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With the goal of helping under-served communities in India, Nepal, and Tibet receive the vital services they need, Karuna-Shechen was founded in 2000 by Matthieu Ricard (www.matthieuricard.org), renown TED speaker, author, and humanitarian. We strive to reduce inequalities and work toward a fairer and more compassionate world. We trust that communities can be lifted out of poverty, that change is possible, and that the well-being of every individual, regardless of race, gender, class, or caste, is essential. We believe that building on local strengths and knowledge is the most efficient way to respond to the specific needs and aspirations of our beneficiaries. Rooted in the ideal of "compassion in action", we serve others with joy and determination by cultivating altruism in our hearts and actions. We provide vulnerable and disadvantaged populations access to health care, education and vocational training, clean water, solar electricity, and other sustainable solutions that offer options to find a livelihood and a better life. We work with a grassroots network of local partners, and give special attention to the education and empowerment of girls and women. Karuna-Shechen's name expresses its mission while paying homage to its roots: Karuna means "compassion" in Sanskrit, and Shechen is the name of a major monastery in Tibet.

Founded in 2004 by a group of young professionals who believed people can make a difference, HandsOn Shanghai is an officially registered non-profit organization with the Shanghai Civil Affair Bureau since 2010. Governed by a board of 11 members, the HandsOn Shanghai volunteer platform helps to bridge the divide that exists between individuals who are looking to give back to their community and the organizations that would benefit from the support that volunteers can provide. With a primary objective of providing flexible volunteer opportunities for busy professionals and serving local charities in needs, HOS manages a big group of volunteers and a diverse range of community service projects in Shanghai Currently we engage more than 2500 volunteers each month through more than 150 local service projects. Projects that benefit the young and old through long term, committed, partnerships with more than 75 project partners. With our mission is to promote volunteerism, inspire, equip and mobilize people to take action that changes the world, we envision a world in which individuals, students, and corporate leaders are able to discover (and harness) their power to make a difference, participate as volunteers, and participants in the development of healthy, vibrant, and resilient communities.

The Homeless Garden Project provides job training, transitional employment and support services to people who are homeless. HGP's vibrant education and volunteer program for the broad community blends formal, experiential and service-learning. The programs take place in our 3-acre organic farm and related enterprises. Our Mission: In the soil of our urban farm and garden, people find the tools they need to build a home in the world. Our Vision: We envision a thriving and inclusive community, workforce, and local food system. We value: The capacity of every individual for growth and renewal. The joy that comes from growing and sharing healthy food. The well-being created by vibrant social and natural ecosystems.

