From supporting garment workers to climate activism here are organizations we admire that you can give back to.
Over the last few years The Wellness Feed has highlighted nonprofits and petitions that help support those displaced by California wildfires or garment workers living on poverty wages. There have also been great conversations with the founders of some these nonprofits fighting for the greater good and giving back to a cause close to their heart. This year, we’re recapping the places that we love to give to. There is no better time to support (by signing a petition) or give back (with a cash donation) to an organization that highlights and fights for a cause close to your heart. Because, sustainability is about maintaining justice for both the environment and humanity.
Support Refugees: Worldwide Tribe
One of the biggest humanitarian crisis that our world is experiencing is the refugee crisis. As climate change, persecution, wars and other emergencies force families and communities from their homes, an estimated 100 million people around the world are being displaced at a rate not seen since World War II. Despite grassroots organizations and nonprofits supporting refugees as they blend into new communities, negative stereotypes have become its own crisis. With many of these communities holding an ‘us versus them’ grudge, those who have experienced some of life’s worst traumas are often dehumanized with overbearing stereotypes surrounding the word ‘refugee’ as they try to adjust to a new life.
Worldwide Tribe is a grassroots organization that removes the negative preconceptions around the word refugee to highlight the men, women and children who have been forced to leave their homes. Through podcasts, films and articles people have a platform to tell their stories and remind us that we are more similar than we are different. “It’s time to come together regardless of race, nationality, gender, religion or language, as one global community of international citizens,”
What Your Donation Will Do: Through the individual stories you have a chance to meet the resilient men and women in refugee camps. Whether they are pursuing degrees, saving up for family members to arrive to a new country safely, or are simply trying to survive and focus on their next meal, World Wide Tribe offers multiple micro-causes you can support.
Stand Up For Black Lives: Equal Justice Initiative
America is a country built on racial injustice. Four-hundred years later we are still working towards creating equality, justice and fairness throughout the various aspects of this society. One major area is incarceration. Here are a few facts from the NAACP and the Equal Justice Initiative:
- The U.S. has 5% of the world’s population but nearly 25% of its incarcerated population.
- Between 900 and 1,100 people who are shot and killed by police in the United States each year.
- Children as young as 8 can be charged as an adult, held in jail and can receive death-in-prison sentences.
- 5% of illicit drug users are African American, yet African Americans represent 29% of those arrested and 33% of those incarcerated for drug offenses.
The Equal Justice Initiative is a team of lawyers, activists and researchers who have been advocating for and representing people unfairly sentenced and abused in jails since 1989. They collaborate with community leaders to publish reports and spread information about the legacy of slavery and the racial issues of the past and that are affecting millions today.
What Your Donation Will Do: Give back and your donation could help to assist the lawyers who tackle racial injustice by providing legal representation for those wrongfully convicted and to help with those previously incarcerated to re-enter society.
Advocate For Workers’ Rights: Clean Clothes Campaign
While the collective wealth of America’s 651 billionaires rose by 36% since March, poverty has stricken those at the bottom of the capitalist food chain who have been left jobless and unpaid. Already living on poverty wages, they don’t have savings or other resources to fall back on and often slip into homelessness and severe hunger. It’s the legal responsibility of retailers and brands to pay their workers what they are owed and severance.
“If you live on a poverty wage, every day not being paid is a day spent hungry. @hm, @primark, @nike and other brands commit to ensuring that all the workers who are made their clothes before the pandemic receive their wages in full and on time.”
The Clean Clothes Campaign is a global call-to-action campaign asking brands to pay their workers. Utilizing the collective power of social media, they amplify and share workers’ stories to pressure corporations to respect their contracts and pay their workers. They also go beyond to advocate for human rights to be upheld and improved across the global garment industries.
What Your Donation Will Do: Your donation will help the Clean Clothes Campaign to continue to support and advocate for workers in garment sweatshops around the world. They also work to hold brands accountable for unsafe working conditions and unfair contracts throughout their supply chains.
Invest In Children’s Education: Save The Children
There are growing divides in the U.S that begin with early childhood and access to basic necessities like 3 healthy meals daily and quality education. Children born into poverty face a stream of heavy obstacles to improve their lives, due to the lack of access to opportunities, nurturing support, healthy nourishment and protection from harm. Here are a few statistics from Save The Children:
- 1 in 7 children struggle with hunger.
- Children in the most disadvantaged counties die at rates up to 5 times those of their peers in the same state.
- 1 in 7 high school students don’t graduate.
Save the Children offers a range of programs to help children in impoverished communities through emotional learning and educational programs as well as political advocacy. Through research they are able to address obstacles facing poverty stricken communities such as a lack of access to books or a risk of food insecurity.
What Your Donation Will Do: When you give back and support this organization you’ll help early learners through literacy programs for struggling readers, kindergarten readiness, summer camps. We need to support today’s young learners who will be tomorrow’s leaders.
Combat Climate Change: Fridays For Future
Heatwaves, droughts, floods, rising sea levels- these are all the disastrous results of global temperatures rising. As these effects take place entire communities are displaced as homes are lost and resources like food and water become limited.
With renewable energy technologies, changes in farming and transport, and other big changes, we can limit warming. Scientists have modeled these pathways… we simply need our leaders to embrace them.
In 2018, Greta Thunberg became a household name. Backed by a global legion of teenagers the Swedish teenager who sat outside Parliament by herself has sparked a movement involving millions of teenagers from around the world fighting for the environment. These young people petition local governments to to put stronger policies in place that will help fight the climate crisis. They organize strikes to spark international interest and collaborate with groups from around the world to to spur real change from local governments.
What Your Donation Will Do: On their website you’ll have the option to give back to the local chapter of your choice. Help the young activists to keep their software updated, purchase supplies and permits for strikes and cover transportation costs as they petition local and global governments to address the Climate Crisis.