Vitaminwater Sponsors Vitaminschools

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Darius Bikoff

Today, many celebrities and politicians focus on childhood obesity and healthy living. Many don’t realized, however, that people like Darius Bikoff have been focusing on children’s health for years. The entrepreneur and founder of the Vitaminwater empire began to sponsor Vitaminschool in 2006. This is a national cooking contest for teenagers.

Married to Jill Bikoff and an avid sports enthusiast, Bikoff attended a food-services trade convention aimed at the school-lunch market. He was “appalled that not a single thing was fresh,” as he told Houston Chronicle writer Kimberly Stauffer. He said that all of the foods were “all processed and fried and fatty. I walked away thinking, ‘I’ll never eat this stuff. I wouldn’t let my daughter eat it.'”

Thus, the Vitaminschool program was born and it allowed students to compete for cash prizes to their schools to improve lunchtime menus. In 2006, Vitaminschool awarded a $100k college scholarship courtesy of glaceau to Stephanie Wheeler, a junior at the Woodlands Christian Academy in Houston, Texas. The award was given in Union Square in New York City by Kelly Clarkson.

Shave for the Brave Event for Rabbis

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“Shave for the Brave” started in the year 2000 and now has more than 1300 events around the world. Now, a collection of more than 60 reform rabbis got together to shave their heads to raise money for pediatric cancer research. They met at the 125th annual Conference of American Rabbis at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park to support St. Baldrick.

The story began with Rabbi Phyllis and Michael Somner, whose eight year old son Sam died of leukemia in December. Phyllis is an associate rabbi at Am Shalom in Glencoe, Illinois and when his mother first considered doing a “shave” in 2012, her sick son rejected it.

Then, in October of 2013, Sam was hospitalized and Phyllis asked a friend, Rebecca Einstein Schorr, if maybe she should shave her head. And her friend replied, “What if a whole group of us do it?”

Together, Sommer and Schorr thought of the idea of a “36 Rabbis Shave for the Brave” event at the CCAR conference. When Sam relapsed in November, even more rabbis took up the cause, and they have so far raised $455,000 toward a goal of $540,000.

“We all felt the hopelessness of this horrible reality,” said Schorr. “These two loving, amazing parents had to tell their 8-year-old son that there was nothing more the doctors could do. There seemed to be something out of what we humans perceive as the natural order and part of what galvanized so many of our colleagues was the notion that as one collective religious voice we could make a stand (and say), ‘We don’t want to bury any more children who are dying from something that if there was enough funding available to help find appropriate treatment, they wouldn’t have to die.”

As Rabbi Isaac Serotta of Lakeside Congregation for Reform Judaism in Highland Park said, “We are doing it in Sam’s memory and in memory of so many others who have lost their lives to childhood cancer, including my own brother, Paul.”

As Sommer said,

“Sammy died approximately 100 days ago,” she said. “I am forever changed, yet I look exactly the same. I’m anticipating a new wave of grief accompanied by, possibly, a feeling of relief that finally my outside appearance in some way matches my changed inside. People have told me that what I’m doing is ‘brave’ and ‘powerful.’ I feel neither of those things, but I fully ascribe to the ‘fake it ’til you make it’ school of behavior, so perhaps when I shave my head, the brave and powerful feelings will follow.”

Team MR8, Others Getting Ready for Boston Marathon

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Boston Marathon Charity Runners

picture from the AP

On this past Saturday, 300 runners dressed as superheroes raced down the last 18 miles of the Boston Marathon course. Hosted by the North Andover-based nonprofit Charity Teams, the superhero run included over 20 fundraising groups.

Included in this group were 26 members of Team MR8 who were raising money in memory of Martin Richard, the 8 year old Dorchester boy who was killed last year near the finish line.

There were 75 spots on Team MR8 and each runner raised $7500 for the foundation. One runner was former Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Sean Murphy, who had never run more than 5 miles when he submitted his application. As he said,

“The Richard family was doing what any American family could have been doing at that time: They were out enjoying the day, watching the marathon, and they had their world rocked.”

Other famous MR8 runners include Arizona U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, and Amby Burfoot, the winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon and editor-at-large of Runner’s World magazine.

