charities + orgs.

More information about charities and organizations you should know about.

4 iPhone Apps to Save the World? (ft. Ralph Macchio)

| Betsy

So it turns out, yes, there are are apps for everything! Curious, I decided to road-test a handful of apps that have come out recently claiming they help make the world a better place.




The Extraordinaries


The first time I opened this app the screen said, “Got a few minutes? Do something extraordinary” while also mentioning it was looking for opportunities for you to “micro-volunteer!” (Sounds so much better than armchair activist, doesn’t it? Plus “micro” is just fun to say.) Excitedly, I continued on… Until I got a big “DATA FORMAT ERROR” followed by a big loud exclamation mark followed by a quiet tiny “Please restart the application.”

So I did. A lot. While it was thinking about working, it kept giving me lovely little ideas like:

“Riding on the bus? Tag some photos!’
“Standing in line at the post office? Give website feedback!”
“In an airport? Help build a map of airport heart defibrillators!”

There’s a reason why there symbol is a giant Superman-styled E, because in a teeny tiny second you’re ready to take over the world thinking “YES! I DO want to help! Pick me! Pick me!”… Until it doesn’t work. Again. And again. And again. Hopefully it will work one day and I can save the world while riding the train. Just think of the possibilities! In the carpool line! Waiting for rice to cook! In line for the bathroom where there’s only one ladies room! Genius! Until it didn’t work.


Touch to Give

Remember those emails you used to get that said something like “For every click on this page [some foundation, Bill Gates, whatever] will donate 1 [dollar, cent, banana] to [some type of cancer, demographic in need, poor helpless kittens?]” Well this app has been created so you don’t have to individually go to The Breast Cancer Site, The Animal Rescue Site and The Hunger Site to click for good.

“You have the power to make a difference at your fingertips. Touch to Give- it’s FREE. Touch an icon to select an issue.”

So I clicked to help the helpless little kittens.

Touch to Give bar popped up along with some merchandise for “The Animal Rescue Site,” and a notice you should “Touch to Give” daily and that any financial sponsors to this charity will “pay for treats” and “100% of sponsor money goes to charity.” One hopes they mean treats for the sweet pups with mange instead of the people who made this app.

Now… who are CharityUSA.com, the website linked at the bottom of all three sites? According to Wikipedia:

The Hunger Site was started by John Breen, a computer programmer from Bloomington, Indiana, in June 1999. Originally a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, the site became popular rapidly. Faced with increasing costs, Breen sold the site to GreaterGood, “a Seattle-based online shopping mall that gave part of its sales to charity” for an undisclosed amount in February 2000. [1] In July 2001, following the dot-com bubble crash, GreaterGood ceased operations after losing $26 million dollars in venture capital. In 2001, CharityUSA.com, LLC, a privately held, for-profit company based in Seattle, assumed control of the company for one million dollars[2]. CharityUSA owns and operates various click-to-donate-sites. CharityUSA currently claims that 100% of the website’s sponsor advertising revenue is paid to the aforementioned non-profit partners. [3] The Commercial Fundraiser Profile Report page on the Secretary of State’s web page for the state of Washington [4] calculates the percentage that CharityUSA returns to its charity clients as being 17% of the company’s total revenue (labeled as contributions, although the company’s explanation on the same page defines this as mix of contributions and sale of products).

Hmm… Not sure what to think of that? That’s A LOT of trading and changing names, don’t you think? And 17%? Think of all the abandoned ferrets that need homes.



Sproutster

This awesome little app won’t open for me. It crashes, but it’s so cute! And inspired by Free Rice.

Happily, however, there is an article over at Addict3d.org that explains how you can actually play the game. Since I am really great at spelling 3-5 letter words, I can’t wait to play so I can dominate… While saving the world. Win win!



