Feel Good Friday - Roots & Shoots

As you’ve likely heard, Dr. Jane Goodall passed away this week at the age of 91. To honor her memory, today’s Feel Good Friday is highlighting the organization Roots & Shoots.

I first profiled Roots & Shoots in celebration of her 80th birthday in April, 2014. Time for a refresh on the organization and what they’ve accomplished.

Roots & Shoots is the Jane Goodall Institute's youth program. It began in Tanzania in 1991 when a group of teenagers approached Dr. Jane about concerns for their community and she encouraged them to take action. Inspired by their work, she shared their stories and Roots & Shoots chapters started to spread around the globe. This one-minute video explains the origin story and current state.

The mission of Roots & Shoots is “to empower young people to affect positive change in their communities.” Local chapters focus on projects that benefit the environment and improve the lives of people and animals. Examples of these youth-led projects include providing habitats for native pollinators such as monarch butterflies and rusty patched bumble bees, recycling used printer cartridges, and No Waste November, which encourages people to “mindfully notice and reduce daily waste”.

In 2024, there were 10,000 active groups in all 50 states and more than 75 other countries. In this one year alone 1,745,000 young people took part in programs and recorded over 420,000 hours of activities.

As they state on the website, by encouraging youth around the globe to use their voices and actions to help people, other animals, and the environment we share, “We are nurturing the compassionate leaders of tomorrow.” What a wonderful legacy for a wonderful human being.

If you’d like to get involved with Roots & Shoots and are under 16 years of age, you can become a member and create a project in your neighborhood or get started with some of these 1-click actions. 

The rest of us can support the work of Roots & Shoots by shopping for merch, making a donation to the Jane Goodall Institute and amplifying this work on social media. Sign up for the mailing list or follow Roots & Shoots on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Feel Good Friday - Cesar Chavez Foundation

Today we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month and the work of Cesar Chavez by highlighting the Cesar Chavez Foundation.

Created by Cesar Chavez in 1966 and headquartered in Keene, California, the mission of the Cesar Chavez Foundation (CCF) is “to carry on Cesar’s life’s work of uplifting the lives of Latinos and working families by inspiring and transforming communities through social enterprises that address essential human, cultural and community needs.”

Cesar Chavez was a labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the National Farmworkers Association which later became the United Farm Workers labor union. His motto, “¡Si se puede!” (“Yes, it can be done!”), guided him through his work as a community organizer and champion of social change, the environment and consumer rights. 

CCF is a self-sustainable fund. They raise money through various social enterprises that are then used to provide services to target underserved communities. Their current areas of focus include housing and economic development, education, multimedia communications, and preserving Cesar’s legacy. 

The Housing and Economic Development Fund builds and manages high-quality, service-enhanced, affordable housing for working families and seniors across California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. That includes over 5,000 multifamily units and more than 300 single family homes. The Education Fund supports after school and summer school programs as well as develops culturally relevant curricula for teachers to use. More than 110,000 students have been served through these programs.

Radio Campesina is the flagship program of Chavez Media. It’s one of 14 digital radio stations CCF operates across California, Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia and it reaches over 1.5 million listeners! Most of the programs are broadcast in both Spanish and English. 

Since they began, CCF has invested more than $860 million in underserved communities. What a wonderful way to continue the legacy of Cesar Chavez. His life and work is also being preserved at the National Chavez Center in La Paz estate in Keene, California, which you can visit seven days a week.

If you’d like to support CCF and the work they do, there are some unique ways to get involved. You can request a speaker to come speak at your next event or shop for merch to show your support. You can also raise awareness of this organization on social media. Follow the Cesar Chavez Foundation on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and subscribe to their YouTube channel. ¡Si se puede!

Feel Good Friday - Latinitas

We continue our celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month with a look at an organization that is inspiring confidence and empowering community, Latinitas.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, the mission of Latinitas is to “empower girls and their communities through culturally relevant education.” They focus on STEAM education (science, technology, engineering, arts and math), digital equity, career exploration, and economic opportunity.

Let’s start with culturally relevant education. It’s designed to connect to the lives, identities and aspirations of the students and their families. The curriculum encourages students to engage with the topics and see themselves in the stories. Role models who are professionals with similar backgrounds inspire success and create an environment for girls to build confidence, develop leadership skills, and explore creative career pathways.

