#featured campaign

Partnering with a local women's ethical paper product making project in the Nangi Village in Nepal, White Circles supports community development and furthering women's employment and education in the region. 

Over the past three years, White Circles has been working with the women in the Nangi VIllage to make Lokta paper and gorgeous specialty blank journals and sell them in Australian Fair Trade stores and small boutiques. Proceeds from the sale of these journals have been used to develop the community, employ the women who create these journals, and support its local school. They have been able to pay for teachers' wages at the school and even build an eco tourism lodge. 

White Circles is raising funds on StartSomeGood so they can continue to support the Nangi Village community for another full year. With $4,745, they'll be able to fulfill existing orders and explore potential wholesale partnerships. Funds raised beyond their tipping point goal will go toward purchasing a paper cutting machine and improving their marketing strategy in Australia. 

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Comprised of over 200 inhabited islands, Greece is a country where local sustainable efforts will have a huge impact on the big picture of the future for their nation. Skiathos, one of these many islands, is a rugged woodland with olive groves and pine woods scattered amongst more than 60 sandy beaches which attract a massive tourism influx during the summer months. With barely enough potable water for the islands permanent population, the tenfold population increase that begins in May easily equates to an increase in the consumption of bottled beverages. The small landfill on the island struggles to keep up with these consumption levels and such excess could spell disaster for this beautiful Greek treasure. Luckily, a chapter of the International Women’s Association on Skiathos has been actively pursuing methods to outweigh the countless tonnes of PET bottles and aluminium cans imported to the island.

For the past two years a group of women passionate about the preservation of their island, known as the Green Fox Project, has been introducing recycling methods, raising awareness about recycling, and involving the local community to adopt their methods. They knew if the landfill would not step up to the plate and gather these recyclables, they would have to create their own system that could. With custom made removable nets placed inside of receptacle bins located at bus stops and supermarkets, the Green Foxes have successfully handled over 80 tonnes of recycling in two years. The contents of these nets, often collected daily, are brought to the “Fox House” where bottles and cans are sorted, baled, and transported to recycling facilities on the Greek mainland.

You might be wondering where the flaw in this system is, but imagine transporting dozens of nets filled with hundreds of recyclables by foot and in cars? After their donated truck recently broke down, the Green Foxes have been walking and driving their own cars to continue collecting these nets, but this method simply will not work come May when the tourists begin arriving with their bottles and cans. Their StartSomeGood campaign has already reached its Tipping Point of $2,500, which will allow the group to rent a vehicle during the busy season and ensure continued recycling. With more than $6,500 already donated, less than $3,500 separates the Green Foxes from reaching their Total Funding Goal which will allow them to purchase a new (second hand) truck for collection and employ two paid workers to sort, bale, and prepare the recyclables for transportation. Help these women make a statement for recycling in Greece by supporting them in their initiative to keep Skiathos green.

Nick Kovaleski

conservative conservationist, environmental innovator, lost in translation, @babson educated, trying to @addmoregreen. a connecticut native who followed his intuition to his current home in australia. here to share my insight on sustainability and green living in an effort to re-educate mankind. avid runner, healthy vegetarian, green-thumbed gardener, meandering life's path.

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One of the best resources Australia has been blessed to receive from Mother Nature is the amount of sun we experience here Down Under. While it’s important to have sunsense and never forget your SPF, Australians have proven they also have sense of how beneficial the sun really is. Solar Water Heating (SWH), a system used to heat the water for your house naturally, first came to reality in the US before 1900; but Australia is one of few countries to really use the technology on a national scale. Not only do we value our largest star for relatively free hot water, soon a visionary group of Australians will translate the sun’s brilliance into a sustainable network of “green” jobs. The unionist environmental group Earthworker Co-operative is transitioning to a more sustainable economy by introducing worker-owned co-operatives.

What started as a vision in the 1990’s by Dave Kerrin and Bob Higginson is now evolving into the project they both dreamed of; providing workers with secure manufacturing jobs producing sustainable products. Earthworker is raising funds to aid in the process of launching a factory in Morwell, VIC where a green-workers co-operative will be manufacturing solar hot water units. By offering local communities the opportunity to buy into the concept of these worker-owned co-ops, Earthworker is shaping the future as “A vision of a better world and not merely a bigger share of this one at the expense of others”. The factory, Eureka’s Future, will begin to serve as an inspiring reminder that harvesting naturally renewable resources will pay off in the long-run.

