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Antonio Villaraigosa: Giving Thanks By Giving Back

2009-11-26T01:01:01Z

Around this time of the year, many families will sit around the dinner table, give thanks and enjoy a nice warm meal together. However, others won't be so lucky.

Thanksgiving is just one reminder of how important it is, especially for those of us blessed with more, to give and to give generously. There are homeless shelters all over Los Angeles that provide food and shelter to people without a home for the holidays. More than anything, these homeless shelters provide people with a sense of community, a feeling that they belong somewhere and that they are valued and loved. Individually our contribution may be small, but together we can build something greater.

That's why I push my administration everyday to fight to provide opportunities for the less fortunate. Whether it's our commitment to build permanent supportive housing for our homeless or our work to put 100,000 hard working Angelenos into living wage jobs, everyday we are making an effort to give back.

If you want to find a place to volunteer please go to the city's volunteer directory. My prayer is that we give of ourselves, through service, not only during the holidays but year round.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Miley Cyrus And New Online Hub Encourages Teens To Get Their Good On

2009-11-25T21:52:04Z

Youth Service America and Miley Cyrus have joined forces in an effort to encourage teens to social network for good. Dubbed both a social network and a youth movement, Get Ur Good On was launched this week to help keep youth informed and engaged in ways they can improve their world. The new site features blogs, videos and photos of people giving back to their communities in an effort to showcase teens' efforts to make the world a better place.

Here's what Cyrus had to say about her new online network:

Youth Service America improves communities by encouraging young people to take leadership roles in their own communities and to continue their service toward others for their entire lives.

Check out the new online hub at www.geturgoodon.org.

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Katherine Gustafson: The Pajama Program Offers Love in a Snuggle

2009-11-25T20:14:30Z

Genevieve Piturro's path from corporate VP to nonprofit pioneer started with a bedtime story. And after that, a bedtime.

A sad and lonely bedtime.

The kids she had been reading to in the emergency shelter did what they could to get comfortable. They curled up on whatever couches and mattresses were available, still dressed in ill-fitting clothes, some of them crying.

Many of these children had just been rescued from abusive and neglectful homes. Some of them hadn’t ever known what it felt like to be loved.

"The kids had nothing with them and they were just abused and abandoned," Piturro later recalled. "And it was heartbreaking to me to see their sleep time."

At a Crossroads

That moment came at a crossroads in Piturro's life, a time when she had began questioning, at age 38, whether the rat race was enough to fulfill her. She had woken up one day, decades after launching a successful career in the entertainment business, and taken stock: no children, no husband, no sense of purpose beyond the corporate ladder. It wasn't enough.

Open to new possibilities, she met and married a man named Demo, who suggested that she read to kids in shelters as a way to find some deeper meaning and be closer to children.

Watching her charges go to bed in loneliness and disarray that first night, she found the purpose she had been searching for. She waited for the shelter's staff to finish getting the kids to sleep and then asked if she could bring the children some pajamas the next week.

That was the moment that changed her life. A simple vow to give a needed gift launched her onto a path that led her to found and run Pajama Program, a nonprofit organization dedicated to donating pajamas and books to children in need.

Her vision crystallized when she brought her first donation of 12 pajamas to the kids in the shelter a week after first reading to them. One little girl looked quizzically at the pajamas Piturro was holding out to her. "What are these?" she asked.

"I had a mom, she tucked me in, tucked my brothers and my sister in," Piturro said. "We wouldn't let her leave our bedside. You know, just what kids are supposed to have at night."

Having pajamas, Piturro can see, is about more than going to bed at night in something other than street clothes.

"It's a hug at night," she said, "something they will take under the covers with them wherever they are, whether it's a couch or a bed and whether they're alone in it or sharing it with three other kids. It's something that makes them know that someone loves them."

A Vision Realized

It quickly became Piturro's mission in life to give that experience of safety, warmth and love to as many children as she could. She started by asking friends and family to give her children's pajamas in lieu of gifts and money for holidays or fundraisers.

As she distributed more and more pajamas and books in shelters and group homes around the New York area, her interest in her corporate career began to subside.

After Parenting Magazine covered the program in 2001, boxes of sleepwear and books started rolling in from people all over the country. Her house was colonized by cardboard boxes: “they were all over like a maze, we ate on them, we sat on them.”

