December 2010
46 posts
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Day 253: International Myeloma Foundation
Today’s give comes from a recommendation from Jay H. who lost his mother to multiple myeloma, a rare cancer that affects the bone marrow and can spread slowly but aggressively. I’m sorry for your lost, Jay.
Founded in 1990, the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) is the oldest and largest myeloma organization, reaching more than 165,000 members in 113 countries worldwide....
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Day 252: 4000 Miles of Hope Spin Marathon
I am not a rare individual, there are so many people out there promoting good in their communities. From volunteering to quietly making contributions to running marathons to raise funds and awareness, there are everyday heroes surrounding us, in every single community. I am so thankful for all that they do. Today’s give goes to help cancer research and funding, I am pledging my support to...
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Day 251: Achievement Centers For Children
I can only imagine how the draining the financial burden having a child born with a disability can be on the whole family. For those parents brave enough to stay committed to the long journey ahead of them, I am glad there are organizations like Achievement Centers for Children to help them alleviate some of that weight. Those parents are my heroes and today’s give goes out to them and...
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Day 250: Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
Yesterday was my uncle’s funeral, I am so sad that I could not be there, I feel lucky I was able to say goodbye to him at the hospital on the night he passed. I miss you, uncle Pete. Today’s give goes to another organization creating hope and funding research to fight pancreatic cancer. While my uncle had lung cancer, cancer can affect many different parts of the body and to help...
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Day 249: Only Make Believe
Today is my uncle Pete’s funeral, I was asked to be a pallbearer, which I would have been honored to be. But my expedition to Mexico took me away, so today in his memory, I will write his name on a nail that I hammer into the school I am building in Chiapas. Rest in Peace, uncle Pete.
Coming from the performing arts world, I love to see groups of creative people coming together to do...
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Day 248: Midwest Animal Rescue Services
I’ve been overwhelmed by all the great feedback and suggestions of charities to look into, it’s been great to hear about the organizations that mean the most to you! While I can not donate to every single one, as much I wish I could, I will try to work in as many of your suggestions as I can for the remainder of my mission. Today’s give comes from a recommendation from Leslie via...
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Day 247: Jane Addams Hull House Association
Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates, I am on my way to Mexico right now. I am excited and nervous to begin my expedition in Chiapas, I am very grateful for the opportunity to do something this big outside of my community. I am hope that everyone has a safe and happy holiday. Today’s give goes to the Hull House back home in Chicago, they provide a plethora of programs to...
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Tips for the Everyday (micro)-Philanthropist
I have received many questions from people asking for tips on how to start their own everyday giving mission. I am extremely flattered by all the support and before I leave for Mexico, I wanted to share some tips for those who might want to make the Give Everyday philosophy a part of their New Year’s resolution. It can be daunting at times, but can be very rewarding and educational.
Start...
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Day 246: Open Hand
Tomorrow morning (12/25) I will be flying out to Chiapas, Mexico to begin a nine day service mission to build a middle school for a village in need. I am extremely excited to be able to take this journey and expand the service portion of my mission. I am very thankful for all the support I’ve received. Since I will be off the grid for most of that time, I will be testing out Tumblr’s...
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Day 245: 826LA & 826CHI
Whoa, lots of numbers in the title of this post. Today’s give is a 2 for 1, meaning 2 donations to the same org in 2 different cities, 826LA & 826CHI. I was searching the new projects on Crowdrise today and noticed, one of my favorite actresses Zooey Deschanel joined Crowdrise and was raising money for 826LA. An organization that provides tutoring services to children to help them...
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Day 244: National Lung Cancer Partnership
Today’s give is in memory of my uncle Peter Rampa, who passed away last night from complications related to his battle with lung cancer. He was diagnosed with lung cancer, which had spread to his liver, bones, and brain. My uncle Pete passed away in ICU at 7:50pm on December 21st, 2010.
He was a really great guy, I remember him asking me once when I was 12 or 13 if I knew how to drive, I...
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Why do I keep giving? Why do I blog?
Because the people it inspires, inspire me right back! It’s not about me, it’s about we.
This morning I received an email from Literacy Works Chicago, thanking me for mentioning their organization in the Time Out interview. That was a no-brainer for me, I was simply thanking them for the great work they do! It was the Post Script of this email that really got me:
“Oh, and a...
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Day 243: Marine Toys for Tots Foundation
Christmas is this week and I will be spending Christmas eve with my family before flying out to Chiapas on Christmas day for my service project to build a school. I am so thankful for everyone who helped me make this a reality, you will be in my thoughts. Today’s give goes out to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, I am making this donation in lieu of presents for my nieces and nephews,...
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Day 242: Starlight Children's Foundation
Today’s give goes out to an organization that is focused on improving the quality of life for kids with serious illness or injury, through a variety of programs from in-hospital entertainment to other family activities. The Starlight Children’s Foundation was recommended to me by Rebecca W., she mentioned that they services they provided truly enhanced her life. She’s an...