Energy here in Australia has been cheaply fueled by locally-mined coal-fired electricity. Earthworker’s plan to combat this situation is to produce renewable technologies, which will not come without some financing of solar proportions. Overall the factory in Morwell will cost around $2 million (AUD) to establish a fully functioning operating system. The organization’s very productive campaign is funding their Licence to Co-operate to finance the first run of solar hot water units under licence from Australian manufacturer Douglas Solar. Now they have 25 days to raise additional funds for the cost of licences, equipment, and further establishment of the costly factory. This is Australia’s chance to demonstrate how to empower workers and produce meaningful technologies for a globally sustainable future.

Nick Kovaleski

conservative conservationist, environmental innovator, lost in translation, @babson educated, trying to @addmoregreen. a connecticut native who followed his intuition to his current home in australia. here to share my insight on sustainability and green living in an effort to re-educate mankind. avid runner, healthy vegetarian, green-thumbed gardener, meandering life’s path.

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Social exclusion marginalizes people from meaningful participation in their societies. Children, the homeless, victims of gender violence, and those with little resources are among the most susceptible to exclusion. ADAMA aims to continue providing support and companionship for such groups of people, therefore increasing the quality of their lives. 

ADAMA consists of an array of skilled professionals that dedicate their time and expertise by providing activities and therapies in their respective fields.  Among them are lawyers, accountants, and therapists who, since 2008, have supported over 800 people in 23 refuges and centers through their alternative means of therapy. They all share the ethos that the provision of emotional support enables people to express themselves, and through functional assistance their problems can be solved.

The award-winning Barcelona based Production Company OTOXO has committed to making a documentary based on ADAMA’s work, told through the eyes of the people who have directly benefited from these helping hands. Reaching the tipping goal of $300 will enable OTOXO improve the final production of the documentary and promote it for maximum exposure. The total funding goal of $1,500 will make it possible to train video production volunteers, maintain the video equipment, and enter the documentary into film festivals all over the world, exposing ADAMA’s work on a global scale. 

Please help ADAMA build trust, confidence and self-worth in the lives of socially excluded people by backing the cause and sharing this campaign through your social networks.

  Asibi Danjuma

I am a 23-year-old Londoner currently in law school. I have a BA in Politics and International Relations and an LLB in law. I have worked as a Student Facilitator for the British Red Cross, taught at local schools in Berkshire and have done a lot of pro bono legal research for Amnesty International and the Arizona Capital Trials Project. When I finish law school, I hope to start saving the world by working in developmental research and perhaps move to Paris to eat macaroons, dabble in photography and write stories. I’m also an avid reader, white wine drinker and world traveler.

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A frightening but unfortunately very real statistic--over 50% of the homeless population in Australia is under the age of 25. The generation of Australia's future should be discovering their passions, filling out college applications, beginning their careers, getting excited about first loves, and doing everything else that normal young people do as they grow into young adults. Instead, too many are struggling to find a place to sleep and worrying about how to find their next meal. 

Youth Homelessness Matters Day is an awareness campaign dedicated to reversing this startling trend. At twelve years old, Chris Lewis suddenly found himself homeless and struggling to survive. Scared and alone, he found support through a youth service that changed his life. It was then that he realized it wasn't a lack of a home that made him homeless, but a lack of love and support. Now, he aspires to show his support for homeless youths all over Australia by riding his bike from Sydney to Torquey, raising awareness of the struggles faced by homeless youths along the way. 

This year, Youth Homelessness Matters day has partnered with the city of Sydney to host the Amazing Race for Youth. Young people from various backgrounds are invited to come together and support breaking the stigma associated with being a homeless youth. Raising just $1,450 will help sponsor four homeless young people to travel to Sydney and take part in the Amazing Race for Youth--the largest youth homelessness advocacy event in the country. Chris needs your support to reach his goal to show homeless youths across Australia that they aren't alone--every dollar, every Tweet, and every Facebook share makes a difference! 

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Our healthcare system is essential for a better standard of living, however, with only one nurse per 10,000 people in Ethiopia, there is a need for vast improvement in the delivery of health services. Through the creation of partnerships between academic institutions in the United States and Ethiopia, People to People’s newest program aims to foster the creation of nursing programs in Ethiopia. 

Project Whole Sky is built on a foundation of volunteering and will see physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals, passionately work without pay to improve Ethiopia’s healthcare system. This goal will be achieved by tapping into Ethiopia’s most untapped resource--the country’s women. Women will be trained in nursing while the program builds a rapport with nursing institutions within Ethiopia and the United States. Chris De Wilde, the director of the Nursing Leadership Program, exudes passion for Ethiopia and its healthcare. Having spent her first nursing mission in the country and returning several times thereafter (also being mother to an Ethiopian little boy), she expresses a superior understanding of how healthcare interventions should fit into the natural flow of Ethiopian lives.