Piturro’s appearance on Oprah in 2007 motivated an avalanche of volunteer support, so that eight years after offering those first PJs, she has grown Pajama Program into a network of 70 chapters in 44 states, which collect and donate supplies to 1,900 organizations. The organization has, as of this writing, donated 433,109 pairs of pajamas and 190,105 new books to children and opened three reading centers in the New York area. She now aims to expand until the program can supply new pajamas and books four times every year.

Comfort in a Cold Season

Kids in crisis situations have particularly acute need for warm pajamas from the start of October through the end of March, what Piturro calls "Danger Season." An army of intrepid volunteers and kind-hearted donors make sure these kids are prepared to face winter temperatures in foster homes or shelters that might not be sufficiently heated or where blankets might be scarce.

While Piturro thrills at all the progress she has made — and the new purpose she has found in life — she realizes there is much more to do, especially during the cold winter months. "It's a mix of joy watching the boxes go out and it's back to hard work and disappointing feelings when I see how many kids are still on the waiting list," she said.

With so much need, more help is badly needed. Donors and volunteers can be confident they are contributing to a true labor of love. "It means the world to me," Piturro told me. "I never had a baby so it's my baby. It brings joy and heartbreaking emotions at the same time."

How You Can Help

Visit the Pajama Program website to find out more about donating or volunteering in your area. This season, Sprout is matching pair-for-pair all the pajamas that donors contribute, so all gifts will go twice as far. Piturro said that there's a particular need for larger sizes; kids who are 8, 9, 10 and older frequently wear adult sizes, which are often neglected or forgotten by donors. Additionally, she seeks volunteers and donated space to open reading centers in Chicago, California and Florida.

Photo courtesy of Pajama Program

Outpouring Of Support From Seattle Community After Food Bank Burglary

2009-11-25T20:08:44Z

As part of its Bearing Witness 2.0 project, the Huffington Post is rounding up a few of the best local stories of the day.

Last Tuesday night, the Rainer Valley Food Bank, in Seattle, Wash., was burglarized. Thieves broke into the storage container and took all the food they could, including hundreds of pounds of potatoes and dozens of crates of canned fruits, vegetable and soup, amounting to a total loss of about $2,000. The food was going to be distributed this week in Thanksgiving bundles.

The city erupted in rage and donations started pouring in. Individual people and businesses came by to drop off food and write checks. Walmart and local radio station 100.7 WOLF each dropped off a semi-truck's worth of food, a local produce market chain donated about $1,000 worth of fruits and vegetables and a restaurant launched a food drive to help out.

In the end, the food bank raised $70,000 in cash and $30,000 worth of food. That's far more than it knows what to do with -- or can store -- and it is going to be distributing the food to neighboring organizations that need help. "If anybody needs to pick up something," said director Sam Osborne, "we have plenty." Their only problem now: sorting through everything.

*********

A burglar stole electronic equipment, a laptop and microphones from a church in Clayton County, Ga., reports WBS-TV's Linda Stouffer. The thief broke in at night but left a note: "Sorry but I'm poor. Forgive me Lord."

"You always get aggravated with people stealing things," said pastor Roger Davis, "I don't know what kind of situation this person was in but maybe it's someone we need to reach." Neighbors were rendered speechless.

*********

Ten-year-old Jonathan Brende, in Independence, Mo., has a severe form of cerebral palsy, and needs constant care, reports Fox 4's, Rob Low. He is on Medicaid, but just barely: in order to stay covered by the federal plan, his father had to turn down a raise at work.

But his mother, Tonni, has Hepatitis C, which was ruled a pre-existing condition by her insurer, and hence not covered. "I got sicker because I couldn't afford to go to the doctor," she said, "I quit going when the insurance company quit paying and I saw how the bills were piling up." Because of her medical bills, the family filed for bankruptcy.

*********

Just a year and a half ago, Northern California's Shelter Network was fielding about 100 phone calls per week from people looking for homeless shelters. Last week that number was up 900 percent, according to Will Oremus, from the Bay Area Daily News. The high demand is causing some shelters to have the longest waiting lists they have ever had, and as the weather gets colder more homeless are looking to move indoors.

