Category: charity

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FDR asked singer Eddie Cantor…

FDR asked singer Eddie Cantor if he could get a million people to send in a dollar to support polio research. He replied that it would be easier to ask for dimes. By the end of the month, the White House had received 2.68 million dimes ($268k) and the March of Dimes began.

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Manny Pacquiao Used $1.5 Million to Build 1,000 Homes for the Poor

If you’ve watched Manny Pacquiao in the ring, then you know he has fists of fury and is one of the best boxers we’ve seen in the last several years. In other words, he’s a total badass.

Posted by Manny Pacquiao on Sunday, July 28, 2019

But Pacquiao’s bad-assery extends beyond the ring, as well. He’s never forgotten where he came from, having grown up in poverty in the Sarangani Province of the Philippines. Pacquiao grew up in a cardboard shack with his family, and they sometimes didn’t have any food to eat. The future boxing great left home at the age of 15 and survived on the mean streets of Manila.

Now, Pacquiao is generally regarded as one of the sport’s greats, and he also serves as a senator in his native country. He also works to give back to those who are less fortunate. Pacquiao said, “I feel what they’re feeling because I’ve been there. I’ve slept in the street. That was my life before. So hard. That’s why I feel what they’re feeling right now.”

Eye of the Tiger

Posted by Manny Pacquiao on Wednesday, November 20, 2019

So Pacquiao did something about it: he built 1,000 houses for needy Filipinos. He bought the lots, built the homes, and then gave them away. The cost for the folks who received them: FREE.

He said, “I’m so happy giving these houses free to my constituents in Sarangani Province from my own pocket more than a thousand families are the beneficiaries.”

Altogether, the beloved boxing champ has given away about $200 million to fund projects to help the needy. Pacquiao said, “Every income I receive in boxing, almost half of it goes to the less fortunate. After each fight, half of my income goes to the poor. But I don’t like to announce it.”

A great man, and a great example.

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Jon Bon Jovi Has Two Restaurants Where People in Need Can Eat for Free

I grew up in the 1980s and was fully on-board with the music of the time, and Bon Jovi was always one of my favorite bands. Also, Jon Bon Jovi himself just always seemed like a really genuine, nice guy compared to a lot of other rock stars.

It turns out my feeling was right on the money.

In addition to his incredibly successful music career, Bon Jovi started the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation to help fight poverty and homelessness. As part of his initiative, he’s opened two restaurants in his native New Jersey called JBJ Soul Kitchen where needy people can eat for free, one in Red Bank and one in Toms River. The project was actually the brainchild of Bon Jovi’s wife, Dorothea Hurley.

There are no menu prices at JBJ Soul Kitchen, but patrons who can pay are encouraged to donate $20 and those who don’t have enough money are urged to volunteer at the restaurant.

The two restaurants have already served more than 100,000 people, and, according to their website, 54% of people paid for their meals and 46% volunteered in order to eat a meal. Reservations are not required, but those who are in need are given first priority. The meals consist of three courses, are nutritious and contain vegetables grown in the restaurant’s gardens.

Bon Jovi’s foundation also focuses on providing housing to those in need, including veterans.

What the heck, let’s end with a classic Bon Jovi tune, shall we?

Great work, Mr. Bon Jovi! Keep it up!

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Jeff Bezos Just Gave $98.5 Million to Help the Homeless

Jeff Bezos is the man behind Amazon, and he’s also the richest person in the world (he and Bill Gates go back and forth). Now, he’s trying to do his part to help those who are less fortunate, specifically the homeless population of America.

Bezos recently donated $98.5 million to 32 organizations in 23 U.S. states to help out homeless families. The donations to the different organizations range from $1.25 million to $5 million.

The businessman started his Bezos Day One Fund in September 2018 and has pledged that he will give $2 billion to the fund. His charity is focused on two different areas: helping out organizations that feed homeless families, and helping to establish Montessori-inspired preschools across the United States.

In 2018, Bezos donated $97.5 million to 24 organizations fighting homeless in 16 states across the U.S.

Here is the full list of organizations across the country that received donations in 2019.