Now that the tipping point goal has been surpassed, getting to the $15,000 total funding goal will help even further support the first mission in Ethiopia. It will enable Project Whole Sky to establish a nursing education scholarship fund for new students and foster a relationship between a western institution and the Ethiopian nursing school. Furthermore, the funds raised will be instrumental in providing for a health-training program with the Boarding and Care Facility for HIV/AIDS orphan girls. 

Project Whole Sky has just over 2 days left to raise as much money as possible. By backing this project and spreading it through your networks, you are helping Project Whole Sky empower Ethiopian women and foster healthcare delivery in the country.

Asibi Danjuma

I am a 23-year-old Londoner currently in law school. I have a BA in Politics and International Relations and an LLB in law. I have worked as a Student Facilitator for the British Red Cross, taught at local schools in Berkshire and have done a lot of pro bono legal research for Amnesty International and the Arizona Capital Trials Project. When I finish law school, I hope to start saving the world by working in developmental research and perhaps move to Paris to eat macaroons, dabble in photography and write stories. I’m also an avid reader, white wine drinker and world traveler.

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Who will be featured in the Dog Treats and Jingle Toys’ first episode? Madison Christy and her dog Jake dressed as a Sheriff and an outlaw, of course! Who will be dressed as who you ask? Well, you'll just have to tune in to Madison's new comedy webseries to find out!

Created to support Los Angeles Animal Services, an organization that works to find loving homes for pets in L.A., Dog Treats and Jingle Toys will not only introduce viewers to adoptable pets, but also inject some comedy and humor as well (hence the Sheriff outfit). It is a single cam series which will air on YouTube and will feature an adoptable pet at the end of each episode. The goal is to help these amazing shelter pets find their “furever homes” by raising awareness beyond Los Angeles. Founder Madison Christy is currently a student at New York Film Academy in Universal City, studying for an MFA in Screenwriting, who has found a way to utilize her skills to help shelter animals.

Filming a webseries does not come cheap—the team needs to take out insurance, obtain permits from Los Angeles and Burbank, rent equipment, and feed the cast and crew (including the pets). In order to create their first series of web-shows, the Dog Treats and Jingle Toys team is hoping to raise $3,000—of which they have already raised $2,335! This will cover everything but the cost of food. The total goal for the campaign is $4,000 and will help feed everyone for 12 episodes. For just $75 you can have your own Dog Treats and Jingle Toys sweatshirt plus a great selection of various other treats—a great deal for everybody. If you believe in raising awareness for shelter option, help this campaign succeed by pledging today and then spreading the word through your networks.

Callie Hammond

I am currently an MPA student at the University of Pennsylvania, with a focus on Nonprofit Administration. My experiences as a social worker and a teacher in the Philadelphia School District have not only made education reform my passion, but have also led me to create a start-up nonprofit organization, Library Build, which is dedicated to revitalizing and restocking public school libraries with books, technologies, and librarians. You can follow on my blog, The Start Up.

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Buy an Album, Change a Life

Learning how to play a musical instrument helps individuals develop responsibility, discipline, and confidence. Unfortunately, many people cannot afford this luxury. Instruments themselves are expensive and lessons can be even pricier. You probably grew up learning how to play the clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, or flute in middle school and remember the sense of camaraderie you felt with your school band members fondly. Or, maybe you started a band in high school and, to this day, those bandmates are some of the best friends you've ever had. Learning to play an instrument, then, also gave you a sense of belonging at a critical time in your development as an individual. The gift of music is something you will always take with you because it helped mold you into the well-rounded person that you are today.

Melodime, a popular "Southern Fusion" band, is giving the gift of music to individuals across the world. The band is recording their next album with acclaimed producer Rick Beato at Blackdog Sound Recording Studio in Atlanta, GA this winter. The album includes themes of redemption and hope that even though we're all flawed, our mistakes can be forgiven and used to discover our true purpose. To truly live out this album's theme, Melodime will be donating 100% of the album's proceeds to purchase musical instruments and educational materials to individuals who want to learn how to play music but don't have the means to make this dream a reality. The band members hope that music will inspire others who are less fortunate to harness their true potential just like it inspired them as they were growing up. 

To Melodime's fans, this means buying an album will truly change a life. Creating an album, however, is very expensive. As an independent band, they do not have the financial backings of a major record label. Since the band will not be making any money back on the sale of the album, they are looking for your support to help cover the costs.  The goal is to raise at least $30,000 in 30 days. To date, they have already raised $11,775 and really need your support to get to $30,000 in 10 more days. Melodime has set up some awesome rewards, like including your photo as part of a collage on the album cover if you contribute at least $10 to their campaign. Other opportunities include an autographed copy of the album, backstage passes, being included in their next music video, and even participating in a jam session with them. By contributing yourself or sharing Melodime's campaign with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter, email, and in person, you will be helping Melodime reach their goal to inspire thousands of individuals through the gift of music.

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