Emblazoned just below Alaffia’s name on the Fair Trade skincare product’s website, are three familiar, yet powerful, words: equality, empowerment, and beauty. And although the product line does aim to make its users feel good, the man and woman behind the business have committed their lives to improving those of others. Upon speaking with Alaffia owner, Olowo-n’djo Tchala, after his recent trip to Togo, Africa, it became evident that their organization’s cause goes much further than just skin deep.

Alaffia founders Olowo-n’djo Tchala and his business partner and wife, Prairie Rose Hyde, both came from modest beginnings. Tchala was one of eight children raised in his hometown Kaboli, a small village in Togo, a country that has long struggled with overwhelming poverty (about 80 percent of the people living in Togo live under the poverty line) . He grew up watching his mother help people in their community even with their limited resources. Because his family couldn’t afford tuition, he was forced to drop out of school in the sixth grade and he worked alongside his mother on her farm.

Prairie Rose, on the other hand, was born in the States, but could still very much relate to the struggles of growing up poor. Her family needed welfare to survive, and she eventually sought a better life by joining the Peace Corp. It was on Hyde’s mission trip to Kaboli 19 years ago that the two first met and fell in love.

After her service ended, they both moved back to the U.S. and attended the University of California Davis together. After graduating, and with a shared vision for their lives, Tchala said that they were moved by “the injustice that exists in the human life and both had the urgency to do something about it.” So, in 2003, with limited knowledge of actual product formulation and a lot of heart, the Alaffia skincare line was born. With high hopes of giving back to the West African community the two traveled between Togo and America frequently.

The couple wanted to create a product for women by women that would fulfill a need on both ends of the spectrum – sustainable, Fair Trade skincare for the public that simultaneously improves the lives of women in West Africa. From this mutual desire, lotions, soaps, haircare, and other natural beauty products utilizing native ingredients were developed. And although they learned the trade as time went on, Tchala and Hyde never sacrificed their core beliefs for the sake of business.

Alaffia was and is still committed to full transparency and traceability, and consistently reinvests its profits back into the company and into the community. Fortunately, the products are easily accessible through online ordering on Alaffia’s website, and for purchase in your local Whole Foods Market and other brick and mortar stores.

With a personal promise to never abandon the people of Togo, especially the women, whom he believes have it much worse in West Africa than men, Tchala and his wife started making major changes in the lives of others. They wanted to focus on teaching women self-sufficiency and independence. Solid living wages, although important, became a byproduct of the desperately needed sense of empowerment and self-worth that came as a result of learning a trade.

According to the Alaffia website, “women in West Africa have long been excluded from the formal education sector, which means they cannot read or write.” The female Shea Butter Cooperative established in Togo allows women to capitalize on their strengths, such as their “unique skills, traditions, and knowledge.” And whether it’s basket weaving, or making shea butter, these women can all feel confident in themselves and their ability to contribute to their families.

While women are a centralized aspect of Alaffia’s philanthropy, it’s the company’s belief to also spread empowerment at the community level. After evaluating the issues hindering the village, it is believed that “exclusion from education, maternal deaths, and environmental degradation” all heavily contributed to the discord. In an effort to solve these problems, Alaffia has committed to the following projects:

• Bicycles for Education – Since 2006, Alaffia has collected and sent over 6,300 used bicycles to disadvantaged Togo students to utilize as transportation to and from school.
• Maternal Health – Since 2004, Alaffia has provided pre and post natal care for 3,237 women in central Togo to help reduce high maternal death rates in West Africa.
• School Supplies & Repairs – Alaffia donates metal roofs, seats and school supplies to schools in rural Togo to help communities educate their youth.
• Restoration & Environment – To combat effects of climate change and deforestation, Alaffia plants trees and builds home biogas units.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, Alaffia is also certified as a Fair Trade skincare business that takes environmental impact seriously. Shea butter is one of Africa’s natural resources and is the focus of Alaffia’s cooperative, but all of the products are actually handcrafted and comprised of ingredients indigenous to the region.

