John has much experience working in the philanthropic world, and takes great interest in charitable goings on today.

Elton John and Ed Sheeran Bring Holiday Cheer

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund International

The holiday season can be a joyous, wonderful time but it can also be a very hard one for many people. This year, some big names in the music industry are using their talent to bring cheer to others, and to raise money for important charities.

Elton John and Ed Sheeran have recently teamed up with a charity single called “Merry Christmas” that was just released by Asylum/Atlantic. Jason Koenig has directed the accompanying video.

The song was written by many superstars and was produced by Steve Mac.

All publishing royalties and sales will be donated equally to the Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Fashion Forward Clothing for Kids with Medical Needs

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By JohnPosted In: Charity ActivityTagged:

This is an incredible story about making lemonade when life gives you lemons. In a freak accident more than a year ago, Laila Susini nearly lost her life. She was swinging on a porch swing, when the eyebolt that holds the swing together detached from the ceiling and went through her skull.

Doctors and nurses at Cedars Sinai Medical Center saved her life during a five hour operation. Today, Laila’s left arm is paralyzed, but she is forging ahead with a full life and a new fashion line. Her fashionable and comfortable clothing, called LATE Clothing LA, is intended to help other children who live with medical devices and need slightly reimagined clothing.

The clothing line is worth checking out, and the story of inspiration is worth reading.

Helping with Food Scarcity in Vermont

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund International

Here is a really nice story of giving. We all know that Vermont is a very cold place in the winter, and this is obviously an issue for people who are homeless. In Northfield, Vermont there is a sock company doing something about it. Darn Tough Vermont has been partnering with the Vermont Foodbank for many years. During COVID-19, they started making a special pair of socks with the sales from those socks going directly to the food bank. So far, they’ve been able to provide 925,000 meals to hungry people in Vermont with those sales.

Read more about their foodbank giving program and the amazing things they’ve done to help people.

Charitable Giving Among Affluent Americans

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund International

A fascinating study looking at the differences in giving for affluent Americans over 40, versus Millennial and Gen Z donors has found some really interesting changes. The study, the 2021 Bank of America Study of Philanthropy: charitable Giving by Affluent Households, looked at more than 1600 American homes.

The major shift they noticed is one away from giving to organizations and towards issues. Younger people are looking at issues of climate change, race relations and other issues and are putting their money into fixing these crises, rather than to giving to organizations, as older people to to do. Researchers also discovered that givers are using Venmo and GoFundMe for their charitable gifts and engaging in much more direct giving. They also found that women, in particular, give to crowdfunding campaigns more than men.

They also found that approximately 90% of affluent Americans gave to charity in 2020. Volunteering was definitely down in 2020 because of the pandemic; however, interestingly, Americans who did give their time gave twice as much money to charitable causes than did those who did not volunteer.

The study is certainly worth seeing and understanding in more depth.

Learn about the Uncommon Giving Community

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund International

The Uncommon Giving Community is one you’ll want to know about in the charity space. This is a Scottsdale, Arizona based company that has an online platform for people to give charity. So far, they have over one million charities available to give to. Their Chief Generosity Officer, Nick Vujicic, is one to know about as well. Born without arms or legs, he was bullied as a child and tried to take his life at the young age of 10. Having found his calling, he now works to enhance the giving experience that people have.

Uncommon Giving offers both individual and workplace opportunities for giving and for having all of your giving under one umbrella. It’s certainly an organization worth knowing about and seeing if it can help you to make a personal or professional impact in the charitable world.

Green (Eggs) and Ham Walking Across America

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund International

Here is a feel good story and a worthy cause. Sam Green and his dog, Taylor Ham, are walking across America. Taylor Ham isn’t just any companion – he’s an 8.5 year old pit bull/collie mix who is keeping Green company on the quest to walk all the way to Los Angeles.

The goal is to raise $25,000 when he pulls into LA around mid-October. So far on his GoFundMe site he has about $8000. He’s raising the money for Just Believe Inc. This is a charity based on New Jersey that operates local shelters for the homeless. Green’s goal is to raise money to build Jeff’s Camp, a shelter for homeless veterans. Learn more about Sam’s goals here.

Cigars for Charity

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund International

Here’s an unusual fundraiser that was held recently for a great cause. Kevin Kurland is the co-owner of Smoky Quartz Distillery in Seabrook, New Hampshire. He actually decided to become a distiller while he was serving in Iraq in 2008. While waiting out an attack in Baghdad, he was reading a Wall Street Journal article and decided that this would be his path forward.

Fast forward to 2014 when he opened the distillery after retiring with 26 years of distinguished military service behind him. He enjoys giving back to veterans and created a fundraiser through his distillery to do so. He explained that his Vouchers for Veterans program allowed former military members to purchase food.

The private event was the first of its kind for Kurland and included only 50 tickets. Ticketholders were privy to three premium cigars, wood-fired pizza and spirt samples from 6-9pm one recent evening. They also enjoyed raffles, prizes and a live podcast by Cigar Hacks at the time of the event. It certainly sounded like a unique and meaningful event and a great way to enjoy a night out, while giving back to those who serve.

If you’re in New Hampshire or driving through, a stop at Smoky Quartz Distillery sounds like a great idea.

Walking to Raise Money for Cancer Research

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund InternationalTagged: ,

Here is a fun pick-me-up story. Joe McHugh of Westfield, Maine walked from Maine to Boston for charity. What makes the story even more inspiring is that he did so recently with three friends – and their fathers did the same walk in 1973. The walk in 1973 raised money for the Jimmy Fund and the Dana-Farber center for cancer research. The current walk was intended to raise money for the same causes, and had already raised more than $20,000 when they started walking.

In 1973, it all started because David McHugh, now 85, had a hernia operation and was told to walk more. He decided that if he was going to start walking, he would do so for charity. Together with three friends, they walked from Maine to Fenway Park in four days while raising $18,000 for Dana Farber and the Jimmy Fund.

Certainly, their children are hoping to double what the dads raised all those years ago.

New Cookbook Helps Immigrants

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund InternationalTagged:

Here is a nice idea to get behind – while also enjoying some delicious food. Immigrant Pathways Colorado has created a new cookbook called Together at the Table. It has recipes from around the world, and includes some recipes from immigrants they have already helped in the past. The charity was founded by Susan Thornton who says, “Yes, many of our foods are different, many of our recipes are different, but when we make them and we sit down to eat together the world comes together. People start to understand each other.”

The money that they raise from the book will be put towards the One-Immigrant-At-A-Time program. This provides self-development grants to legal immigrants and to refugees and asylum seekers. Learn more about the cookbooks and get your copy today!

Which States Give Most?

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund International

It’s interesting to think about which states are more generous than others. If you had to make a list of states that are generous – which ones would be on the list? And why would those states be more generous than others? According to a WalletHub study that was done late in 2020, the three most generous states are….Utah, Minnesota and Maryland. These three were followed by: Oregon, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Dakota, Maine and Colorado.

States that led in terms of volunteering? Utah, Minnesota and Oregon.

The states that settled at the bottom of these rankings included Louisiana, New Mexico and Arizona. And California, a states that has the highest GDP per state in the country, was the state with the least amount of volunteering time and service.

Learn more and see more detailed results to see how your state did.