Bethany House Services, Cincinnati, OH • $1.25 million
Catholic Charities Eastern Washington, Spokane, WA • $5 million
Catholic Social Services Alaska, Anchorage, AK • $5 million
Coburn Place, Indianapolis, IN • $1.25 million
Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, Hartford, CT • $2.5 million
Covenant House, New York, NY • $5 million
Family Gateway, Dallas, TX • $2.75 million
FamilyAid Boston, Boston, MA • $5 million
ForKids, Norfolk, VA • $2.5 million
Goodwill Industries of Northern Michigan, Traverse City, MI • $1.25 million
Great Lakes Community Action Partnership, Fremont, OH • $1.25 million
Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, Orlando, FL • $5.25 million
HOPE Services Hawaii, Hilo, HI • $2.75 million
HopeWorks, Albuquerque, NM • $2.5 million
Interim Community Development Association, Seattle, WA • $2.5 million
Lafayette Transitional Housing Center, Lafayette, IN • $1.25 million
Mary’s Place Seattle, Seattle, WA • $5 million
MIFA, Memphis, TN • $5 million
Our Family Services, Tucson, AZ • $2.5 million
Pathways of Hope, Fullerton, CA • $2.5 million
St. Joseph Center, Venice, CA • $5 million
St. Joseph’s Villa, Richmond, VA $1.25 million
St. Stephen’s Human Services, Minneapolis, MN • $5 million
St. Vincent de Paul, Baltimore, MD • $5 million
The Road Home, Salt Lake City, UT • $5 million
The Road Home Dane County, Madison, WI • $1.25 million
The Whole Child, Whittier, CA • $5 million
UNITY Of Greater New Orleans, New Orleans, LA • $2.5 million
Upward Bound House, Santa Monica, CA • $1.25 million
Welcome House of Northern Kentucky, Covington, KY • $1.25 million
West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, Bridgeport, WV • $1.5 million
YWCA Columbus, Columbus, OH • $2.5 million

I’d say that’s a pretty generous move, wouldn’t you?

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Michael Jordan Opens a Clinic for Patients with Little or No Health Insurance in North Carolina

Some call Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player of all time, and while he still remains in the game as owner of the Charlotte Hornets, he has also shifted his focus to helping out the needy in North Carolina.

Jordan recently opened the first of two clinics that he funded in Charlotte. The Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic will serve the Charlotte community and will help uninsured and underinsured residents.

Jordan became emotional at the opening of the facility, saying, “As you can see, it’s a very emotional thing for me to be able to give back to a community that’s supported me over the years.”

‪“It’s not about the money. It’s not even about the name.” Michael Jordan at the opening of the @novanthealth Michael…

Posted by The Charlotte Post on Thursday, October 17, 2019

In 2017, Jordan committed to donating $7 million to open two clinics in Charlotte to provide healthcare to communities and people with little or no healthcare – and he followed through. The clinic will not only provide typical healthcare, but will assist patients with behavioral health and social services as well.

Carl Armato, President and CEO of Novant Health, said, “This clinic will not only provide access to medical care for those who need it most, but it will connect them to resources to ensure their health extends beyond the doctor’s office.”

Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic

#MichaelJordan stopped by our new Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic to get his #FluShot. ? We recommend everyone get their flu shot – and early! For more information about the clinic he made possible and its services, visit NHMichaelJordanClinic.org. #FluShotFriday

Posted by Novant Health Hemby Children's Hospital on Wednesday, October 23, 2019

The site of the first clinic was specifically chosen because the location is in a part of Charlotte that is shown to have a high need for medical care. Area residents were also given a voice in the planning; they were consulted at meetings and forums so that Novant could learn what residents were specifically looking for from a healthcare facility in their neighborhood.

Jordan added about opening the clinic, “I believe that your ZIP code or neighborhood should not determine the quality of your health care – or whether or not you can even get care at all.”

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A Famous 73-Year-Old YouTuber Who Made Massive Meals for Orphans Has Passed Away

This guy sounded like quite a human being.

The man behind the extremely popular YouTube channel Grandpa Kitchen has sadly passed away at the age of 73.

Narayana Reddy amassed a following of more than 6 million followers on YouTube with his cooking videos. In the videos, Reddy prepared enormous meals for orphans, making him a beloved hero in many circles.

