If you think your feet are tired at the end of the day, talk to Anna Judd.
Last month, the Orange County, California resident set out on an epic run to help veterans. Her plan? To run 3,200 miles from Venice, California to New York City’s Washington Square Park in an effort to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project and Team Red, White & Blue. Judd runs 40 miles a day, six days a week, charting her grueling adventure on her website and Facebook page. Along the way, veterans and other supporters run alongside her.
According to Lori Corbin of KABC, Judd raises funds through the Charity Miles app. Corporate sponsors have committed to donating $1 million to the startup, which allows anyone to fundraise for 26 different charities just by signing up and being active. Biking a mile earns 10 cents, while running or walking a mile earns 25 cents. Anyone who exercises can participate in Judd’s fundraising effort by downloading the app and entering in #runamerica to join her running team. You can also use the app to find a map of where Judd is currently running.
Under the direction of her trainer Navy veteran Sean Litzenberger, Judd hopes to finish the run in a hundred days. As she jogs, Judd (who has completed 30 marathons) is constantly refueling with water, chia seed packs, super food shakes, liquid supplements, and coffee with butter. She lives out of an RV and takes breaks when needed. She started out the run barefoot, but was wearing shoes by the time she arrived in cactus-filled Arizona. Still, nobody can accuse this remarkable runner — set to travel on foot through 17 states — of not being tough.
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Tag: non-profits
Remembering a Remarkable Woman Who Raised $1 Million for Charity
The Denver community is mourning ultra-distance runner Essie Garrett, a formidable force for good as an educator and a charity fundraiser who died April 1 at age 74.
According to the Denver Post, Garrett was born in Texas, and at age 16, she joined the Army, serving for three years before she moved to Denver. Around that time, she began to follow Sri Chinmoy, an Indian spiritual leader who taught his followers that they can achieve enlightenment through the discipline of exercise. She took his teachings to heart and then some.
At the Emily Griffith Opportunity School, a Denver public technical college and alternative high school that has served thousands of low-income and minority students since its founding in 1916, Garrett taught refrigeration mechanics to mostly male classes full of students — some of whom were surprised to learn a woman knew so much about electronics. (She worked as a teacher until her retirement in 2010.) During this time, Garrett began to run distances unfathomable to most.
Garrett ran to raise money for a variety of charities, including Children’s Hospital Colorado, Colorado AIDS Project, Max Funds Animal Adoption, multiple-sclerosis research institutions, and the Denver Rescue Mission that serves the homeless. Starting on Thanksgiving in 1991, she began an annual tradition of running around Colorado’s Capitol building for 48 hours to raise money for the homeless. According to Claire Martin of the Denver Post, she often told friends complaining of hunger, “Don’t you ever say you’re starving. An appetite is not the same thing as starving.”
Essie Garrett ran more than 25,000 miles, raising more than $1 million for charities between 1981 to 2012. Chris Millius, her colleague at Emily Griffith Opportunity School said, “She was always coming up with different ideas for fundraising.”
The sight of Essie, her long dreadlocks gathered into a ponytail that bounced as she ran, will be missed around Denver’s City Park — but her contributions to charities will be long remembered.
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San Francisco’s Tech Talent Lends a Hand to Help the Homeless
Because they want to concentrate their funds and efforts on helping people, nonprofits often have little money or expertise to devote to developing sleek websites, mobile apps, or other tools that draw on the latest technology.
That’s why ReAllocate, a nonprofit that organizes San Francisco’s tech talent to volunteer for the city’s needy, set up its “Hacktivation for the Homeless” from March 28 through 30. Almost 100 software engineers turned up to work on the tech problems of 12 nonprofits serving the homeless of San Francisco.
Among the requests? Larkin Street Youth Services wanted a mobile app that would keep the homeless teens it serves up-to-date on services and allow them reserve beds in its shelter. The Homeless Prenatal Program wanted to enable patients to register online, rather than by filling out paperwork at the office. And the Homeless Employment Collaborative (HEC) wanted to be able to track the people it serves and measure the effectiveness of its programs.