"Right now it's pretty cold outside," said Vickie, who declined to giver he last name. "To sleep in my car, I would be a popsicle." She is trying to stay healthy and warm while she finishes up her online classes at Eastern Oregon University.

HuffPost readers: Seen a compelling local story? Have a neighbor going to bizarre lengths to get through the recession? Tell us about it! Email jmhattem@gmail.com.

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Charity Challenges Thanksgiving Overeaters To Burn Calories By Giving

2009-11-25T19:51:31Z

Already feeling guilty about those second (okay, third) helpings you plan to load up on during Thanksgiving dinner? Ubuntu Education Fund is encouraging you to give your way out of those calories and guilt, Tonic reports.

Rather than using shock and bawl, The Ubuntu Holiday Fitness Challenge is both a perfect parody of a true American art form (the infomercial) and a holiday "ask" that will not end up in the garbage. The video (see it, below) absurdly suggests that donating money is an effective way to shed unwanted holiday pounds.

The ad jokingly claims that donators can burn 8 calories per $5 text donation this holiday season. The money goes to the Ubuntu Education Fund is dedicated to working with the people of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa to develop quality education and healthy communities.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:

To join the Holiday Fitness Challenge, text "UBUNTU" to 20222.

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Caroline Walker: Eliminate Violence Against Women? Get the Boys on Board

2009-11-25T19:41:24Z

"As many as one in three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in some other way ... Violence kills and disables as many women between the ages of 15 and 44 as cancer. And its toll on women's health surpasses that of traffic accidents and malaria combined."
- United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

This week marks the 10th anniversary of the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Though the need for gender equality extends far beyond the past decade, the momentum over the past 10 years is finally building to a critical point where cultural change may actually become a reality. Ending injustice and eradicating violence against women and girls are prime focal points this year: we're seeing action in new United Nations resolutions, focus on women at the Clinton Global Initiative and we're embracing women's rights as what New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof describes as, "the cause of our time." He often quotes a Chinese proverb, "Women hold up half the sky."

But what about the other half — men — the ones who most often perpetrate violence against the women? Who is reaching out to them?

During this week's 10 year commemoration event at New York's UN headquarters, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon announced the addition of a Network of Men Leaders to the UNite to End Violence Against Women campaign. They're joining the ranks of grassroots organizations and international NGOs who have already recognized that engaging men in the crusade is not just an ideal — it's essential.

More than ever, campaigns to raise awareness about the realities of violence and oppression are sprouting up, organizations are providing services for victims of abuse, and social entrepreneurs are creating financial empowerment programs so that women have economic freedom and independence.

Now, specifically, it's time for guys to step up. And they are.

To point: Men Engage is on the forefront of involving men in the solution, conducting research and shaping programs that educate male populations. Vital Voices, an organization on the receiving end of a $4 million corporate commitment at this year's Clinton Global Initiative, recognizes the importance of involving men in the crusade. In fact, the organization has partnered with the Man Up campaign directed by author/activist/UN Goodwill Ambassador Jimmie Briggs and former Education Director of Amnesty USA, Karen Robinson Cloete. The program is using soccer and hip-hop music to infiltrate youth culture and arm young boys and girls, men and women, with tools and information for creating their own human rights legacies.

As one example of an organization adding men to the mix, it's worth breaking down how they plan to do it — in hopes that we can figure out how to incorporate the messaging into other programs an campaigns. Here's the bottom line: By employing tools and platforms that speak directly to youth culture, Man Up aims to cross borders and gender lines, creating a movement driven specifically by the young people who are building their own legacies.

Talking exclusively to Tonic, Briggs and Robinson explained what the big deal is with using music and sport to carry the message. "I don't know the culture in certain communities, but the young people do," Robinson says. "We know young people can create change. We know that. Let's meet them at a place that is real and authentic." Speaking to young people — boys and girls alike — through elements of culture that shape their attitudes and relationships.

The UNFPA says that domestic violence is "the result of tacit acceptance by [a] society. The way men view themselves as men, and the way they view women, will determine whether they use violence or coercion against women."

