Tag: children

Children, Education, featured, giving

Help Nordstrom Give 40,000 Back-to-School Shoes to Kids in Need

This year from August 11 through October 15, Nordstrom customers can get involved in its 12th annual Shoes That Fit campaign with a goal of raising $1 million and donating 40,000 shoes to kids in need. Each back-to-school season Nordstrom partners with Shoes That Fit and Nike to provide properly fitted athletic shoes to children in need in the communities it serves. This year’s campaign will mark 300,000 shoes donated since 2010.

Copyright: Nordstrom

Shoes are the most expensive item on kids’ back-to-school list. Every child wants to go back to school with shoes that are trendy and that fit. It gives them joy that most take for granted.

“Giving back to the community has been rooted in our 121-year history, since our beginnings as a shoe store. Helping to provide for the basic needs of children and families is core to who we are at Nordstrom. We’re excited to team up with Shoes That Fit and Nike to help kids start the school year feeling comfortable, confident and ready to learn.”

Jamie Nordstrom, chief stores officer at Nordstrom.
Continue reading “Help Nordstrom Give 40,000 Back-to-School Shoes to Kids in Need”
Jennifer JamesLeave a comment
Blog, Europe, featured, Foriegn Aid

Donate to These 5 Organizations to Help Ukraine

As the Russian military continues to move to take over Ukraine’s largest cities many, some say as high as 870,000, are frantically heading for border countries or are holed up in bomb shelters or in their homes and apartments. Ukraine has said that 2000 civilians have already died since the Russian invasion and long lines at the grocery stores are more common as fears of food and water shortages persist. Sadly, many believe that this is the early stages of the war and that it could last for many months. It’s clear this is the beginning and not the end.

Ukrainians are going to need food, water, and medical supplies for the long haul. Here are five organizations that are already providing aid in Ukraine and across borders.

Continue reading “Donate to These 5 Organizations to Help Ukraine”
Jennifer JamesLeave a comment
Blog, featured, nonprofits, philanthropy, Poverty, Refugees

IKEA Foundation Grants $53 Million to Support Children’s Right to Play

War and conflict. Poverty. Gender discrimination. Growing up too fast. These are just some of the reasons children in some of the poorest countries around the world are not allowed to play. Play makes children healthier and more resilient. It heals some of their greatest wounds and helps them remain kids without growing up too soon. Additionally, play is every child’s fundamental right according to … Continue reading IKEA Foundation Grants $53 Million to Support Children’s Right to Play

Jennifer JamesLeave a comment
Africa, Blog, Charity, Children, Ebola, Education, featured, Food, Food Security, Poverty

WATCH: Ed Sheeran Visits Liberia for Red Nose Day

The Red Nose Day campaign to end child poverty returns in the U.S. on Thursday, May 25, in conjunction with a night of special programming and the third annual “Red Nose Day Special” on NBC.

One of the best ways to help vulnerable children in low-and-middle-income countries is by telling their authentic stories to those who can help make their lives a little better.

Along with Comic Relief, Ed Sheeran recently traveled to West Point, one of west Africa’s largest and most dangerous slums, in Liberia’s capital Monrovia. There he saw children whose lives have been routinely ravaged by poverty, the Ebola crisis, and an economy that was devastated by the notorious disease that killed thousands. Today, an estimated 14,000 children (some as young as seven) are living and working on Monrovia’s streets.

In Liberia, Sheeran shot a video set to “What Do I Know,” a track from Ed’s latest album Divide to bring awareness to street kids who live in Monrovia.

Continue reading “WATCH: Ed Sheeran Visits Liberia for Red Nose Day”

Jennifer JamesLeave a comment
Blog, Children, Empowerment, Kindness

Join Us for the Be Fearless Be Kind Twitter Party With Hasbro #BFBK

We are thrilled to work with Hasbro again this year to help share their fantastic philanthropic work with kids. This year Hasbro is spreading the word about kindness, a trait we can all improve and enact more in our daily lives and also wholeheartedly teach our children. Be Fearless Be Kind is Hasbro’s new signature philanthropic initiative. It’s designed to inspire and empower kids to have the … Continue reading Join Us for the Be Fearless Be Kind Twitter Party With Hasbro #BFBK

Jennifer James1 Comment
Asia, Blog, Nepal, Nepal, Nepal Reporting Trip, Water, Women, Women and Girls

Day 1 Dispatch: In Nepal With Coca-Cola #NepalNow

It’s been raining virtually nonstop since we arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday morning. There were downpours all day without any let up until the evening. I hope we get to see the sun on Tuesday. It’s the end of the monsoon season in Nepal, but I don’t think the weather quite wants to get rid of the rain yet.

Today was our very first site visit for this Nepal trip to see Coca-Cola’s rebuilding efforts after last year’s earthquake as well as their work with women in their global #5by20 program that will empower five million women by 2020 across Coca-Cola’s value chain.

Today, we focused on how Coca-Cola is helping local NGOs rebuild after the quake as well as how Coca-Cola employees joined as a team to push through the crisis they endured after two very sizeable earthquakes.