Sustainability is a crucial aspect of the business. In fact, sustainability is the “soul of our organization,” says Tchala, “because I look at culture for sustainability first.” In other words, the commitment to long-term preservation is a holistic process, from population to product.

The one-on-one sustainability is evident through Alaffia’s community efforts, but that has also been extended to the product production aspect. Headquartered in Washington, 80 percent of all packaging is sourced from either Utah or California in an effort to reduce the carbon footprint as much as possible. Many of the bottles used to package products are made from 100 percent post-consumer waste, with the remaining containers having a 50 percent minimum threshold.

Tchala believes that economic sustainability equates to morality – that Fair Trade isn’t enough to be an upstanding business and that the certification shouldn’t simply be used as a marketing ploy, but is a notion that should be lived and upheld through strong morals and ethics.

Alaffia’s unprecedented standards, along with the commitment to consciousness, truly places this skincare company into a category all its own. Not only that, but Tchala can promise his customers peace of mind by knowing that when purchasing this product, they are “not contributing to slavery, destruction of humanity, or making one person richer – your money is being spread around, and not just in Togo, but in the state of Washington, too.”

With a bright future and strong moral compass, Alaffia is a deserving business with a worthy cause. And if you still need a friendly nudge in the right direction on your next trip down the skincare aisle, Tchala said it best: “From lotions to body washes, we can create everlasting impact and contribute to all humans in a very truly positive way. The traditional methods of making things can yield women and their families a benefit while uplifting all humans around the world.” From the inside, from the goodness of our hearts, that’s what real beauty looks like.

What’s your take on this sustainable, Fair Trade skincare business? Are you as excited as we are? Let us know on the EcoSalon Facebook page! For more information, or to order online, please visit www.alaffia.com and be sure to show them some love on social media, too.

Related on EcoSalon 

Adèle Dejak: Reclaimed African Fashion Design

Fruit Leather Handbags Are Reducing Food Waste in Style

Celebrate Fair Trade Fashion Month with Ethically Made Beauty Products: A to Z

All images via Alaffia

The post How Fair Trade Skincare is Transforming a Struggling African Nation appeared first on EcoSalon.

Designer David Peck shows the many colors of his Spring/Summer 2013 collection.

Fashion, David Peck makes clear, is more than just the clothes we wear. With his eponymous CROP by David Peck Spring/Summer 2013 collection, Peck shows that fashion is both transformative and character defining. (Translation: You are what you wear.)

Underpinning Peck’s “Once Upon a Dream” collection is a stream of narratives, both deeply personal to the designer and profoundly universal. The artistic fish motif, for instance, that swims across silk organza dresses, organic cotton sateen shifts and linen chiffon shirts, is transported from the characters of “Wynken, Blynken and Nod,” a popular poem by American writer Eugene Field.

The designer’s starting point for the seasons’ fish motif began as a stylized cardboard cutout.

His floral origami prints, radiating across pieces like the silk chiffon Arable Top and Laurie Trouser (below), traveled from Peck’s yesteryear love for the Child Craft Encyclopedias—the place from where he began his artistic pursuits.

Other garments speak from journeys later in life. His geographical dresses, skirts and shirts, imprinted with a historical Parisian map from 1850, hail from Peck’s love for his home of six years, where he studied fashion design at École Parsons  Paris. As Peck and I tour the garment and its subtle French centerpiece, we catch sight of the Louvre and the Seine en route to his former apartment.

Beyond the artistic magnificence of Peck’s designs—down to the careful back cutouts and the meticulous placement of seams—is the diversity of all he creates in a single season. Wearable for women across ages, passions and pursuits, he gives his wearer the ingredients to make the piece her own. Classic twists like the racer top Attonia Dress (below), the Havisham Gown from locally sourced viscose jersey (below) or the striped and plaid Elinore dress, made from entirely hand-woven cotton from India, bring playful sophistication to the forefront—day to night and year to year.

