. The microfinance institutions use the funds to make small loans to the working poor, who in turn use the loans to start or expand small businesses and lift themselves out of poverty.
At launch, MicroPlace will offer the ability to direct investments to Africa, Eurasia, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Individuals can visit www.microplace.com to research investment opportunities, make investments, and learn more about microfinance and global poverty. Investments can be purchased using PayPal or a checking account at a U.S. bank. As a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA (formerly NASD), MicroPlace is currently the only broker-dealer specializing in microfinance securities for retail investors.
Working with an industry-leading security issuer
MicroPlace has selected Calvert Social Investment Foundation – a leader in community investment that manages investments for over 2,500 individuals and institutions seeking to support communities around the world through their portfolios – as the first issuer to sell investments on MicroPlace. Calvert Foundation will use the funds generated from the sale of securities on MicroPlace to invest in the specific fund selected by individual investors. Calvert Foundation will also be responsible for making interest and principal payments to investors.
"Calvert Foundation has been working hard for over 10 years to mobilize individual investor capital to support microfinance," said Shari Berenbach, executive director of Calvert Foundation. "Working with MicroPlace gives us the opportunity to offer microfinance investments for as little as $100 for the first time. We believe this will enable more individuals to invest in microfinance and help grow the industry as a whole to significantly improve the lives of the working poor around the world."
Understanding the demand and power of microfinance
Microfinance is the provision of financial services to the working poor, primarily in developing countries. Widely recognized as an effective tool against poverty, the most common microfinance service is the provision of small loans – often as low as $50 – to assist the working poor in their efforts to lift themselves from poverty through their own hard work and entrepreneurial spirit.
Today, 1.3 billion of the world's working poor live below the international poverty line, earning less than U.S. $2 a day¹. Since the inception of microfinance in 1974, more than 100 million people – the majority of them women² - have borrowed microfinance loans with historic repayment rates averaging 97 percent³. It is estimated that about 500 million people run microbusinesses, yet fewer than 10 million of these people – or about 2.5 percent – are able to obtain loans from banks or traditional lending institutions4. To satisfy this demand, the microfinance industry will need substantial amounts of additional investment capital. By providing access to everyday investors in the U.S., MicroPlace has opened up a substantial new channel to acquire the investment capital the industry needs to grow.
About MicroPlace
MicroPlace (www.microplace.com), founded in 2006, is an investment marketplace whose mission is to alleviate global poverty by enabling everyday people to invest in the world's working poor. As a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA (formerly NASD), MicroPlace is currently the only broker-dealer specializing in microfinance securities for retail investors. MicroPlace is a wholly-owned subsidiary of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY).
Editor's Note
Oikocredit (www.oikocredit.org), one of the world's largest financiers of the microfinance sector worldwide, became an issuer on MicroPlace on the day of the MicroPlace.com launch. "It was fitting to have Oikocredit as part of our launch because it is such an innovative pioneer in the field of microfinance" says MicroPlace Founder Tracey Pettengill Turner. "Because they are so well respected in the industry, we are proud to offer their investments on the MicroPlace platform." Oikocredit is a worldwide cooperative financial institution offering loans, capital and technical support to more than 300 microfinance institutions, cooperatives and small and medium sized enterprises in developing countries around the world. Oikocredit has an ever-growing number of listings on MicroPlace, enabling investors to choose from among many different investment opportunities. Oikocredit will be responsible for making interest and principal payments to investors.
"At Oikocredit, we've always believed in the power of the everyday investor to transform lives through microfinance investing," said Terry Provance, Executive Director of Oikocredit USA. "The capital we can raise through MicroPlace will enable us to dramatically expand our reach to more of the world's working poor."
Contacts:
Catherine England
eBay Inc. on behalf of MicroPlace
cengland@ebay.com
408.376.8315
Holly Patience
Social Planets on behalf of MicroPlace
holly@socialplanets.com
206.619.1094
1 Source: International Labour Organization's Global Employment Trends Brief
www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/global.htm
2 Source: Microcredit Summit Campaign Report
www.microcreditsummit.org/pubs/reports/socr/2006/SOCR06.pdf
3 Source: www.gdrc.org/icm/data/d-snapshot.html
4 Source: www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/topics/rural_finance/statistics.htm
Sunday, November 18, 2007
VISIONARIES WANTED: 2008 Echoing Green Fellowship
* Do you have an incredible, new idea that could change your community, country, or world?