You can read about our visit to a village about an hour and a half away from Kathmandu and how a local NGO is using innovative ways to create sustainable communities.

Continue reading “Day 1 Dispatch: In Nepal With Coca-Cola #NepalNow”

Jennifer JamesLeave a comment
Blog, Cholera, Haiti, United Nations

As the UN finally Admits Role in Haiti Cholera Outbreak – Here is How Victims Must be Compensated

Rosa Freedman, University of Reading and Nicolas Lemay-Hébert, University of Birmingham

The United Nations has, at long last, accepted some responsibility that it played a part in a cholera epidemic that broke out in Haiti in 2010 and has since killed at least 9,200 people and infected nearly a million people.

This is the first time that the UN has acknowledged that it bears a duty towards the victims. It is a significant step forward in the quest for accountability and justice.

Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. It is frequently devastated by disasters – both natural and man-made. Yet cholera was not one of its problems before 2010. Then a group of UN peacekeepers was sent to help after an earthquake.

Continue reading “As the UN finally Admits Role in Haiti Cholera Outbreak – Here is How Victims Must be Compensated”

Social Good Moms ContributorLeave a comment
Africa, antenatal care, Blog, Family Planning, Maternal Health, maternal morbidity, maternal mortality, MaternalMonday, midwives, newborn health, newborns, Reproductive Health

Better Maternal Care in Africa Can Save Women from Suffering in Childbirth

Kareemah Gamieldien, Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Every year just over 500,000 women die from complications in pregnancy and childbirth across the world. Another 20 million experience severe complications. But many of these complications are entirely avoidable – including obstructed and protracted labour and one of its side-effects, obstetric fistula.

An obstetric fistula is a hole in the birth canal between the vagina and the rectum or between the vagina and the bladder that is largely caused by obstructed and prolonged labour. This can occur when the mother’s pelvis is too small or the baby is too large.

In sub-Saharan Africa for every 100,000 deliveries there are about 124 women who suffer an obstetric fistula in a rural area. Obstetric fistulas predominantly happen when women do not have access to quality emergency obstetric-care services. Antenatal care could help to identify potential problems early but will not have an impact if there is no skilled surgeon to assist with the labour.

Continue reading “Better Maternal Care in Africa Can Save Women from Suffering in Childbirth”

Social Good Moms ContributorLeave a comment
Blog, child health, Children, Europe, Refugees

Where Have 4.8 Million Syrian Refugees Gone?

Jeffrey H. Cohen, The Ohio State University

The Syrian civil war has entered its fifth year with few signs of ending.

The fighting has forced more than 13.5 million Syrians to flee their homes. Most of the displaced have not left Syria, but have simply moved around the country in an attempt to get out of the way of the fighting.

But approximately 4.8 million others have traveled beyond their nation’s borders in a search for security.

In my book Cultures of Migration, I argue that mass migrations and refugee crises don’t simply happen. They have a history and a trajectory. That work has led me to ask: Who are the Syrian refugees? What made their migration happen?

Continue reading “Where Have 4.8 Million Syrian Refugees Gone?”

Social Good Moms ContributorLeave a comment
Africa, Blog, Communicable Disease, Frontline Health Workers, HIV / AIDS, Infectious Diseases, Maternal Health

HIV ‘Test and Treat’ Strategy Can Save Lives

By Sydney Rosen, Boston University

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continues to take a tremendous toll on human health, with 37 million people infected and 1.2 million deaths worldwide in 2014. In sub-Saharan Africa, where the HIV epidemic has been most devastating, more than 25 million people are HIV-infected, about 70 percent of the global total.

But as of 2014, only about 11 million people infected with the virus in Africa were receiving treatment with antiretroviral therapy (ART) medications, which can stop the progression of disease and reduce the risk of HIV transmission.

That leaves 14 million people with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa untreated. This is partly because, until recently, most countries have provided ART only for patients who reached a specific threshold in HIV disease progression. And starting ART can be a lengthy and complicated process, leading many patients to drop out of care before they even begin treatment.

Continue reading “HIV ‘Test and Treat’ Strategy Can Save Lives”

Social Good Moms ContributorLeave a comment
Food, Food Security, World Food Programme

How to Feed Children in Need and Make Your Kids Happy at the Same Time

If you read this blog enough you know that there are 795 million people who do not have enough to eat on a consistent basis; not even enough to live a healthy lifestyle. The vast majority of this 795 million people live in low- and middle-income countries. Sadly, nearly 100 million children are underweight because they do not have enough sustaining food every day.

A new social endeavor start-up is working to change these statistics in their own way. Cuddle+Kind, a company that creates adorable hand-knit dolls for kids also provides meals for children through the World Food Programme and Children’s Hunger Fund with every purchase. Their ambitious, yet achievable goal is to provide one million meals for children every year.

Continue reading “How to Feed Children in Need and Make Your Kids Happy at the Same Time”

Jennifer James1 Comment
Blog, Education, Poverty, United States

How We Can Help American Children in Poverty Learn

Infographic_21It may sound cliché, but a child’s future deeply rests on their ability to learn and to be educated. It starts early and it doesn’t matter where a child lives whether it’s in Kenya or the Philippines or right here in the United States.