For Peck, though, the greatest fashion statement of all is the one he wears proudly: Made in the USA. Each collection is designed and stitched in his namesake production facility in Houston, Texas. There, he works to create his own collection stateside and produces for four other brands who also see the value in local. Through collaboration with the Greater Houston Partnership, Peck hopes this will only continue to grow, as companies take advantage of domestic skills, the large port that Houston offers and the efficiency that local manufacturing can create.

To further support local communities throughout the United States, 10 percent of profits from the complete Spring/Summer 2013 collection will go directly toward caring for homeless youth through the charge of Covenant House. Through such initiatives Peck upholds his founding vision to promote “Creative Opportunities,” abbreviated as CROP.

Dreams, Peck shows, really do come true.

Some more looks we love:

Images: Jennifer Barckley

The post NYFW: CROP by David Peck Takes on Literature and Place appeared first on EcoSalon.

Changing Ethiopia one school at a time.

Access to education is something we often take for granted. In some parts of the world, a physical space for a school is a luxury. Such is the case in Ethiopia, where nonprofit imagine1day works to empower the next generation of African leaders by building schools, with a goal of all Ethiopians having access to quality education funded free of foreign aid by 2030.

Since launching in 2007 they have funded 87 primary schools and trained 1,183 teachers. But as with any nonprofit, raising funds to support their work is key, and the organization has come up with several creative ways to activate its circle of supporters, both by putting donors on the ground in Ethiopia to work with children firsthand and to encourage supporters to be “Creatributors,” harnessing the power of individual talents to fundraise in a new way

2012 marks the third year of Imagine Ethiopia, a hands on philanthropic effort that combines the talents of devoted individuals and puts them on the ground in Ethiopia to see their work through. Anyone with a passion for development and philanthropy can apply, and the organization is still taking applications for Imagine Ethiopia 2012.

We caught up with imagine1day’s Digital and Brand Leader Michelle Lazar to learn more about the organization and Imagine Ethiopia 2012.

Describe the mission and work of imagine1day.

imagine1day is a charitable organization committed to our mission of developing leaders to elevate the world. We pride ourselves in taking a unique approach to our work, both locally and on the ground in Ethiopia, and we make sure to have fun at every step of the way. In Ethiopia, we are direct implementers of educations projects, and we work hand in hand with communities who are committed and invested in education as a priority. Building a school is easy. Building a school that lasts requires vision, commitment and partnership. Through trial and error, failure and learning, we’ve developed a thoughtful and disciplined program approach with one key objective: to complete each project confident that our partners have the human and financial capacity, and the desire and drive to lead their education systems with success in perpetuity. Ultimately, our goal is that all Ethiopians have access to quality education funded free of foreign aid by 2030.

What inspired the launch of the organization?

It began as an idea…We imagined helping a nation educate its children, one by one, into a country full of promise. In 2007, imagine1day came to life, and it was decided by the Board to focus on primary education in Ethiopia. This decision was motivated by an obvious need within Ethiopia, where more than 3 million children were not in school, and the government had voiced commitment to Education, taking on the UN Millennium Development Goal of universal access to education by 2015. When Chip and Shannon Wilson endowed imagine1day, they imagined an organization that directly educated impoverished communities without corruption or loss of funds. They imagined an organization that focused on developing people and elevating communities around the world. They imagined a new generation of African leaders and a new era of prosperity. They created imagine1day with fun as its most important core value.

Imagine Ethiopia started in 2010. How did you come up with this idea for voluntourism as a key part of your organization?

Credit goes to our Executive Director, Sapna Dayal, for conceptualizing the Imagine Ethiopia program. Sapna recognized how powerful it would be for people to experience first-hand the impact of their contribution to imagine1day, and the promise and potential of Ethiopia on the whole. Each Imagine Ethiopia trip is designed around an overall objective of introducing participants to the Ethiopia that we’ve come to know and love such that they experience their own shift in perception of the country, its possibilities and themselves. We want people to come back feeling like Ambassadors to Ethiopia, imagine1day and the importance of contribution.