* Are you an entrepreneur who won't rest until your idea has been brought to life? Or a leader who has recently started an organization to do just that?
If so, apply for an Echoing Green Fellowship. You could receive up to $90,000 in seed funding and support to launch a new organization that turns your innovative idea for social change into action.
Follow in the footsteps of the founders of Teach For America, City Year, and over 400 other social change organizations and apply online by December 3, 2007.
Watch the video: http://www.echoinggreen.org/video
Find out whether you qualify: http://www.echoinggreen.org/shouldyouapply
Apply online: https://apply.echoinggreen.org
Questions? Contact us at apply@echoinggreen.org.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Nothing But Nets Helps Deliver 200,000 Anti-Malaria Nets to Children in The Republic of Congo
Washington, DC (October 15, 2007) - Nothing But Nets, a global, grassroots campaign to prevent malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa, announced today it will fund the distribution and delivery of over 200,000 insecticide-treated bed nets to children under five and pregnant women in Congo-Brazzaville from October 15-19, 2007. Purchased with over $1 million in donations from individual donors, these nets will be distributed as part of an integrated health campaign organized and implemented by the Congo’s Ministry of Health and the Measles Initiative -- a partnership of the American Red Cross, the United Nations Foundation, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and UNICEF.
“By working together, we can help make a difference and protect children and their families from malaria. Thank you to our tens of thousands of supporters that each donated $10 or more to send nets and save lives,” said Kathy Calvin, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the United Nations Foundation, creator of Nothing But Nets.
According to UNICEF, only about five percent of pregnant women and children under five sleep beneath insecticide-treated bed nets in Congo. This month, a total of 500,000 insecticide-treated nets will be delivered by the Measles Initiative throughout Congo, in an effort to reach nearly every child under five with a net. In addition to the insecticide treated nets, children will also receive measles and polio vaccines, as well as Vitamin A and de-worming medicines as part of the integrated health campaign.
To date, Nothing But Nets has distributed close to 200,000 insecticide-treated nets in Nigeria, Chad, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. By the end of 2007, nearly half a million insecticide-treated nets will be distributed to Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, and Mali. A new, interactive map offering more information about past and future distributions can be found at www.NothingButNets.net.
###
About Nothing But Nets
Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. Inspired by Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly, tens of thousands of people have joined the Campaign that was created by the United Nations Foundation in 2006. Founding campaign partners include the National Basketball Association’s NBA Cares, The People of the United Methodist Church, and Sports Illustrated. It only costs $10 to provide an insecticide-treated bed net that can prevent this deadly disease. Visit www.NothingButNets.net to send a net and save a life.
Press Contacts:
Amy DiElsi, United Nations Foundation
(o) 202.419.3230, (e) adielsi@unfoundation.org
Thursday, November 8, 2007
The founder of Cirque du Soleil Guy Laliberté launches a global foundation to deal with access to water issues
October 29, 2007
Foundation lauch
Montreal, Monday, October 29, 2007 — Guy Laliberté announced today, in the presence of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, Jeremy Hobbs, Executive Director of Oxfam International, and Gordon Nixon, President and Chief Executive Officer of RBC, the official launch of the ONE DROP Foundation to fight poverty in the world by giving everyone access to water. “No one can remain indifferent when we know that at least every eight seconds, a child dies from a disease caused by drinking contaminated water,” said Guy Laliberté. “With the creation of ONE DROP, we want to mobilize people everywhere in the world to find sustainable solutions to the problem of access to water, and to adopt better practices for the use of this precious resource.”
Access to water is one of the planet’s most pressing issues. Over a billion people do not have access to water in sufficient quantity or adequate quality. Almost half of the world’s population drinks untreated water.
Inspired by the creative experience of Cirque du Soleil and its international program for street kids, Cirque du Monde, the ONE DROP Foundation makes use of the circus arts, folklore, popular theatre, music, dance and the visual arts to promote education, community involvement and public awareness of water issues. Technical projects in developing countries will improve access to water, ensure food security and promote gender equality in communities. The Foundation will unveil its program for developed countries in 2008.