Give Work

Apparently with this I have to “complete a task” and “the same task is assigned to a marginalized person in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, or Haiti. When your answers match and the task is verified, this person gets paid for the work you did together.” Seeing that I’m currently looking for writing jobs, I figured it would feel pretty good to help fill someone else’s wallet while mine is bleeding out.

So I clicked on “Tasks,” where I see “Tasks Available,” where I’m able to:
*Get 5 points for “How much do people like The Karate Kid?” [YES! I LOVE THIS ALREADY!]

“We are trying to analyze trends though statements on Twitter. Below are some things people have said on Twitter regarding the movie The Karate Kid. Please tell us if the statement is positive or negative.”

The tweet just said “Cool kid!” and I was given the choice to rate it either Positive, Negative, Neutral or Can’t Tell. So I clicked on my answer, clicked “Give work” at the bottom of the screen, advancing me to the next question where I could do more helping. Yay! Helping! Easy peasy…

Next up I had to analyze a tweet from Chris Brown (who I want to punch) AND Fred Durst (Are you KIDDING me? What f*cked up algorithms are being used here?). Now I’m getting stressed as I want to pick the answers these displaced people pick so they can earn money. Mini panic attack, as the whole point of trying this app was to help. Judging tweets by my least favorite “celebrities” wasn’t making it any easier. So to distract oncoming anxiety, I started counting the number of questions I answered. 40.

40? Will it ever end? How do I get off this ride? So I clicked again to review yet another tweet and up pops up:

RT from ralphmacchio “wax on, f*ck off” whoever RTs it “wins a ’84 Karate Kid DVD signed by me!”

Ah, saved by Ralph Macchio. Seeing this as a sign, I took a break (after so much clicking it was needed) and watched the Ralph Macchio masterpiece Wax On, F*ck Off as mentioned in the above tweet. I will warn you it does have some, ahem, adult language. There is also Molly Ringwald, so it evens things out.



Even though I was feeling refreshed after this interlude, after 40 questions, I caved and hit the “next” button at the top of screen… Which takes me MORE questions! So in desperation to stop the madness, I clicked on Stats, which told me “The more you work- the more you help.” (Yes! I know this already!)

*Points you’ve earned 270.
*5 points: 1 tomato, 1 large banana, a small bunch of greens
*500 points: 1 week of cell phone data plan (enabling access to email)

So I’m guessing this means I earned something like a cabbage, a cinnamon stick, a yo-yo and 4 bananas. But, wait, wasn’t I supposed to be GIVING WORK? NOT FOOD? Eh? Not so sure, but at least I’m giving something to someone, no?



So to recap. Who’s the winner* here?

I really wanted it to be either The Extraordinaries or Sproutster because they seemed like they would be awesome. I’m sure they will be awesome, once they work. [UPDATE! According to the people behind The Extraordinaries, it’s working now. Yay!] Which means that Give Work was the clear winner here, mainly by default with thanks to Ralph Macchio.

As for the click-and-donate apps? Just make sure you learn how much of your money you’re donating to charity before you click, okay?

*Clearly the real winner is Ralph Macchio, but I’m not writing about him, so will have to default to the apps instead.

ETA: Tweaked some words, added some links and pics. Posting while sleepy = dangerous.

Craft Hope… On US shelves now!

| Betsy




When I started craftivism.com so many years ago, I had no idea what I wanted it to be. In my wildest initial dreams, I would have loved for it to have been Craft Hope, that Jade Sims has so lovingly and amazingly created. A site that is a catalyst for mass action, but sometimes what we hope isn’t a) what we’re good at, b) what we’re meant to do, and c) where we’re needed.

Yesterday I received my copy of the new book, Craft Hope, on my doorstep, and it is so incredibly lovely and just, well, perfect! I am so honored to have been included as a designer in this book, along with some amazingly and incredibly talented people.** I whipped up some easy peasy fingerless gloves to donate for people who might want to do some mindless knitting for the greater good and just have a small bit of time and/or a small bit of wool.



