There’s No Place Like Home National® (TNPLHN), was established by the Jeanie C. Linders Fund® to build homes in America for women who have lost their homes to natural or catastrophic disasters. This unique program partners with multiple career technical schools to build houses that will eventually become homes. Through these partnerships, students of all ages in the construction industry are given the opportunity to gain experience in their craft while making a positive impact in the life of another. Selected program families help each other during the rebuilding process by working in the community garden, cooking small meals, or tutoring students that need help. The program also brings a sense of community back to neighborhoods that are struggling to survive.
Menopause The Musical Out Loud®: Breaking the Silence of Ovarian Cancer Tour was inspired by ovarian cancer survivor and awareness champion Janet Rigdon. In 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009 the cast and crew of Menopause The Musical® visited more than 100 US cities to raise awareness and educate women about ovarian cancer and menopause-related issues. Portions of the tour proceeds were designated to local and regional ovarian cancer chapters.
The Joyful Heart Foundation, founded by Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order: SVU, is the only nonprofit organization offering retreat programs for survivors of sexual assault and is a pioneer in this new and necessary work. The program has received positive feedback indicating lives are being changed and saved. The Joyful Heart Foundation’s Urban Retreats in New York City and Los Angeles provide three-day programs that enable survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence to openly share their stories and help develop a new sense of self.
The House is Small But The Welcome is Big™ is a project of Venice Arts in California that explores the impact of HIV/AIDS as experienced through the eyes of women and children living in South Africa and Mozambique. Venice Arts photographers are teaching children, orphaned by AIDS, and teen activists, interested in media advocacy, how to tell their stories and document their lives and communities through photography.
Kagunda Arahuka Women in Nairobi, Kenya received funds to purchase 250,000 tree seedlings. The women will raise the seedlings and sell the trees to the Forestry Department as part of the country’s reforestation and green project. These women will also purchase equipment, tents and chairs, to rent out for special events within their village. The proceeds from these projects will help each of the 24 women buy water collectors and goats for their families.
Little Angels Mwihoko Women’s Group, affectionately termed The Chicken Ladies of Thika, Kenya, received funds to purchase equipment and chickens (layers & broilers) to raise. The women sell the eggs and the chickens in the local marketplace to support their families and a local orphanage.
Nanyuki Spinners and Weavers in Kenya purchased land, added a water system and fence to raise sheep. These women will sheer the sheep, clean and dye the wool, and then spin the wool into yarn. They create beautiful products such as rugs, sweaters, tablecloths, and wall hangings to sell at their local market.
Iditarod Teacher on the Trail Sled Dog Race in Wasilla, Alaska selected Kim Slade as to join the course excursion. Ms. Slade from Vero Beach, Florida, is a math coach and resource teacher at J. A. Thompson Elementary School. She went from checkpoint to checkpoint to share her observations of the race and expanded the walls of the classrooms throughout the world by creating lesson plans and developing an online journal that included her experiences of this educational journey of a lifetime.
COWAN Project (Country Women’s Association of Nigeria) is a project borne out of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business in partnership with the African Millennium Foundation. COWAN provides a means for women to increase palm oil production by focusing on project and financial management skills to strengthen individual resources through collective efforts in a business enterprise.
Aging Out Loud™ Town Hall Meeting was event developed by TOC Productions, Inc., held in September 2005 in Washington, DC. The event centered on health issues of our nation’s women over 40 and was attended by key officials and dignitaries from the DC area.
St. Xavier’s School in Kathmandu, Nepal provides annual scholarships to bright young girls who would otherwise have minimal educational access, giving them an opportunity to grow up to become leaders in their communities and contributing members of society. This is accomplished through the provision of basic resources, a hospitable environment to live and study in and social support for the girls and their families.
SISTA Program (Stay-In-School Tuition Assistance) started in 2007 to help girls from Ghana’s rural northern areas complete their secondary school education (high school). An overwhelming number of girls cannot afford an education beyond the junior secondary school level (middle school). Today, there are tens of thousands of these northern girls in Ghana’s urban centers, searching for menial jobs such as load carrying. Without the opportunities that a formal education offers, the cycle of poverty is destined to continue for them and their families.
SISTA Scholars are chosen based on the courageous academic drive and personal vision that inspires them to excel through their current circumstances. We believe that this educational support will help empower these amazing young women to manifest even more of their own greatness, as well as that within their own communities.
Solar Oven Project developed by the African Millennium Foundation, in California, offers a solution to women in Mozambique that cannot afford to buy firewood to cook for their families and therefore spend a good part of their day, every day, walking several miles in rugged terrain to gather wood. With the introduction of solar ovens, families are able to save money and time while also reducing smoke affects on their health and carbon footprint. Through an integrated microcredit program, the solar ovens provide families with new income generating activities including drying of vegetables, baking cakes and frying of chicken to be sold in the local market.
