An Inconvenient Truth...

An Inconvenient Truth is a controversial Academy Award-winning documentary film about climate change, specifically global warming, directed by Davis Guggenheim and presented by former United States Vice President Al Gore. A companion book authored by Gore has been on the paperback nonfiction New York Times bestseller list since June 11, 2006, reaching #1 July 2, 2006.

The film premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and opened in New York and Los Angeles on May 24, 2006. It is the third-highest-grossing documentary in the United States to date. The film's distributor, Paramount Classics, is donating 5% of the box office receipts and Gore is donating all of his proceeds from the film to The Alliance for Climate Protection. The film was released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment on November 21, 2006. The title refers to a passage from Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville.

The Film States that:

Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced.

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH offers a passionate and inspirational look at one man's fervent crusade to halt global warming's deadly progress by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. That man is former Vice President Al Gore.

In this eye-opening portrait of Gore and his "traveling global warming show," Gore also proves himself to be one of the most misunderstood characters in modern American public life. Here he is seen as never before in the media - funny, engaging, open and downright on fire about getting the surprisingly stirring truth about what he calls our "planetary emergency" out to ordinary citizens before it's too late.

With wit, smarts and hope, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH ultimately brings home Gore's persuasive argument that we can no longer afford to view global warming as a political issue - rather, it is the biggest moral challenges facing our global civilization.

Check it out online:

www.aninconvenienttruth.com

Habitat for Humanity is an international, Christian, non-governmental, non-profit organization devoted to building "simple, decent, and affordable" housing. Homes are built using volunteer labor and are sold at no profit, with no interest charged on the mortgage. The organization was founded in 1976 in Americus, Georgia by Millard and Linda Fuller, whose vision grew out of their experiences at Koinonia Farm. The international headquarters located in Americus serves to support and promote the activities of local, independent affiliate chapters, which initiate and manage all construction, mortages, and homeowner selection. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitat_for_Humanity)


According to the official website,

"Homeowner families are chosen according to their need; their ability to repay the no-profit, no-interest mortgage; and their willingness to work in partnership with Habitat. Habitat for Humanity does not discriminate according to race, religion or ethnic group."

Independent, local affiliates of Habitat for Humanity International are allowed to interpret these guidelines as is deemed most appropriate for the location of the affiliate. Homeowners are usually expected to put approximately 500 hours of "sweat equity" into their own or other project homes, although this amount may vary by location and by the number of wage-earning adults in each family (as well as health issues).


Mortgage payments from homeowners are deposited into a locally-administered "Fund for Humanity," the proceeds of which go toward future construction. Families partnering with Habitat who receive a home are required to allow the affiliate the right of first refusal, that should they decide to sell their home during the period of their mortgage, the affiliate may buy it for no more than the original cost of construction, regardless of any improvements made since.

Habitat relies on volunteer labor in order to construct simple and affordable homes for its partner families, as well as to build community and civil society in the areas in which it works. Most volunteers are unskilled prior to first working with Habitat. Many churches help by sponsor homes and provide a large amount of the volunteers from their congregations.

If you are interested in getting involved, please check out www.habitat.org

In 1994, GuideStar began as a new venture with a bold vision: to revolutionize philanthropy and nonprofit practice with information. (www.guidestar.org)

In their journey to create a more transparent and accountable nonprofit community, they are reshaping the idea of the non-profit from top to bottom. Nonprofits embrace this practice of transparency and accountability when they share information about their mission, programs, and finances with the public. Accurate information is a powerful tool, and their users have responded with better-informed, more effective giving decisions.

When they first began, they envisioned GuideStar as a resource that would connect people and organizations with valuable information to improve the world around them. Today, GuideStar is the leader in providing comprehensive data on more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations, connecting them with donors, foundations, businesses, and governing agencies in a nationwide community of giving.

Each day, about 20,000 people find answers using GuideStar. The information we provide contains searchable data from IRS Forms 990 and the IRS Business Master File, including comprehensive facts on employee compensation and grant activity. With our new eDocs service, nonprofits can add their annual reports, audited financial statements, letters of determination, and other documents to our growing store of information. This is making GuideStar a more powerful tool than ever.

There are a number of new organisations that aim to increase the transparency and knowledge about charities. Charity Navigator is an example of another US organisation that rates charities. Development Ratings is a UK based service that uses GuideStar UK and other sources to analyse charities and pick ones to recommend to donors.

Ref: http://www.guidestar.org/help/faq.jsp#operations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guidestar

Feed My Starving Children

Feed My Starving Children was founded as a Christian nonprofit in 1987 through the efforts of a Minnesota businessman who felt called by God to help feed the starving children of the world during a humanitarian visit to Honduras. He returned to the Twin Cities to develop a method of large-scale relief.

His efforts, energy and resources resulted in the development of a food mixture that would be easy and safe to transport, simple to make with only boiling water, and culturally acceptable worldwide. This basic formula of rice, high protein soy nuggets, vegetables, vitamins and flavoring is still used by FMSC today.