The operating costs of ONE DROP will be covered by a $100 million contribution from Guy Laliberté over 25 years. Field activities will be financed by donations from the employees of Cirque du Soleil and from the public, as well as through funding commitments by Canadian and international partners.
Oxfam International, through Oxfam-Québec, has been associated with ONE DROP since 2005 in a three-year pilot project in Nicaragua. A leader in development aid, Oxfam brings expertise in selecting and implementing field projects.
“Water is central to many health and agricultural issues and to the development of communities throughout the world,” said Jeremy Hobbs, Executive Director of Oxfam International. “Our involvement with the ONE DROP Foundation is based on a common desire to support sustainable development with concrete actions and in collaboration with local partners.”
RBC announced a $10 million commitment over ten years to support ONE DROP projects in Canada and around the world. The leading financial services company in Canada, RBC employs approximately 70,000 people in 34 countries. This is the largest donation ever given to a single organization in RBC’s 138-year history.
“ONE DROP is the first grant recipient of our new RBC Blue Water Project, a program to support charitable organizations dedicated to improving water access, conservation, protection and education,” said Gordon Nixon, President and Chief Executive Officer of RBC. “We are proud to be associated with the ONE DROP Foundation to support projects that will ensure a better quality of life for communities in Canada and around the world.”
Active in the fields of climate change, biodiversity and water, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation is the first international organization to sign a collaboration agreement with ONE DROP.
“Water issues transcend the boundaries of countries and affect the whole of humanity,” said H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. “This is a major challenge of this century and it is essential that organizations throughout the world come together in a global movement of solidarity to ensure the preservation and better management of a resource that is both irreplaceable and fundamental to life.”
The ONE DROP Foundation is based at the Cirque du Soleil International Headquarters in Montreal (Canada). To know more, please visit http://www.onedrop.org/
For information, please contact:
Cirque du Soleil
Renée-Claude Ménard
Public Relations Director
514-723-7646, ext. 7366
Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation
Isabelle Peters
Media and Communications
+377 98 98 43 27
+377 (0)6 78 63 51 68
RBC Financial Group
Beja Rodeck, Director
Global Media Relations
416-974-5506
Raymond Chouinard
Director, Media Relations (Quebec)
514-874-6556
Oxfam-Québec/ Oxfam International
Justine Lesage
Media Relations
514-513-0013
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
MSF Warns More Food Will Not Save Malnourished Children
Group Calls for Increased and Expanded Use of New, Innovative Nutritional Products
New York, October 10, 2007 – The international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) today called for increased and expanded use of nutrient dense ready-to-use food (RUF) to reduce the five million annual deaths worldwide related to malnutrition in children under five years of age. Current food aid, which focuses on fighting hunger—not on treating malnutrition—is not doing enough to address the needs of young children most at risk, MSF warned.
"It's not only about how much food children get, it's what's in the food that counts," said Dr. Christophe Fournier, president of MSF's International Council. "Without the right amounts of vitamins and essential nutrients in their diet, young kids become vulnerable to disease that they would normally be able to fight off easily. Calls for increased food aid ignore the special needs of young children who are at the greatest risk of dying."
RUFs, which come in individually wrapped rations, contain all the necessary nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that a young child needs. This dense therapeutic food, which has milk powder, sugars, and vegetable fats, can be produced and stored locally and transported easily, and requires no refrigeration, making it ideal for use in hot climates. It allows a child to recover from being malnourished and catch up on lost growth. Being easy-to-use, mothers—not doctors and nurses—are the main caregivers, meaning far more children at risk can be reached.
"In Somalia we are giving acutely malnourished kids packets of ready-to-use food and we see them gain weight and begin thriving within a couple of weeks," said Dr Gustavo Fernandez, MSF head of mission in Somalia. "RUFs are practical to use in places like Somalia where security is very bad. General food distribution is also needed, but it is not going to be very effective to treat kids under three years old."