What benefits of this program have you seen so far?

The benefits have truly been countless. We’ve attracted incredibly loyal supporters in the form of trip participants from all across North America, and the imagine1day and Ethiopia’s story has been shared through to each of their networks. We’ve also connected to some extraordinary partners, including program sponsors and trip leaders. We feel like our family has grown by leaps and bounds since we built Imagine Ethiopia into our organization.

What are you looking forward to with Imagine Ethiopia 2012?

2012 is a big year for imagine1day, as we’re scaling our impact within Ethiopia by expanding into a new region called Oromiya. The money raised by this year’s Imagine Ethiopia Dream Team will fund one of our very first school projects in this new region, and it’s going to be a very special moment when we arrive to witness the ground breaking alongside the people who made it possible. We’re excited to venture into new territory on this trip, and it’s going to make for an incredible itinerary. We’ll be visiting the Bale Mountains, where we’ll experience a new landscape and new adventures including horseback riding, and hanging out with warthogs, nayalas, and more! We’re also thrilled to welcome Christian Santelices as a new addition to our Leader Team. Christian is a fully certified mountain guide, professional photographer, public speaker, writer, community activist, and an all around joy to be around. He will be infusing adventure and fun into the trip itinerary at every turn.

Why do you think hands on experience and philanthropic efforts go hand in hand?

We’re all about inspiring people to make passionate contributions that elevate themselves, their local community, and communities in Ethiopia. For us, we understand that it’s not always easy for people to feel connected to the impact of their contribution when so much magic is happening on the other side world. The more we can facilitate that connection, through experiences like Imagine Ethiopia, and our communications with supporters, the smaller the gap becomes. So often philanthropy/international development is positioned as “us helping them”, whereas this trip is truly a unifying experience. It is one that provides participants an opportunity to receive more than they give through a journey of personal growth.

Tell us more about your Creatributon™ program. What is it and how does it work?

imagine1day distinguishes itself as a community that expands through shared experiences and inspiring connections. We believe that charity can have a greater impact on the world by being an impetus for abundance, locally and globally. Our unconventional charitable model, which we call CREATRIBUTION™, invites people to contribute to the world by exploring their passions and their talents. On the part of imagine1day, it requires a commitment to supporting each Creatributor in being rigorously selfish about how their Creatribution will serve their life. Through Creatribution, people are discovering how their unique contribution can become their own business venture. Creatribution is a training ground for entrepreneurs to take risks, to fail, to succeed and ultimately to develop as leaders in their community. In practice, Creatributions can look like just about anything – from an unconventional art showcase, to a campaign that inspires people to choose donating in lieu of buying coffee or eating out, to an intimate house concert series where artists perform in a living room setting. It’s amazing to see how people can channel their passions and talents to create extraordinary contributions to the world.

If people can’t apply to Imagine Ethiopia, how can they support your efforts?

For those who can’t join us as part of this year’s journey, but are interested in supporting the team’s goal of raising $100,000, they can follow this link to donate to the trip goal. People can also consider taking on Creatribution™ in support of our goal. Finally, we’re always welcoming new friends and supporters with open arms, and encourage people to connect with us by way of our website, Facebook & Twitter communities.

Learn more about imagine1day and apply for Ethiopia 2012 here. 

The post Hands On Philanthropic Action: Building Schools in Ethiopia with imagine1day appeared first on EcoSalon.

Does it take a celebrity to speak for the majority of Americans?

Oscar-winning actor Matt Damon has been in the news quite a bit lately, and it’s not because he’s promoting a new movie. Damon, who is low-key about his personal life, comes on strong when he’s passionate about a political issue or a philanthropic cause. He has lit up the blogosphere, YouTube, print media and even late night television with his recent, high profile interviews on his philanthropy, Water.org, and his opinions on the state of education in the U.S. today and the recent U.S. debt agreement.

