Causes Archives - Page 13 of 13

Since this week is all about love, it seems only fitting to talk about the newest matchmaker in town. This isn’t your average speed dating site, but rather a brilliant concept that connects volunteers with non-profits who need help on specific task and its called CatchAFire.

So often when we think about volunteering, we think about stuffing envelopes, collecting trash or the most mundane activities. In 2009, Rachael Chong had an idea to connect professionals and their skill set to non-profit organizations. Rachael had a vision to “forward a cause you believe in” by using your professional skills to help a non-profit organization. So if you are a graphic artist, who is passionate about the environment….Catch a Fire would connect you to an environmental non-profit that is working on a new logo. You get the idea….

Rachael’s platform CatchAFire.Org is an amazing way to make a difference. She is changing the face of the non-profit workplace, creating a pro-bono movement and making our world better by inspiring people to share their gifts and talents for a greater purpose. I think her bio best sums her up by saying, “Rachael wants to leave this earth known as a leader who empowers others to be better than her.”

This Valentines week, I would say Catch A Fire is a match made in heaven and definitely something to love.

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As we begin to get organized for Spring Break, a bunch of items start coming out for packing, the most important being the camera. Capturing memories of precious moments spent with loved ones is a universal tie that binds us all together. The nostalgia of past trips and looking back at photo albums (yes, real books….a thing of the past, I know!) lead me to this amazing story.

In 2006, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, one Kansas woman decided an important way she could help families suffering from their enormous loss and grief of the storm’s aftermath. She would restore some of their damaged photographs. That kind gesture turned into the non-profit Operation Photo Rescue.

When a natural disaster strikes, what is the first item we rush to save? Our photos, which hold the key to our history, our past and our lives. Once victims are safe and have their basic needs met, they begin the process of searching for any remaining possessions. At this point Operation Photo Rescue starts their online fundraising efforts to underwrite their work.

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What began as a simple gesture has today turned into a global initiative. This entirely volunteer run organization now has a network of over 2,000 volunteers representing 77 countries where high end cameras digitally copy the damaged photos for restoration. Over 9,000 images have been restored in the past eight years.

The organization’s motto is, “Insurance doesn’t restore memories but we do,” The group’s President, Margie Hayes said recently, “As so often happens when people bring in their damaged photos, you learn that some of the photos are the only ones left of a relative that is no longer living. To be able to restore that memory is beyond words.”

Charity Matters.

Copyright © 2013 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.

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