Charity Matters
Category

Poverty

Category
Holidays and Holiday Giving

My Two Front Teeth. Org

When I heard the name of this great organization, My Two Front Teeth.Org I was so excited to share it with you all this holiday season. This Bay Area non-profit organization reached out to needy children during the holidays to fulfill Christmas wishes. However, I received a present and a true symbol of the season when I discovered that this small non-profit merged with a bigger non-profit called The Family Giving Tree.  The selfless reason, is that by merging and combining resources they would be able to reach even more children in need during the holidays.

The Family Giving Tree began in 1990 as a San Jose State University MBA class project. Jennifer Cullenbine and Todd Yoshida were asked to “create a program that adds value to someone else’s life.” They created the Family Giving Tree with the hope of providing holiday gifts to 300 children in East Palo Alto. Encouraged by the success of the first year, Jennifer decided to continue and expand the organization. In the 20th year of the program’s existence, the total number of gifts and backpacks donated had grown to over 700,000, making the Family Giving Tree the largest gift and backpack donation program in California.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRy96OTM_o4&feature=related]

So, whether its your two front teeth or a giving tree this holiday, it all gives to the magic of the season. Smiles on children’s faces is Charity that Matters!

Copyright © 2011 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.


Keep Reading
By
Poverty

Homeboy Industries

Here in LA, Father Greg Boyle is a bit of a local legend. I had the opportunity to meet him yesterday and hear his incredible message of hope.  He spoke to my Alma Matter and said, “We are all called to create a community of kinship.”

Father Greg has created that “community of kinship” with thousands of local gang members in Los Angeles.  He not only gives them a chance for a fresh start after life on the streets or in prison but a chance to feel their worth.

He started Homeboy Industries in 1988 as a job project through the Dolores Mission. Their motto is “Nothing Stops a bullet like a job.” Homeboy serves as a place of hope and opportunity for those trying to leave gang life where there is no other way out.

Homeboy Industries is recognized as the largest gang intervention and re-entry program in the county and has become a national model. Father Greg has created a community of kinship and at the end of the day isn’t that what we all want to be a part of?

Copyright © 2011 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.

 
Keep Reading
By
Childrens' Causes

My New Red Shoes

Tomorrow is my son’s first day back to school and as I tucked him into bed last night he told me what he had planned to wear. That nervous excitement of seeing your friends for the first time in months brings joy and excitement for most children.

However, for thousands of homeless children the power of that first-day impression brings anxiety and stress. Heather Hopkins, the founder of My New Red Shoes heard her mother’s childhood stories of poverty and decided she could change the first day of school for thousands of children.

Since 2006 over 10,000 homeless children have gone back to school with smiles and new shoes.

Copyright © 2011 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.

 
Keep Reading
By