As runner Tina Cassidy said, “To carry on the legacy of a little boy who loved to be a peacemaker in his community and he loved to run, this is just one way to give back to his family. There’s great motivation to do well for this team, not just on race day, but promoting peace and hope and all the things Martin cared about.”

The money that Team MR8 raises will go to projects that the foundation’s board members are now starting to play.  As Larry Marchese, a spokesman for the Richard family, said

“Just like everyone else, we are showing that you can’t use terror to change the way we live. It’s solidarity with all of Boston and the rest of the country, and the other part of it is these runners are raising the seed money for this foundation.”

 

Checking Out Chideo

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chideoIf you haven’t heard of Chideo yet, you might want to come close. This is a new website and app that offers users the way to get close to their favorite stars while raising money for various charities.

Chideo is a combination of charity and video. Fans can create a free account on Chideo and then follow their favorite movie stars, athletes and other celebrities. Users can suggest content that they want to see from their favorite celebrities. The suggestions that garner the most votes will get answered by the celebrities.

Fans can then watch the exclusive content by donating a small fee that will go to the celebrity’s favorite charity. Donations start for as little as $1.99.

As the Chideo site says, “Think of it as one-of-a-kind content with a conscience.” It’s really a very creative idea whose time has come.

Daniel Straus: Healthbridge Valentine’s Day Fundraiser

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Head Shot - Daniel E StrausThe Valentine’s Ball took place yesterday, as a fundraiser executed by Daniel Straus.  Healthbridge’s owner organized the evening to support The Valerie Fund that seeks to support children with cancer and blood disorders.  Straus explained that all those working with him for the cause, “feel that there’s no more meaningful way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than in support of The Valerie Fund. The work of The Valerie Fund is heartwarming, supporting both superb state-of-the-art outpatient healthcare and emotional support each year for thousands of New Jersey children with cancer and blood disorders. The fund is a wonderful example of love being expressed by giving to others, and we are proud to support it. We’ve set a fundraising goal of $1 million. That’s an ambitious goal but I am confident in the ability of our team to achieve and perhaps even exceed it.”

Various executives and staff at CareOne, HealthBridge Management and Care Virginia have been working hard for this fundraiser.  Of their efforts, Straus said, “I am so proud…“In addition to CareOne executives and team members, residents of many of our Centers raised funds with events such as bake sales and jewelry sales. Many of our vendors and suppliers also participated. This is the CareOne community coming together to help those in need.”

The event was held at Martime Parc, Jersey City, featuring dancing, live and silent auctions, celebrity appearances and more.  Funds will go towards the Valerie Fund Centers as well as Camp Happy Times scholarships.

Charitybuzz Hits the Mark in 2013

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The online charity auction site Charitybuzz is certainly doing good business. Their goal is to bring together celebrities and brands to benefit charities. In 2013, their figures show that they raised $30 million with their auction of close to 12, 000 packages.

Since launching, they have raised a whopping total of $100 million for nonprofits. Here is a taste of their top celebrity auctions from 2013:

You, too, could meet Apple CEO Tim Cook for $610,000

You, too, could meet Apple CEO Tim Cook for $610,000

For $26,000, a fan got to attend the premier of Lee Daniel’s The Butler and meet Oprah Winfrey, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Lee Daniels on the red carpet. Proceeds went to La Jolla Playhouse.

For $33,125 someone was able to pitch a business idea to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. The proceeds benefited WWE Superstars for Sandy Relief.

It only cost $36,000 to play a round of golf with Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Proceeds went to the Humane Society of the United States.

For 45,000 one person got to have a walk-on role in the Superman/Batman film that will star Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Amy Adams. Proceeds went to the Dominic M. Aguilar Special Needs Trust.

It only took $110,000 to get a private dinner for four with President Clinton. Proceeds went to Oceana.

Finally, for $610,000 someone gets to have coffee with Apple CEO Tim Cook at the Apple headquarters. Proceeds are going to The RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights.

