Charity

Life has to be about doing everything within our power to help out others. It has to be about imagining the world in which we wish to live and in turn, creating that world. We need to all strive continually to eradicate inequality and injustice and to dedicate ourselves to making life more enjoyable for another. While this magazine focuses on pop culture, it also strives to put forth a positive message of hope while challenging its readers to do something to make a difference in the world.

It is with this philosophy that we will be spotlighting some amazing charities here on this page so that you, our readers, can help make a difference.

The Green Learning Adventure

The Green Learning Adventure was created by the California Center for Sustainable Energy to provide free in-classroom enrichment program for the community about sustainable living and renewable energy. Geared primarily to students in grades five through eight, the Green Learning Adventure (GLA) provides up to fifteen different hands-on, interactive lesson modules covering topics ranging from exposing absurd packaging to exploring the transportation requirements for a home-cooked meal. The GLA team visits classrooms, leaving behind information on what students can do in their lives and at home to conserve energy and water, reduce waste and implement other sustainable practices.

Pop Culture World News on-air correspondent Miranda Ko has been working at the California Center for Sustainable Energy in San Diego, CA and is currently working to secure a $250,000 grant for one of their most demanded programs. However, in order to obtain the grant, she needs your vote. 

You can vote three times each day from November 1-November 30 by:

TEXTING 104095 to 73774

Or by visiting: 

http://www.refresheverything.com/greenlearningadventure

The PEACE Fund

Founded by actor Adrian Paul, best known for his six seasons playing Duncan MacLeod on the hit television show “Highlander,” The PEACE Fund is a registered 501(c)(3) not for profit charity and focuses on small, under-funded and hard-working charities who are determined to make a positive difference to the lives of children living in extraordinarily difficult circumstances.

PEACE stands for, “Protect, Educate and Aid Children Everywhere,” and these words form the central core of The Peace Fund’s fundamental goals. With a strong focus on minimizing administrative costs to the absolute bare minimum, and staffed by individuals who donate their time, 94% of all money raised going directly to the charities The PEACE Fund supports.

To date, The PEACE Fund has been instrumental in raising money and awareness for charities such as:

COTA: The Children’s Organ Transplant Association is a national charity based in the USA, that provides fundraising assistance for children needing lifesaving organ, marrow and tissue transplants. COTA’s priority is to ensure that no child or young adult is denied a transplant or excluded from a transplant waiting list due to lack of funds.

The Krabi Relief Fund: In operation for ten years in the Krabi province of Thailand, The Krabi Relief Fund is the only government-approved charitable organization for that area helping the underprivileged children of Krabi province as well as those that lost one or both of their parents in the tsunami in 2004.

PEACE in Paradise: With the help of many businesses on the island, the Phi Phi Island Tsunami Relief Fund was set up through Hi Phi Phi, a community-based charitable initiative of local Koh Phi Phi residents and non-Thais who joined forces to help the people of Phi Phi rebuild their lives after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.

The Relief Fund For Romania: A British charity, based in the UK, The Relief Fund for Romania raises funds and spends them in destitute areas of Romania. Together with the local Department of Child Protection, their teams work daily on the streets in an outreach programme. It identifies homeless children very early in their life on the street before they succumb to the inevitable risks of substance abuse and criminality.

School Makes a Difference: The School Makes A Difference program was created in the USA in 1990. The original emphasis of the program was on career counselling and showing teenagers the important role their education played in improving their futures.

Tammer-e-Millat: The aim of Tameer-e-Millat in Pakistan is to improve the literacy rate in the country and pave the way for education, thereby accomplishing socioeconomic, cultural, ethical and intellectual reinforcement.

Teachers Across Borders: Many of the world’s teachers work in educational environments that lack basic infrastructure and materials, safety, living wages and teacher training. The mission of Teachers Across Borders, Inc (TAB) is to help teachers raise the general level of educational opportunity through professional development. The need is critical. The PEACE Fund is currently supporting the work of TAB in Cambodia. Each program features nine workshops and TAB anticipates 1000 elementary and secondary teachers will participate.

Pop Culture World News highly recommends the work being done by Adrian and The PEACE Fund and encourages all of its readers to do all they can to help support The PEACE Fund’s mission. To learn more about what The PEACE Fund is currently doing, and to find out how you can help make a difference in the lives of children worldwide, please visit them at: www.thepeacefund.org

Child’s Play

Child’s Play is not like other charities that you may have encountered. Child’s Play was founded in 2003 by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins of the online comic strip Penny Arcade, which concerns itself with videogames and gamer culture. Based in Seattle, Child’s Play holds an annual toy drive to benefit sixty different children’s hospitals in the United States and abroad. Since their inception, they have been able to raise over $5 million in toys and cash for the various hospitals they support and have repeatedly shown how giving the gaming community is. Child’s Play works hard to minimize all administrative costs to ensure that the children’s hospitals receive the majority of the donations and have historically kept their costs down to the two to three percent range. According to Child’s Play, “unlike most non-profits, we’re not in it to create a self-sustainable entity. We do it to give.”

The toys and games that Child’s Play donates to the hospitals each year are utilized in two different ways. First of all, large items such as game systems are kept by the hospitals, allowing children to check them out to play with during their stays. Other items are actually given directly to the child as a gift, so they can take something home with them when they are released. Think about that for a moment. Imagine being a child and having to be hospitalized over the holidays. Think what a frightening experience that would be. Think how much it would mean though to have a game that would let you maybe forget about things for just a moment and have fun playing. It would let you be a kid.

We here at Pop Culture World News believe whole-heartedly in what Child’s Play stands for, and we encourage you to visit their website, click on the map for the children’s hospital nearest you, and donate a toy directly from the wishlist.

For more information on Child’s Play, and to make your donation, please visit: www.childsplaycharity.org