HEC executive director Karen Gruneisen told Josh Wolf of Shareable, “After folks have graduated from our program and gotten a job, they are no longer part of our program and they don’t have a lot of incentive to stick around and stay in touch with us. A smartphone with continued data service in exchange for completing a quarterly survey with status on employment and housing can be just the incentive that we need.”
The nonprofits pitched their needs to the software engineers, then the coders got to work. This hackathon, however, had a unique twist: Instead of working nonstop (which is typical of hackathons), these tech workers were encouraged to take a break from coding and go out on the streets and talk to homeless people, filming their interviews if possible.
Illana Lipsett of ReAllocate told Nellie Bowles of Recode.net, “It’s about fostering a level of empathy between the tech workers, the nonprofits, the homeless. Often, it’s just about creating opportunities for people to interact.”
Organizers hope events like this Hacktivation will ease the growing tensions between tech workers in booming San Francisco and the poor people that the growth has left behind.
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Are Cars the Key to Single Mothers Achieving Self-Sufficiency?
Molly Cantrell-Kraig knows what it’s like to be a single mom. Twenty-five years ago, she was on welfare and was without reliable transportation to school and work. As a result, she struggled to find a way to get to her college classes. But by accepting rides from friends whenever they were available (even if it meant she had to arrive hours before her classes), she graduated, found a job, and raised three daughters.
If that wasn’t enough accomplishments, she also launched the Women With Drive Foundation, which provides low-income mothers with cars in exchange for participation in activities that will put them on the road to self-sufficiency, such as earning a G.E.D., taking financial literacy courses, and receiving job counseling.
The nonprofit’s website notes, “A coalition of businesses called the Welfare to Work Partnership found that the most significant barrier to employment for their employees was transportation.” In other words, a car can iterally be the key to a single mom finding and keeping a job.
To identify women who are struggling with transportation, Cantrell-Kraig contacts social service organizations . Together, they craft a two-year plan with monthly check-ins to help the woman become self-sufficient and earn a car. “We don’t give out free cars,” Cantrell-Kraig told Emanuella Grinberg of CNN. “We ask for two years of your life.”
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This Non-Profit Puts a Debt-Free Roof Over Veterans’ Heads
After serving in the military oversees, what could be better than coming home to a warm, welcoming house? For one, arriving home to a house that doesn’t have a mortgage.
When Austin Baker returned home to Maine after eight years serving with the Marine Corps that included two tours overseas, he struggled to find his footing as he experienced anxiety and depression. “When I got out, I started my own business, it fell through and I ended up losing everything,” Baker told Katherine Underwood of CBS 13.
So he applied to Operation Homefront, a Colorado Springs-based nonprofit that helps veterans struggling with financial difficulties with whatever they need — including housing, transportation, health care, moving assistance and car repairs. This month he became the first veteran in Maine to receive a mortgage-free home from Operation Homefront’s Homes on the Homefront program.
Operation Homefront partners with financial institutions including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase, and Meritage Homes who donate houses for veterans. Wells Fargo remodeled and donated the formerly foreclosed home that Baker received, which is conveniently located near the veterans services Baker needs. “I’m getting a lot better and getting a lot of help from the Portland Vet Center and the VA,” Baker said. Currently, Baker is enrolled at Southern Maine Community College, studying criminal justice, and he plans to continue on to law school. Meanwhile, he will soon move into his new home with his fiancée and kids.
Receiving the house, on which he’ll be responsible for paying the taxes, “was a big relief. I haven’t had many good things happen in a while, so it felt really good.”