How much weight should we give celebrity opinions? People (and especially children and teens) are often swayed by celebrity endorsements and strive to emulate them, so when celebrities talk, many people listen. As a society, we eat up what they are wearing, what they are doing and who they are doing it with. Sometimes that means we are treated to diatribes about tiger’s blood, an episode of couch-jumping, or homophobic jokes during a stand up comedy act.

Celebrities don’t have to worry about being re-elected; they can simply say what they believe, whatever that may be. Damon’s opinions have gotten so much attention that outspoken Democrat Michael Moore has commented that he should run for president.

The July/August issue of Fast Company profiled Damon and the nonprofit organization Water.org that he co-founded with Gary White. Water.org is working towards providing safe drinking water to people in developing countries. Ellen McGirt described Damon’s immersive involvement in the organization as far and above the level of normal celebrity cause spokesperson. Damon has turned himself into a “development expert.” McGirt explains that, among other things, Damon can talk knowledgeably about microfinance with rural bankers, give reports from the field at the annual Clinton Global Initiative, and has personally thanked donors like Pepsi’s Indira Nooyi. Damon has also put in the time researching, studying and listening to experts in the field and visiting the very people it affects. This has garnered him a level of quiet respect.

Damon has been in the spotlight before for his opinion. A staunch Democrat, he supported President Obama during his campaign, but recently professed his disappointment in Obama’s handling of some key issues, including education, the Afghanistan exit strategy, and the Wall Street crisis. “I no longer hope for audacity,” he told Piers Morgan in a March 2011 appearance on his show.

On July 30, Damon gave an inspiring speech during the Save Our Schools march in Washington D.C. referencing his mother, a professor of early childhood education, and his public school education growing up. He described how he learned because he wasn’t taught to perform well on a standardized test, but was taught by teachers who were “empowered to teach.”

“This has been a horrible decade for teachers. I can’t imagine how demoralized you must feel. But I came here today to deliver an important message to you: As I get older, I appreciate more and more the teachers that I had growing up. And I’m not alone. There are millions of people just like me.

So the next time you’re feeling down, or exhausted, or unappreciated, or at the end of your rope; the next time you turn on the TV and see yourself called “overpaid;” the next time you encounter some simple-minded, punitive policy that’s been driven into your life by some corporate reformer who has literally never taught anyone anything, please know that there are millions of us behind you. You have an army of regular people standing right behind you, and our appreciation for what you do is so deeply felt. We love you, we thank you and we will always have your back.”

Following this speech, a journalist and cameraman baited Damon and his mother, saying that teachers needed incentive to put in effort and that ten percent of all teachers were probably bad. Damon shot back, “Ok, but maybe you’re a shitty cameraman.”

Soon afterward, Damon was back in the news after the debt crisis was resolved, voicing his disappointment with the result.

“The wealthy are paying less than they paid at any time else, certainly in my lifetime, and probably in the last century,” he said. “I don’t know what we were paying in the roaring 20’s; it’s criminal that so little is asked of people who are getting so much. I don’t mind paying more. I really don’t mind paying more taxes. I’d rather pay for taxes than cut ‘Reading is Fundamental’ or Head Start or some of these programs that are really helping kids. This is the greatest country in the world; is it really that much worse if you pay 6% more in taxes? Give me a break. Look at what you get for it: you get to be American.”

Is Damon a rich celebrity? Yes. Should his opinion mean more because he has a high profile? Maybe not, but in a time when people who aren’t lobbyists or wealthy donors have a hard time being heard by those in government who are supposed to represent their interests, it’s what we’ve got.

Image: JustJared

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The devastating 8.9-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that rocked Japan on March 11th has wiped entire towns off the map, claimed over 10,000 lives and caused ongoing dangers to at least three nuclear power plants. Analysts say that recovery costs could reach $180 billion, and so far, donations to Japan have been a lot lower than those to other countries faced with recent natural disasters. The Japanese people need our help.

