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The China California Heart Watch brings together experts from the United States, China, and around the world. Together, we use innovative and sustainable methods to combat the growing epidemic of heart disease in Yunnan Province, China. Our overarching mission is to serve the people of Yunnan through: (1) Training local healthcare professionals in the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of heart disease; (2) Improving access to high-quality healthcare and life-saving treatments; (3) Researching the epidemiology of heart disease, the effectiveness of our interventions, and other topics of critical value to rural Chinese populations. The activities of the China California Heart Watch generate no profits. We operate solely through the generosity and vision of our donors, foundations, and granting agencies. To learn more about our organization, we invite you to review our website and to get in touch with us directly.

Our mission is to educate and improve access to knowledge and know-how of producers that are part of eligible local organizations, while applying innovative methodologies for value-chain optimization. Our end-goal is 3-fold: (1) To reduce poverty and income inequality through sustainable, wealth-generating programs; (2) To enhance human capital to meet the needs of a competitive global market; (3) To increase private and non-for-profit sectors co-investments for shared-value creation. Our team has a strong experience in various sectors, such as the handicraft and coffee sectors; we also prioritize critical areas such as technology; brand, marketing & communications; and, leadership development & entreprenuerialship; to deliver long-lasting results within the area of influence, operating in Chiapas, with scaling opportunities in vulnerable regions with indigenous populations in Mexico and in Latin America.

PTV works to alleviate the suffering and health consequences of state-sponsored torture, and provides the supportive framework necessary to restore the well-being, identity, and dignity of survivors of torture. We accomplish our mission by providing medical, psychological, and case management services to survivors of torture and asylum seekers from all over the world. PTV's clients are victims of state-sponsored, paramilitary, or tribal violence whose only 'crime' was to belong to a particular tribe, clan, political party, social group, or religion. We also serve victims of female genital mutilation, rape, trafficking, and sexual preference persecution. As the only torture treatment program in the Greater Los Angeles, an area that is home to the largest population of refugees and asylum seekers in the United States, PTV serves clients come from 65 countries in Africa, Latin America, the Middle east, and Asia. 

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.

The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) is an umbrella policy & advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York. The NYIC serves one of the largest and most diverse newcomer populations in the United States. The multi-racial and multi-sector NYIC membership base includes grassroots and nonprofit community organizations, religious and academic institutions, labor unions, as well as legal and socioeconomic justice organizations. The NYIC not only establishes a forum for immigrant groups to voice their concerns, but also provides a platform for collective action to drive positive social change. Since its founding in 1987, the NYIC has evolved into a powerful voice of advocacy by spearheading innovative policies, promoting and protecting the rights of immigrant communities, improving newcomer access to services, developing leadership and capacity, expanding civic participation, and mobilizing member groups to respond to the fluctuating needs of immigrant communities.

Shirzanan works to expand access to sport for Muslim women and girls worldwide. We use sports and media to catalyze discussion and advancements in women's rights and gender equality. We produce and disseminate stories - particularly to populations whose governments limit free information and women's rights. Shirzanan is the Persian word for "female heroes" and an apt description of the Muslim female athletes who triumph over cultural, social and religious barriers to excel at sport. We promote them as role models who speak out and stand up against discrimination. To shape a positive narrative around Muslim females and counter stereotypes exacerbated by mainstream media, we train female journalists to cover female athletes and train female athletes as role models and advocates. We uphold the Olympic Charter's statement that "The practice of sport is a human right." Everyone deserves access to sport and its consequent health, academic, economic, social and gender equality.

Vaga Lume Association is a Brazilian non-profit organization founded in 2001 grounded in the belief that investing in people is the best way to transform a reality. Its mission is to create opportunities for cultural exchange by reading, writing and orality, valuing the empowerment of people and rural communities of the Brazilian Legal Amazon region. Vaga Lume works in 160 rural communities (indigenous, riverside, roadside, rural settlement people or quilombolas - Brazilian with African descent) of 23 municipalities in the Brazilian Legal Amazon region, which encompasses nine federal states (Acre, Amapa, Amazonas, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Para, Rondonia, Roraima and Tocantins), occupies 59% of the Brazilian territory and has 20 million people (12% of the Brazilian population). Despite the fact that education and culture are basic social rights, protected by the Brazilian Constitution and under human rights international treaties ratified by Brazil, its access and implementation in the Amazon region are very limited. It is one of the poverty zones in Brazil - with a GDP per capita 30% lower than the national value - where 42% of the population survives with less than US$ 5.00 a day. Due to the outstanding impact of Vaga Lume's work in the region, the organization is recognized by many international and national awards such as the Juscelino Kubitschek Award of Merit for Regional Development in Latin America and the Caribbean given by the Inter-American Development Bank (2009); the Millennium Development Goals Award, conferred by the United Nations and the Brazilian government (2005); the Vivaleitura Award, from the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education (2008); and the Chico Mendes Environment Award, given by the Ministry of Environment (2006 and 2008). In 2011, Vaga Lume received its most important recognition: the 4th place at the Intercultural Innovation Award, conferred by United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group. As an awardee, in 2012, Vaga Lume was welcomed to the World Intercultural Facility for Innovation (WIFI), a network formed by the UNAOC, the BMW Group and the ten 2011 winners. Through this network, the UNAOC and the BMW Group challenged all winners to replicate and scale up their actions to promote intercultural dialogue and offered training, consultancy and institutional support to assist organizations to accomplish such results.

