As Hurricane Irene quickly approaches the East Coast, we hope everyone will stay safe. Below is a list of top-rated nonprofits in the NYC, Boston, D.C., Philadelphia, Charleston, and Raleigh areas in addition to National Organizations that are preparing to respond.
From helping people prepare disaster action plans, to providing food and shelter and responding to animals affected by the storm, these services will be crucial in the coming days.
If you know other organizations that will be responding to the hurricane, please feel free to add them in the comments or email us at Emma@GreatNonprofits.org. We will update our list as more information becomes available.
Please consider making a donation to one of the nonprofits listed below so that they can respond as quickly and effectively as possible following the storm.
Thank you friends for completing our survey this month! We gathered extremely valuable information from your responses, which will help us better serve you. Below are some findings that we have separated for easy reading; hopefully you’ll find the responses as exciting and intriguing as we did!
87% of BOARD MEMBERS told Us ¦
That reading reviews helped them better understand the organization’s programs.
37% of VOLUNTEERS told Us ¦
That reading reviews led to their decision to volunteer for a particular nonprofit.
95% of DONORS told Us ¦
That reviews helped them better understand the nonprofit’s work.
AND, 84% of DONORS told Us ¦
That reviews are considered helpful when deciding whether or not to give to the nonprofit.
For example, Joell Dunlap, Executive Director of Square Peg Foundation, reported, “reviews have helped us raise $10,000 for our organization. Specifically, Square Peg Foundation has used reviews in grant proposals and letters to donors. She said, “Using reviews by an outside, 3rd party, increases legitimacy of our foundation leading to increased donations. If you haven’t already used reviews in grant proposals or in letters to your donors, try it! You will be surprised at what will happen as a result!
Finally, CONGRATULATIONS to Audrey Evans, our GreatNonprofit User Survey winner! She’s receiving $50 to continue supporting her favorite nonprofit, Food for the Poor. Also, Lutheran World Relief is our nonprofit winner of a $100 spa gift certificate! Use it to relax for all the hard work you do every day.
We’d love to hear your responses to these exciting results. Please feel free to comment below!
Nothing tells a story like a picture or a video. We have enjoyed the photos you have shared on Facebook during the past months. They were fun, inspiring, and incredibly talkative. That is why GreatNonprofits decided to take it to another level and launch an animal photo/video contest!
So, next time you post a review about your favorite animal welfare or conservation nonprofit, add a photo or video to the review, then share it through Facebook and Twitter.
3 reviews + best photos/videos will then be featured on our homepage and in our newsletter, reaching 40k constituents!
How to add a photo/video?
Go to “Write a review for an animal welfare or conservation nonprofit
Share your story by filling out the review form
Scroll down to the end of the web page
Click on “Photos/Video
Upload your file(s)
Note: JPG only. Wider than 150 px, 2MB max. No GIFs.
How to share the review + photo/video?
Click on the “Submit button
Choose to share your review via Facebook or Twitter so we can track it.
We’re excited to see your best photos and videos! The winners will be featured on our homepage and in our newsletter!
We’ve been thinking a lot about what inspires people to get involved, to volunteer, and to give back to their communities. After all, our inspiration is what helps us decide which causes are most important to us, and how we want to go about making a contribution.
Last week, we asked our fans on Facebook this question: If you could spend a day volunteering with one person (past or present) who would you want to volunteer with and why? We were so impressed with the responses that we felt we had to share them.
We learned that people find inspiration from all kinds of different sources. Historical figures, politicians, family members, friends, and great authors are just a few of the kinds of people that help motivate us to do good. Check them out below:
Kristin N: “Mother Teresa to get a glimpse of true compassion and selflessness, or Audrey Hepburn to see someone who balanced both personal/professional success with the art of giving back.”
Rmhc SD: “Princess Diana to see her efforts as well. She always showed amazing poise, compassion, and love to the people she helped.”
The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship: “Albert Schweitzer — he is our namesake, and his legacy of reverence for life motivates our 250 Schweitzer Fellows each year to dedicate themselves to serving vulnerable people and addressing unmet health needs.”
Larry S: “Pope John Paul II. He was a man that brought out the best, always.”
Tasha M: “I would volunteer with Jesus so He could show me how to impact the lives of others without judgement or criticism.”
Lisa C: “Gandhi. He was an amazing advocate against injustice, and for humanity, and just the common decent treatment of people.”
Diem P: “Greg Mortenson because I would love to learn about his experiences, motivation and lessons that he has since his trip to K2.”