Reddy was a 73-year-old grandfather whose generosity shone through in his how-to cooking tutorials, as he laid out how to make such dishes as pizza, lasagna, donuts, and many other meals. All the proceeds he received from his massively popular videos were donated to charities because Reddy truly tried to help the needy people in his community in India.

Reddy started the YouTube channel in 2017 and shot to incredible popularity in a short amount of time. On his Patreon page, Reddy wrote, ‘We entertain people by cooking food and donate the proceeds to charities. Our goal is to provide basic necessities like food, clothing, school supplies and birthday gifts to the orphans.”

Reddy’s grand-nephew talked about how the YouTube channel got started: “We used to have jobs in the city and would visit him during the holidays and he would always make big meals for us. We then got the idea that we should do the same for the community.” His grand-nephew added that his family will continue the elder Reddy’s work.

Here’s one of Reddy’s cooking tutorials that he became so well known for:

After Reddy’s passing, Grandpa Kitchen posted one final video tribute to the man who gave so much to so many:

He was a great man, and he will be missed by many.

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A Man Paid off the Entire School Lunch Debt for 400 Kids in His Town

Children should never go hungry in the United States, but the sad fact is that it happens every day to thousands and thousands of kids. And sometimes we forget there are actually things we can do to help – but there are.

Andrew Levy, a real estate agent in Jupiter, Florida, decided to take things into his own hands after he saw a list detailing the outstanding lunch debt owed by 400 kids in 9 schools in his area.

The debt totaled $944.34, which is not so much, all things considered. Levy decided to pay the entire debt off for the kids and their families.

One man in Jupiter, Florida, decided that he could make a difference in his town by paying off the lunch debt for every child in the system.

Posted by 5NEWS on Monday, October 14, 2019

A woman in Jupiter named Angie Vyas-Knight got the ball rolling when she shared a post on Facebook talking about the school lunch issue and how kids were going hungry. She then got the local stats from the Palm Beach County school board and compiled a list outlining the debts. This list eventually reached Andrew Levy, who said, “I thought that’s crazy. Food is something you shouldn’t have to think about. Children shouldn’t learn hungry.”

After he paid off the debt, Levy started thinking about the issue in a bigger context. Levy realized that many more kids in his area, not just in Jupiter, need help paying for their school lunches. In fact, students in Palm Beach County, a district with more than 180,000 students, currently have an outstanding lunch debt of $50,000 .

Levy said, “I’m going to do either a GoFundMe page or a fundraising page that can raise money every quarter, so lunch debt never accumulates so that children never have to worry about a hot meal and parents never have to worry about paying the bill.”

If you want to help out, visit the district’s website to get more information.

Unfortunately, this is a major issue that many school districts have to address. We can only hope that more people like Andrew Levy will step up to the plate to help out the kids in need.

It’s called thinking BIG!

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Ex-NFL Player Deangelo Williams Paid for 500 Mammograms to Honor His Mother Who Died from Breast Cancer

DeAngelo Williams retired from professional football a few years ago, but, by the looks of it, his work might just be getting started. The former running back for the Carolina Panthers and the Pittsburgh Steelers made news recently when he paid for 500 mammograms for women through his non-profit organization, the DeAngelo Williams Foundation.

Williams’ mother passed away five years ago from breast cancer, and since then the ex-NFL player has made it his mission to help women with mammogram screenings and other tests so they can hopefully catch any potential issues as early as possible.

Sandra Hill, Williams’ mother, was only 53 years old when she passed away in 2014. Williams also lost four of his aunts to breast cancer, all before they had reached 50 years of age. So for him, this work if incredibly important.

So far, Williams’ foundation has paid for 500 mammograms for women in Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Memphis, and Jonesboro, Arkansas. He said, “To be able to help all these women is amazing. This can be life-changing for these women. We are enabling them to get this care that no one should ever be denied or not have access to.”

Even though Williams has already done an amazing amount of work, he’s aiming much higher. He wants to host free mammogram screenings in all 50 states and expand the reach of his organization as far as is humanly possible.

Risalyn Williams, his wife and executive director of the foundation, said, “DeAngelo wants to ensure that no woman (or man) fights breast cancer alone.”

Keep up the excellent work, Mr. Williams!

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