Severe acute malnutrition in early childhood is common in large areas of the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, and South Asia -- the world's "malnutrition hotspots." The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are 20 million young children suffering from severe acute malnutrition at any given moment and MSF estimates that only three percent of them will receive RUF in 2007.
Therapeutic RUF for only severely malnourished children, as current WHO, World Food Program, and UNICEF guidelines recommend, is too restrictive. Given its nutritional benefits, RUF has the potential to address malnutrition at earlier stages and is far more effective than fortified blended flour, which is normally distributed. MSF is piloting a program using a modified RUF as a supplement to prevent children from becoming acutely malnourished.
"Instead of waiting for kids to get gravely ill we decided to act earlier," said Dr. Susan Shepherd, MSF medical coordinator, Maradi, Niger. "We are piloting a program that gives RUF to all children under three in at-risk communities so that they get the nutrients that are missing in their normal diet."
Through this early treatment or prevention approach in Niger, MSF is providing mothers with small containers of RUF as a supplement to their normal diet. Early results from this ongoing project, which is reaching more than 62,000 children, indicate that RUF is significantly more effective than the traditional approach of supplying fortified flours and cooking oil to mothers of young children.
MSF is calling for donors and UN agencies to urgently speed up the introduction and expansion of RUF. This is going to take a new allocation of funds to cover the cost of €750 million (approximately $1.05 billion) to reach the most vulnerable. But it will also take a realigning of food aid strategies with existing and newly developed products that have the nutrition needed to cure malnourished children.
MSF has been treating malnutrition with therapeutic RUF since the first products became available in the late 1990s, and in 2006 treated more than 150,000 children with acute malnutrition in 22 countries.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
BLOGGERS TO UNITE ON BLOG ACTION DAY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 15, 2007
All Blogs Invited to Take Part in Joining Voices to Help Environment
An international initiative of bloggers known as "Blog Action Day" launched today, with the aim of uniting thousands of blogging voices, talking about one issue for one day. This year on Blog Action Day, which is slated for Oct. 15, 2007, bloggers will be discussing the environment.
Major blogs have signed up to participate, including Lifehacker, Dumb Little Man, Lifehack.org, Get Rich Slowly, Web Worker Daily, GigaOm, The Simple Dollar, Zen Habits, Freelance Switch, LifeClever, Unclutterer, Pronet Advertising, Wise Bread and many more.
"For just one day, we'd like to unite as many of the millions of bloggers around the world and speak about one issue - the environment," said Collis Ta'eed, an Australian blogger from FreelanceSwitch.com, and a cofounder of Blog Action Day. "We want to display the potential and the power of the blogging community, which is a disparate community but one with an amazing size, breadth and diversity. By bringing everyone together for one day, we can see just how much can be achieved, and how much we can be heard."
Blog Action Day is a non-profit initiative, and will be an annual event. As an alternative to blogging about the environment on Blog Action Day, bloggers can opt to participate by donating their blog's proceeds from Oct. 15 to one of several environmental organizations chosen for this purpose: Greenpeace International, The Nature Conservancy, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), the Conservation Fund, and the Sierra Club.
Bloggers who would like to participate in Blog Action Day should visit BlogActionDay.org or email Collis Ta'eed at collis@eden.cc, so they can be listed on the Blog Action Day site. To participate, a blog just needs to write about the issue of the environment on Oct. 15, 2007, or donate its proceeds for the day to one of the chosen environmental organizations.
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Friday, July 27, 2007
Seeking Host Families for Youth For Understanding Exchange Students - Share Your Home, Change the World
Released on = July 27, 2007, 9:30 am
Press Release Author = Youth For Understanding USA
Industry = Non Profit
Press Release Summary = Youth For Understanding USA is seeking volunteer host
families around the country to host one of more than 2000 international teengers
arriving in August.
Press Release Body = What do teens like Luiza from Brazil, Hannes from Germany,
Manami from Japan, Wasim from Pakistan, and Andrea from Mexico have in common?
They are about to join a group of 2000 teens from more than 60 countries who are
coming to America in August as Youth For Understanding (YFU) high school exchange
students! Many of them are still waiting to learn what loving American host
families will select them to be their new exchange sons or daughters.