Red Creek Wildlife Center: “Rachel Carson wrote “Silent Spring” and started the environmental movement. She bucked the big chemical industries and didn’t back down even though she was dogged by big business. The common citizen, however, listened to her and things had to change. DDT was later banned in the US, saving our raptors from near extinction. I love her, and I would love to learn from her about that great spirit where one person can change the world!”
Amy M: “JoHanna Jones at The Girls’ Empowerment Center, because she has such a loving and caring heart. I learn more about compassion as a result of spending time with her. :)”
Sue A.: “My sister Cheryl Alonso and the Isaiah Alonso Foundation because nothing is closer to my heart than helping families battling childhood cancer and no one inspires me more than my sister, her husband Vinnie Alonso and of course my sweet ‘forever 6’ nephew, Isaiah.”
Grm S: “Jesus… So I could get the message straight from the person before it was distorted by politics, greed, and all other sorts of ulterior motives.”
Sara O: “Past: Gandhi. MLK Jr would be amazing too but I figure since he was inspired by Gandhi I would want to go to the source. Present: Bill Drayton (great strategist and humanitarian) or Khalida Brohi (a transcendant person).”
Jennifer C: “Amelia Earhart. She was one of my heroes in elementary school. Plus, I’d love to know what exactly happened on that last night with Fred Noonan (though ideally, we’d all survive in another version of the story). Also, I’ve read so much about her, I would love to see her in action and help her reach out to women interested in flight of any kind. The other person I might want to volunteer with is L.M. Montgomery, the author of one of my favorite book series, Anne of Green Gables. I don’t know much about Montgomery or the inspiration for the characters but I would love to ask her and help her out at a book signing or reading. Did they have book signings back then?”
Lis S: “Jimmy Carter”
Kathleen C: “Mother Teresa because she loved the poor and saw Christ in them.”
Please feel free to share your response in the comments. We’d love to hear your answers too! To comment on the thread on Facebook, visit our page at Facebook.com/GreatNonprofits
Over the past few weeks, we were surprised to be the target of internet hacking wherein several people created fictitious accounts, intentionally exploited a work-around of our registration system to create duplicate screen names, repeatedly reposted their review, posted multiple reviews, posted inappropriate reviews that violate our terms of use and engaged in uncivil dialogues with each other using the commenting tool.
We spent last week listening to the user complaints about these issues, and this week working with our engineers to make changes to improve the security. We have now closed the loophole in the registration system, restricted the ability to comment on reviews only to people who have verified official status with the nonprofit, removed reviews that violated our Terms of Service, and banned several users.
We know that some of our users feel that we should have responded faster. We weren’t ignoring you – we were planning and implementing the technical solutions. We will do a better job next time communicating with you and even if we don’t have a solution, let you know that we’re aware of the problem and looking into it.
So for most of you (who are not trying to hack our site), you won’t notice a difference in the site. The biggest difference is that only nonprofits can comment on reviews about them. So some of you who wrote comments responding to reviews and are not officially a staff of the nonprofit – sorry, we no longer support this feature. If you want to compliment the reviewer, vote the review as “helpful”.
If you are officially with a nonprofit, and you wrote a comment but you don’t see it there anymore, it’s because you haven’t claimed the nonprofit. To do so, click the “Staff -Claim Org” button on the top of the nonprofit profile page and fill out your information. Then your comments should appear again automagically – voila!
Enjoy the new security measures and thank you for your feedback!
The 2011 Animal Welfare campaign is about to get super exciting! GreatNonprofits is pleased to collaborate with Goodjoe, a community-based t-shirt company, on an animal welfare design contest. One of our Top-Rated nonprofits will be randomly selected at the end of the Animal Welfare campaign to participate in a design contest focusing on its mission statement. The nonprofit will receive 30 T-shirts with a cool logo inspired by its mission statement. And that’s not all! 50% of the proceeds of each shirt with the design sold on Goodjoe.com will also go to the winning nonprofit!
What about the other “top-rated” nonprofits? The good news continues! Selected Top-Rated nonprofits can benefit from Goodjoe’s fundraising drives where each nonprofit gets 25% of the sale of their promotional activities. Check it out at http://www.goodjoe.com/Fundraising/.
Details:
– The winner will be chosen at the end of the campaign (Aug 31st)
– The winner would be featured on Goodjoe.com and a cool shirt with a logo reflecting their design would be available to order online at Goodjoe.com
– Designers (open to all general public) would submit designs based on the nonprofit’s statement
– People would vote for the best design on Goodjoe.com
– 30 T-shirts with the design would be given to the nonprofit ¦for FREE
– The lucky nonprofit could then encourage its constituents to order shirts with that logo on the Goodjoe website. Whenever a shirt w/ the design is ordered on Goodjoe.com then the nonprofit associated with the design gets 50% of proceeds.