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How One Woman Helps Vets Dress for That Oh-So-Important Interview
Most people reach for their nicest clothes when dressing for a funeral. But back in 2010, when Star Lotta attended the funeral of her cousin Jimmy, a Marine Corps veteran who returned from service suffering from PTSD and died of a heart attack at the young age of 23, she noticed that the veterans in attendance weren’t wearing suits.
This stuck Lotta as unusual and she wondered if it was because they couldn’t afford the formal clothing, which can be quite costly. Coincidentally, Lotta ran a business selling custom-made suits, so she started asking her clients if they had old suits they no longer wanted that they could donate to veterans. Soon, Suiting Veterans — a non-profit in Wilmington, Delaware that outfits veterans for job interviews in donated business suits and stylish dress clothes for women — was born.
Retiree Jack Doyle, who has worked as an Army finance clerk and as a men’s clothier at Macy’s, volunteers with the organization. “It’s just a way of kind of giving back to guys who are serving our country,” Doyle told William H. McMichael of USA Today, “And it’s a lot more fun than working on commission.”
According to the non-profit’s website, it has gathered over 200 suits for women and 600 for men. Lotta lets veterans know about her services by visiting veterans’ job fairs. She’s received so many donations that the space where Suiting Veterans is based is virtually filled to capacity. So she has started loading suits up in a donated truck and taking them to such places as Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey to meet veterans there. She’s received so many emails from veterans across the country who’d love to receive a suit that she hopes to one day expand Suiting Veterans nationwide.
We salute the success of Lotta and her army of suiting volunteers.
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Thriving Gardens Now Grow in a Denver Food Desert
After graduating from the University of Denver in 2007, pals Joseph Teipel and Eric Kornacki headed south, to Guatemala where they participated in a service project.
Inspired by the work they did there, the two returned home to help poor communities here in the United States. Their goal is a lofty one: They want to foster self-sufficient communities nationwide that grow their own healthy food. But for now, they’re starting small by making a difference in one city.
In 2009, Teipel and Kornacki formed the non-profit, Re:Vision, and launched their first program, Re:Farm, to help low-income people living in a food desert in southwest Denver. Their first project included planting a school garden at Kepner Middle School, designing irrigated backyard gardens for seven families, teaching families how to grow their own food, and mentoring at-risk middle schoolers through gardening. In 2010, their work was rewarded with an $80,000 grant from the National Convergence Partnership to study how gardening can be used to prevent violence and implement programs. From there, they began hiring community promotoras to spread the word about healthy food and teach other people in their neighborhood how to garden.
Much like the gardens themselves, Re:Vision is growing. Last season, 200 families participated in the backyard garden program, producing 28,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables. A hundred families are on a waiting list for a garden, and the organization hopes to meet that demand this year, with the help of a $50,000 Slow Money Entrepreneur of the Year award and a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
They’re also launching a program called “Dig it Forward,” through which people who want to help can hire Re:Vision workers to design and plant gardens. The proceeds from these garden sales will pay for free gardens in low-income people’s yards. Taipel told Helen Hu of North Denver Tribune, “It’s a way of thinking outside the box. We have a lot of expertise, and if people want to start gardens and help others, it’s a win-win.”
Patricia Grado, an immigrant from Chihuahua, Mexico, serves as one of the promatoras, told Hu, “I’ve reaffirmed my understanding about how to grow our own food, about food sustainability, nutrition, and among other things, how to help the community with my knowledge.”
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Meet the Georgians Putting Energy-Efficient Roofs Over Injured Vets’ Heads
Hardwood floors appeal to many homeowners. They’re attractive, durable, and easy to clean. But for wounded veterans, hardwood floors are often a necessity.
That’s because the smooth surface of hardwood floors makes getting around in a wheelchair less cumbersome. So in Calhoun, Georgia, an army of handymen is providing its services free of charge to injured veterans. Nine thousand employees of Mohawk Flooring in northern Georgia will work — free of charge — on homes that Building for America’s Bravest is custom designing for wounded veterans.