You can’t exactly hop on a plane and fly over there, and packing up those extra canned goods and cast-off clothing just isn’t an efficient way to help. So what can you do? Here are 11 ways to send vital medical assistance, emergency shelter, animal rescue teams and much more directly to the affected areas.

1. Donate directly to Japan’s Red Cross: Google has made it easy to cut out the middleman and ensure that your donation funds can be put to good use as soon as possible. Donate directly to the Japanese Red Cross Society on Google’s Crisis Response page.

2. Help send medical personnel and supplies: Doctors Without Borders, a nonprofit medical organization, has expanded its team in Japan, working in mobile clinics in inaccessible areas where the roads have been destroyed. You can help in their relief efforts by donating at DoctorsWithoutBorders.org.

3. Help send emergency shelters, tools and cooking supplies: When you donate to UK-based organization ShelterBox, your money is going toward a waterproof trunk containing a disaster relief tent, blankets, toys, tools, a cookstove and cooking supplies. $1,000 pays for a whole box, or you can pitch in towards one; either way, you get the number of the box you paid for so you can track it on the ShelterBox website and see exactly where it goes.

4. Help rescue displaced animals: Let’s not forget the millions of animals that have been injured or made homeless by the disaster. Animal Refuge Kansai, The Japan Cat Network and World Vets are among the organizations that are currently working to rescue as many animals as possible and they need funds for treatment, food and housing. See this page at PetCaptain.com for more information.

5. Find other legitimate charities: Make sure your money is well-spent by donating to established charities with a real presence in Japan rather than any new charities popping up in the aftermath of the disaster. Charity Navigator has a list of charities rated by efficiency which are currently providing food, fresh water and other forms of relief to earthquake victims.

6. Donate via text message: The American Red Cross is making it easy to donate simply by pushing a few buttons on your cell phone. Text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10. You can also text JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 to donate to the Salvation Army, or TSUNAMI to 20222 to donate to the Save the Children Federation, which has teams within 80 miles of the nuclear reactor at Fukushima to meet the needs of affected children. Sprint and Verizon Wireless have waived texting fees for text donations.

7. Donate through iTunes: If you have an iTunes gift card or just want another easy to way to send money, Apple has set up a donation page directly in the iTunes store. Click this link to open the donation page in iTunes and give anywhere from $5 to $200.

8. Donate on Facebook: Yet another easy way to donate is through the American Red Cross Facebook ‘Causes’ page. The project aims to raise $25,000 over Facebook, and allows you to donate $10 to $500.

9. Donate your airline miles: The American Red Cross accepts donated airline miles from Continental, Delta and United airlines to fly relief volunteers and staff to disaster areas. American Airlines is also offering bonus miles to members of its AAdvantage rewards program when they donate to the Red Cross, giving members 250 bonus miles for a $50 donation and 500 bonus miles for a donation of $100 or more.

10. Add donation links to your website: Insert a little snippet of code into your website to put a plea for help front and center in the form of a red bar at the top of the page. The Hello Bar can be set to appear for a brief period when visitors first reach your site and hide itself afterward, and the message and colors are customizable. Mashable has the code and an easy tutorial.

11. Spread the word: Encourage others to help out, too by spreading the word about the disaster through social media. Tweet about it, provide links to charities and information on Facebook, or share this article with friends and family. Twitter has published a list of hashtags to help filter search results including #JPQuake, #japan and #TSUNAMI (scroll down for English.)

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Gone are the days when you handed your money over to a charity organization…and the relationship ended there. If your heart felt short-changed by this business model, you’ll be happy to learn that we’re in more enlightened times, where the dazzling interconnectedness of the online world allows you to see where your money goes and learn how it’s helping the causes you believe in.

