In less than a minute, you can find out how a small donation can help the Somalian refugee crisis. Just watch the quick video below, or follow the links after.

This is a part of the Non-Profit Sundays series, here to make you aware of easy, low-cost ways to help people. If you can, I hope you’ll join with me in a small donation.

If you can’t, remember that you can use your own platform to spread awareness to others. Thank you for whatever you can do.

Resource Links:

• Get Your Blue Key for $5 and Raise Awareness.
• The article that provides the statistic in the video.
• An alternate place to donate (the Red Cross).

My dear friend, Jill Foster, of Live Your Talk wrote a blog post today called “1 minute video story: a refugee advocate, Africa, and $5”. In it she included the video below, in which I talk about how far $5 goes in other countries, naming things I discovered that I could do with $5 during my trip to West Africa this March.

Most of them actually happened, a couple are hypothetical but accurate, and I share them to illustrate a point I used to miss myself, quite often. That point is that as Americans, it may be hard for us to conceive that what seems like a small amount of money could help so much.

But as another intelligent peer of mine said on Twitter, “when many people do small deeds for the same cause it adds up quickly.”

Through The Blue Key Campaign, you can help refugees get life’s basic necessities by getting your own blue key, for just $5. Not $5 a month. Not $5 down. $5. And they’ll send you a pin or a pendant to help raise awareness about the cause.

From the Blue Key Website:

Right now, more than 43 million refugees are displaced by war, violence or persecution. That’s nearly the combined populations of New York and Texas. At UNHCR, more than 6,000 staffers around the world help open doors for refugees worldwide and have been doing so since 1951.

By getting your own Blue Key, you’ll tell them you support their life-saving work, and stand in solidarity with the other citizens, celebrities and world leaders who do so. Please join us today.

Get your own blue key today.

Picture is from Emergency in Somalia Collection on the USA for UNHCR Facebook Page. Click the picture to go there.

I started the Non-Profit Sundays series because I one day hope to become a great philanthropist. I figure, why wait? Is there a better time than now to start helping your neighbors, here or anywhere in the world?

This week, lost amid the disaster in Norway and the tragic death of Amy Winehouse, there was a story that hasn’t been reported as much, one that you can actually do something about. I don’t know about you, but I’m solution-oriented, so I like to hear about news stories on situations I can help change, even if it’s in a small way.

This is one of those.

Here’s the news, quoted from en email I got from USA for UNHCR ( you may have heard me talk about them before in regards to the Blue Key Campaign.)

As a result of famine and ongoing violence within Somalia, approximateky 3,000 refugees continue to stream into UNHCR camps in Kenya and Ethiopia every day.

They arrive exhausted, dehydrated and malnourished, with up to 50% of children suffering severe malnutrition. Many have walked for weeks to reach aid; the weakest children die along the way as their mothers watch helplessly.

They urgently need medicine, high-protein and high-energy food, clean water, shelter and other basic services. UNHCR has already airlifted 4,400 tents and rushed additional emergency staff to the camps to begin relief immediately. But we need your support to save more lives:

• $1,000 will provide shelter for up to 60 people.
• $500 will provide 25 families with kitchen sets containing a cooking pot, cup, table spoon, and deep plates.
• $100 will provide a refugee with a survival kit containing a blanket, a mattress, a kitchen set, a stove and soap.
• $50 will provide a therapeutic feeding kit to help feed five children.
• $45 per month will shelter a refugee family of five.

> Learn More about the Famine in Somalia
> Donate Now to Help Somali Children in Need

I know it’s hard to imagine that such a small amount of money could help so much. I certainly couldn’t live on $45, not in the United States. But when I was in Africa earlier this year, I lived – like a princess – on less than $100, not including housing. The only thing I wanted for was internet access, and that was an infrastructure/mobility issue, not one of access.

If you can spare it, please join me in donating to this cause. And remember that even $5 can change a life.

Non-Profit Sundays is a series I write to inform my fellow small to medium business owners of the different ways we can band together to make a positive impact on the world, whether we have the financial means or not.

Feel free to post any or all of this post to your own blog as long as all links remain intact. Links back to the individual posts are appreciated and reciprocated, but not required.

No One Should EVER Have Malaria – it is completely preventable and curable – and thank God, my mother is a nurse, so she spotted it quickly and got me medication. George Clooney and some other famous people have had it too.

So how did someone who was born an American get malaria? What is it like to have malaria? What can you do to stop malaria?

Read on.