Building for America’s Bravest is a project sponsored by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a non-profit formed after 9-11 to honor Siller, a 34-year-old firefighter and father of five who died trying to save people in the World Trade Center. Its goal: To build 50 custom “Smart Homes” for servicemen and women across the country who are severely disabled and to do it in an energy-efficient way — all while making use of the latest adaptive technologies, such as automated lighting, wider doors to accommodate wheelchairs, and iPad-controllable heating systems.
One recipient of a smart home is Corporal Todd Love, whose house is now under construction in Georgia. Love lost three limbs (both legs and one arm) when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan in 2010. He’s appreciative of the work that the volunteers are putting into building his house: “You can provide a great service for your country without being in the military of being a firefighter or police officer,” he told Kimberly Barbour of WRCB. “[I’m] Looking forward to getting a home and one that’s accessible and hopefully I’ll have it for the rest of my life.”
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This Generous Photographer Makes Low-Income Families Smile
Many of us parents have enough photos of our kids to paper our walls five times over. But for low-income families, having professional portraits taken of their children typically is not even an option. So that’s where Sheila Hudson comes in.
While volunteering at Abington Hospital (located in the northern suburbs of Philadelphia), Hudson, a photographer, realized these families might lack of pictures. “Since photography is kind of a hobby of mine, I thought these parents would probably appreciate having no-cost portraits done of their babies,” she told Ukee Washington of CBS Philly.
So Hudson set up a portrait session at the Montgomery County’s Nurse-Family Partnership, an organization that works with first-time moms, visiting them when they are pregnant until their children are two years old, providing mentorship and parenting education. She calls her photography project “Giving Smiles.” With each session, parents leave with $200 worth of prints, a framed portrait, and digital picture files. “We’re trying to promote healthy moms and families,” Susan Vukovich of the Nurse-Family Partnership told Washington. “Photos of the baby are a nice family memento and help to reinforce that bond.”
Hudson spends about $40 per session on equipment and supplies and in order to fund her work, she accepts donations to sponsor one, two, or three “smiles.” Hudson also partners with the Maternity Care Coalition to reach low-income parents like Stephanie Major, whose nine-month-old Marcellus enjoyed a recent photo sessions. “We’ll be able to remember him forever at this age, which is so fun, and it’s going so fast already,” Major said.
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This Amazing Non-Profit Helps Injured Vets Rebuild Their Lives
While serving in Iraq in 2004, the truck Dan Nevins rode in was hit with an I.E.D., ejecting him from the vehicle. The explosion was so destructive that it severed both of Nevins’s legs below the knee, cut his femoral artery, and killed a fellow soldier. Lying on the ground, Nevins felt like he was losing all the blood in his body and was certain that he was going to die. Fortunately, doctors saved his life, but Nevins was unprepared for what would come next now that his body (and subsequently, his life) was altered radically.
During his recovery at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Maryland, Nevins underwent several surgeries each week for much of his 18-month-long stay. While there, representatives from The Wounded Warrior Project visited him, bringing a backpack full of items to show they cared, and letting him know about the dozens of programs the non-profit offers for people like Nevins.
Sponsoring more than a dozen programs,The Wounded Warrior Project centers their work around helping injured soldiers achieve economic empowerment, engagement, and healthy minds and bodies. They run adaptive sports for veterans, education and training for new jobs, restorative retreats, and more.
Nevins told Barbara Harrington of News Center 16 that the assistance provided by the Wounded Warrior Project has been indispensable to him. While recovering, “They were always there, making me take opportunities to prove that I could be the person I was before, if not better.”
Nevins, who now works for the Wounded Warrior Project raising awareness about their mission, recently visited the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. His visit inspired some MBA students to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project. Regarding the organization, Nevins said, “The greatest casualty is being forgotten. A lot of people that don’t raise their hand and say, that I’m dealing with this,’ feel forgotten. And that’s a travesty. We’re here to say, don’t be that person.”
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