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Day 241: Washington School (via DonorsChoose)
Today’s give is in honor of a underemployed teacher, Marjorie H., who inspired me to give back to Washington School, where she often substitute teaches at. Despite her limited budget, she was so kind to help me reach my goal for my Mexico expedition. Her generosity really touched my heart and I am compelled to pay it forward, for her, Ms. R. and all those teachers who care enough to spend...
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Day 240: Partners in Health
I have encountered so many great people and organizations along my journey so far, discovered great ideas and new ways to give back. One of my favorite social giving sites is Crowdrise, take a look and you will see so many wonderful people giving back and raising funds for every charity under the sun. It is truly inspiring to see. Today’s give goes to a fellow Crowdrise-r, Jaime H. who is...
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Day 239: Sarah's Circle
Today’s give goes out to a Chicago organization helping homeless women and their families rebuild their lives again. While I have never experienced being homeless, I know how hard my mother worked to provide for us, she made even the smallest one bedroom apartment feel like home. She was a strong woman, who took care of her family first. But, what I remember vividly and what had a profound...
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Huffington Post article about Living Philanthropic →
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Day 238: Aid for Aidan
Today’s give goes to a cool little dude who is battling Leukemia. A recommendation came from Brenda R. on the Living Philanthropic Facebook page, so I thought I would check it out and I found an awesome kid with a knack for drawing monsters. His aunt began selling the drawings on etsy to help the family pay for the medical bills and loss of wage expenses incurred since September 2010,...
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Time Out Chicago feature on Living Philanthropic →
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Day 237: Project Angel Heart
I feel very fortunate, I want to thank everyone who has contributed to my expedition to Mexico fundraiser. You rock! I can’t believe I will be building a school ten days from now. I can’t wait! Today’s give goes to a wonderful organization based in Denver dedicated to provided nutritious meals to individuals living with life-threatening illnesses. It is a wonderful mission born...
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WatchEdward Norton talking about one of my favorite social giving communities, Crowdrise on CNN. Awesome-ness! I am proud to be a Crowdrise-r, a past Featured Human Person on Crowdrise, and you can even spot me rocking my blue Crowdrise hoody in the CNN video about halfway through. :)
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All I want for Christmas is...
All I want for Christmas is to build a school in Mexico! In ten days I will be flying to Chiapas, Mexico to build a school with Foundation Escalera! I am so excited and blessed to have the opportunity to volunteer and help combat poverty by promoting education. If anyone would like to contribute to my expedition fund, please visit my chipin page. There are only 5 days left in my fundraiser and...
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Day 236: Autism Society of Illinois
The show I directed Toronto, Mississippi closes December 19th. In keeping with my dedication to organizations helping the development disabled, I am donating to the Autism Society of Illinois today. Plus, $61 has been donated to Marklund Children’s home based on my pledge. $1 for each ticket sold to Toronto, Mississippi for weeks 4 & 5. There are only 4 more shows left, if you are in...
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WatchLiving Philanthropic interview on Adelante Chicago / WGN TV. My first television interview and I was a really nervous.
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Try this at home: FreeRice
What’s better than Farmville? Playing an online trivia game that actually does good for the world, for each correct answer, they donate 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. Plus, this game will make you smarter and being charitable & intelligent is very attractive!
FreeRice is a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Programme.
FreeRice has two...
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Day 235: Lakeview Pantry
The holiday season is a time when a majority of people think about giving back, which is wonderful. Lakeview Panty, a food bank and service center in Chicago, receives a influx of donations during these times. Lakeview Pantry is dedicated to eliminating hunger and providing services to low-income families and the homeless. I feel the work they do deserves attention not only during the holidays,...
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Day 234: The Initiative To Educate Afghan Women
Today’s give goes to an organization promoting the education of Afghan women to help build a brighter future in a country very much in transition. I am a strong supporter of education as a way to elevate your position in life, so this was a very easy choice for me. I believe everyone deserves the chance to pursue an education for as long as they are committed to learning and bettering...
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Day 233: Arden Shore Child & Family Services
The interview I did on Adelante Chicago aired this morning, it was an honor to be on the show to meet Lourdes Duarte and to talk about my mission and upcoming expedition to Mexico. To highlight today, I thought I would support an organization that Lourdes is supportive of as a Thank You. When I found out about the interview, I followed WGN and Lourdes on Twitter and I noticed a couple weeks ago...
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Day 232: Conservation International Foundation
So, for my last day as Crowdrise’s Holiday Featured Human Person, I am choosing to donate to Harrison Ford’s Holiday Fundraiser for Conservation International. A great organization dedicated to preserving and improving the state of our world and environment for generations to come.
Building upon a strong foundation of science, partnership and field demonstration, Conservation...
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Living Philanthropic featured on Campaignerships →
Thank you to Jeremy and Campaignerships for the nice write up about Living Philanthropic!
