The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet's most pressing problems. Joining with citizens across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future.
The Road Home is a private non-profit social services agency that assists individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Salt Lake County and along the Wasatch Front. The Road Home provides emergency shelter and personalized case management to help people identify and overcome the obstacles that have led them to becoming homeless. I figure the money is better used by an organization like this than in a pandhandler's cup.
I got a mysterious email one day a few months ago about this crazy idea of music created through worldwide collaboration of street musicians. I went to the web site and fell in love instantly with the sound and the message of hope and peace that came from there performances. Log into their web site and you can watch performances of some classic tunes and wonder at the way technology and travel made it possible for people and groups literally from all over the world to join together to make truly unique music that is full of symbolism and joy.
This one came to our attention through Samite Mulondo, an African performer we stumbled across in my endless quest for interesting new music. He set up this charity to try and help this most desperate part of the world through the simple means of music. Perhaps naive and perhaps secondary to the basics of food, but music brings a meaning and purpose and pleasure to life that can make it worth living when all else is so terribly bleak. We often feel overwhelmed with the tragedy that is sub-Saharan Africa and this project offers a way to contribute modestly and perhaps help in small, important ways.
You may know how important being in the mountains is for Annette and me and our travels these days are usually connected to an opportunity to spend time in mountains somewhere in the world. The purpose of this charity is to help kids from the inner cities experience the special magic of the outdoors and especially the mountains, sometimes mountains that are just a short trip from their homes. Even living in Utah, with mountains all around us, there is something energizing that happens when we get out of the city and up into the hills--seeing them from the valley is nice but just not the same as being part of them for a little while. We try to organize trips to the mountains among our friends and students and this group is doing the same in an organized way in a number of big cities. I also like causes that are close to home as there are people in need right under our noses.
I don't shy away from the fact that I use animals in my research and I don't support groups like this to cover my guilt but because they are also willing to grapple with the complexities of animal use that is for the good of both humans and other animals. And this is where MC, the Wonder Cat came from.
A charitable group within the University of British Columbia (UBC) Department of Orthopaedics which began in 2009 as we became aware of the depth of the need of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) in Nepal and came to see that we had something to offer that could help.
A non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world. We have several hundred dollars in loans in circulation now and have never had one default. The trick is to support women, the only real source of hope for the developing world. You sure don't want to give money to politicians and most organizations!
Coalition Ingenu works with mental health centers and support systems, homeless shelters, and rehabilitation programs to promote and encourage creativity as a means to psychological and emotional well-being; and to create a complete system for the recognition of creative achievement by self-taught artists marginalized by extraordinary circumstances.
The mission of the Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.