Showing titles in Philanthropy & Charity

A healthy Earth requires healthy children. Yet nearly one-fourth of the world’s children are stunted physically and mentally due to a lack of food or nutrients. During the past 30 years, says Sharman Russell, we have seen a revolution in how we treat these sick children and in how - with a new understanding of the human body and approach to nutrition, and new ways to reach out to hungry mothers and babies - we have gone from unwittingly killing severely malnourished children to bringing them back to health through the “miracle” of ready-to-eat therapeutic food.

A soulful journey, a brother's promise, safe water, self-reliance and dignity. This is the story of H2OpenDoors, a Rotary International project started by Jon Kaufman in 2012. Science, service, and adventure converge here, taking you to all parts of the globe on expeditions that inspire villages and schools to become self-sustaining within one year.

The surprising breakthrough in Start Something Good is that anyone can find their purpose in life and give back to the world. This personal tale of transformation and redemption details how an immigrant stumbled his way towards a calling of improving people’s well-being globally. In 2007, Bartlomiej "Bart" Skorupa quit a promising career in management consulting and bought a one way ticket to Africa. Driven by stories of miserable failures and wild success, Bart outlines actionable insights that inspire you to craft a life of purpose, meaning, and selfless giving

Glen Dunzweiler is a filmmaker, producer, writer, and public speaker. He started his work with homelessness in 2010 when making his documentary yHomeless? After years of seeing the public bang their heads up against the same homeless issues, he was driven to write this primer. Things I’ve Learned from the Homeless looks to explain the world housed individuals are often frustrated by. The goal is to flip viewpoints on homelessness, to create new dialogues, and to inspire action. Glen Dunzweiler invites you to get into it with him, so we can all start to figure this out.

While everyone knows of the Ice Bucket Challenge, the viral craze that swept the nation in summer 2014, too few know the truly inspirational story behind it. Pete Frates was a man at war with his own body, a man whose love for others was unshakable. He was a man who refused to fight alone and, in so doing, mobilized a global army to combat one of the most devastating diseases on earth: ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

In 2005, during a four-month cycling trip through Africa, Martin Parnell was struck by the power of sport and its ability to bring people together and to bring about change. Five years later, the 55-year-old mining engineer, husband, father and grandfather dedicated a year of his life to run 250 marathons with the aim of raising $250,000 for the charity Right to Play, an international humanitarian organization that reaches out to disadvantaged children around the world.

In 1939 Rev. Waitstill Sharp, a young Unitarian minister, and his wife, Martha, a social worker, accepted a mission from the American Unitarian Association: They were to leave their home and young children in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and travel to Prague, Czechoslovakia, to help address the mounting refugee crisis. Armed with only $40,000, the Sharps quickly learned the art of spy craft and covertly sheltered political dissidents and Jews and helped them escape the Nazis.

Mission Driven: Moving from Profit to Purpose aims to help the jobseeker - whether a student, a mid-career professional or a retiring Baby Boomer - take advantage of the many career opportunities burgeoning in the non-profit sector by answering these questions and more: Is now the right time for me to transition into the nonprofit sector? Will my skills transfer to the nonprofit sector? How do I even begin to move from the corporate to nonprofit sector?

All leaders face defining moments, crises that reveal their true character. Here, Sasha and his father, David, expand on Sasha's defining moment, recounted on The Moth podcast as "An Impossible Choice." Working in the violence-torn Congo, he was charged with evacuating a specific group of refugees. Then he and his colleague discovered a group of widows and orphans not on the rescue list. Leaving them behind would mean their deaths. Attempting to take them would jeopardize the entire mission.

Dr. Rod Bailey was sent on a once-in-a-lifetime mission trip to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, as part of the One Child Matters Program. With some reservations, he enters into a land where driving recklessly on crowded streets is normal, roosters crow from the rusty rooftops, and the strong coffee gets no creamer. But, the greater lessons lie in his interaction he has with the proud people, the grateful children, and the mission he came to serve.

>i>Chicken Soup for the Soul: Celebrating People Who Make a Difference reveals a side of humanity we rarely see heralded on the evening news. This inspiring collection of stories chronicles the small kindnesses that make a huge difference, the ordinary experiences that have profound impact, and the defining moments that change the lives of everyday people.

As recent events in Japan, the Middle East, and Haiti have shown, Twitter offers a unique platform to connect individuals and influence change in ways that were unthinkable only a short time ago. Twitter for Good is a groundbreaking book that contains the most effective tactics for tapping into the power of Twitter as a real-time information network.

Award-winning journalist David Batstone reveals the story of a new generation of 21st century abolitionists and their heroic campaign to put an end to human bondage. In his accessible and inspiring book, Batstone carefully weaves the narratives of activists and those in bondage in a way that not only raises awareness of the modern-day slave trade, but also serves as a call to action.

A new movement is afoot that promises to save the world by applying the magic of the market to the challenges of social change. Its supporters argue that using business principles to solve global problems is far more effective than more traditional approaches. What could be wrong with that? Almost everything, argues former Ford Foundation director Michael Edwards. In this hard-hitting, controversial exposé, he marshals a wealth of evidence to reveal that in reality, a market approach hurts more than it helps.

If you care about social change but hate feel-good platitudes, Do It Anyway is the book for you. Courtney Martin's rich profiles of the new generation of activists dig deep, to ask the questions that really matter: How do you create a meaningful life? Can one person even begin to make a difference in our hugely complex, globalized world?

This is the story of one woman who refused to look away from atrocities on her television screen. Lenya Heitzig allowed her heart to break at the plight of refugees and the deaths of innocent children, and then she begged God for a job to do. In this gritty, passionate story, Lenya details the epic way God answered her prayers - how a spark came to life turning weapons of war into something beautiful. Experience the hope found in a children's playground as you journey with her through the jungles of Burma and the war-torn streets of the Middle East.

Meet the next generation of big donors - the Gen X and Millennial philanthropists who will be the most significant donors ever and will shape our world in profound ways. Hear them describe their ambitious plans to revolutionize giving so it achieves greater impact. And learn how to help them succeed in a world that needs smart, effective donors now more than ever.

Jonathan Reckford, the CEO of Habitat for Humanity, has seen time and again the powerful benefits that arise when people from all walks of life work together to help one another. In this uplifting audiobook, he shares true stories of people involved with Habitat as volunteers and future homeowners who embody seven timeless virtues - kindness, community, empowerment, joy, respect, generosity, and service - and shows how we can all practice these to improve the quality of our own lives as well as those around us.

On a cold March day in 1893, 26-year-old nurse Lillian Wald rushed through the poverty-stricken streets of New York’s Lower East Side to a squalid bedroom where a young mother lay dying -abandoned by her doctor because she could not pay his fee. The misery in the room and the walk to reach it inspired Wald to establish Henry Street Settlement, which would become one of the most influential social welfare organizations in American history.

The world is not as God intends it to be. God's heart is to make things right, and for the world to be just. But complex problems warrant more sustained attention than quick posts on social media. How can we actually make a difference? Activist Mae Elise Cannon takes us beyond the hashtags to serious engagement with real issues. God calls the church to respond substantively to the needs of the poor, the realities of racial inequity, and the mistreatment of women and the marginalized.