But where do you go first? Today we’re delighted to welcome Kathryn Hawkins, the editor at Razoo – a philanthropic site that can justifiably claim to be the only place you’ll need to go to donate to the cause of your choice. Tall tale? Not when you consider the millions of opportunities to give and Razoo’s  top-quality journalism outlining the most pressing charitable stories in the world today. These combine to connect you as never before with the recipients of your donations – to learn the human stories behind the headlines and know your place in shaping them.

Mike: Thanks for dropping by, Kathryn! In your opinion, what the number one way in which Razoo’s approach to charitable giving is distinct and groundbreaking? What features and services are you most proud of?

Kathryn: First and foremost, Razoo is the only online charitable giving platform service in which every single penny of your money goes directly to the charity. Usually, as much as five to 10 percent of your donation is eaten up in transaction costs, but Razoo passes it all straight on. Razoo also has a search engine that lets you browse through more than 1.6 million US-based nonprofits, checking out their ratings and reviews from Charity Navigator and Guidestar, as well as videos, the nonprofits’ newsletters, and any newspaper articles that mention them. If you’re a fan of a particular organization, you can even update the nonprofit’s organization page on Razoo.

What stories have you covered at Razoo that you think aren’t getting the press they deserve, making you want to shout them from the rooftops?

Human trafficking is a big one, for sure. I’ve done a few stories related to that: a Giving Guide to anti-slavery organizations, a story about a group of teen girls who created a nonprofit group to rescue children from slavery in Ghana, and a profile of five former slaves who’ve transformed their traumatic experiences into something positive, serving as activists to help end human trafficking. An estimated 27 million people are enslaved, some even in the United States. True numbers could be much higher, as many cases of human trafficking are never reported to officials. I think it’s an essential issue for everyone to learn about. Also, if you can spare a few dollars, make a donation to an anti-trafficking group like the Somaly Mam Foundation or the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking to fund efforts to shut down human trafficking rings and provide counseling and support for former slaves.

We’re curious about the unusual name ‘Razoo’ – what the meaning behind it and why was it chosen to sum up the company?

A “razoo” is a New Zealand term for a coin of little worth. The word was chosen because it represents our vision of philanthropy – that everyone can make a meaningful contribution, no matter how small or large their individual donations are.

What can regular visitors to the website expect in terms of articles, news, updates and upcoming attractions?

We’ve recently started doing a “Daily News” section, with articles spotlighting current events related to social issues and philanthropy, including information on how the everyday person can help contribute to the cause. We’re also planning some big upcoming features, including interviews with celebrities (secret for now, but all will be revealed soon). But our biggest event of the moment is our March Goodness contest in which Razoo is giving away grants of up to $10,000 to the charities with the most donor supporters on Razoo. If you want to create a fundraising page for your favorite organization, you can also win an iPod. But it runs until the end of March, so there’s not much time left to get involved!

Image: batega

The post A Tiny, Priceless Coin: Interview with Kathryn Hawkins of Razoo appeared first on EcoSalon.

With the Obama administration igniting fervor for hope and change, perhaps the world will take heed of the decade-strong work that has been generating from the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

Since 1998, MSF has been producing a “Top Ten” list of the worst humanitarian and medical emergencies in the world. According to their website, the compilation was inspired when a devastating famine in southern Sudan went largely unreported in U.S. media. Drawing on MSF’s emergency medical work the top ten list seeks to generate greater awareness of the magnitude and severity of crises that may or may not be reflected in media accounts.

Massive forced civilian displacements, violence, and unmet medical needs in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Iraq, Sudan, and Pakistan, along with neglected medical emergencies in Myanmar and Zimbabwe are some of the worst humanitarian and medical emergencies in the world. The report underscores major difficulties in bringing assistance to people affected by conflict.

Also included on the list is the lack of global attention to the growing prevalence of HIV-tuberculosis co-infection and the critical need for increased global efforts to prevent and treat childhood malnutrition – the underlying cause of death for up to five million children per year.

Learn how you can help Doctors Without Borders.

The post Sharpening the Focus on the Top 10 Humanitarian Crises appeared first on EcoSalon.