Man Up Director of New Media Fred Sullivan told Tonic that his father "beat him around a bit" as a kid, and that while he can have compassion for his shortcomings where expressing emotion is concerned, "Even if motivated by love, if it comes out as an act of violence, you propagate that violence down the generations." Now the father of a young girl, he sees the importance of breaking the cycle.

As Briggs puts it, "We need to redefine what manhood is." Looking at gender roles is nothing new in this country, but globally, we need to reassign and re-frame the way we see a powerful man, one who has the moxy to stand up for his sisters.

Starting today, in sync with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Man Up is enlisting young people in South Africa as organized, long-term partners in the initiative. This campaign -– the 16 Days of Activism -– will run through Human Rights Day on Dec. 10 and establish grassroots commitments from youth activists.

This all leads up to a three-day "global youth summit" in South Africa, synced with the 2010 World Cup and complete with entertainment and other festivities. Sessions and programs will educate and engage attendees, leading up to the design of viable plans of action. It's not just about dreaming abstract dreams; Man Up will provide tools and guidance, seed grants for execution, and networking with like-minded youth and powerful international NGO partners. When partnerships include heavy-hitters like the NoVo Foundation, Vital Voices, V-Day and Witness, that's saying quite a bit.

Still, amidst all of the World Cup excitement, Man Up reminds us, "Gender violence is not a game." It's serious, it's fragmenting and it's catastrophic on a global level.

Jimmie Briggs admitted that it is no small task — that he will not likely see the fruits of his labor in this lifetime — but that like any civil rights movement or any cultural shift, change takes time.

Briggs said, "The most pressing issue? Creating the legacy of our next generations."

You can help. Become a Project Partner or donate through their tax-deductible fiscal sponsor Alliance for Peace Building.

Donating Bras To Women In Need: Support1000 Sends Undies To Released Convicts

2009-11-25T19:25:09Z

If you're a female convict being released from prison, you'll probably expect a few issues assimilating back into society. One thing you might not think about, though, is undergarments.

Nonprofit director Julia Sledge helps released female prisoners move on with their lives, and says it's a topic that frequently comes up.

"[Not having] a change of underwear because you can't afford it" is a reality for many of her clients, Sledge says, adding that she speaks from similar experience. "I'm heavy-chested and remember once, years ago, being so broke that I had to ask someone to help me buy a bra that would fit me."

That's where Support1000 comes in. Ozkr "Oz" du Soleil's organization collects and distributes bras for women in financial trouble. A navy veterans, du Soleil operates Support1000 out of his one-bedroom apartment in Chicago and distributes hundreds of bras each week.

The jokes, looks of confusion and outright suspicion no longer bother du Soleil when he tells people about his collection of women's bras.
"Questions about whether I'm strange do come up initially," he says. "I am careful. I joke up to a certain point. But after a while there is a limit."

The increase in press about Support1000 has led to an increase in donations. Though the most common bras donated are 36Cs, du Soleil often makes requests for Ds and Gs as well.

Got some extra bras you wouldn't mind donating? Here's where you send them:

Oz du Soleil
Support1000
PO Box 412406
Chicago, IL 60641

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Brian Levin, J.D.: As Clock Ticks: Do You Hold The Key To Cold Case Racial Murders?

2009-11-25T18:53:01Z

The balmy nights can be errily dark and quiet in Vornado, only a couple of miles from where a twisting Mississippi river snakes through thickets of green trees to mark the rural eastern border of Louisiana. But buried behind the gentility and bucolic landscape of this small village of 300 lies a secret brutal past. Almost a half century after a horrific racial killing, the FBI and an assortment of civil rights activists across the nation are redoubling their efforts to solve a mystery and bring some fugitive murderers to justice-and maybe you or someone you know holds the key.

When the Klan declared war in Louisiana, decent upstanding innocent folk were often the first casualty and justice the last. To those whose solemn oath was to white supremacy, those who swore competing oaths to the Constitution were their mortal enemy—especially if they wore uniforms or badges and they were Black. Such was the case on a quiet Spring Wednesday night in June 1965. As Australian troops arrived in Vietnam, AM transistor radios blared the Supremes “Back in My Arms Again” and two astronauts prepped for their Gemini 4 orbital space flight, two rookie Washington Parish sheriffs deputies, Oneal Moore and David Creed Rogers, were on their way to a meal break during an uneventful evening patrol.