From February 23rd to March 12th, I was in Lagos and nearby areas helping my sister, her two sets of twins, her husband and my mother move to their new overseas home. There is medication that cures malaria that can be taken in a smaller, preventative dose. It was our number one concern as we were traveling with my sisters four small children, her now 10 month old boy twins, and her 3 year old boy and girl twins.

Since my sister’s family was moving, there was a LOT Of baggage, some of them boxes, and several last minute changes concerning how much we could take, down to what could fit in the cars that were transporting us to the airport. Unbeknownst to us at the time, part of that confusion led to the loss of the preventative doses of malaria for all the children.

Upon our arrival, we were able to get more medication. There was enough for everyone but in the wait to obtain the medication, we all missed at least one dose. The house where we were staying hadn’t been occupied in some time, so there was intermittent power, and thus, no air conditioning. In the stifling heat, we had no choice but to crack open windows.

Despite our best efforts – pesticide spraying that my sister endured, even though she was allergic, Skin So Soft and Easy Off repellent, dressing the children in the proper covering – one of the 9 month olds still got malaria. One of us would have to give up their preventative dose for the baby to have a curative dose.

Of course I sacrificed mine, knowing that I’d be back in the States in less than a week even if the worse should happen.

By that evening, I had malaria. I’d had it before as a child, but my recollection of what it was like was very faint. This time it started with a nearly uncontrollable cough that had me gasping for oxygen. At times I felt fine, but moments later I would be completely weak and could barely move. It felt as if my life force had been co-opted and was slowly draining from my body.

My mother, thankfully, has been a nurse for four decades, and caught on to the symptoms by early morning, and sent someone to fetch a curative dose of the medication for me. Unfortuneately, I still couldn’t eat, and on top of that, the medication made me dizzy — and we later found out, reacted badly with the medication I’ve been taking for nerve damage.

Even with the cure, it’s a rough disease to recover from – it took weeks to get back to a regular schedule. And I’m still recovering from the impact the medication had on my existing health problem.

To this day, my own suffering is a sidebar.

It is a struggle to write about this through the tears that come with the memory of seeing my nephew suffer through this horrible disease. At least I could talk and ask for help. No child should ever feel the way I felt, ever.

And yet, every 30 seconds a child dies from this completely preventable disease.

I’m blessed to have been born to a privileged class both here in America, and to the African family I am descended from abroad. When in Lagos, I wanted for nothing once the power issue was resolved. When I was sick, the medication was provided, accessible and available, at what for us was a modest expense.

Most people are not so lucky.

You can help though, even if you can’t spare a dime to donate.

1- You Can Raise Awareness

• Add hashtag(s) #endmalaria, #malaria, #malariaday and/or #worldmalariaday to your tweets and the hastags will trigger the addition of  clickable mosquito icons to the tweet that will take you to hope140.org/endmalaria

The Case Foundation will be matching every ten dollar donation now through April 27 up to $25,000.

2- You Can Make a Donation

So what can Social Citizens do to show their support and become social media envoys among their own networks? Please visit hope140.org/endmalaria and:

• Tweet this message to make a $10 donation to Malaria No More: Every 30 seconds a child dies of malaria. Nets #endmalaria. So do retweets. RT2Give $10 http://rt2give.com/t/425 ( If you already have an account through Twitpay, you’ll receive a direct message from @Twitpay asking for confirmation. If you don’t have an account, @Twitpay will send you an @reply message with simple instructions on how to enroll).
• Text ‘NET’ to 85944 to make a $10 donation to Malaria No More. (A $10 donation will be charged to your mobile phone bill. Messaging and data rates may apply)

3- You Can Help People Get Mosquito Nets – Whether You Can Personally Donate or Not

4- You Can Volunteer Your Services or Labor

5- You Can Create an Event (Like a Fund-Raiser)

It was an honor and a blessing to be invited to go to the Google offices in Washington DC last Wednesday, to attend a presentation Google’s Non-Profit division was making. They were announcing the consolidation of many different non-profit tools they offer into an upgrade to the Google for Non-Profits site.

(You can also follow @googlenonprofit on Twitter, and the Google for Non-Profits YouTube channel is not to be missed.)

Highlights?

Several services available separately before are now bound together in one place, one program that can be applied for in one spot.

Apparently in response to some concerns various non-profits had about responsiveness, Google has promised to respond to nonprofit organizations who wish to sign up within 30 days.

If approved, nonprofits can get up to $10k per month in free AdWords advertising, as well as discounted use of Google Apps

There’s now a Google for Non-Profits marketplace where Google approved vendors are offering their services for free or at a discount to nonprofit organizations. It can be hard to find legitimate IT help that will work for less or for free, so this should help a great deal.