Congratulations, Jade, on such a lovely book and for all the thousands of people you’ve aided along the way with donations from your Craft Hope projects! And thanks for filling the void that I thought I initially needed to fill, doing a mightier job than I ever could of done because it’s where you need to be.

Even though they don’t know who to thank, there are thousands of people out there with items obtained from Craft Hope projects (like the recent project collecting hand towels for the Institute of Marine Mammal Studies to help clean animals effected by the oil spill, over 65,000 items!) whose days you’re making brighter.


More info:
*Craft Hope over on Facebook
*Interview about the book with Jade over at Lark Crafts
*All month this month over at Craft Hope: Month of Hope! Giveaways! Links! More about my fellow designers!
*BOOK GIVEAWAY! I’ll have an extra copy of the book to give away, and am not sure what I’m going to do with it yet, as I’ve been working on other things than the blog the past few months… Give it away here? Donate it?



**Who are the other designers? They’re Stefani Austin, Ellie Beck, Amanda Carestio, Christina Carleton, Lisa Cox, Maya Donenfeld, Malka Dubrawsky, Molly Dunham, Celine Dupuy, Cathie Filian, Wendi Gratz, Jenny B. Harris, Vickie Howell, Rebecca Ittner, Rebeka Lambert, Kathy Mack, Kaari Meng, Manda McGrory, Jhoanna Monte, Aimee Ray, Eren Hays San Pedro, Amanda Blake Soule, Blair Stocker, Amanda Swan, Beth Sweet, Susan Wasinger, Dana Willard, Rebekah Williams and Geninne D. Zlatis!

As for what these designers made? That’s for you to discover in the book for yourself!

Craft in Prisons…

| Betsy

The above pillow is part of Fine Cell Work’s newer collection of pillows.

Currently Fine Cell Work is in need of volunteers in Yorkshire. If you know anyone in Yorkshire that might be interested, please pass this along or direct them to the Fine Cell Work website.

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS!

Fine Cell Work is very eager to hear from any keen stitchers who might be interested in chatting to us about the possibility of going in to HMP Wakefield in Yorkshire to teach our group of male stitchers there. The group is well established and is full of very able men but currently no teacher is visiting and they would really benefit from a weekly or fortnightly visit from anyone who is familiar with stitching, either tapestry or surface embroidery – or even better both!

We are looking for 2 to 3 volunteers to go into the prison together and would need people who could commit to at least a year on a weekly or fortnightly basis. This is a great opportunity for anyone who is a keen needleworker to help foster and encourage our stitchers in a prison where the group has been established for some time but is now needing more regular contact from a visiting tutor.

If you are interested in helping us at HMP Wakefield then please phone the office and chat to Kim Nightingale on 0207 931 8973 or email kim@finecellwork.co.uk

And that’s only one example of programs that allow inmates to dually gain from the therapeutic process of craft and the practical product to sell. Here are just a few more examples:

A Stitch Doing Time
Our Children’s Place (NC)
Embroidery at Cuddalore Prison
No offense: Crochet Behind Bars
Hiland inmates restitch their lives
Shakopee Women’s Prison Project
Knitting Behind Bars (via Interweave)
Lithuanian prisoners knit for poor Afghans
Inmates learn social skills through knitting
Lebanese inmates stitch their way out of prison
From scraps of prison cloth a miniature world grows
Female convicts knitting winter clothes for Afghans
Stitching in Cells: Teaching prison inmates the art of quilt making
Lady Anne Tree: Meet the aristocrat who’s got the prisoners in stitches
Mosaic Liberation (post about Carrie Reichardt from Radical Cross Stitch)



And this is just the small list… Have any links for specific charities doing this sort of work? Send ’em on!

Roosevelt Elementary’s 2nd & 3rd Graders Rule!

| Betsy

“Because of her career as the Elementary Spanish program teacher and because of her passion for quilting, Detroit Lakes teacher Pat Link is introducing her students to bringing a smile to those less fortunate.