There are a number of educational programs that Lantinitas runs. Club Latinitas is an afterschool program focusing on technology, digital media, culture and identity, open to girls ages 9-14. During the summers, this age group can attend Camp Latinitas where every week there is a new theme such as architecture, engineering and fashion design. 14-18 years old can learn the programming language Python in eight weeks by attending the free, virtual program Code Chica. Families can participate in the multi-generational programming which covers digital literacy and workforce readiness. There are also a variety of one-day Chica Conferences where technology and media are used as tools to explore careers, and Latinitas Magazine, the first digital magazine made by and for young Latinas.

These programs are attended by approximately 3,000 girls across Texas every year. In the 2023-2024  year, there was an 87.5% growth in enrollment in Club Latinitas, 220  girls attended the Chica Conferences, Camp Latinitas had 3528 impact hours and the multi-generational programs had 1167 hours of impact.

If you’d like to help empower Latinitas across Texas there are many ways to do so. Texans reading this post can volunteer. The rest of us can make a monetary donation and amplify this work on social media. Follow Latinitas on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Feel Good Friday - GreenLatinos

National Hispanic Heritage Month begins on Monday, September 15th. Let’s get prepared by learning more about today’s Feel Good Friday organization, GreenLatinos.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, GreenLatinos describe themselves as “an active comunidad of Latino/a/x leaders emboldened by the power and wisdom of our culture united to demand equity and dismantle racism.” As a national non-profit, they confront both national and local environmental issues in the Latino community.

This includes advocacy around the following national issues: fighting for climate justice and clean air, preserving public land, creating sustainable communities, and ensuring water equity so that everyone has access clean, healthy, reliable, and affordable water for drinking.

In addition GreenLatinos runs several programs. The Latino Climate Justice Framework is a comprehensive framework for addressing the climate crisis and serving the needs of Latino/a/e communities across the country. It was created by 22 Latino/a/e organizations and is used as a blueprint by GreenLatinos partners. The Sustainable Cities Urban Greening Initiative is distributing $2,650,000 in grants to increase and revitalize green spaces in urban Latino/a/e communities across Los Angeles, Albuquerque, and Chicago. 

The Justicia Y Equidad Fund provides general operating support for small environmental, conservation, and climate justice organizations and programs serving frontline Latino/a/e communities. And finally, the Urban and Community Forestry program promotes tree equity in historically underserved and underrepresented communities, by focusing on tree planting, maintenance and restoration. There is also specific programming across New Mexico, Illinois, Texas, California and Colorado.

In 2024 GreenLatinos distributed over 25 million in funds through their various grant programs and continued to educate and advocate for initiatives that support the environment. You can read all the details in the 2024 Impact Report.

If you’d like to support GreenLatinos in their work, there are many ways to do so. Become an advocate or a member, make a donation and spread the word on social media. Follow GreenLatinos on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky and LinkedIn.

Feel Good Friday - St. Mary's Food Bank

It’s the first Friday in September, which means it’s also National Food Bank Day. A perfect day to learn more about the organization that started it all, St. Mary’s Food Bank.

Founded in 1967 by John van Hengel and headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, St. Mary’s Food Bank is the world’s first food bank! Their mission is “bridging the gap for Arizona communities with nourishment for today and hope for tomorrow.”

As they explain on their website, food insecurity is a problem for 2 million Arizonans, which includes 1 in 5 children. To address this issue, St. Mary’s Food Bank provides food at no cost to over 900 partner agencies across Arizona. These include organizations such as food pantries, homeless shelters, meal centers, domestic violence shelters, afterschool programs for at-risk children and low-income senior living centers.

The programs run by St. Mary’s Food Bank and their partners include food distribution through both food banks and home delivery, child nutrition programs that provide healthy meals to children in daily after-school programs and during the summer, and a skills center that provides tailored job training in the culinary and foodservice industry as well as the warehouse and logistics industry.

Working with their partner agencies, St. Mary’s Food Bank distributes over 300,000 pounds of food each day. In fiscal year 2023, the total was more than 123,000,000 pounds of food, which is the equivalent of 93,000,000 meals! This food has been a lifeline for so many families across Arizona. You can read individual stories at this link.

If you’d like to support St. Mary’s Food Bank on National Food Bank Day, or any other, there are many ways to do so. People in Phoenix can volunteer their time and the rest of us can donate our money. Everyone can raise awareness by engaging on social media. Follow St. Mary’s Food Bank on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and subscribe to their YouTube channel. 

Feel Good Friday - National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON)

This coming Monday is Labor Day in the United States. A great time to reflect on the work done by day laborers around the country and highlight an organization that supports them.