There were several Amazing product-demo-style presentations, sharing how various Google tools can be used to connect people to help in real-time during natural disasters, as well as how they are being utilized to give potential donors an immediate view of how their assistance can or will impact those they reach out to help.

Almost a week has passed since the announcement, but it was hard for me to figure out what to write, without simply repeating what has already been said.

Rohit already has a great summary on What You Should Know About Google For NonProfits, also offering “a few observations about the most interesting aspects of this program and how your nonprofit might best take advantage of it”, written before the day was even over.

Beth contributed fantastically detailed coverage of what was announced at the event.

Zachary gave a report at Mashable that added some journalistic depth on Google’s upgrade to its nonprofit digital tool set. Even Google has announced in cross-posted blog updates about the changes to the Google for Non-Profit program.

In the midst of this, what could I possibly have to add? A few blurry pictures and a proud announcement.

You see, this gathering was much more moving as well as informative than what you might normally term as a press conference. It was truly a meeting of many brilliant minds, and I left inspired, ready to make change in the world, or help make changes in the world.

My small part will be the re-opening of a series called Non-Profit Sundays, in which I would share ways even the most modest person or organization can reach out to those less fortunate, as well as make my own public pledge, asking others of like mind to match it if they can.

Isn’t it amazing that we live in a time where we even have enough to open our hands?

One final note: there was a huge need expressed by the non-profit community for a way to connect to each other via Google, to share techniques, information, resources and ideas. Not much has been written about it, and Google has more of a role in facilitating the tools of community, not the direct nurturing of the community itself.

Hopefully, there’s some solution between Google Moderator and Google Groups that can be provided to the Non-Profit community to make this happen. If not, or if further help is needed, perhaps we socially-inclined and web-literate entrepreneurs can find a way to connect to them via Google. I’ll be following up on this, so if you’re such a small business owner of a like mind, please respond in the comments or on Twitter.

Doesn’t it feel amazing to be a part of change?

Two pieces of news for you on this week.

First, if you were here earlier this week, you know that I was blogging on Thursday to raise awareness for how individuals and small businesses can help in the Katrina effort, and promised to archive the information I found at a new site and add to it. The new site is called Katrina Helpers, and provides information for how you can contribute a donation, time, housing, or resources. You’ll also find resources for people you may know personally who were affected by Hurricane Katrina.

I’m not personally accepting any donations for the site. AlphaOne-Tech.com is graciously hosting it for free, so my only job is to keep it updated. Thank you to those of you who expressed your interest. Please send those donations to a charity of your choosing instead.

Second, The Blog Relief Day I posted about that same day has extended into Blog Relief Weekend, according to Truth Laid Bear, so you can still participate.

And here’s a little about Non-Profit Sundays if you’re not a regular here ….

The idea of Non-Profit Sundays is that I talk about some charity I want to give exposure to, and to raise awareness among online entrepreneurs of organizations we can all give to online.

I do my best to find charities that will accept even the smallest donations, and that have other ways for you to raise awareness if you can’t send them cash, such as putting a link to them on your site or sending in old, unused items you may have lying around at your house.

You can help by ::

• sending them a small donation of as little as $20,
• blogging about the charity or this post, linking to the charity,
• announcing it in your newsletter,
• pledging a porition of your proceeds to the charity of the week, or
• any other way you can think of to either get the word out or help raise money for them.

I chooose these non-profits as I browse the web every week, but you can volunteer any site that accepts donations online, by commenting on any Non-Profit Sundays post. I don’t always post every Sunday – sometimes I’ll wait until I have a new organization to add.

I started this a few months ago because I want to be a huge philantrophist some day, and I figure there’s no time like the present to start. I’m lucky enough to be in the spotlight often, and I can’t think of a better use for it – can you?

Besides, doing more good in the world gives me the warm fuzzies. You too can get the warm fuzzies, or some other kind of mushy happy feeling. If you have even a spare dollar, pound or franc, just send them a little something. If you don’t, then please help get the word out.

The idea is that if we all do a little, it can make a lot of difference.

The Daily Telegraph | 1m claimed at Philadelphia gig:

“‘Mahatma Gandhi freed a continent, Martin Luther King freed a people, Nelson Mandela freed a country. It does work. They will listen,’ Geldof said in Hyde Park.”

It’s Non-Profit Sunday. And I haven’t done a post in a while, to emphasize my support of One.org. I thought about doing a post yesterday about Live 8 – but the silence online showed me that most people were aware. Of course, how could you miss it?

