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Hearts of Epilepsy Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing effective tools and programs to improve the quality of life for children and families living with epilepsy. As your Advocate, we developed a deep appreciation for the need for further ongoing collaboration to address epilepsy and specific needs within our community. We've learned that many who are living with epilepsy, lives are impacted by various aspects; involving the fear of seizures, the dangerous side effects, which can lead a person to abandon normal activities; such as, cooking, cleaning, or pursuing long-term goals. Use of life-management, such as living day-to-day life is always a journey. Learning to live a normal life with epilepsy can be a struggle, but with the right treatments and care, it doesn't have to control your life. Epilepsy affects more than three million Americans directly, and sixty-five million worldwide.

Sarah’s Circle provides a full continuum of services for women, including housing, life necessities, and supportive services, to help them permanently end their homelessness. In 1979, three women in the Uptown neighborhood saw the plight of women who were homeless. They were often cold and seeking shelter, hungry, highly vulnerable, and alone. Sarah’s Circle was started with compassion and spirit of service, and our agency continues to be a safe, welcoming place for women experiencing homelessness. With our resources and services, women are able to access shelter, food, showers, community, and more. From our humble beginning, Sarah’s Circle has grown to become an agency providing a full continuum of services, but our purpose remains the same. We serve women who are homeless, with a focus on transitioning women from homelessness into permanent housing. After over 40 years of service, Sarah’s Circle is still growing to meet the needs of women. With the continued loss of affordable housing in our communities, over 2,000 women in Chicago will be homeless tonight. Sarah’s Circle is increasingly focused on permanent supportive housing solutions for these women. Sarah’s Circle is working to meet this challenge with a new facility, Sarah’s on Sheridan. In this new location, Sarah’s Circle provides 38 units of Permanent Supportive Housing, more program space and an Interim Housing Program. Sarah’s Circle is dedicated to providing permanent housing solutions for women in Chicago. The work we do 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, could not happen without the steadfast support of our donors and volunteers. Our supporters play a key role in providing the meals, community structure, and life necessities that make Sarah’s Circle a home for hundreds of women throughout the year. It is with your help that we will continue to end homelessness for women in Chicago. Sarah’s Circle serves all women and those who identify as women (trans women). We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, military and veteran status or disability.

Hope Health Action is a Christian charity passionate about facilitating sustainable, life-saving health and disability care to the world's most vulnerable, without any discrimination. We seek to put the call of Jesus into reality, loving others, as we would wish to be loved ourselves; bringing hope, health and action to the world's poorest. We equip local health systems in the most fragile states, empowering national staff and facilities to fulfill their vision, ensuring the world's poorest receive accessible, dignified and compassionate healthcare.

PLAY International is a charity founded in 1999 on a conviction: sport is a source of solutions to our societal challenges. Its mission is to cocreate and implement education and inclusion projects for children and youth in vulnerable situations, using sport and sport games as educational tools. The NGO works in particular on issues such as access to and retention in school, gender equalitý, community reconciliation, health prevention, environmental education, living together, changing the way we look at disability... Since its creation, it has implemented educational and humanitarian projects, in France and internationally in 20 countries, for the benefit of nearly one million children.

Charity Centre for Children and Youth Development exists to supporting HIV/AIDS education, Persons living with disabilities, orphans and vulnerable children, youth and women in Solwezi district of Zambia by providing them with, educational support (provision of school requisites and literacy materials), health and life skills and vocational Training. These enables disadvantaged members of our society live life of independence and contribute to the national economy. We envision a society that will work towards eradication of vulnerability and illiteracy among Orphans and vulnerable children, youths and women. The Organization's mission is to promote and enhance the capabilities of children, youth and women in Solwezi district and beyond to effect positive social change that would necessitate the development of their lives, communities and the nation at large.

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.

