All proceeds from the Camino Walkathon are being divided between 3 charities that are meaningful to me. Click on the links below for more information on each charity and each project.
FOOD FOR THE POOR - Clean Water Project
Give the gift of water - In developing countries like Haiti, limited access to safe drinking water often results in serious illnesses and death. Almost half that country's population still lacks clean drinking water, and the cholera epidemic continues to kill. Your gift will help provide lifesaving water and water systems to people lacking clean drinking water and sanitation in Haiti.
I met the founder of Food For The Poor on a contemplative retreat years ago. This charity sprang from his experience of contemplative prayer, and inspired me to continue seeking to serve others as the fruit of my contemplative practice. One water well can provide 9,600 gallons of fresh water a day -- enough for an average village of more than 4,000 people. $6,298 goes to dig one new well and provide additional water pumps and distribution equipment .
Give the gift of water - In developing countries like Haiti, limited access to safe drinking water often results in serious illnesses and death. Almost half that country's population still lacks clean drinking water, and the cholera epidemic continues to kill. Your gift will help provide lifesaving water and water systems to people lacking clean drinking water and sanitation in Haiti.
I met the founder of Food For The Poor on a contemplative retreat years ago. This charity sprang from his experience of contemplative prayer, and inspired me to continue seeking to serve others as the fruit of my contemplative practice. One water well can provide 9,600 gallons of fresh water a day -- enough for an average village of more than 4,000 people. $6,298 goes to dig one new well and provide additional water pumps and distribution equipment .
WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL - Sponsor A Sister
Give the gift of empowerment - WfWI works with socially excluded women in eight countries where armed conflict has devastated lives and communities. Each woman they serve has her own story–some of loved ones murdered, and others of physical and emotional trauma. Women who enroll in WfWI's one-year training program learn job skills and receive business training so they can earn a living. They come to understand their rights and how to fight for those rights in their homes, their communities and their nations. Lasting change in these conflict zones will be achieved when women have access to both knowledge and resources.
This charity is one which my wife, Colleen, and I wholeheartedly endorse. The well-being of women correlates with the well-being of society. $6,315.74 in Walkathon funds provided support for 16 women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to begin the one-year WfWI training program, with some additional funds to support the program there. WfWI links an individual DRC woman with her sponsor abroad is to create a one-on-one bond to support each “sister” in the program. Serendipitously, WfWI is enrolling new sponsors for sisters in the DRC beginning February 5; and 16 Walkathon donors stepped forward to match with each sister.
Give the gift of empowerment - WfWI works with socially excluded women in eight countries where armed conflict has devastated lives and communities. Each woman they serve has her own story–some of loved ones murdered, and others of physical and emotional trauma. Women who enroll in WfWI's one-year training program learn job skills and receive business training so they can earn a living. They come to understand their rights and how to fight for those rights in their homes, their communities and their nations. Lasting change in these conflict zones will be achieved when women have access to both knowledge and resources.
This charity is one which my wife, Colleen, and I wholeheartedly endorse. The well-being of women correlates with the well-being of society. $6,315.74 in Walkathon funds provided support for 16 women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to begin the one-year WfWI training program, with some additional funds to support the program there. WfWI links an individual DRC woman with her sponsor abroad is to create a one-on-one bond to support each “sister” in the program. Serendipitously, WfWI is enrolling new sponsors for sisters in the DRC beginning February 5; and 16 Walkathon donors stepped forward to match with each sister.
SPLC's newest 40 minute film, Selma: The Bridge to the Ballot, tells the story of a courageous group of Alabama students, teachers and other activists, who fought a nonviolent battle to win voting rights for African Americans in the South.
The 54 mile march from Selma to Montgomery in the midst of intimidation, violence, arrest and even murder began on March 7, 1965, and ended in one of the most significant victories of the civil rights era. As the Viewer's Guide states, "The voting rights movement illustrates how citizens in our democracy can use the rights guaranteed them in the First Amendment to contest injustice . . . the power of activism and nonviolence to disrupt oppressive systems . . . [a]nd that the energy and momentum for social change often comes from the youngest among us."
The film and the Viewer's Guide is recommended for grades 6 - 12. $2,500 was donated from the Walkathon to sponsor the film, and $3,500 will help pay to distribute the educational kits FREE to thousands of American classrooms. |
SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER - Teaching Tolerance Project
Give the gift of tolerance - The SPLC’s Teaching Tolerance program works through educators to nurture a new generation that is more accepting of difference and more engaged in social justice than those that preceded it. We want kids to get along with each other and, just as important, see themselves as global citizens in a diverse society with the capacity to work together for a fairer world. Educational Kits like this one are regularly made available free of charge to educators. Since 2005, the Teaching Tolerance Project distributed more than 130,000 copies of this film to schools and youth organizations in the US. Help support the Teaching Tolerance Project. |