I don’t have much in this world in the scope of the material. I don’t consider myself a wealthy woman yet but I’m not impoverished either. And I figure that speaks to a lot of people in America who have businesses online. That’s why I started Non-Profit Sundays – to show how many of us who care can do a little bit and make a big difference through our combined, simultaneous efforts. Most of the time I’ll ask that you contribute a link from your site, or your spare change.

This time, all I’m asking you for is Your Voice.

And just in case you think, as many do, that it won’t be heard, and we just don’t live in that type of world anymore…

In the grand scheme of things, when you really think about it, all I have is my Voice. I built my business on it. I earn my livelihood from it. And so on Sundays, I use the spotlight that is on me to ask for a small thing. Help someone in need. Just a little. Even when I’m not talking about it, a portion of what I make goes to charity. No excuses – it doesn’t matter what’s going on in my personal life. And the combined attention on the charities we blog about or contribute to are slowly making a difference. Even if it’s just one American family helped by ModestNeeds.org from our support, or one meal for a hungry person – think about the world of difference you make to that one person or family.

But I’m not asking even that of you this week.

Just something you may think is small that can be so, so big.

The G8 conference is in three days. And you can still add your voice. It won’t cost you anything but three minutes of your time. It doesn’t matter what your religion is, what your politics are. And if you believe it does matter, hey, who says you have to tell anyone?

If you believe that the lives of people should come before any other issue – especially when we’ve previously given our word to follow through on this for years now, if you believe that a child’s life is worth having just a little less of other things, for once, you can do something about it.

Increasing monetary aid may not be the fix-all to the problem. But it’s a start – and one that has worked before on a smaller scale. To paraphrase Bono, we can’t fix every problem. But the ones we can fix, we must.

You can learn more at One.org if you’re in the States, or at live8.com where ever you are.

Please don’t dismiss this with doubt about the power of your own voice. You heard my voice somehow. And that’s why you’re here. Lend yours to a great cause.

Tags: live8 :: The One Campaign
Resources: One.org :: live8.com

Let me tell you a story. It’s about my younger brother, whose life was saved when he was just a year old by a small miracle.

My family had goen to Ocean City in Maryland, just a few hours away from where we lived. I remember that it was a little colder than usual, because we’d gone really early in the season for some reason. The water was choppy, so we weren’t able to go near the water without a parent right beside us.

Generally, we weren’t allowed in the water by ourselves, or without specific supervision. But this time we weren’t even allowed to approach the shoreline, and played back further from the beach than usual.

I didn’t care. I was obsessed with collecting sea shells.

My mother passed by me, holding my brother’s hand. He was trying to wriggle free, and even though it was wet, she still had him. My mom was always really good with us, wanting to protect us, but also giving us the freedom to explore the world.

She finally let go of his hand when they were safely away from the water, and he went to sit with the rest of the family.

A few minutes later, I was still collecting my shells, and I noticed a shape floating past me in the water. I had no idea what it was at first, but when I looked closer, I realized that it was a little kid – it looked to me like a girl less than a year old. I reached out and grabbed what I hoped was its ankle. She was face-down and not moving, so I wasn’t sure if she was alive. I couldn’t swim and she was heavy – if she pulled me further out into the water, we were both goners.

But I just said a little prayer and dug my heels further into the sand that was being pulled away as the tide moved out under my feet.

The water moved away and my mother ran up to my side and lifted up the small child. By now I’m sure you guessed, this was my brother.

I love my brother to pieces like I love all my siblings. Each of my brothers and sisters and I have special ties. This incident was the foundation of my special bond with my younger brother.

When people ask me about this incident, I say that hey, I was nine years old. I thought I was helping a stranger I didn’t know, and that’s what you’re supposed to do – save your fellow man from drowning when you’re on firm(er) ground.

I didn’t save his life on purpose – in fact I don’t believe that I was the one who saved him. I just believe that I was placed there, in the path of a miracle, and it just moved through my body to do its work.

So this Non-Profit Sunday, what I have to ask for you is this: help some stranger, someone you haven’t met before, for no reason, completely at random. Do your act of kindness every day – if you can’t help physically, send them a silent, good thought. Turn it into a habit – maybe one day you’ll be blessed to find that the random stranger you’re helping is actually your brother….

I think it’s best if just quote the announcement. I adore Dr. Mani. He’s a wonderful person both professionally and personally. But how can you not like a guy who donates so much of his time and resources to helping little children with heart defects?

He’s literally a lifesaver. Read on, and join me in helping with a link, a donation, or both.

“Dr.Mani Sivasubramanian, heart surgeon and webmaster of
‘Heart Disease Online’ has joined an effort to help children
with birth defects of the heart receive medical treatment.