Through Cultural Collaborative, Amy Tervola Hultberg’s second/third grade combo class made two quilts that will be sent to those in need.”

“Each student was given a block of fabric and fabric markers to draw a picture of hope that would make someone else happy. Those drew smiley faces, rainbows, a butterfly, flower, fish, sailboat, family and more.”

Ms. Link and Ms. Hultberg from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, might just be some of the awesome teachers ever. They not only had their students literally made something from happy, they also turned the quilting into a learning experience!

“Besides the quilts, the group also held a bake sale and raised $174. The money was used for materials, shipping the quilts and the remainder will be donated to some program, one they haven’t decided on yet. But students got to learn about paying bills — materials for the quilts — what profit is, and they got to count and add up the money they made at the sale.”

I think the only thing I knew about bills at that age was that it seemed like lots of old men were mysteriously called Bill even though their name was really William. (It’s still a mystery to this day. I mean, really, where does that B come from!)

(Text from article)

Also:
*Embroidered plastic bags (!!!) by Maria Cornejo
*I love this post by Alabama Weaver about why she quilts.
*Amazingly awesome post by Jo Bourne about knitting in the 1700s
*Did you know Union City, New Jersey, is the EMBROIDERY CAPITAL OF THE US?
*School knitting club knitting chain mail shirts (I told you knitting’s not for wusses!)
*Timeline for Guilford Mills’ textile plant’s history since 1946: The rise and fall and rise (and fall) of one North Carolina textile plant

Crocheting Together More than Just a Square

| Betsy

Even though the photo gallery for the story does have a glaring error (mistaking crochet for knitting), the story is so amazing that doesn’t matter. My mom sent me a clipping of this article in the mail and it arrived today. Excerpts and photo below are from the article, Nobody Comes Here Just to Crochet.

I think the most touching thing is the way it started:

It started by accident.

A homeless woman came to Charlotte’s Harvest Center soup kitchen one Tuesday, and instead of mingling with the hungry crowd, she sat in a corner, crocheting.

Weeks passed, and at some point, the staff noticed another homeless woman beside her, also crocheting.

The two eventually became three women, then six, then 10.

Four years later, nearly 30 women can be found in that corner every Tuesday, and no longer are they just the homeless.

The Crochet Ministry, as it’s called, has become a family of sorts, one that welcomes those often forgotten by the rest of Charlotte: the homeless, the elderly, the disabled, the impoverished, the displaced and, most of all, the lonely.

I also love the kindness in the story of Teresa Davis, the homeless woman who used to crochet on the streets. While she died a few years ago with no family, thanks to these ladies, she certainly had a circle of friends. I like the quiet way this circle formed, organically and by accident. How true that sometimes we don’t find what we need most, it finds us.

It was the center’s outreach director, Rosa Marion, who first spotted Davis living on the streets, carrying a large afghan stuffed in a bag. Marion was intrigued when she found out Davis had made it, and the two struck up a friendship. Later, Marion invited Davis to move into a group home sponsored by Women of Vision, a volunteer ministry that helps women in need.

“She asked me if I’d buy her the stuff to crochet another afghan, so I did,” recalls Marion. “She’d always be sitting there by herself in that corner, crocheting. People called her ‘the lady pulling on those strings.'”

You can read more about the work of The Harvest Center here (Although there is a syntax error that shows up on the screen, I know it will be up and running soon!) and about the Women of Vision over here.

Also:

*Slow Textiles
*The Daily Aphorism via The School of Life
*The beauty of Naoki Okamoto’s photography
*Gladys’ longevity secrets: Crafting it up at 104!
*How to make a project keeper by Diane Gilleland
*Coat hooks on Etsy.com (Random, yes, but so cool!)
*Slide show of Renwick Gallery exhibit: The Art of Gaman (Awesomely inspiring)
*19 tips for cheering yourself up… From 200 years ago via The Happiness Project

Thanks for the heads up, Mom!