70: Big Heart, Tiny Home

I've been obsessed with these 3D Printed homes since I watched the video above. As much as the rounded style may not be to everyone's taste, the cost efficiency should be - at least one tenth the cost per square foot of other buildings. Many communities are developing the tiny home trend to help the homeless, and many great innovations in tiny homes have resulted. A Tiny Home for Good in Syracuse, NY takes housing a step higher then the 3D printed, which allows the homes to fit in with existing architecture better. Also, A Tiny Home for Good  uses vacant lots to improve the city and community. I could not find as much information as I wold have liked to share with you, so I am faithfully supporting the idea of what A Tiny Home for Good does. Here how they do it: 

http://www.atinyhomeforgood.org/blog/?offset=1483383573717

I can't find enough information to compare costs, structure quality, longevity etc., but I do know somehow all of these tiny home projects can be a huge help in improving living conditions for homeless and beautify our communities. I'll continue this fascination and maybe someday, I will have a plan and work on putting it to work in my own area.

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Our email is DonationsByTheDozen@gmail.com.

Thanks and cheers to charity

69: Impact and Impact, Aiding Women with AIDS/HIV

AIDS has been scary in our world for a long time, but because the bad news takes precedence, I worry people overlook some of the progress made. The above video shows Selinah, a woman with AIDS who agreed to be filmed every day for 90 days. Below is a video of her after treatment. The impact of the disease is devastating, and the impact our world has made on it has been amazing. 

Today is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, so I picked a four star charity, AIDS United, "AIDS United’s mission is to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States.  We seek to fulfill our mission through strategic grantmaking, capacity building, policy/advocacy, technical assistance and formative research." (https://www.aidsunited.org/About.aspx) AIDS United has many programs and offers grants. You can find both here https://www.aidsunited.org/Programs-0024-Grantmaking.aspx. You can also watch great webinars here https://www.aidsunited.org/webinars/.

This blog post is from a National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day program last year https://www.aidsunited.org/blog/Default.aspx?id=97.
Progress, research, advocacy, and eliminating stigma in society help everyone, whether it is someone affected by AIDS/HIV or any other issue or illness. I wish us all as much healing and progress as Selinah has had. 

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Our email is DonationsByTheDozen@gmail.com.

Thanks and cheers to charity

68: This is so Awesomely Random

My friend Katie and I co-conspire for small and large Random Acts of Kindness. I've been sitting on this great organization called Random Act of Flowers for a while, because I thought it would be so cute for Mother's Day. Then I thought"wait, it's supposed to be random." Randomly, with my mom in  mind, I'm sharing it with you today, and I love it. "Random Acts of Flowers improves the emotional health and well-being of individuals in health care facilities by delivering recycled flowers, encouragement and personal moments of kindness." (http://randomactsofflowers.org)
I love the concept and happiness Random Acts of Flowers brings, but I also like the repurposing aspect. They partner with major florists, flower companies,  grocery stores and funeral homes then volunteers separate and rebuild new arrangements to distribute. They accept donations of flowers from events like weddings or big birthday parties and donations of vases of the right size. Located in Chicago, Tampa Bay, Silicon Valley, Knoxville, and Indianapolis for now, I am hoping they find more cities in which to add this great service. ProFlowers donates one dollar from every arrangement to Random Acts of Flowers too. Also, the Renegde company made a DIY for kids (though I absolutely am buying one) that supports the mission too. (http://randomactsofflowers.org/shop/)
"We all benefit when we’re kind and compassionate. The community becomes stronger and people thrive. That’s why we deliver thousands of beautiful bouquets of recycled flowers to those struggling with injury, illness and the aging process every week in neighborhoods all over the country." (http://randomactsofflowers.org/our-mission/)
.

You can find the Donations by the Dozen posts here on google,

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or on the Grace Initiative Foundation Tree, LLC's website http://www.graceinit.org/donations-by-the-dozen.html where you can enter your email to subscribe for an email daily dose of Donations by the Dozen.

Our email is DonationsByTheDozen@gmail.com.

Thanks and cheers to charity

67: Forget La La Land - Let's Talk about Malala Land

For International Women's Day, I wanted to choose something educational or technological. Then I remembered one of my favorite women, heroes, and role models: Malala Yousafzai who was shot at age 14 for advocating for the right for all children, even female children, to have an education. Undeterred, she survived the attack and has continued advocating since. I recommend reading her fascinating memoir (https://www.amazon.com/Am-Malala-Stood-Education-Taliban-ebook/dp/B00CH3DBNQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489010459&sr=8-1&keywords=malala+yousafzai) if you'd like to know more.

Desmond Tutu nominated her for a International Children's Peace Prize and has been nominated and won more prizes since, including becoming the youngest Nobel Laureate after being a co-recipient for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.

Malala created the Malala Fund advocating for every girl in the world to have at least 12 years of education, investing in developing leaders in developing countries to help advocate and ensure quality education for girls, and helping amplify girls' voices regarding their right to education. 

Supporting Malala is championing champions, and a fabulous way to honor International Women's Day. 