‘A Day For Hearts: Congenital Heart Defects Awareness Day’
is a global publicity event that focuses attention on the
deadly problem of heart defects in kids. The aim: to
spread awareness about the problem and raise funds to help
some children get a chance to live.

http://www.CHDinfo.com/chdaware/

Think for a moment about a child you love. Imagine how you’d
feel if that child had a heart condition. Then think about
how bad it would be if this child couldn’t receive treatment.

Then ask yourself if you would do something to help, to make
sure this won’t happen to another child somewhere else. A
child without access to medical attention, or with a family
that’s simply too poor to afford the cost of lifesaving
treatment.

Now imagine the power you have. If you – and a few hundred
more people like you – help, we could easily raise awareness
about this situation – and maybe even help a few children
receive a life saving operation. And if you tell five or
more friends, the impact could be greater.

You could help change a child’s future – literally.

Do whatever you can. Every little bit adds up – fast.
Start today. Go to

http://www.CHDinfo.com/chdaware/

And please, spread the word. Forward this note to anyone you
think might be willing to help out. Tell your friends,
family, customers, contacts – everyone.

Then treat yourself to a smile. You’ll have earned it.

GIVE — so a child may live!

Support ‘A DAY FOR HEARTS : Congenital Heart Defects
Awareness Day’
http://www.CHDinfo.com/chdaware/

See how you can help too
http://www.CHDinfo.com/chdaware/youcanhelp.htm“

This week on Non-Profit Sundays, I’ve decided to turn the focus towards people in need in the United States. After all, I live here, and I’ve been neglecting my home community a little as I donate to people in other parts of the world.

Here’s a little about the charity I chose.

WIN: Women In Need, Inc.

“Women In Need, Inc. (WIN) was founded in 1983 and today serves about 7,500 women and children, who are homeless and disadvantaged, each year. WIN cares about homelessness and its devastating effect on mothers and their children. Our purpose is to restore dignity, promote independence and provide stable housing for families.”

It’s based in New York City and they have an online donations page, where you can give any amount that you’re comfortable with, though you should know that a larger donation will go towards a specific need. If you live in the New York area, you can also volunteer your time. This isn’t tax-deductible if you’re doing so in a business capacity, but here’s an idea. I haven’t tried it before, this is just off the top of my head.

You could donate the amount that your services cost, with the understanding that they use a portion of that money to pay you your fee, at some kind of discount. As I understand it – and again, I’m not an expert so discuss this with your tax professional and with them – any fees you pay them are deductible, regardless of the funding source.

Getting back on topic though, the idea of Non-Profit Sundays is that I talk about some charity I want to give exposure to, and pledge some normally undisclosed portion of my ebook profit.

You can help by sending them a small donation of less than $20, buying one of my books (you’ll know which charity part of the profit will go to by coming here on Sundays), blogging about the charity or this post, linking to the charity, announcing it in your newsletter, pledging a porition of your proceeds to the charity of the week, or any other way you can think of to either get the word out or raise money for them.

I chooose these non-profits as I browse the web every week, but you can volunteer any site that accepts donations online, by commenting on any Non-Profit Sundays post.

I started this a few months ago because I want to be a huge philantrophist some day, and I figure there’s no time like the present to start. I’m lucky enough to be in the spotlight often, and I can’t think of a better use for it – can you?

Besides, doing more good in the world gives me the warm fuzzies. You too can get the warm fuzzies, or some other kind of mushy happy feeling. If you have even a spare dollar, pound or franc, just send them a little something. If you don’t get the word out. The idea is that if we all do a little, it can make a lot of difference.

Happy Sunday! Go Eagles!

I’ve already featured Tsunami relief , however, I feel like it’s not enough from me personally.

JustGive.org has a special page up at their site regarding making donations to the Tsunami victims. And according to JustGive.org :

“A new law allows taxpayers who itemize to deduct on their 2004 tax returns certain contributions to charities to aid the victims of the tsunami even if the contribution was made during January 2005″.

So your contribution is now tax deductible for 2004 if you’re a United States resident, even if the actual money you sent was during this calendar year.

If you go to the earlier post, you’ll find that you can make a donation, through PayPal, for any dollar amount that will go to UNICEF.

You can also use the JustGive.org link to

# provide food and water
# provide general relief
# provide medical care
# help rebuild and recover
# assist children and families
# aid displaced animals.

We have so much power, and can do so much, with such small actions, especially taken together.

Even if you can’t spare a dollar, tell people who may be able to by sharing the links with your family or friends, and/or posting to your web site or newsletter. We can make a huge difference by making even small gestures together