After the February assassination of Malcolm X in New York by Nation of Islam gunmen and the March attack on protestors by police outside of Selma, AL things were incrementally starting to look up again for America’s “Negroes” and their allies. Even early in the season San Francisco Giant “Say Hey Kid” Willie Mays was well on his way to becoming the National League’s Most Valuable Player. The Senate just passed the Voting Rights Act the week before and earlier that Spring Nobel Prize winner the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King delivered a rousing sermon entitled “How Long, Not Long: Our God is Marching On” on the steps of the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery.

There were also hundreds of smaller local victories as well. Deputies Moore and Rogers had just finished marking their own first anniversary as sworn lawmen only one day earlier. Despite, or perhaps because of, Klan violence, threats, and racial tension, they became two of the first African-American sheriffs deputies to serve on the Washington Parish force. This was some coup as the parish was thought to have the highest concentration of Klansmen anywhere. Gun-toting Klansman terrorized Black communities, and the presence of Black deputies was a result of demands from a terrified community.

A Racial Assassination

The two deputies headed home for a meal down a darkened Main Street around 10PM in Vornado on the night of June 2 with Deputy Moore at the wheel. As they crossed the railroad tracks the officers were suddenly ambushed when a black pickup truck with a Confederate battle flag on the front raced along side of their squad car. A barrage of unprovoked gunfire exploded from the bed of the pickup violently shattering the night’s silence. The rifle shots struck both officers, sending the police car veering out of control. The car crashed into one of the old big distinguished trees that dot the landscape.

Inside the wrecked car lay Deputy Rogers, blinded in one eye and the lifeless body of Deputy Moore-killed by a direct shot to the head. On Friday, June 4 the New York Times ran a headline over a small story on page 17: “2 Negro Deputies Shot in Bogalusa; Driver of Sheriff’s Patrol Car Killed—Suspect Held.”

Colfax Massacre

This wasn’t the first time that an apparent Louisiana Klan attack took on Black symbols of authority with impunity. Almost a century prior, in 1873 in perhaps the worst instance of racial slaughter after the Civil War, over 100 African-American militia and freedmen guarding a parish courthouse in Colfax were killed, many after surrendering to their white aggressors. An ad-hoc Army of white supremacists, armed with a cannon set upon them following a disputed gubernatorial election. Only three defendants out of ninety-seven indicted went to trail, and those remaining indictments were overturned by a hostile Supreme Court in United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U.S. 542 (1875) That decision eviscerated the application of one of the primary new federal laws enacted to protect newly freed slaves from organized Klan violence.

Justice Denied

Almost one hundred years later a reinvigorated Klan couldn’t have killed a better guy. In Free At Last: A History of the Civil Rights Movement and Those Who Died in The Struggle, Sara-Bullard described the married father of four young girls: “Moore was a 34-year old Army veteran who had distinguished himself as a leader in his church, his local fraternal lodge and the P.T.A.” Despite the swirl of investigation and boiling tension outside the cemetery, Moore’s parents, wife Marvella, and his daughters-who unlike their mother, were all dressed in white- solemnly watched as a full dressed military guard laid their beloved son, husband and father to rest in a flag draped coffin.

Despite the Governor’s intervention, shots fired at an investigator, a $25,0000 reward, and the detention of a suspect just over the border in Mississippi, no one has ever been tried for the murder of Deputy Moore-a killing that left a family and a community without one of its most reliable local leaders.

Rogers retired from the Sheriff’s Department in 1988 with the rank of Captain and passed away peacefully at the age of 85 in the winter of 2007 - the very week the FBI reopened the case for a third time. The prime suspect died in 2003, but his accomplices may still be alive.

Race Against Time

Over the past decade civil rights activists have been desperately fighting a reinvigorated race against the clock for justice as some victims, witnesses, perpetrators and family members perish reated to this and other noteworthy attacks from the civil rights era.

