John has much experience working in the philanthropic world, and takes great interest in charitable goings on today.

Daniel Straus: Healthbridge Valentine’s Day Fundraiser

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By JohnPosted In: Charity ActivityTagged: , , ,

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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By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity

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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By JohnPosted In: Charity ActivityTagged: , , , ,

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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By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity

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.

 

Annenberg Foundation Saves 24 Native American Masks

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund International

hopiThe heated plan to auction off 24 Native American masks in Paris has come to a happy ending.  The Hopi tribe has been trying to take legal action to delay the sale of the masks, and their efforts were rejected in the courts. The tribe believes that the masks, which date from the late 19th to early 20th century, were taken illegally from a northern Arizona reservation in the early 20th century.

And clearly they did not want them auctioned off. Now, some charitable foundation has come through at the last minute, as an anonymous bidder paid $530,000 for the masks and will return them to the Hopi and San Carlos Apache tribes.

As Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, director of the Annenberg Foundation said, “These are not trophies to have on one’s mantel. They do not belong in auction houses or private collections.”

Three hood masks will go back to the San Carlos Apaches and twenty-one colored masks made of horsehair, wood, feathers and leather will be given back to the Hopis.

Even the US Embassy got involved in the act, calling for a delay on the sale so that tribal representatives could come to France and identify the masks. After the sale, David Killion, the US Ambassador to the UN cultural agency issues a statement with the US Embassy that said the charity’s move was a “generous act.”

In a statement this week, Sam Tenakhongva, a Hopi cultural leader, said “Our hope is that this act sets an example for others that items of significant cultural and religious value can only be properly cared for by those vested with the proper knowledge and responsibility. They simply cannot be put up for sale.”

Grab Your Holiday Dress & Help a Charity

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By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity

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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By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity

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

Auction for Jeremy Lin Shoe Underway

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund International

Jeremy LinIf you’ve always wanted to own a smelly, sweaty large shoe, now is your chance. Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin has given a shoe to Yahoo Taiwan’s auction website as a charity gesture. All of the proceeds from the auction will go to a local Down Syndrome Foundation.

The shoe in question is a size 12 red Nike Hyperdunk which is on Yahoo’s Taiwan’s auction website. The auction will go until October 25th. Lin wore the shoe during an NBA pre-season game in Tapei recently. Whent the game finished, he autographed the shoe and gave it to a local celebrity who turned it over to the foundation.

As of recently, there had been 15 bids, with the top one reaching NT#301,500 or US$10,000.

Breast Cancer Awarness Month Recognized by Fire Stations

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By JohnPosted In: Charity ActivityTagged: , ,

Dallas-Fire-Pink-Shirt-300x200It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and people around the country are doing amazing programs to raise awareness and funding. One woman is raising awareness in Dallas. Senior Fire Prevention Officer Shanetra Brown, a two-time breast cancer survivor, is heading up the Dallas Fire-Rescue annual Care Enough to Wear Pink campaign.

In 2008 she was first diagnosed with breast cancer and in 2012 she was diagnosed again. Now, the campaign she is spearheading calls on fire departments across the country to wear pink attire for the month of October. In Dallas, the fire fighters wore pink uniform shirts from the beginning of October until the 19th.

As Brown explained, “If you feel something that’s different in your body, go to your doctor. Don’t let fear paralyze you. The earlier they can find it, the better the treatment, the better the outcome.”

Pop Tab Charity Event Is a Success

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On Saturday, September 28th, the 15th Annual Olivia Andrews Tab Run took place to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House in Columbus, Georgia. There were over 800 motorcycles, bringing more than 1200 riders from Griffin to Columbus. They road on the Manchester Expressway, down I-185 to Victory Drive and then arrived at the National Infantry Museum to celebrate in the afternoon.

While most people would assume that the charity ride helped to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House – you might want to think again. Rather than collecting money, the group collects pop tabs.

As Beth Mancini, the Program Director for Ronald McDonald House Charities of West Georgia, said, “They bring in, literally, tons and tons of pop tabs. They save them all through the year, all the different subgroups from their biker organization, and they bring in a huge trailer.”

The Ronald McDonald House is then able to recycle the pop tabs and to make thousands of dollars for the house in Columbus.

 

 
WTVM.com-Columbus, GA News Weather