In addition to this formula, FMSC needed to develop a cost-effective means of producing the completed meals in quantities that would make a real difference in alleviating world hunger. Initially, FMSC tested the possibility of using packaging machines, but this solution proved to be expensive and cumbersome. In 1993, a church group stopped by the FMSC facility to see if there might be an opportunity to volunteer with FMSC. That providential meeting gave birth to FMSC’s volunteer packing approach.

To distribute the packed meals, the FMSC team began establishing partnerships with major global distribution nonprofits such as Operation Blessing, Salesian Missions and UMCOR. These partnerships allow FMSC to reach desperately needy children in remote parts of the world by leveraging the in-country expertise of these organizations. Through these vital partnerships, orphanages and facilities for handicapped children can provide hot, nutritious meals—and a ray of hope for the future.

Since its inception, FMSC’s model of culturally acceptable, nutritious food, combined with volunteer production and distribution through on-the-ground partners has grown exponentially. In 1994, 2,400 volunteers packed 400,000 meals from FMSC’s original Brooklyn Park location. In 2005, nearly 75,000 volunteers packed more than 15 million meals at sites in Brooklyn Park, Eagan and a third mobile packing site that travels to youth conventions and churches. In March 2006, a third permanent site opened in Chanhassen, Minnesota, with plans to open an additional five sites by 2008.

Feed My Starving Children offers hope to the hungry in body around the world, and the hungry in spirit right here at home. In 2005, more than 75,000 volunteers—the majority under the age of 18—manually assembled 15 million meals for hungry children, helping to heal the world of the hurt of hunger.

Please call 763-504-2919 to schedule time at the Brooklyn Park Facility.


references: www.fmsc.org

Earthworks

EARTHWORKS Mission:


EARTHWORKS is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting communities and the environment from the destructive impacts of mineral development, in the U.S. and worldwide.

EARTHWORKS stands for clean water, healthy communities and corporate accountability. We're working for solutions that protect the earth's resources and communities. (www.earthworksaction.org)

They fulfill their mission by working with communities and grassroots groups to reform government policies, improve corporate practices, influence investment decisions and encourage responsible materials sourcing and consumption.

We expose the health, environmental, economic, social and cultural impacts of mining through work informed by sound science.

EARTHWORKS brings together activists, organizers, scientists, engineers, and community leaders in a unified effort to protect our communities and the earth's resources.

EARTHWORKS evolved from the work of the Mineral Policy Center (MPC). MPC was founded by Phil Hocker, Mike McCloskey and former Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall to help reform mining laws and practices in the U.S. MPC has worked largely behind the scenes to combat the destructive impacts of mining, drilling and digging.

EARTHWORKS is organized for more collaboration and greater efficiency. Collaboration will lead to greater success and make us more efficient so that we're maximizing every contribution.

To get involved, please check out their website for more information:

www.earthworksaction.org

The Dorothy Day Center

Dorothy Day was an American journalist who turned social activism and became a devout member of the Catholic Church. She became well known for her social justice campaigns in defense of the poor, forsaken, hungry and homeless. She helped found the Catholic Worker Movement in 1933, espousing nonviolence, and hospitality for the impoverished and downtrodden.

The Dorothy Day Center in downtown St. Paul, operated by Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, provides meals and resources to the poor, many of whom struggle with chemical dependency and physical or mental disabilities. The Center serves meals to an increasing number of women with children as well as men.


The Dorothy Day Center serves lunch and dinner every day and breakfast on the weekends. An average of 550 meals are served on weekdays and 750 meals are served per day on the weekends. In addition, coffee and sweet rolls are available in the mornings and afternoons. The Center operates the Extended Hours Program, an emergency shelter for 150 homeless people from 8:30 p.m. to 6:45 a.m., and provides a place to sleep and shower and serves meals. Most of the meals served at the Dorothy Day Center are prepared on site. At least 95 percent of the food for meals is donated, and the cooks plan menus based on the donated food available. Prepared food is reheated and served in the Extended Hours Program.

For More Information:

Call Jim Petsch, Dorothy Day Donation Coordinator, at 651-288-4703.



References:

http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/NR/rdonlyres/B2FA90F5-81E1-455B-881F-48098D5EBDB6/6538/

http://www.francis.edu/DorothyDay/volunteercateg.shtml

Some of the largest problems in the world today are entirely centered on international Arms Trade.

Control Arms is a campaign jointly run by Amnesty International, IANSA and Oxfam International.

Their principle focus is on the international arms trade, arguing that the lack of controls on the arms trade is directly fueling conflict, poverty, and human rights abuses worldwide.

The campaign seeks to build support among governments for an Arms Trade Treaty, a legal agreement that would prohibit arms from being exported to locations where they are likely to be used to enable "grave human rights violations." A treaty like this would require countries to comply with international human rights and humanitarian law standards when authorizing weapons transfers.


After three years of efforts by campaigners all around the world, the Control Arms Million Faces petition has now reached its target of a million photographs. On October 27 of 2006, the campaign claimed a major success as governments at the UN finally voted in favor to start work on an Arms Trade Treaty.

To get involved, please check out their website www.controlarms.org

Welcome to the Next Generation America...

Welcome to the Next Generation America.

This blog was created to provide resources and information on non-profits throughout the world. Please keep checking back, as more services will be added frequently.