Hope Paige Raises Awareness & Funds

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beadedTraditionally, a medical ID bracelet or necklace would be an item to hide. Children who were required to wear these for medical reasons would either feel embarrassed by them, or feel that they were unattractive. Not anymore.
Today, Hope Paige Designs creates fashionable medical accessories. They have recently announced their second annual celebrity-driven campaign whereby 12 stars have created customized Hope Paige medical ID bracelets to benefit charities and raise awareness.
The newly involved celebrities, Angela Bassett, Mayim Bialik, Carrie Ann Inaba and Daniele Jonas, join Melissa Joan Hart, Kimora Lee Simmons, Leeza Gibbons, Misty May Treanor, Dot Marie Jones, Greg Grunberg, Meatloaf and Kenton Duty as they raise awareness and money for good causes.
Hope Paige will donate 100% of the profits from each of the celebrity bracelets to the charity that the celebrity has chosen. Last year’s total reached $50,000 for charities. The bracelet pricing starts at $29.95 and can be used for diabetes, allergies, strokes, seizures and many other medical condition alerts.
As Shelly Fisher, the founder of Hope Paige explained, “We are so appreciative that these celebrities have come on board to help us raise awareness about the importance of wearing a medical ID bracelet. The creativity of these charity minded celebrities are sure to encourage people to be safe while donating to some truly great causes.”

The Philanthropy Connection

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philanthropySome women think about doing something grand, while others actually do it. Marla Felcher, a 56 year old former Harvard University Professor, saw a need and figured out a way to answer it. She realized that many educated, successful, affluent women would be interested in giving to charities, but that they didn’t always know how to do so.

And so Felcher, along with Dharma E. Cortes (a public health researcher) and Suzanne Carter (a businesswoman and non-profit executive) founded Philanthropy Connection. They began by recruiting 100 women, each of whom would commit to giving $1000. Today, less than a year later, the charity has 130 women and has awarded $26,000 to five nonprofits that provide services for women, families, children and young adults.

As Marla Felcher said, “One of the biggest surprises has been that people really love giving. All you have to do is ask.”

One of the attractions of this organization is that donors can have a hands-on opportunity to help selection the recipient organizations. There is yearlong selection process to find the nonprofits with an annual operating budget of less than $4 million to whom to give funds. As one donor, Anna C. Vouros explained, “It’s not just give your money and go away. It’s give your money and then be a part of it.”

The Philanthropy Connection has a member list that includes doctors, professors, students, writers, lawyers and others. They are typically 50 or older and work full or part time.

Trying to attract younger women to be involved as well, the Philanthropy Connection created a Young Philanthropist Fellowship program for 18-30 year old women who want to be part of the organization but who can’t afford the $1000 donation to join. Twenty young women recently applied for the five fellowships they awarded.

The five nonprofits that were selected for grants this year were: the Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts in Dorchester, Crossroads for Kids in Duxbury, REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, RESPOND, and Adoption and Foster Care Mentoring in Boston.

 

Grab Your Holiday Dress & Help a Charity

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charity saleIf you haven’t yet picked out a dress for Christmas, now is the perfect time and this is the perfect way. For its second year, Vestiaire Collective is having an annual charity sale. They are a website that serves as a platform for purchasing authentic pre-owned luxury items. With this charity sale, they’ve called on celebrities and designers to donate high-end pieces that start at about £100, or approximately $162 from their personal collections. The proceeds will go to the charity of choice of each designer or celebrity.

Rachel Weisz is selling a pink Joseph dress for £250 (or, $404). Gemma Arterton is selling a leather Armani dress for £750 (or, $1,212). Both of these are to benefit the children’s charity NSPCC. As Fanny Moizant, the UK Managing Director of the site, said “This year we expect to raise thousands for charities from Barnardo’s to NSPCC.”

Oprah Creates Yard Sale to Raise Money

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When most of us think about a yard sale, we think about small trinkets, little items and such. But not Oprah Winfrey. She recently hosted multiple “yard sales” over the weekend, raising a whopping $600,000 for charity.

And here is how she did it. She donated items from her homes in Hawaii, Chicago and Indiana that included furniture, presents, paintings and antiques to be auctioned off. All of the money raised is going to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. This charity helps young women to improve their education and their social opportunities.

Here is a picture she put on Twitter before the auction:

oprah