Gruppo Aleimar is a non-profit voluntary organization that deals with children and families in need both in Italy and abroad, through the Distance Support, projects of development and awareness-raising and human development activities on the Italian territory. The main areas of our development projects are: 1. Education: taking charge of children in family (natural or adoptive), in foster homes and shelters, schooling and vocational training. 2. Health and hygiene awareness: support to clinics and / or hospitals, funding of surgical operations, seminars for young mothers. 3. Women promotion: start-up of agriculture and livestock, creation of production cooperatives, micro-credit financing. 4. Rural villages' development: water well, kindergarten, solar energy for light and water pumps. 5. Women' refuge and social housing for families in temporary need. The Aleimar Group is active today in 12 countries (Benin, Brazil, Colombia, D.R. Congo, Eritrea, India, Italy, Malawi, Palestine, Kenya, Lebanon, Zambia) with more than 50 projects and takes care directly of 600 children (what we call distance support) and, indirectly, of other 2,500 children that we follow within our projects. The Group comprises Aleimar for overseas project; Tuendelee for Italian projects and Prema, a cooperative for mentally disabled youth. The Group hires five people and relays on the voluntary service of 140 people. Its annual turnover is abt.1,2 million euro and overhead cost is less than 10%. Its balance sheet is checked and approved by internal auditors. We have been granted a seal of quality "Donare con fiducia" by the Istituto Italiano Donazione. Its web sites are: www.aleimar.it and www.tuendelee.net. In 30 years of activity the Group has helped more than 10.000 children/families, has built more than 100 foster homes, orphanages, schools and water wells.

Village Health Partnership (VHP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that works for safer motherhood in rural Ethiopia. VHP's mission is to prevent maternal and neonatal death in childbirth, and to treat and prevent gynecologic complications of childbirth. To achieve this mission, programs are focused on healthcare, capacity building, and education and training. To demonstrate how VHP works to accomplish its mission, our three-prong approach to maternal health needs in Ethiopia is discussed below. Healthcare: Encouraging women to seek treatment is vital to overcoming barriers to safer motherhood. In rural Ethiopia 78% of women do not seek medical care during pregnancy or for delivery because of local customs, fear of the outside world, and challenges faced when traveling to reach medical facilities. Unfortunately, when women in Ethiopia do not receive proper medical care during pregnancy and childbirth, they have a 50% chance of developing a debilitating and sometimes deadly complication. The Screen, Transport and Treat (STT) Program aims to reduce or remove all three barriers to maternal health that involve the decision to seek medical care, the ability to reach medical facilities, and the ability to receive adequate treatment.Through the STT Program, our partners travel to rural communities where they identify women suffering from these complications and arrange for transportation to the nearest health facility where they undergo surgical treatment. Capacity Building: As VHP's treatment efforts grow, further expansion of the Screen, Transport, and Treat Program is challenged by the marginal capacity to treat in the health facilities in which we work. In general, medical facilities in rural communities have limited infrastructure, resources, and ability to provide basic maternal health care. VHP works with rural health facilities and district hospitals to increase capacity with the following: - Access to reliable, consistent sources of water - Concrete pit latrines - Hand washing stations and soap - Fenced biohazard areas with placenta pit and incinerator - Maternity waiting areas that include: - Kitchen - Pit latrine/shower - Tap - Light in labor and delivery - Implementation of the Clean and Safe Healthcare Initiative (CASH) Education and Training As the demand for maternal healthcare rises, so too does the need for trained professionals. In Ethiopia, there is only one physician trained in obstetrics and gynecology for every 1.8 million people. In remote health centers and hospitals, nurses, nurse-midwives, and health officers deliver babies. These medical providers are also in short supply and often inadequately trained. In 2016 VHP beta tested a model for educating all health center providers in neonatal resuscitation and obstetric care. With permission from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), VHP is the first and only organization to translate the Helping Babies Breathe curriculum into Amharic, the Ethiopian national language. We then trained 78 rural healthcare providers in this program. VHP has since expanded the education and training programs to include: 1. Skill building for rural health care providers 2. Basic Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care training for nurse-midwives practicing in the field 3. Scholarship program for village women who wish to become nurse-midwives VHP training programs aim to build a strong and confident rural work force that is fully equipped to provide skilled assistance at the time of delivery. Further, VHP focuses on training students to become trainers themselves to make this effort more sustainable.