The Center for Renewable Energy and Appropriate Technology for the Environment (CREATE!) was established in 2008 to help rural populations in the developing world prepare for water, food, and fuel shortages resulting from the impact of climate change on their communities. CREATE! operates on the principle that all people have a right to water, food, shelter, energy, and the means to earn a living. We work with village populations to meet these needs through a culturally respectful, participatory process grounded in our belief that people must have a stake in their development and contribute towards solving their own problems. The cooperative groups in our beneficiary villages have already demonstrated the validity of this approach. CREATE! currently operates in Senegal. Senegal is representative of many Sub-Saharan African countries that are hardest hit by the increasingly disastrous effects of global climate change. CREATE! responds to the inter-connected crises generated by climate change with strategies that decrease dependence on fossil fuels, conserve natural resources, and increase the use of appropriate technologies. Our programs produce sustainable, human needs-based development at the village level while forging resilient and vibrant communities across rural Senegal. CREATE! seeks to face these challenges and assist rural Senegalese residents with small-scale, accessible, and "appropriate" technologies - technologies that are adapted to, and fit, their local conditions - and with human needs-based strategies that can both better their lives and build their capacity to meet these inter-connected challenges. CREATE! works in six villages in two regions of Senegal. One region is in the rural north of Senegal, centered around Linguere in the Louga Region, where CREATE! implements programs in the village of Ouarkhokh. The other region is in the central-west of Senegal, centered around Gossas in the Fatick Region. CREATE! implements program activities in five villages in this region. The total beneficiary population of the six villages is approximately 12,000 people, comprised of both agricultural and pastoral peoples. The average per capita annual income of the population in these villages is approximately $350 a year. In each of these villages, CREATE! staff work closely with local and traditional authorities, including village chiefs and imams, in addition to other community leaders, families, and public schools. CREATE! values the expertise and input of community members and strives to incorporate their knowledge and participation into each stage of our programs. As a registered NGO in Senegal, CREATE! works with government officials from the regional office of the Department of Water and Forestry. CREATE! also respects the Senegalese government's strategic development goals for rural communities. Although CREATE!'s administrative office is located in the United States, CREATE! relies on local Senegalese staff and volunteers to plan and implement successful development interventions. Barry Wheeler, CREATE! Founder and Executive Director, has spent the past 27 years working to alleviate suffering and to provide basic human needs for rural villagers, displaced persons, and refugees in several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. After serving in the Peace Corps for six years as an Improved Cook Stove and Appropriate Technology volunteer, trainer, and technical advisor in Togo, Barry earned a Master's degree in International Agriculture and Rural Development from Cornell University. Barry has served as Country Director for the American Refugee Committee's programs in Uganda, Sudan, and Rwanda; as a consultant for UNICEF and UNHCR; and as a team leader and training coordinator in local capacity building, renewable and appropriate technology, and sustainable rural development. CREATE! Chief Operations Officer Louise Ruhr has more than 30 years of private sector and nonprofit management experience and has spent the past eight years working with international NGOs, including the American Refugee Committee, to support women's cooperative groups in Rwanda and Senegal. CREATE! Country Director Omar Ndiaye Seck oversees program activities and conducts site visits in CREATE! communities. He also manages CREATE!'s finances and staff in Senegal. Omar closely collaborates with local and traditional authorities, community volunteers, and CREATE! staff to achieve both organizational and village goals.

Keep Massachusetts Beautiful brings volunteers, local government, and the business community together to improve the appearance and vitality of Massachusetts communities. We believe that litter, illegal dumpsites, graffiti, and vacant lots not only hurt property values and discourage economic development, but also reduce a community's collective self-esteem. But it doesn't have to be that way. Residents can take ownership of the appearance of their neighborhoods and communities. They just need a little help, and that's where Keep Massachusetts Beautiful can help. We teach local volunteer leaders how to collaborate with local government and business leaders to achieve significant and lasting improvements. We focus on three core impact areas in order to improve the appearance of local communities and change behaviors: Litter prevention and cleanup: Understand who and what is causing litter and organize volunteer and government resources to clean it up. Beautification and community greening: Improving public spaces with landscaping projects, tree planting, and other infrastructure improvements helps build community pride and spurs local economic activity. Recycling and Waste Reduction: Effective recycling programs reduce the volume of trash that ends up in landfills, in our waterways, and as litter. We cover the entire state of Massachusetts and are working to grow our network of certified affiliates among the state's 351 towns and cities.

Our mission is to promote sustainable village development in partnership with Cambodian people by helping to provide clean water, sanitation, educational opportunities, health care from birth onwards, improved nutrition, and economic empowerment. We work to increase awareness of environmental and social responsibility within families and communities by helping provide the necessary tools for villagers to improve their quality of life; feel pride and reach their highest potential. It is the fervent hope of the Cambodian Community Dream Organization to provide the following C - Commitment to access free quality education for all children C - Community involvement and honesty in all that we do D - Development of culture and living environment O - Opportunity to live a better life, breaking free of the poverty cycle

Hidden Villa was founded by Frank and Josephine Duveneck, who purchased the land in 1924 and offered it as a gathering place for discussion, reflection, and incubation of social reform. Over the following decades, the Duvenecks established the first Hostel on the Pacific Coast (1937), the first residential multiracial summer camp (1945), and Hidden Villa’s Environmental Education Program (1970). The Trust for Hidden Villa was established as an educational nonprofit in 1960. Today this 1600 acre community gem, in Los Altos Hills, provides opportunities to learn about the world around us and each other, participate in sustainable food systems, and develop the next generation of green educators, innovative farmers, and thoughtful leaders. Hidden Villa's mission is to inspire a just and sustainable future through our programs, land, and legacy.