These teens are hoping for experiences like enjoying a real American barbecue,
attending a Halloween costume party and a high school football game, joining a
school sport or music group, and sharing in the fun and responsibilities as real
members of their American host families.
It takes many caring people to make an exchange student’s dreams come true: it is
the host families and the volunteers who make this adventure possible. They are
essential links in the chain of friendship that goes back 55 years through 225,000
YFU students who have exchanged world-wide with Youth For Understanding.
Today Youth For Understanding is seeking host families for many bright, hopeful
teens like these who will carry on that tradition and form lifelong connections with
their host families and communities. Host families provide a place to live and
three meals a day plus the encouragement, advice and love to help their new family
member through a year in a new home. The students bring their own spending money
and health insurance plus the willingness to be a good family member, following
family rules and helping out with family responsibilities. YFU provides local
representatives who mentor the students and families to make sure it’s a good
experience for all involved.
Host families offer a typical family living experience — not a tourist/travel
opportunity. They are caring people who offer a slice of real life in America.
Families come in all shapes and sizes, ethnicities and ages, with and without
children of all ages. They share an interest in teens and other cultures. Some
families agree to host a student for the academic year while others agree to be a
welcome family who will get the student off to a good start for up to 12 weeks.
Call the local YFU District Office at 1-866-493-8872 for more information to see if
hosting might be right for you and your family. You can request profiles of
students with interests similar to your own. More information is available on the
Youth For Understanding web-site at www.yfu-usa.org where families and volunteers
can fill out an on-line application.
Despite the differences people face around the world, kids are kids, and these YFU
kids are hoping for acceptance, caring, friendship, and opportunities. They are
also counting on wonderful people—like your family--who make those dreams come true.
Please consider helping a child begin their adventure of a lifetime with a positive
start! Sometimes the best “gifts” are the least expected ones. YFU is looking for
the right recipients for these gifts.
##
Web Site = http://www.yfu-usa.org
Contact Details = Youth For Understanding USA
6400 Goldsboro Road, Suite 100
Bethesda, MD 20817
Reid Rago - Media Relations
rago@yfu.org
800.424.3691 x 189
Sunday, March 25, 2007
You’re Invited to Visit Spring Lambing at Heifer Ranch
Who: Participants in Lambing Season programs at Heifer Ranch
What: Observe spring lambing and visit with participants
When: March 23, 2007, 6 a.m. to noon.
Where: Heifer Ranch, Perryville, Arkansas
During Heifer Ranch’s spring lambing season, women from all over the U.S. are introduced to Heifer’s mission to end hunger and poverty and care for the earth. Participants say they leave these events with a deeper understanding of the world, Heifer’s work and themselves.
One participant said that she had gained a new and better outlook on how a majority of the world lives, which is different from her own life experiences. “This trip allowed my mind to open up, expand and see the bigger picture which I sometimes forget.”
Since 1995, women have shared in the births of dozens of lambs each spring during the Women’s Lambing Season programs. This year the Ranch expects more than 70 participants and from 60 to 100 lambs.
The opportunity to watch the birth of lambs is a highlight of the program for many people. “Watching the little lambs come into this world, I was awestruck and my heart just melted. It was a very profound and moving experience,” said a woman who attended last year’s lambing.
Each of the Women’s Lambing Season programs includes a brief introduction to gestation, birth, and post-lambing care of ewes and lambs. Additionally, the women learn about gender equity, sustainable agriculture and Heifer’s livestock practices.
Registrants can also participate in classes on value-added products such as cheese-making and/or wool crafts and assist with Ranch garden and livestock chores.
Participants also enjoy working and learning from Ranch staff, “The humility and encouragement of all the facilitators for us to share and ask questions really struck me. It was one of the best forms of education that I’ve ever received.”
For more information on attending this Media Open Call, contact Beth Newman, Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator at Heifer Ranch, by calling 501-889-5124 or e-mailing beth.newman@heifer.org.