As a nonprofit, you gain new exposure for the nonprofit and at the same time provide a platform for your audience to engage with your cause. As a result, you also get a cool graphic T-shirt designed specifically for your cause for branding and fundraising.
The drought that is affecting East Africa has its roots in a combination of diverse factors. The sparse rain fallings for the past few years has caused crops to fail, food prices have skyrocketed everywhere and chronic insecurity has exacerbated the situation. Many places in southern Somalia are under the control of Al-Shabaab, a terrorist group that has imposed a ban on aid agencies.
This food crisis is described as the worst one witnessed in decades. An estimated 3.7 million Somalis are in need of immediate food aid and across the Horn of Africa, there are12 million people at risk of famine ”as reported recently by the UN.
Yet with all the news coverage and media attention, the situation is not getting better. Here at GreatNonprofits, we feel the following questions will help better assess the situation for donors in order provide the necessary help:
1. What are the immediate needs?
2. Which active nonprofits are on the ground?
3. Which of these nonprofits are helping? How are they helping? Do you see results?
4. Which of these nonprofits can do better?
How can we get this information in a timely way? Please post your ideas here.
Volunteers are a vital resource to nonprofits! No matter their age or the time they are able to commit to, volunteers enable nonprofits to carry out their mission at their best capacity.
GreatNonprofits is happy to feature a few of our favorite volunteering pictures from nonprofits across various sectors.
In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue
Little Helping Hands (July 18, 2011)
Child Family Health International (CFHI)
Women Empowered (Non-Profit Organization)
Learning is for Everyone
CAIN-Churches Active In Northside
?Coping With Laryngomalacia (12/2010)
Greyhound Adoption League of Texas, Inc.'s (GALT)
Share your thoughts on volunteering and don’t forget to review your favorite (or not so favorite nonprofit) on GreatNonprofits!
GreatNonprofits announced today that 122 organizations have qualified for the 2011 Top-Rated Health Nonprofits List at the close of a month-long campaign in partnership with GuideStar and Charity Navigator. Organizations receiving ten or more positive stakeholder reviews during the month of June qualified for the top-rated list.
During the campaign, a total of 369 nonprofits were rated and reviewed by thousands of clients, donors and volunteers across the country. The 2,800 reviews submitted during the campaign highlight the innovative ways that health organizations are supporting their communities. The Alliance of Hope for Suicide Survivors (AOH), a nonprofit providing healing support to people coping with the loss of a loved one to suicide, received 111 reviews in just a week.
“In many dark hours I have gained comfort, hope, support and validation from other suicide survivors as they share their journey, shared lluvryan, a client of AOH. “Many times, I have been able to make it another day because of the many posts and the kind of support available.
“We are thrilled to be a top-rated health nonprofit. The outpouring of gratitude expressed in our reviews reaffirms the difference we’re making, and inspires us to want to do more, said Ronnie Walker, founder of the Alliance of Hope.
The organizations represented on the top-rated list focus on a diverse range of health services. From seeking a cure for devastating diseases to raising public awareness about important health issues, these organizations speak to the important role nonprofits play in the health field.
Qualifying as a top-rated nonprofit provides essential feedback to the nonprofits, and can result increased visibility for the organization’s work. Brian Brewer, Director of Marketing and Communications at Cancer Research Instituteexplains, “[GreatNonprofits.org] is easy for our community members to use, and that’s made it easy for us to get their great feedback about the impact our programs have. It’s been such a great experience reading all the positive, thoughtful stories our donors, scientists, and cancer patients have posted on your site ”it reaffirms for all the hardworking staff at CRI that what they do matters.
Top Human Rights Groups Join GreatNonprofits Social Justice Campaign
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Emma Bundy
(510) 504-2048 | emma@greatnonprofits.org
Menlo Park, CA July 1, 2011
GreatNonprofits, GuideStar, and Charity Navigator announce the launch of the GreatNonprofits Social Justice Campaign to identify top-rated organizations working to end oppression and inequality worldwide.
GreatNonprofits, the leading provider of user-generated ratings and reviews of nonprofits, has partnered with several of the most celebrated organizations in the field for the July campaign.
Free Press, Global Fund for Women, Earth Rights International, Equality Now, Alliance for Justice, ThirdGoal, and American Constitution Society are joining GreatNonprofits to encourage volunteers and donors everywhere to log on and review a nonprofit.
GuideStar, the leading source of philanthropic information on the Internet, and Charity Navigator, America’s premier independent charity evaluator, are also partners.
GreatNonprofits’ user reviews are written by anyone with personal experience with a nonprofit, such as a donor, volunteer, board member, client, or member of the public.