Lifeline Energy is a non-profit social enterprise that provides sustainable information and education access to vulnerable populations. We achieve this by designing, manufacturing and distributing solar and wind-up media players and radios for classroom and group listening. Since 1999, we have distributed more than 500,000 power independent radios to provide on-demand access to information and education, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the years we have received numerous awards including the Tech Museum of Innovation Award, a World Bank Development Marketplace Award and an Index: Design to Improve Life Award. In addition, our founder and CEO Kristine Pearson was named one of TIME magazine's Heroes of the Environment for 2007 and received the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award in 2005.

OUR MISSION: Uniting People with Opportunities. The United Planning Organization, the designated community action agency for Washington, DC, was established December 10, 1962 to plan, coordinate, and implement human services programs for low-income residents in the Nation's Capital. For over 50 years, UPO has been in the forefront of the war on poverty. As the catalyst for economic security and growth for all Washington, DC residents, UPO has laid the groundwork for innovative social service programs such as weatherization and energy conservation services, Head Start, workforce development training and youth development. Today, UPO continues to provide residents with comprehensive resources for early childhood education; youth development; employment and training; family and community services; case management and referrals to other supportive services.

Our mission is to conserve, protect and restore North America's coldwater fisheries and their watersheds. TU is a national organization with about 300,000 members and supporters organized into over 400 chapters and councils from Maine to Montana to Alaska. This dedicated grassroots army is matched by a respected staff of lawyers, policy experts and scientists, who work out of more than 30 offices nationwide. These conservation professionals ensure that TU is at the forefront of fisheries restoration work at the local, state and national levels. The organization remains committed to applying "the very best information and thinking available" in its conservation work and has developed cutting-edge tools such as the Conservation Success Index (CSI), a sophisticated framework for assessing the health of coldwater fish species throughout their native range. The CSI enables TU to measure its progress in achieving the bold goals laid out in its mission and vision. These goals require the organization to work at increasingly larger scales, and to collaborate with other conservation interests, local communities and state and federal partners to begin to rebuild the natural resiliency of watersheds. Such efforts are crucial if North America's trout and salmon are to survive climate change and the host of threats facing them at the start of the 21st century. Nearly 50 years after its founding, no other conservation organization is as well placed as TU to make a difference for the nation's coldwater fisheries.

We're engaging communities worldwide in charting a sustainable future - for all of us! With inclusive participation our goal and mapmaking our medium, Green Map System empowers a diverse global movement that promotes local green living, natural, cultural and social resources. Today, in 1,000 cities, villages and neighborhoods in 65 countries, Green Maps are guiding millions to make climate-smart everyday decisions that promote the uniqueness of home and protect the species that share it with us. Working collaboratively since 1995, we expand the demand for healthier, more vibrant communities with our adaptable mapmaking tools and universal icons, multi-lingual participatory websites, workshops and regional hubs. Transforming local information into global interaction, our interactive Open Green Map platform invites the public to enhance the maps as well as explore them.

Core Value: Justice Bountiful Cities is committed to promoting an environment of equitable Social Justice by honoring and practicing cooperation and mutual respect, promoting jobs in urban agriculture that support a profitable living, promoting access to healthy food for people of all economic means while working to protect and improve environmental health for soil, water, air and community. Core Value:Community Healthy communities consist of shared and diverse cultures, cooperation, safety, support, health, respect, trust, self-reliance, and love within and among individuals, families, and groups. Bountiful Cities is committed to fostering healthy human relationships by nurturing these community values. Core Value: Education Education is a lifelong process involving the shared exchange of knowledge and experience. Bountiful Cities is committed to supporting this shared exchange by role modeling and providing inspiring events, programming, and experiential education.