Kenya Keys unlocks the potential of students in impoverished Kenyan communities, raising awareness and bridging cultures to provide education, mentorship, leadership development and girl empowerment opportunities. In the rural Kinango District of Kenya there are many obstacles to education, but there is one organization working hard to remove those barriers for as many young Kenyans as possible. That group is Kenya Keys and its purpose is to unlock the enormous potential of young people in Kenya. Kenya Keys is a vibrant demonstration that one person really can make a big difference. In June 2005, Rinda Hayes and her daughter traveled to the remote village of Bahakwenu in the impoverished Kinango District in Kenya. Rinda was stunned by the extreme poverty she found in Bahakwenu. She was also inspired by the tenacity of the children in the village, who longed to get an education. She had never observed such a single-minded desire to learn. Perhaps no Kenyan impressed Rinda more than Joseph Mwengea, the Headmaster of Bahakwenu Primary School. Joseph is an intelligent and driven man and a determined advocate for his students. As he and Rinda met together during her first visit to his village, he pleaded with her to help him help the students of Bahakwenu. He watched bright and capable students leave primary school with little or no hope of attending secondary school due to their inability to pay the required fees. After her visit, Rinda was determined to share her stories of this community and the people who had so impressed her with her friends in the United States. She believed she could find caring American individuals and families that would be able to provide financial support for top Kenyan students, enabling these students to complete a secondary education. The Kenya Keys sponsorship program began with 14 students. Five years later it became the nonprofit organization of Kenya Keys. Kenya Keys has supported hundreds of students - to secondary school and now into college and university. And that's not all. Kenya Keys' work has expanded to include multiple worthwhile related programs. Kenya Keys works with local communities to improve educational infrastructure and resources, such as libraries, dormitories, classrooms, desks, and more. The Kenya Keys Boards of Directors (one in the U.S. and one in Kenya) also provide financial and other support to grassroots organizations run by local Kenyan community leaders and councils. Each of these components of Kenya Keys' efforts in rural Kenya is described more fully in the following section. Everything Kenya Keys does is guided by its founding principles: First, education is the primary key to unlocking potential, both for the individual and for the community. Second, cultural awareness and exchange is vital and enriching for all participants. We live in an increasingly connected world, and exposure to new cultures and ideas is key to creating understanding and appreciation for one's own culture and for the cultures of others. Third, opportunities, not handouts, are what make a lasting difference. There should be no giving of things that run out or wear out. Giving such things only increases dependency, invites discontent, and isolates the givers from the receivers. Instead, giving should empower the receiver and provide an enduring benefit. Fourth: volunteerism is fundamental to the success of an organization. Nonprofit groups run by volunteers remain strong and dynamic. Volunteerism also connects global citizens in a meaningful way. Fifth, education provides the best defense against the ranges of poverty and hopelessness, and is the greatest catalyst for change and growth. Sixth, all critical decisions should be made by local leaders and councils. Local leaders and community members know their own needs and circumstances far better than any outsider, however well-intentioned. Allowing local people to make key decisions gives them vital ownership and accountability. It also provides the opportunity for these individuals to develop crucial leadership skills. Kenyans will always find the best solutions to the deep-seated challenges in their communities. Finally, education and the development of leadership skills in today's youth is critical to building the future leaders of Kenya.

femLENS' mission is to visually educate and make technologically aware the most vulnerable and resourceless women of our society through documentary photography made accessible by mobile phone cameras and cheaper point and shoot cameras.

MY Project USA aims to protect and empower American youth. It is committed to address the issues including drugs, gangs, sex-trafficking, bullying, drinking, violence, radicalization and others that are faced by our youth in contemporary American society. It also aims to empower the youth by creating opportunities for them to become productive citizens and strong community leaders of the United States of America.

Their primary purpose is to: Foster principles of equal rights/opportunities ​Promote awareness of African American culture Provide a forum for Black women to address educational, political, social and health-related issues​ Develop the potential for effective leadership and participation of its members in civic affairs Cooperate with other organizations to achieve common goals