Over the past year, more than 1 million people visited GreatNonprofits to read and write these reviews.
Reviewed organizations will receive increased exposure to donors and volunteers and increased visibility in their communities and the media. The process also allows potential volunteers and donors to easily find the best organizations to work with.
“So many wonderful nonprofit organizations are working to fight injustices around the world, said Perla Ni, CEO of GreatNonprofits. “This campaign is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on their important work, and raise support for their causes.
Any Social Justice nonprofit receiving ten or more new positive reviews by July 31, 2011 will be recognized on the GreatNonprofits Top-Rated Social Justice Nonprofits List.
About the Campaign
The inaugural Social Justice campaign will run through July. Reviews written on GreatNonprofits.org will also appear on GuideStar.org and CharityNavigator.org.
Nonprofits with ten or more new positive reviews will be included on the GreatNonprofits Top-Rated Social Justice Nonprofits List. Review submissions must take place from July 1st through July 31st, 2011.
Now that almost two months have passed since the earthquake, there is a gradual switch to more long term recovery efforts. Here are only a few of them:
Shanti Volunteer Association
Shanti recently gave assistance to local schools who needed to clean their facilities for the new school year, which started on April 21st.
Starting from April 17th, the 100+ volunteers who gathered helped hose down the place, dispose of the unusable dirty material, and collect/return the usable teaching materials to their proper locations. Workers desperately wanted to get this done by the entrance ceremony, where the children would be able to have a fresh start.
Also necessary for these students are the proper school supplies, which mostly got lost after the quake. Shanti prepared a “study materials set” including 19 items such as notebooks and pencils, and distributed them to 11 elementary schools in Kesen-numa city to 1764 students total.
At Matsuiwa elementary school, part of the building continues to be a shelter for those who still do not have homes. According to a teacher, the tsunami wrecked the houses of 130 of the students. When Shanti gave them the study materials set, a teacher told them “I’m glad these came in time for the new first graders who are entering school this year” while in tears.
Another issue they raised was the housing situation; although construction for temporary housing has begun from late March, it is difficult to provide enough housing for the people as Kesen-numa city is located in a rocky location between mountains and the sea. Even when shelters are provided, the staff worry that this will decrease the amount of attention given to older and sick people who will not go out of their houses. They want to address the post-move in care that is necessary.
One shelter was located at a crematorium, where the staff talked with a fourth grader, Y. He spoke slowly while telling the staff that “A few days ago, we finished cremating my mother and my two younger sisters.” The mother was taken by the waves while working, and cremated on March 30th. His 4 year old sister was cremated the next day, and his other sister who was just about to enter elementary school was also cremated the following day.
“Before the earthquake, her new backpack arrived to our house. She was so excited to get all of her supplies from the department store as well” he said, before pausing and adding “But the new backpack, house, and my sister were all washed away.” Although he did mention that “My friend still hasn’t been found after his house washed away”, he was still grateful for his father, who was with him in the shelter, and his grandparents who lived in an unaffected area.
AAR has recently set up a bus system using microbuses, as the roads are still not wide enough to accomodate large vehicles. From April 10th, they have started operating a regular bus system, which carries people to the hospital, train stations, schools, and shopping centers. Especially in an area with many older people who cannot move around easily, these rides are valued very much. One 75 year old lady who used the bus said “I was very happy when I heard about these busses on the radio, as I hadn’t been in the city at all since the quake”.
AAR also reported on the assistance they provided to the disabled and their families who are currently unable to live in shelters. At Ishimaki city, AAR received report of three families with disabled children who were not receiving aid. Due to the nature of their situation, it was hard to live in a communal shelter and thus they moved to this smaller, more private location.
After handing them basic supplies as well as special supplies such as nail clippers and ear cleaners, Ms. Yuko of one of the families showed gratitude, saying “Things needed for emergencies get here, but it’s so inconvenient living withou these small things which were considered normal in life before the earthquake. It’s so unsettling otherwise…” Ms. Niida was forced to move out of the communal shelter after her disabled daughter would start screaming at night. She revealed her worry to them, saying “Families with disabled members have it much harder than normal families. We cannot live in communal shelters where there are lots of people, but there is no where else to go. I don’t know how we can stay in this temporary house, so we’re living every day on the edge.”
It’s hard to provide aid to all people, but these agencies are providing as much assistance as they can, targeting the small but important needs of everyone. Keep supporting them by donating!
It’s been more than a month since the tragedy occurred, and relief efforts are still taking place. Immediate relief efforts are starting to transition into ones that are aimed at recovery. I’ll introduce some here.