Oftentimes we see children who live in impoverished countries who desperately need books, schools that are close to their homes, and just the simple right to an education and we are compelled to help. In the United States, too, there are also many poor children who long for books and don’t have access to them. In fact one in five American children live in poverty and do not have one book in their home. This is heartbreaking because books really hold the keys to one’s future, creativity, imagination, and ability to be a productive adult.

Continue reading “How We Can Help American Children in Poverty Learn”

Jennifer JamesLeave a comment
Blog, Children

How Foster Parents Make Up the Backbone of SOS Children’s Villages Illinois

I have had the great pleasure of seeing two SOS Children’s Villages: one in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the other in Chicago, Illinois. While they are markedly different the premise is the same and that is to provide quality care with a loving family for children who have been orphaned or abandoned.

SOS Children's Villages in Chicago, Illinois.
SOS Children’s Villages in Chicago, Illinois.

The SOS Children’s Village I visited in Chicago looks like many neighborhoods you might see anywhere in America, but it is made up of 17 single-family homes led by a Foster Parent with children who desperately need SOS Children’s Villages services. In fact, the Chicago Village is SOS Children’s Villages first urban village in the world. SOS Children’s Villages provides stable family homes for children who may not have parents at all or may have parents who are incapable of taking care of them properly.

Continue reading “How Foster Parents Make Up the Backbone of SOS Children’s Villages Illinois”

Jennifer JamesLeave a comment
Blog, child health, Children, Vaccines

Fighting the Anti-Vaccine Rhetoric with Science

In the interest of promoting more robust discourse around the importance of regular vaccinations for serious but preventable contagious conditions, MHA@GW is hosting a guest post series in honor of National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM). During the month of August,they’re featuring blogs from thought leaders and advocates who were asked to answer the question, “Why immunize in 2015?” You can read an excerpt of Violent Metaphors‘ Jennifer Raff here, and be sure to read on to explore more posts. MHA@GW is the online master of health administration from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University.

“It’s critical that we continue to talk about immunization, because vaccine opponents are relentless — see the comments on my piece here for many examples of the bad science and provocative rhetoric they employ.

Speaking up is the most important step, letting parents know that their decision to vaccinate is the safest and most common way people protect their children. The anti-vaccine minority is disproportionately loud, partly because vaccines are so safe, so effective and so ubiquitous that they become part of the background landscape of parenting. Fortunately, in reaction to harmful pseudoscientific scaremongering and events like the Disneyland outbreak, people are motivated to speak out in favor of vaccines.

It matters how we talk about vaccines, too. Here is where there is the most room for improvement in 2015. Writers want the discussion to be dramatic and too often try to paint “anti-vaxxers” as demonic or vile. Or they try to use the vaccine debate as a weapon in the larger culture wars. This leads to the media (and many well-meaning science writers) giving too much weight to vaccine opponents, creating the false perception that there is a “growing movement.” Another problem is that the default images associated with stories on vaccinations are often distressed children and menacing needles. These approaches can have the unfortunate effect of recruiting more people to the anti-vaccine community, as Dan Kahan has pointed out in his piece in Science Magazine and on his blog.

Continue reading “Fighting the Anti-Vaccine Rhetoric with Science”

sbernazzani
Blog, child health, Children, Vaccines

The Push to End Meningitis Cases and Outbreaks: MHA@GW Observes National Immunization Awareness Month

Featured photo: A child receives a meningitis vaccination at the Al Neem Camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in El Daein, East Darfur, Sudan. UN Photo/Albert González Farran

In the interest of promoting more robust discourse around the importance of regular vaccinations for serious but preventable contagious conditions, MHA@GW is hosting a guest post series in honor of National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM). During the month of August, we’re featuring blogs from thought leaders and advocates who were asked to answer the question, “Why immunize in 2015?” You can read an excerpt of National Meningitis Association President Lynn Bozof’s guest post here, and be sure to read on to explore more posts. MHA@GW is the online master of health administration from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University.

“Evan had meningococcal meningitis, a multi-syllabic disease that kills rapidly, without mercy. For weeks, Evan struggled to fight the infection. We were surrounded by doctors and medical teams. We clung to any indication that he might live. But one complication followed another — extremely low blood pressure, damage to the lungs and liver, gangrene of the limbs followed by amputation of all his limbs, seizures and finally, irreversible brain damage. Evan died 26 days after his first phone call to us.

JK_2U_NIAM_01-05

Meningococcal disease, also known as bacterial meningitis, is difficult to say but simple to prevent with a vaccine. Meningitis kills 10 to 15 percent of the people who get it. About 20 percent of those who survive will suffer serious, long-term complications, such as brain damage, hearing loss, loss of kidney function or amputations.

When my son died, there were no routine recommendations for meningococcal vaccination. Now, in part because of years of advocacy from awareness groups and families, we have recommendations in place to protect adolescents and young adults.” Read the rest of her post here.
Continue reading “The Push to End Meningitis Cases and Outbreaks: MHA@GW Observes National Immunization Awareness Month”

sbernazzani