Closing the Book on Our 3rd Quarter Beneficiaries

As the 3rd quarter of 2014 comes to a close, we'd like to take a look back at the many ways that our beneficiaries this quarter put your contributions to good use in putting humanism into action.

Poverty and Health: Sustaining Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL). 

SOIL is doing important work in Haiti building ecological sanitation systems that recycle waste into fertilizer through composting and other means. Only about 10% of rural Hatians have adequate sanitation, largely due to the fact that they have nowhere to dispose of human waste, By recycling that waste and using it for agriculture, they are protecting water supplies and boosting food production at the same time.

The Natural World: The Rainforest Foundation US.

The Rainforest Foundation US works to protect the rights of indigenuous groups who have long lived in harmony with the world's rainforests to stay in their homelands and continue to protect this most crucial of environmental resources. The organization believes that "the most effective way to protect rainforests is to ensure that the indigenous communities who have historically managed and protected those forests have secure and long term rights to their lands and resources." They have been successful in achieving their goals in places like Caña Blanca, in Panama, where they have helped secure legal right for the Wounaan and Embera people to protect a million acres of rainforest in that countty.

Education: Washington Women's Employment and Education (WWEE).

WWEE works to support low-income women in attaining jobs and the skills to succeed in them. It's particularly difficult for single mothers to get and keep a job that will support their family, leaving millions of women and their children in poverty. WWEE provides skill training, works with them on resume writing and interviewing, and work with employers to place them in positions that allow them to support their families. Many lives have been changed as a result of their programs.

Human Rights: Footsteps.

Footsteps is a unique organization, the only one of its kind that helps men and women leaving the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. As so often happens with anyone who leaves a lifelong religious community, many people are left without the only source of support, friendship and encouragement they have ever known. In their own words, Footsteps helps those who have left the ultra-Orthodox world to "have a safe, supportive, and flourishing community to turn to as they work to define their own identities, build new connections, and lead productive lives on their own terms." They've helped over 800 people since 2003 to do that and your contributions have allowed them to serve even more.

Challenge the Gap: The Night Ministry.

The Night Ministry is a Chicago nonprofit that works to provide food, shelter, health care and support for the homeless population in that city. They put a particular focus on homeless youth and even more specifically on pregnant teens and homeless women with children. At the Humanism at Work conference in July, attendees helped pack hygiene kits for them to distribute to those living on the streets of Chicago. They work not only to supply the short-term needs of the homeless, from food and shelter to medical checkups, but also on helping them make the transition to independence. 

We will soon announce an exciting new program for the 4th quarter of 2014, but there's still time for you to make contributions to all of these deserving beneficiaries to support the vital work they do.