ADRA
ADRA, which was initially providing hot food and supplies to those affected, started to help facilities clean up the mud and debris that the tsunami brought in. The mud needs to be cleared up as soon as possible to ensure that the unsanitary gunk that is in the sludge will not ruin the facility.
On April 12th, they cleaned up 2 rooms and the kitchen of a nursing home in the area. This process is very physically demanding, as the mud is sticky and cannot be washed away simply with water. The volunteers had to first move out all of the furniture, then shovel out the dirt with small shovels for hours before they could hose the facility down.
Inside the furniture covered with mud, there are many memories of those who lived there. Clearing this out means getting rid of all of their cherished memorabilia, including casette tapes with their favorite songs, books that they have read multiple times, souvenirs from vacation spots. The person who lived in this room said “Before, I could not even touch these things even if people came to help clean up. It’s hard to have the resolve to throw away these things.” The volunteers could not offer any words, but spent their time meticulously cleaning up the room to the best of their abilities. By the time they finished cleaning, the resident thanked them by saying “Thank you. It’s very clean now. I have to keep my head up from now on, don’t I?” The volunteers were touched at the person’s strength to go on despite the severity of the disaster.
Civic recently made a youtube account where you can check out the situation of volunteering that’s happening over there.
So far, they’ve compiled donations from 85 companies and passed out 209 tons worth of supplies. They recently set up a regular truck shipment to Kesen-numa city, sending 10 4-ton truck filled with supplies everyday.
Civic Force is trying to target smaller shelters that do not receive regular shipments from large organizations; recently, they found a shelter providing assistance to around 300 people that only receives shipments of supplies once every 3 days. Furthermore, the elderly often cannot make the long trek to other supply storage facilities, so this location is their only source of food and other necessities.
Civic Force has received much praise for their quick delivery of necessary goods. At Minami Sanriku-city, some people shed tears at receiving canned tuna, as it reminded them of the tuna that they used to fish in their ports. “I’m truly shedding tears, I’m so glad to be alive” they said, as the truck drivers helping with delivery of the supplies told us “I’m glad I am doing this job”.
Staying in a shelter for weeks is emotionally exhausting, especially for children who just want to go outside and play with their friends. After hearing these things, Peace Winds Japan wanted to provide the children in these areas with happiness, so they got Studio Ghibli (the studio that made Totoro, Spirited Away, etc.) to provide them with DVDs of their movies along with screening devices.
When the movies were shown on the screen, the children sitting in front and adults resting on the blankets gave cheers as they watched the movies (Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service) in earnest.
That’s all for now; as you can see, the recovery efforts are slowly transitioning from relief to recovery oriented actions. Please keep donating to help Japan!
In Japan, there are two types of funds being collected: long term “gienkin” and short term “shienkin”
Organizations such as the Japanese Red Cross and media agencies (newspapers, TV stations) are collecting “gienkin”, which will be compiled to an official distribution organization of each prefecture. The organization, made up of Japan Red Cross, mass media, self-governing bodies of local towns, and specialists, must divide the collected funds equally among areas of the prefecture that are affected the most. However, this deliberation process takes a long time, and there was a case during the Hanshin earthquake where the distribution could not be decided even after a year, becoming a problem at the national assembly.
This is why donations for short-term efforts need to be directly donated to the local NGOs, or otherwise donated to Nippon foundation, a foundation which distributes funds to local NGOs to be used. The Gienkin that you donate to Japan Red Cross will be used all towards their recovery efforts, but it will just take longer.
Also, here is a link to a great blog run by one of our friends who is volunteering in Japan; many pictures and stories directly from organizations she’s working with.
I want to start this post off by introducing a great organization: Globalgiving.org. I am sure many of our readers are aware of this site already, but it is a nonprofit organization that aims to “build an efficient, open, thriving marketplace that connects people who have community and world-changing ideas with people who can support them”. It links the donors to excellent grassroots organizations, and allows for the donors to track what the organizations are doing with their money with regular updates on their site.
After the Japan earthquake/tsunami, Global Giving has set up their own fund, as well as other projects that donors can directly donate to. See how to donate to them at the DONATE TO JAPAN link at the top of our page.
The rest of this post will share a personal story by one of the volunteers, as well as introduce the efforts of some of the organizations that Global Giving is endorsing that we have not reported on yet.
Here’s a list of all of Global Giving’s partners:
Association of Medical Doctors of Asia
Peace Winds
Japan Platform
Save the Children
Telecom for Basic Human Needs
International Medical Corps
Japanese Emergency NGOs
Civic Force
Association for Aid and Relief
Lifeline Energy
Architecture for Humanity
You can see what they have done by navigating with the category links on the right.