National Day Laborer Organizing Network, or NDLON, was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Pasadena, California. Their vision is “to live in a world of diverse communities where day laborers live with full rights and responsibilities in an environment of mutual respect, peace, harmony and justice.”

Depending on where you live, you’ve likely seen day laborers waiting for work outside stores like Home Depot, at gas stations or anywhere people might drive up and offer them work. Not only is the work inconsistent, day laborers have no protections against work-related injury and instances of wage theft are on the rise.

NDLON works to improve the lives of day laborers, migrants and low-wage workers by building “leadership and power among those facing injustice so they can challenge inequality and expand labor, civil and political rights for all.” 

They partner with 70 member organizations across the country and have a variety of programs to support day laborers and immigrants. Migrant defense and popular assembly committees mobilize locally and connect through a shared agenda that addresses local and national challenges. The No More Lies video series was created to correct false information with documented facts and honest testimonies, based on the lives and experiences of immigrants and low-wage workers. 

The NDLON website has Know Your Rights information in Spanish and English that people can download. There are also programs supporting workers rights and immigrants rights and the NDLON legal team “provides representation in individual removal cases to support NDLON’s ongoing campaigns, build organizing power, and defend immigrants’ rights.”

One campaign that is a big focus for NDLON given the current political climate is Adopt a Day Labor Corner. Allies who are not at risk of deportation are showing up at corners where day laborers gather for work. They offer support and information, as well as document and report any ICE activity. I’m starting a shift at my local Home Depot next month.

As NDLON says, “Solo el pueblo salva al pueblo. Only the people save the people.” If you’d like to join them in their mission you can view this calendar of training events, sign up to become a volunteer, shop for merch or make a donation. You can also amplify their work on social media by following NDLON on Facebook or Instagram and subscribing to their YouTube channel.

Feel Good Friday - Toilet Twinning

You’ve heard of sister cities, but have you heard of Toilet Twinning? If not, then you’ll want to keep reading to learn more about today’s Feel Good Friday organization.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in the town of Bournemouth, in the United Kingdom, Toilet Twinning is a unique, quirky way to support people who don't have access to safe and clean toilets.

First a bit about the problem. As they explain on their website, “currently, 3.5 billion people lack access to safely managed sanitation, and around 2 billion people worldwide are without access to safely managed drinking water.“ This lack of basic sanitation affects people’s education and livelihoods. In addition, “1,000 children die every day from diseases related to poor sanitation, unhealthy hygiene or unsafe drinking water.” That’s where Toilet Twinning comes in.

By encouraging people to twin toilets in their homes with toilets around the world, Toilet Twinning raises money for Tearfund which is then used to support projects that help families to build their own basic toilet, access clean water and learn about sanitation and hygiene. This work takes place in communities across 50 countries where poverty is extreme and where governments do not provide adequate water and sanitation.

The process to twin your toilet costs 60 pounds (about 80 USD) and is very straightforward. Pick a color for your certificate and the country where you want your twin to be located. Right now there are 12 options including Malawi, Nepal and Pakistan. You’ll see a picture of your toilet twin and can then customize your certificate before placing your order. You’ll be sent either a digital or framed photo of your toilet twin and it’s location which you can then post in your bathroom to raise awareness of the program. Toilet Twinning says that approximately 20% of their donations come from people who’ve seen a certificate in someone else’s bathroom!

In addition to twinning your toilet, there are other ways you can support the water, sanitation and hygiene work being done around the globe. Make a donation to Toilet Twinning and amplify their work on social media by following them on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Feel Good Friday - Fences For Fido

August is National Dog Month and we’re going to celebrate by learning about an organization improving the lives of dogs, Fences for Fido.

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the mission of Fences for Fido is “to improve the quality of life for dogs who spend most or all hours confined to a chain.”

Let’s start with why this is a problem. “The Centers for Disease Control and the American Veterinary Medical Association warn that chained dogs are about 3 times more likely to bite and have more behavior problems. It’s also difficult to provide good care to a chained dog because chains catch on obstacles, putting dogs at risk of strangulation and injury, or leaving them unable to reach their food, water, or shelter.”

Fences for Fido is addressing this issue by building fences for families who keep their dogs on chains, tethers, or in small enclosures. They also provide an insulated doghouse for each dog, spay/neuter services and emergency veterinary care when needed. While the average cost for these services is $800, Fences for Fido works with volunteers and provides these resources free of charge. Click this link to request a fence for you or someone else.