Heifer Ranch is one of Heifer’s three U.S. learning centers, focusing on world hunger solutions, organic gardening and sustainable agricultural practices. At Heifer Ranch, over 28,000 visitors a year become familiar with the root causes of poverty and hunger and Heifer’s work to help the poor achieve self-reliance. Since 1944, Heifer has helped more than 7 million families in more than 125 countries move toward greater self-reliance through the gift of livestock and training in environmentally sound agriculture. The impact of each initial gift is multiplied as recipients agree to “pass on the gift” by giving one or more of their animal’s offspring, or the equivalent, to another in need. For more information on Heifer’s work, visit the website at www.heifer.org, or call 1-800-696-1918 for a free catalog.
Media Contacts:
Beth Newman, Heifer Ranch
501-889-5124
Jennifer Pierce
Heifer International
501-907-2952
Christine Volkmer
Carpenters & Associates
214-520-3666
Friday, September 8, 2006
56-years later and still unique: Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF
Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF 2006 campaign finds inspiration in its roots
NEW YORK, 8 September 2006 — For the 56th consecutive year, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF will launch its time-honored Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign this fall. This year's campaign will focus on the great tradition and history of the program that was started by children in Philadelphia. The signature orange Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF box and other materials for this year's campaign are now available.
Boxes and free educational materials can be ordered by calling 1.800.4UNICEF or by logging on to www.unicefusa.org/trickortreat. Hi-resolution Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF images are available for media to download at www.unicefusa.org/files.
Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, the original Kids Helping Kids® campaign, began as a door-to-door collection on Halloween that was inspired by reports of children suffering in Europe as a result of World War II. On Halloween, 56-years ago, five concerned Philadelphia children went door-to-door to collect money for kids overseas. These children donated the money they collected, $17, to UNICEF. It was their innovative and philanthropic spirit that created the nationwide program known as Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF. Since 1950, Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF supporters have collected over $132 million.
Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF has empowered generations of children to save and improve the lives of children in their global community through education and fundraising for the world's leading children's organization, the United Nation's Children's Fund. In fact, this year's Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF spokesperson, Sarah Jessica Parker, also Trick-or-Treated for UNICEF as a child.
"The Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF program has undergone many changes throughout its existence, yet the values, commitment and passion that are at the root of the program have remained the same," said President of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Charles J. Lyons. "With the support of parents, educators, and community leaders, American children have the potential to save the lives of their more vulnerable peers. Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF gives them the resources and the vehicle to achieve their goals."
Last year's campaign encouraged schools nationwide to compete with each other for the most money raised, resulting in over $5 million being generated that year. Three schools—Middlesex Middle School in Darien, CT, Olivenhein Pioneer Elementary School in Carlsbad, CA, and Lakehill Preparatory School in Dallas, TX—won last year's competition. The Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF Challenge, sponsored by Procter & Gamble, will continue this year with an expanded category. Now, individual kids and groups of kids can participate in the competition. This year's winners will each have a $125,000 donation to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF made in their honor by Procter & Gamble, a photo appearance on the Cartoon Network and Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF t-shirts. To enter, children simply send in their Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF donations between October 1 and December 30, 2006 and they will automatically be entered into the challenge.
For the first time ever, 3,500 Hallmark Gold Crown® stores will offer the traditional orange Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF collection boxes throughout the months of September and October. Additionally, select Hallmark stores will sell UNICEF Halloween greeting cards. Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF partners Pier 1 Imports and Pier 1 Kids will also distribute the collection boxes at over 1,200 stores in the U.S. during the month of October. Cartoon Network will produce PSA spots featuring characters from the hit show Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, encouraging kids to participate in Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF. The spots will air throughout October on Cartoon Network, Boomerang, TNT, TBS, and CNN as well as through participating cable affiliates. For the tenth year in a row, donations to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF can be made through Coinstar® Centers self-service coin counting machines located in major supermarkets nationwide.
About UNICEF
Founded in 1946, UNICEF helps save, protect and improve the lives of children in 156 countries and territories through immunization, education, health care, nutrition, clean water and sanitation. UNICEF is non-partisan and its cooperation is free of discrimination. In everything it does, the most disadvantaged children and the countries in greatest need have priority. For more information about UNICEF or to make a donation, please call 1.800.4UNICEF.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Kiní Schoop, U.S. Fund for UNICEF Media, 212.880.9132
Marci Greenberg, U.S. Fund for UNICEF Media, 212.880.9132