International Medical Corps helping in Ogotsu
This touching story that was posted by a volunteer, John Ferguson in International Medical Corps.
…When we arrived, we found that the village had virtually nothing.
Roughly 75 percent of the town had been completely destroyed by the tsunami; 1,300 people are living in 16 evacuation sites, some of which house as many as 600 people. Electricity is available only at sites that have generators, and cell phone service is still out. On top of this, 50 percent of Ogotsu’s population is older than 60, creating a need for consistent medical care and management of chronic illnesses…
The next day, we woke up determined to get what they needed. We bought two washing machines, two water tanks, laundry detergent, hangers, plates, and chopsticks and hit the road back to Ogotsu, where we were directed to one of the 16 evacuation centers.
When we got there, people poured out to see us. A group of ladies soon surrounded me and asked me all kinds of questions. I told them I was from American and came to help. Then one of the ladies said she had lost her daughter to the tsunami. Another woman said she had lost her house and her cat.
Despite their tragic losses, the women were all smiles and giggles. One of the women reminded me that laughter was the best medicine of all, not just for them, but for everyone involved, including me.
I wanted to share this story because I want those who supported our emergency relief efforts in Japan to know that, because of their support, we were not only able to provide the people of Ogatsu with what they needed, but were also able to give them something priceless – hope. They know now that the world cares and is trying to help.
You can read more on what they have done in yesterday’s blog post.
Telecom for Basic Human Needs (BHN)
BHN borrowed an ambulance from a hospital that the head of the organization ran, and sent doctors, nurses, and a telecommunications specialist to Natori-city, Miyagi. At the farm house that the staff stayed at for a night, the staff received rice from the farmer to donate to the people there. After meeting with doctors from Tohoku International Clinic, the team took care of 100 or so patients within the week. Ito, the telecommunications specialist, stayed behind to help out; he was from Ibaragi himself, and his house was affected by the earthquake.The doctors are continuing to go around the severely affected areas in the ambulance to see those who need medical help.
Also, they have released a statement that they will start providing temporary internet facilities near Iwate prefecture to provide aid for the local government there. You can see their website here.
Lifeline Energy
This organization is distributing 15,000 Polaris all-in-one radio, light and cell-phone chargers by early April. This will be extremely important for the people in remote places who still do not have access to current information; the survivors will be able to use the radio to get more information about support services, radiation levels, and other crucial things. The light and phone charger will also help where electricity is still not at its full capability. More updates will presumably come after the Polaris have been distributed. Read more about them here.
Architecture for Humanity
Not many immediate updates yet, as they will enter Japan and start building once Japan transitions from the relief phase to the recovery phase in emergency rebuilding. However, they have already entered Sendai and is conducting door-to-door needs assessments to determine what is necessary to make the rebuilding process as smooth as possible. Not only will they build houses for the displaced, but will also work with professionals to design safe and sustainable community buildings, health clinics, schools, and hospitals. Updates will be posted later on, and you can check their website here.
Please support Global Giving and all of their fantastic nonprofits partners by donating. Click here for our page on a compilation of donation options!
While addressing the physical needs of survivors in the affected areas of Japan is at the forefront of many nonprofits, several have stepped up to focus on a potential injury that is not always immediately obvious: mental health.
International Medical Corps Worldwide
International Medical Corps (IMC) Worldwide is supporting psychological counseling services via telephone. IMC Worldwide, an organization that provides “vital health care that focus on training,” previously supplied mental health guidelines for assisting those affected by the earthquake in Haiti. Their Emergency Response Team now turns to those affected on the “isolated coastal communities north of Sendai, including Ogatsu-machi, Minami-Sanriku, Kesennuma, Riken-Takata, East Matsushima, and areas north of Ishinomaki” and have assessed a that there is a “critical need” to address mental health.
In these assessments, International Medical Corps has identified mental health as a critical need, as fatigue, stress, and insomnia are reported among many evacuees. An increasing number of children are developing asthma, mumps, and pneumonia in Minami-Sanriku evacuation centers, some of which is thought to be the result of stress. Meantime, high levels of anxiety are also prevalent outside of the affected areas as a result of radiation fears.
Here’s an excerpt from an article on NYDailyNews.com quoting Dr. Mutsuo Ikuhara, who is traveling to Japan with IMC:
“I would still think there’s a lot of people in shock and coming to grips with the magnitude of the disaster,” he said. “The disaster seems to be changing moment by moment, so I’d imagine they’d be taking stock on how much damage occurred in terms of surface area and number of family and people affected.”
As the horrific event sinks in, however, Ikuhara said he expected to see people with more stress-related issues.