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Day 231: The Truth on Health
Only 2 days left in my reign as Crowdrise’s Featured Human Person, it was so hard to decide who to nominate as my successor, but a decision must be made. Keeping to my pledge to donate my seven days as FHP to projects on Crowdrise. Today’s give goes to the The Truth Fund, a campaign lead by Paul Pierce. I know a lot of my Chicago Bulls fan friends are going to be upset, but the...
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Living Philanthropic to match Empty Bottle's...
As you might have read in recent weeks, Chicago’s own Howard Brown Health Center (Day 25) has hit a financial crisis and is on the brink of closing. They are investigating their past mistakes, but working hard to raise the necessary funds to remain open and continuing serving their community, many patients of which do not have insurance and can not pay for the treatments they need. I...
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Try this at home: Micro-giving or...
Micro-giving. What is it? Well, it’s the true test of power in numbers, Micro-giving is the collection of small donations (mostly $1) from a large number of people (like you and me) to create Macro-results for a specific cause of charity. What I am doing with my mission and the donations you’ve made because of this blog are flirting in Micro-giving territory, which as you’ve seen...
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Day 230: Silverlake Music Conservatory
More Crowdrise giving as FHP… Learning to play an instrument can really challenge a child. The end result after maintaining the lessons can provide an overwhelming amount of accomplishment and provide the tools to explore their creativity and self expression. I remember as a child always wanting to play guitar, actually I wanted to be Elvis, it took me about 23 years before I actually...
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Day 229: Active Minds
Go, Crowdrise! Today’s give goes to Jeremy and team member Michaela’s Crowdrise project for Active Minds. Active Minds is great organization working to spread the world about Mental Health on college campuses, with the goal to remove the stigma of mental illness. Building a community and inspiring dialogue to remove the shame surrounding mental illness and providing a positive...
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“The sum of your giving back is not as important as you giving back some.”
– Living Philanthropic
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Day 228: Fresh Prep / Urban Arts Partnership
AND TUMBLR is BAAAAAAACK… Happy Birthday, Mom! Today’s my mother’s birthday, she has always been a supportive and inspirational figure in my life. She has worked for the Chicago Public School system for over 20 years and she made sure we got a good education and pushed us to succeed. Today’s give, goes to Urban Arts Partnership’s Fresh Prep program, an awesome program...
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Day 227: South African Education & Environment...
Keeping with the Crowdrise Holiday Spirit! Today’s give goes to out to Jasmin’s SAEP project to purchase a computer for Township Students at SAEP’s Art Club. These kids will be making a feature film from start to finish and need the PC to edit the footage. The goal is to have the computer there for Christmas, hopefully Jasmin will be able to hit that goal!
The South African...
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Day 226: LA's BEST
Being Featured Human Person on Crowdrise is an honor I don’t take lightly, to celebrate this occasion, my plan is to make my next seven gives directly to Holiday Projects on Crowdrise. For my first give as FHP, I chose LA’s BEST, a nationally recognized after school program that services the Greater Los Angeles area. By providing a series of programs to keep at-risk youth off the...
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Day 225: Anixter Center
I am very grateful for the overwhelming amount of attention my mission/blog has received this week. I truly appreciate all the kind words of support and interest in what I am doing. Thank you so much! Continuing my dedication to the developmental disabled in honor of Toronto, Mississippi and my aunt, today’s give goes to Chicago’s own Anixter Center, another great organization helping...
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Feature about Living Philanthropic on Love and... →
Wow, what a great news day! First, FHP on Crowdrise, then Wikispaces, now Love and Trash! Thank you to fellow Tumblr-er The Hun for the lovely feature on Love and Trash! You are awesome and made my great day even better!
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Featured Human Person on Crowdrise
Wow, this really is the best week ever! Lots of good and cool news this week! Today, it was announced that I was chosen as Featured Human Person on Crowdrise. The 17th best honor ever! Crowdrise is an awesome social fundraising site where I have found alot of inspiration and friends along my journey of Living Philanthropic. I have also utilized Crowdrise for my monthly featured charities to help...
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Day 224: The Samburu Project
Today, I’m spreading a little Crowdrise love, so my give goes to fellow Crowdriser Carol who has three projects, one of which is The Samburu Project, led by awesome crowdriser Chiara. There is nothing in the world like a glass of clean, refreshing water and in most areas of the world there really is nothing like that, most of the water available in these communities is unsafe to drink. I...
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the heart of it all.: Take a look: here's to... →
Thank you, Brett! I appreciate the kind words and your support!
brettandrew:
I suggest you all take a look at this man’s blog. After coming across it, I read for quite a while. I read about who he is, what he does, and what he’s all about. And boy, must I tell you, his paramount words galvanized me. I was left speechless.
Carlo, you are an extraordinary human being. What…
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Day 223: Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS...
Today is the 23rd annual World AIDS Day. While progress has been made in the area of prevention, there is still a need to promote prevention and eradicate the AIDS pandemic. We need to continue to support the organizations working hard to advocate and spread the word of AIDS/HIV prevention and to provide treatment to those affected that do not have access to the necessary treatment. The Elizabeth...