You can find the Donations by the Dozen posts here on google,

on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/graceinitiative/,

on twitter https://twitter.com/MarciGoLightly,

or on the Grace Initiative Foundation Tree, LLC's website http://www.graceinit.org/donations-by-the-dozen.html where you can enter your email to subscribe for an email daily dose of Donations by the Dozen.

Our email is DonationsByTheDozen@gmail.com.

Thanks and cheers to charity

66: City Chicken, Country Chicken (Say that three times fast)

I miss my chickens who used to lay green eggs - yes, beautiful sea foam green eggs.  I gave them to my cousin who had a bigger flock with roosters, since I could only have hens. So today when I visited her, she sent fresh eggs hone with me, and I decided today's Donations by the Dozen should involve farming. I found the Fresh Future Farm who "revitalizes unused city assets to grow chemical free food and create job opportunities that will transform the current food desert into a more self-reliant and robust community." (http://freshfuturefarm.org)
You'll find a great many cities deciding the fate of small coops these days, and I can totally support wanting to grow your own food or have your own fresh eggs. Fresh Future Farm uses vacant city land and unused city assets to grow food, educate, create job opportunities and reduce economic disparity. Almost a year ago, they were able to open a store , and they even "offer free rides home to customers who live within two miles and spend $50 or more in the store." (http://freshfuturefarm.org/the-store/) IF you live in the North Charleston, SC area, you may also be interested in Fresh Future Farm's 8th annual Hope on Goat event http://freshfuturefarm.org/hope-on-goat/.
You can see the variety of eggs in the picture, and find out more about raising hens or enjoying fresh eggs here: http://www.backyardchickens.com.

You can find the Donations by the Dozen posts here on google,

on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/graceinitiative/,

on twitter https://twitter.com/MarciGoLightly,

or on the Grace Initiative Foundation Tree, LLC's website http://www.graceinit.org/donations-by-the-dozen.html where you can enter your email to subscribe for an email daily dose of Donations by the Dozen.

Our email is DonationsByTheDozen@gmail.com.

Thanks and cheers to charity

65: Taking a Bite out of Oral Care Cost with Tri-County Dental

It's National Dentist Day, which may freak out some of you who don't like the dentist. I do happen to like having my teeth cleaned, and it has really saved me long term issues. I know this from having skipped it for too long once. However, the dentist can be expensive, especially if you don't have insurance. Bring on Tri-County Dental, if you're in the Wisconsin area at least.

Tri-County Community Dental Clinic is a predominantly volunteer dental clinic whose mission is to provide quality oral health care services in a caring and compassionate manner to those individuals in Calumet, Outagamie, and Winnebago counties whose access to dental health care is limited due to inadequate income, or reduced access to Medicaid care.  Services are provided by volunteer professionals including dentists, registered hygienists and dental assistants, as well as dental students from Marquette University School of Dentistry, and dental hygiene and assisting students from Fox Valley Technical College. (https://tricountydental.org)

Tri-County Dental even has a mobile unit https://tricountydental.org/Our-Clinic/Mobile.aspx as part of their "Focus on the Children" Program. During the school year, the mobile unit focuses on children and in the summer, it switch the focus to adults, though there are no age restrictions in appointment scheduling. Take care of those pearly whites and have a great day.

You can find the Donations by the Dozen posts here on google,

on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/graceinitiative/,

on twitter https://twitter.com/MarciGoLightly,

or on the Grace Initiative Foundation Tree, LLC's website http://www.graceinit.org/donations-by-the-dozen.html where you can enter your email to subscribe for an email daily dose of Donations by the Dozen.

Our email is DonationsByTheDozen@gmail.com.

Thanks and cheers to charity

64: You are my Sunshine, my only Sunshine Project

In thinking about today's Donations by the Dozen nonprofit, I knew I wanted something sunny and cheery, and I found Project Sunshine. "Project Sunshine is a nonprofit organization that provides free educational, recreational, and social programs to children facing medical challenges and their families. Project Sunshine empowers a dynamic and dedicated corps of over 15,000 volunteers to bring programming - recreational (arts), educational (tutoring and mentoring) and social service (HIV and nutritional counseling) - to 100,000 children facing medical challenges and their families in 175 cities across the United States and in four international locations: Canada, China, Israel and Kenya." (http://www.projectsunshine.org/aboutus/index.php)
Project Sunshine offers many great programs covering a wide gambit of needs for hospitalized children, their families, and their communities. You can see the awesomeness here:  http://www.projectsunshine.org/programs/index.php. Aside from the fun, artsy, and creative programs by Project Sunshine, one program I admire tutors these young patients. Whether they are recurring patients or long-term, the tutors help keep education on track, and I believe this can greatly relieve worries of children who are taken away from their schools by illness.

You can find the Donations by the Dozen posts here on google,

on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/graceinitiative/,

on twitter https://twitter.com/MarciGoLightly,

or on the Grace Initiative Foundation Tree, LLC's website http://www.graceinit.org/donations-by-the-dozen.html where you can enter your email to subscribe for an email daily dose of Donations by the Dozen.

Our email is DonationsByTheDozen@gmail.com.

Thanks and cheers to charity