“Eventually when things stabilize when those life and death issues they’re going to be able to say ‘Oh my god I lost everything’ and that’s usually what affects all of us–that’s when emotions can take control,” he said.
In a trip to Haiti, Dr. Ikuhara witnessed many cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorders and trauma. Although he says that the Japanese might be viewed from the Western perspective as appearing “stoic,” he notes: “That doesn’t mean they’re not feeling badly.”
IMC has partnered with both Tokyo English Life Line (TELL), an nonprofit that provides free confidential phone counseling (among other services) and Peace Boat, a nonprofit NGO based in Tokyo. IMC will provide training in “Psychological First Aid, computer equipment, and technical support” to bolster telephone counseling services with TELL, as well as help educate communities about available services through handouts and workshops. Peace Boat has been providing “hot meals, non-food items, cleaning services, and other community support activities” to those who are still living in their damaged homes. IMC will contribute “supplies, communications equipment, technology, logistical and possibly technical support in health promotion and reconstruction” to help enlarge Peace Boat’s efforts.
Footage of Peace Boat’s contributions from their website:
AMDA, who as of April 5th has dispatched a total of 114 relief personnel, has:
41 doctors, 20 nurses, 3 midwives, 1 assistant nurse, 3 pharmacists, 2 psychotherapists, 40 coordinators (including assistants and interpreters), and 4 careworkers, according to their most recent update.
An example of their mental health personnel being put to work is in Minamisanriku-cho in Miyagi Prefecture, based in Sizugawa Elementary School in Sanriku-cho, where “a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist in the team are treating those who have symptoms of stress or mental disorder.”
Photos from a recent AMDA update on their website (in English).
Stay updated with AMDA’s efforts and donate to them here.
GreatNonprofits today announced that 82 organizations working on important women’s issues across the country have qualified for the 2011 Top-Rated Women’s Empowerment Nonprofits List based on user reviews submitted during a national campaign in March.
The reviews were posted as part of the 2011 GreatNonprofits Women’s Empowerment Campaign, conducted in partnership with GuideStar and a broad coalition of leaders in the field including, the National Council of Women’s Organizations, the American Association of University Women, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Women’s Funding Network and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
Over the course of the campaign, more than 120,000 people visited the GreatNonprofits site to read and write reviews. A total of 187 nonprofit organizations working to empower women were rated and reviewed by stakeholders. In the process, a total of 1,558 new user reviews were gathered. All the organizations on the top-rated list received ten or more positive reviews.
During National Women’s History Month, thousands of reviewers helped tell the story of how these organizations serve and empower women around the world. Among the nonprofits making the top-rated list is the Fistula Foundation, an organization committed to providing care for women worldwide suffering from this devastating health issue.
“Once people take time to learn more about fistula and the work we do, they become our biggest champions,” shares Kate Grant, Executive Director of the Fistula Foundation. She adds. “We’ve earned their trust. But we don’t want the American public to just take our word for it. We want people to see for themselves what our volunteers, donors and board leaders have to say. GreatNonprofits is giving a megaphone to those who know us. And we want everyone who cares about the work we do to hear what they have to say. We’re thankful to GreatNonprofits for helping to turn up the volume in this way. Their Women’s Empowerment Campaign is an enormous boost for us, a small but mighty charity doing admirable work and helping restore health and dignity each year for thousands of the world’s poorest women in countries throughout Africa and Asia.”
Diane Dvorin, co-founder and director of Women Work Together agrees. “Qualifying for the 2011 List of Great Nonprofits opens new ways for Women Work Together to cultivate connections with both qualified volunteers and potential donors as we work to expand support for WWT’s leadership development and community building programs with Mayan girls and women in San Pedro Sacatepequez Guatemala.”
The 2011 Women’s Empowerment Campaign ran throughout the month of March 2011, and all reviews submitted appear on both of the GuideStar.org and GreatNonprofits.org websites. The qualifying organizations that received ten or more positive user reviews are listed on the 2011 Top-Rated Women’s Nonprofits List.
Partners in the Campaign
GuideStar
The National Council of Women’s Organizations
American Association of University Women
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Women’s Funding Network
The National Center for Lesbian Rights
Just in time for Earth Day, GreatNonprofits today announced that 50 organizations working to protect and preserve the environment across the country have qualified for the 2011 Top-Rated Green Nonprofits List based on user reviews submitted during a national campaign in March.
The reviews were posted as part of the 2011 GreatNonprofits Green Choice Campaign, conducted in partnership with GuideStar and a broad coalition of leaders in the field including, The Sierra Club and Environmental Volunteers.
