Feel Good Friday - WildAid

I've been asked where I find the groups I profile on Feel Good Friday. Sometimes it's organizations I have experience with, other times I search for ones that connect to current events, this time I saw an ad for WildAid at the Fruitvale BART station. I'll take inspiration anywhere I can find it.

As explained on their website, "WildAid works to reduce global consumption of wildlife products and to increase local support for conservation efforts." They are the only organization in the world focused on reducing demand for endangered species products and they target many of their efforts in Asia where demand is highest.

After watching this very high quality intro video, I learned the following shocking statistics about the illegal animal trade:

• 33,000 elephants are killed each year for their ivory
• the world's tiger population has dropped from 100,000 in 1900 to 3,800 today
• 90% of the world's rhinos have been poached in the last 40 years
• since 2000, 1 million pangolins have been trafficked for their meat and scales
• 73 million sharks per year are killed so their fins can be used for soup

No wonder WildAid's tag line is "when the buying stops, the killing can too".

In order to get the message across that conservation can be exciting, WildAid uses a small budget and lots of donated media to deliver messages with the quality of the worlds best tv ads. You can see examples of these videos here.

In addition to slick production value, WildAid harness the power of celebrity. They have an impressive roster of celebrity ambassadors who all champion different animals: Yao Ming (sharks), Lupita Nyong'O (elephants), Zhang Ziyi (pandas), Leonardo DiCaprio (tigers), Jackie Chan (pangolins), and Prince William and David Beckham (elephants and rhinos and sharks, oh my).

Their awareness campaigns have made a difference. Consumption of shark fins in China has gone down 50-70% in recent years. Three years after a 2012 campaign against the ivory trade featuring Yao Ming, prices for ivory had dropped 50% and the governments of China and Hong Kong announced they would ban ivory sales. In Kenya, elephant poaching has dropped from 390 per year to 90.

You can see what WildAid is doing for your favorite animal by checking out their programs page. To support their work you can make a donation, apply for a job or spread the word on social media by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter @WildAid. Now do yourself a favor and go to the website to learn more about pangolins!

Feel Good Friday - International Sanctuary

I learned about today's Feel Good Friday organization, International Sanctuary, because a coworker volunteers there and just came back from a trip to India. Here's what you need to know.

International Sanctuary, or iSanctuary, is an organization that "empowers young women rescued from human trafficking through education, income, health care, and community." Founded in 2007 by Stephanie Pollaro, "iSanctuary has served hundreds of young women in Mumbai, India and Orange County, California." Mumbai has one of Asia's largest red light districts and Orange County is a major stop on the trafficking circuit.

The problem of human trafficking is explained with some shocking statistics from the iSanctuary website: 45.8 million people are enslaved in the world today, 80% are women and over 50% are children. Every country, including the United States, is affected by this $32 billion a year industry.

The mission of iSanctuary "is to empower people escaping human trafficking to embrace their true identity and worth." The vision is to have 10 new sanctuaries worldwide by 2020 and funds are currently being raised for a location in Uganda.

The existing sanctuaries in Mumbai and Orange County are the next step for survivors after they are rescued and their basic needs such as shelter, food and clothing are met. iSanctuary provides medical and dental care, education, counseling, life skills training, micro loans and financial training, university scholarships, job training and employment! Since inception, iSanctuary has served over 300 women and girls and enabled them to create better lives for themselves and their children.

Watch this 2:09 minute introductory video to see the women whose lives are being changed and, if you like what you see, support the work of iSanctuary by volunteering your time, donating your money or shopping for Purpose Jewelry, made by survivors.

Liking the International Sanctuary Facebook page and following them on Twitter @isanctuary are great ways to stay in the loop and share the work being done to combat human trafficking.