Charity Auction Update!
October 28, 2008
We are so glad to announce that the Shine Global auction this fall proved extremely successful! In the last few seconds, the bidding wars were intense, and it was so exciting to watch! We want to thank everyone who participated in the auction and hope that all the winners enjoy their wonderful prizes donated by very generous Shine Global supporters!
In case you missed out, we’ll be holding a mini holiday auction beginning on December 1, just in time for the gift-giving season. Please check it out by going to the Charity Folks website at http://charityfolks.com/.
Check out Shine Global on Flickr!
October 28, 2008
Please visit the Shine Global Flickr page to view stills from Harvest and War Dance, photos from our recent events, and more! Also, please add Shine Global as a contact, so we can spread the word about Shine! With your help, we can make a huge difference!
Click here to visit the Shine Global Flickr page.
Sara O’Meara and Yvonne Fedderson, Co-Founders of ChildHelp
October 21, 2008
Hollywood actresses Sara Buckner (O’Meara) and Yvonne Lime (Fedderson) first met on the set of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, when they played the girlfriends of Ricky and David Nelson. Their mission for children began in 1959 when they were sent on a government-sponsored goodwill tour to visit troops in Japan.
On the streets of Tokyo after a typhoon, the actresses came upon a group of cold and frightened children huddled together for warmth. Learning they had no parents and were born from American troops during the Korean War, the young women took the children to their hotel room for the night with the idea of placing them into an orphanage the next day.
In 1959, Sara O’Meara and Yvonne Fedderson founded Childhelp®, which is a leading national non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect. Childhelp’s approach focuses on prevention, intervention and treatment. The Childhelp® National Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD, operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam. Several of Childhelp’s programs were firsts, and continue to be studied by professionals worldwide as “models that work.” Sara O’Meara and Yvonne Fedderson continue to actively lead the organization and provide its vision, serving as Chairman/CEO and President, respectively.
Please visit the ChildHelp website by clicking here.
Child Marriage, Nepal
October 20, 2008
Save the Children (SC) launched a one-year Campaign against Child Marriage to mark the annual “World Day of Action against Violence” at a function in Surkhet Monday.
“Child marriage is a direct violation of child rights and human rights which leads to children, especially girls, becoming more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. The practice is highly prevalent in South Asia where one in three girls get married before the age of 18,” said a press release issued by Save the Children on the occasion.
Studies show that an estimated 34% of total marriages held in the country are of children below 15 years of age.
The release further said child marriage has had adverse impact in the lives of both boys and girls, “but its impact is far more severe on girls”.
Health problems, unwanted pregnancies and deprivation of education are some of the key issues faced by such children.
Information gathered from nepalnews.com
To read more please click here.
American Library Association Notable Videos Nomination!
October 16, 2008
We are so proud to announce that War Dance has been nominated for the American Library Association Notable Videos for Adults list!
Each year a committee comprised of Video Round Table members selects up to fifteen noteworthy educational, performance or how-to titles released during the previous and current calendar years. The committee is composed of public and academic librarians, and makes its selections during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in January. The list is published in Booklist and Video Librarian magazines.
For more information, please click here.
Sexual Exploitation in Schools, Africa
October 13, 2008
Sexual exploitation in African schools has become so widespread that children have come up with their own terms to refer to sexual relations with their teachers. From ‘Sexually Transmitted Grades’ to ‘BF’, or bordel fatigue, which refers to exhaustion from multiple sexual activities with teachers, this slang hints at the prevalence of exploitation in Africa’s learning environments.
The lexis of abuse was discovered during research for Plan International’s (PI) latest report, ‘Learn Without Fear,’ part of the organisation’s global campaign to end violence in schools. According to the report, research in Uganda found that eight per cent of 16 and 17 year-olds had had sex with their teachers. In South Africa, at least one-third of all child rapes are by school staff. In a survey of ten villages in Benin, 34 per cent of children confirmed sexual violence in their schools.
While boys usually suffer more violent – and possibly deadly – corporal punishment at the hands of their teachers than their female classmates, sexual harassment and exploitation appear to be overwhelmingly carried out against girls. The report found girls are vulnerable to attacks not only from teachers and other care givers, but also from male students, either at school or on the journey to or from school.
From WOW.gm
To read more, please click here.
3 Days Left!
October 13, 2008
There are only 3 days left to bid on our fabulous auction items on Charity Folks! Items include vacations in Colorado, Cape Cod, and the Hamptons, walk-on roles on Nickelodeon shows, meetings with TV and film executives, and tickets to late night talk shows and awards shows! Bidding will close on October 15 at 3pm.
Please click here to bid now!
Free the Children
October 13, 2008
Free The Children is the world’s largest network of children helping children through education, with more than one million youth involved in our innovative education and development programs in 45 countries. Founded in 1995 by international child rights activist Craig Kielburger, Free The Children has a proven track record of success. The organization has received the World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child (also known as the Children’s Nobel Prize), the Human Rights Award from the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations, and has formed successful partnerships with leading school boards and Oprah’s Angel Network.
Free The Children has built more than 500 schools around the world and has reached more than one million young people through outreach in North America.
To learn more please click here.
Children in Servitude, Haiti
October 7, 2008
Restaveks, are the thousands of young Haitian children handed over by their poor parents to better-off families, most of whom are struggling themselves. The term restaveks literally means “stay with,” and that is what the children do with their hosts, working as domestic servants in exchange for a roof over their head, some leftover food and, supposedly, the ability to go to school.
In practice, though, the restaveks are easy prey for exploitation. Human rights advocates say they are beaten, sexually abused and frequently denied access to education, since many host families believe that schooling will only make them less obedient. Recent storms, according to Unicef, added 300,000 Haitian children to the Restavek populace.
–from gnn.tv
Please click here to read the rest of the article.
Taz Tagore and Adam Bucko, Brooklyn, New York, United States
October 3, 2008
Taz Tagore and Adam Bucko founded the Reciprocity Foundation to enable homeless and high-risk youth and young adults to permanently exit the social services system and start meaningful, sustainable careers in the Creativity Economy (e.g. fashion, design, marketing, PR). The Reciprocity Foundation aims to build a national network of programs to enable homeless youth to enroll in college, secure hands-on work experiences and build a professional network in their field of interest. Currently, their work is focused on the thousands of homeless youth in New York City; in the future, the Reciprocity Foundation plans to expand into cities such Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and Austin.
Tagore and Bucko have both experienced life under authoritarian governments in East Africa and Poland, respectively, and witnessed the damage it can cause to personal development. Since then, they have focused their careers on helping individuals achieve their full potential. Previously, Bucko led programs for homeless children and youth in India and America and Tagire focused on teaching creativity and entrepreneurship tools to business leaders and homeless youth. Adam earned a BA and MA from St. John’s University. Taz received a BS from Queen’s University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
To learn more, please visit www.reciprocityfoundation.org.