Over the course of the campaign, more than 120,000 people visited the GreatNonprofits site to read and write reviews. A total of 128 nonprofit organizations were rated and reviewed by stakeholders. In the process, a total of 1,147 new user reviews were gathered. All the organizations on the top-rated list received ten or more positive reviews.
During the month of March, thousands of reviewers helped tell the story of how these organizations strengthen our environment and our planet. Among the nonprofits making the top-rated list is Panthera, an organization committed to ensuring a future for the world’s largest and most endangered cats through scientific leadership and global conservation action.
“Panthera’s community of supporters is ever-growing,” explains Susie Weller, a coordinator for Panthera, “and it is with the help of platforms like GreatNonprofits that we are able to accelerate awareness and support for our wild cat conservation initiatives. GreatNonprofits is a particularly unique ‘crowd riser’ because reviews of our organization posted on this site reflect the voluntary, genuine and personal accounts of individuals’ experiences with, and perceptions of, Panthera.”
Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity agrees. “It’s an honor to be named one of GreatNonprofits’ top environmental groups for 2011. Because we put the vast majority of our budget toward hiring expert staff to save endangered species and wild places, we don’t advertise or rely on marketing gimmicks. Instead, we count on our enthusiastic supporters to spread the word about what we do. That includes talking with friends and relatives, posting our latest news on social networking sites and sharing their thoughts on how we’re doing on GreatNonprofits’ review section. We’re grateful to get so much positive feedback from our supporters and look forward to many more years of their commitment to our work saving imperiled plants, animals and the places they live.”
The 2011 Green Choice Campaign ran throughout the month of March 2011, and all reviews submitted appear on both of the GuideStar.org and GreatNonprofits.org websites. The qualifying organizations that received ten or more positive user reviews are listed on the 2011 Top-Rated Green Nonprofits List.
Partners in the Campaign
Guidestar
The Sierra Club
Environmental Volunteers
Media Contact:
Emma Bundy
emma@greatnonprofits.org
(510) 504-2048
The Association of Medical Doctors of Asia, an organization that mainly provides medical assistance to countries in times of emergency, sent a team of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and surveyors to locations in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures; a total of 56 people are now working in the field, and have been able to access even the heavily affected parts with electric cars and helicopters.
They have also been providing medical supplies (medicine, vitamins, masks, IV equipment, flashlights, heat packs) that is needed in the areas hit hardest. Food supplies have also been provided in conjunction with Okayama Cooperative Association, and include 700 instant noodles, 1000 bread rolls, 1100 drinks, 1100 fruits, and other disposable utensils.
Here’s the page where they are updating on the current situation (in English).
The Matsumoto family is one of many families living in the temporary relief shelters at a local school in Shiogama city.
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From their blog:
We spoke to Mr. Matsumoto who told us that the first floor of his house was completely inundated with mud from the tsunami. They lost most of their belongings and will never be able to live there again. He seemed slightly lost as he explained that he had no idea how long his family (six members including his wife, grandmother and three children) would need to live in the shelter. He was thankful to Operation Blessing for bringing food and water supplies and said that they felt well cared for under the circumstances.
Operation Blessing International provides food, water, and medical assistance to those in need, and is carrying out disaster relief efforts in Japan. They have been able to deliver these supplies directly to the areas affected in small towns near Sendai, including Otsuchi where half of the 17,000 residents are still missing, and Shiogama, where they are the only organization working for the city of 60,000.
They have been able to provide food, water, kerosene heaters, and other necessary goods in this manner, and will continue to do so. You can read their updated blog here.
ADRA Japan
ADRA organized a food drive for citizens in Sendai, providing hot food for the victims. Hideo Watanabe, Programme Officer of ADRA Japan reported an incident that happened on the 20th:
At around 3PM, a woman around 50 years old fainted due to anemia while waiting in line. Thankfully it was not serious, and we drove her back to her home after having her rest a little.
According to her, she lives alone; although her daughter lives in a nearby city, there is not enough gasoline to use the car and thus the daughter could not reach her mother.
Her house is safe, and although she has electricity and running water, she can only take a bath every four days as she does not know when the gas lines will be repaired. She could not even go far to go buy necessities due to gasoline shortages, and even if she lined up at the store for more than three hours, she could only buy a meager amount of food. In a situation where most of the houses are almost out of food, she was very thankful for the hot meals that ADRA provided.
She continued; “A lot of things are gradually going back to normal. It’s hard living on things you are not used to eating such as dried bread and instant noodles, but I am more fortunate than others in that I have a life and a house. Even if it is only once or twice a day, I am extremely thankful and happy for these hot meals.”
(photo credit: fortherock/creativecommons)
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