Empowering immigrants and others to become self-sufficient, productive and civically engaged. Hispanic Unity of Florida, Inc. (HUF) was founded 34 years ago, in 1982, by community leaders who recognized south Florida's growing role as a haven for immigrants and refugees. HUF is the largest 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization in Broward County dedicated to serving the immigrant population by fulfilling its mission of "Empowering Immigrants and others to become self-sufficient, productive and civically engaged". HUF's goal is to ease immigrants' acculturation transition by providing skills, services and tools to help them build their new lives in their adopted country. Recognizing that focusing on and providing coaching on an individual basis is more likely to achieve educational and economic success, HUF offers a one-stop, integrated and multiservice approach designed to serve entire families and meet their evolving needs as they build new lives. Annually, we serve 17,000 diverse and multicultural clients from the United States and from more than 25 other countries.

Our mission is to promote dignity, community, and self-sufficiency by working with marginalized populations in rural Honduras on a long-term basis, facilitating access to health care, education, and livable wages. Our comprehensive approach to grassroots community development promotes local traditions, encourages community leadership, and emphasizes collective ownership. Un Mundo seeks to improve the present and future socio-economic conditions and the quality of life of the families in rural Honduras who are living in extreme poverty by providing them with tools and resources to be self-sufficient and unified. Our work began from spontaneous relief actions after Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras in 1998, and we grew to gain 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in 2001. Initially, the organization was sustained by the generosity of international volunteers, but we have gradually evolved such that more and more of our project work is managed by local Honduran leaders. Within a few years, we expect that we will be able to realize our vision of seeing equitable, fruitful, life-giving projects in the Cangrejal River Valley being 100% run by the local communities.

About Us: Our Bridgeport club was founded in 1992, and is part of Soroptimist International of the Americas which was founded in 1921. Soroptimist is an international volunteer organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world. A 501(c)(3) organization, Soroptimist relies on charitable contributions to fund its programs. Local members join with almost 100,000 Soroptimists in more than120 countries and territories to contribute time and financial support to community-based projects benefiting women. Soroptimist International has consultative status with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council, which oversees U.N. activities promoting human rights. In addition to sponsoring the awards programs, our club has participated in community programs focused on various health and human service issues for women and girls, such as the Center for Women and Families, Mi Casa/My Home, Women and Men’s Health Project, Project Courage, and Local Soup Kitchens. For more information about our mission and programs, please visit our website www.soroptimist.org

More than 70 years after the Holocaust, genocide and other violent atrocities remain a threat to global peace and security. Since 2008, the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities (AIPG) has worked to build a world that resists and prevents genocide, driven by the knowledge that governments and individuals can act to save lives before, during, and after the outbreak of mass violence, but that doing so requires training, technical know-how, resources, and a commitment to action among multiple stakeholders. We pursue a world where never again are people targeted for violence and death due to their identity. AIPG’s core programming trains, equips, and empowers government officials and community leaders with the tools to confront the risk factors and warning signs of violence based on identity-- an approach that no other organization takes. Our growing network of international alumni form a global architecture that is leading nations in preventing, responding to, and recovering from identity-based violence. We also facilitate the creation of regional and international cooperation networks to promote a multilateral approach to protecting vulnerable populations, strengthening democracy, and preventing mass atrocities.

Founded in 1902, the mission of the SPCA of Tompkins County is to protect companion animals. We are the first open-admission, no-kill shelter in the country dedicated to preventing animal cruelty and overpopulation. not only do we steward animals, but the environment as well. our “green” shelter, known as the Dorothy and Roy Park Pet Adoption Center, was LEED- Certified Silver in 2004—the first shelter to achieve this status in the united States. our best practices in shelter operations and programs serve as effective examples for other shelters across the country striving to achieve no-kill status. We strive to foster a community in which the need for sheltering abandoned, neglected and homeless and abused animals is diminished; and we work ceaselessly to place medically and behaviorally healthy, treatable or manageable animals in loving homes. We provide leadership in cruelty investigation initiatives, educational outreach, and pet population control. We promote responsible pet stewardship by providing behavioral issues-counseling as needed for adopted animals and their owners, as well as behavior training for shelter dogs to increase adoption rates and ultimately nurture and enhance the human-animal bond.