In their first year they built 75 fences that enabled dogs to run free in their yards. Now Fences for Fido builds an average of 13 fences a month and estimates they’ve built over 1,500 fences and unchained more than 2,200 dogs across Oregon and Southern Washington. You can read through these testimonials to see how being unchained has improved the lives and happiness of  so many dogs. 

In addition to the work they do in their communities, Fences for Fido supports and mentors new unchaining groups throughout the United States. 

If you’d like to support Fences for Fido and live in Oregon, you can sign up to volunteer your time and fence building skills. The rest of us can make a donation and amplify their work on social media by following Fences for Fido on Facebook or Instagram.

 

Feel Good Friday - Elephants Alive

Tuesday is World Elephant Day, an international event dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world's elephants. That makes today the perfect Friday to highlight the work being done by Elephants Alive. 

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Hoedspruit, Limpopo, South Africa, the mission of Elephants Alive is “to ensure the survival of elephants and their habitats, and to promote the harmonious co-existence of elephants and people.”

Elephants are a keystone species, meaning they have a disproportionately large effect on their natural environment relative to their abundance. According to the Elephants Alive website, in the last 100 years Africa’s elephants have declined by 97%. That’s why the work they do is so important. You can watch this one-minute video for a quick overview or keep reading for more details.

A main focus of Elephants Alive is tracking the movements of elephants. In the last 29 years, they have collared and tracked over 200 elephants and identified and named 2000 more. This enables them to to inform reserve managers, conservationists and landowners about elephants seasonal activities and vegetation impact. It also allows them to find ways to reduce human-elephant conflict. 

Tracking allowed Elephants Alive to identify elephant corridors across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Eswatini, and then work with local farmers in those corridors to develop alternative sustainable livelihoods to supplement their incomes and increase their economic resilience.

Elephants Alive has also been tracking trees. Since 2004, they’ve monitored 3000+ individual trees to understand elephant impact. This includes trees containing nesting sites of endangered birds such as the southern ground hornbill. 

The program that brings it all together is the Bees, Trees, Elephants and People program. Elephants don’t like bees, so Elephants Alive trains people how to install beehives in trees to protect them from elephant impact. In addition, the bees pollinate the trees and community members make “elephant friendly” honey and beeswax products to sell. There is an all-female anti-poaching unit in southern Mozambique called the Black Mambas who has installed 100 beehives!

Relocating elephants that wander off private game reserves, removing snares, and rescuing orphaned elephant calves round out their work with the elephants. Their community awareness work includes training the Black Mambas, introducing grandmothers to the study elephants and engaging young people from disadvantaged communities in wildlife through photography.

If this has inspired you to support Elephants Alive and the work they do, you can make a donation and become an elephant guardian and as always, amplify their work on social media. Follow Elephants Alive on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and subscribe to their YouTube channel. Happy World Elephant Day!

Feel Good Friday - International Volunteer HQ

For everyone who enjoys traveling after the summer season and volunteering while on vacation, you’re going to love learning about today’s organization, International Volunteer HQ.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Taranaki, New Zealand, International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ) is the world’s leading volunteer abroad organization. If you’re short on time, this one-minute video gives a great summary.

IVHQ provides a fully-hosted experience, which means you pick your destination, volunteer project and duration and they take care of airport pickup, accommodations and logistics. There are 334 projects in 50+ countries across Africa, Asia, South America, Central America, North America, Europe, the Caribbean, the Middle East and the Pacific.

The first step is to pick a destination and a project. You can make your decision by starting with the country you want to visit, or choose what type of organization you’d like to support. IVHQ partner organizations work with children’s education, animals, the environment, health and well being and community development. Specific examples of available trips include mentoring young women in Columbia, protecting and preserving endangered wildlife in Namibia, and working in a pediatric hospital in Cambodia.

Once you find a project that works for your interest, schedule and budget you apply online. If accepted you secure your spot with a registration fee, and prepare for your trip. You’ll also need to pay a program fee, which covers accommodation, meals, airport pick-up, 24/7 in-country support, in-country orientation and discounts on local activities. Prices vary depending on your destination. This page of FAQs can answer all of your questions.

Since they began, IVHQ has helped connect over 152,000 volunteers to opportunities around the world where they have collectively spent 8 million hours doing volunteer work! In 2024 alone 11,678 volunteers representing 125 nationalities volunteered in 56 locations. Get all the details in this short impact video.

One of the best ways to let more people know about IVHQ is to go on a trip and tell people about it! Share your photos and videos on social media and tag IVHQ or write a guest blog on their website to share your volunteer story. You can also stay in the loop by following International Volunteer HQ on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn and subscribe to their YouTube channel.