Sparked by Kansas City’s civil rights treasure (and Center Advisory Board member) Alvin Sykes and young New York documentary filmmaker Keith Beauchamp, the Justice Department and FBI are working with activists across the country to find clues to many of the murders from the Civil Rights era that went unsolved. Alvin formed the Emmett Till Justice Campaign with the Emmett’s mother Mamie Till Mobley in January 2003 to shed a renewed spotlight on these “cold cases.” Chicagoan Emmett Till, 14, was brutally lynched in 1955 for whistling at a white woman. Two days after her meeting with Sykes and former Justice Department employee Donald Burgher, Ms. Mobley perished from a sudden heart attack. That didn’t stop Alvin, in his efforts to make good on his promise to her to pass a law in Emmett’s name to devote resources to these cases. A tenacious Sykes, finally saw the The Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act signed into law last October by President George Bush.

In July Alvin, Former U.S. Attorney and Klan prosecutor Doug Jones, Keith Beauchamp, Till’s cousin Rev. Wheeler Parker (who witnessed the youth’s kidnapping as a teenager), myself and others conferred with Attorney General Eric Holder in his office along with Justice and FBI officials to discuss hate crimes and the implementation of the Till Act.

Alvin Sykes, Rev and Mrs. Wheeler, and Attorney General Holder

We all scrambled to DC. for the meeting. The meeting had been delayed for awhile as Alvin raised money for months to get himself and victims’ relatives to Washington, DC by selling T-shirts. Jones squeezed in a quick flight from Alabama. Already back East, I hastily commandeered my 80 year old mother’s car in New York, dropped her and my young kids at my brother’s in Philadelphia, and drove to DC, sleeping on an old buddy’s couch during my short economical stay.

One case we discussed was that of Klansman Billy Ray Posey, who escaped state indictment in connection with the “Mississippi Burning” Klan lynchings of three civil rights workers involved in a voting rights project in the South during the “Freedom Summer” of 1964.

Me at the table

The deciding vote against Posey’s Mississippi indictment apparently came from one of his relatives. Less than three weeks after our meeting, before the Feds could charge him, Posey, 73 evaded justice one last time, when he died of natural causes. He was buried in the same town where the slain civil rights pioneers Andrew Goodman, 20; Michael Schwerner, 24; and James Chaney, 21; were martyred 45 years earlier. Posey outlived all the parents of the murdered civil rights heroes.

As the clock continuously ticks, justice suffers. But maybe you hold the key. Over the last week the FBI announced a renewed effort to find families of closed case victims and witnesses in unsolved ones, like Moore’s. As you reconnect with loved ones this Thanksgiving, please see if you have friends or family who may be able to assist the FBI with any information about these cases or lost relatives.

Most Wanted (From CBS News)
The Bureau is asking the public for help finding family members of cold case victims, including:
• Arthur James Hill, who was shot and killed in Villa Rica, Georgia during an altercation with a group of white men in August 1965;
• Clarence Horatious Pickett, who was beaten to death by a police officer in a Columbus, Ga., jail in December 1957;
• Ann Thomas, who was sexually assaulted and shot four times in the head in San Antonio, Texas in April 1969;
• William Lewis Moore, a former U.S. Marine who was shot and killed in April 1963 near Attalla, Ala. - the postal worker was marching to deliver a letter to the Mississippi governor urging integration of the University of Mississippi;
• Izell Henry of Greensburg, La., who on July 28, 1954 was brought to Lallie Kemp Hospital where he was pronounced dead; two individuals claimed to have found him in a ditch.
• Jimmy Powell, 15, who on July 16, 1964 was shot and killed by a police officer in New York City for allegedly charging at the officer with a knife; and
• Ernest Jells, who was shot to death by Clarksville, Miss., police in October 1963 after he allegedly pointed a rifle at officers attempting to arrest him for stealing a banana.

The FBI is also offering a reward for information leading to the indictment, arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for:

• The June 1965 murder of Deputy Sheriff O'Neal Moore and attempted murder of Deputy Sheriff David "Creed" Rogers in Varnado, La.; Moore and Rogers were the first black deputies in Washington Parish.
• The December 1964 murder of Frank Morris, a shoe store owner in Ferriday, Louisiana.

Please help us, make Dr. King’s vision as articulated on those Alabama Capitol steps in March 1965, finally ring true:

“How long will justice be crucified, (Speak) and truth bear it?" (Yes, sir) I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, (Yes, sir) however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, (No sir) because "truth crushed to earth will rise again." (Yes, sir) How long? Not long, (Yes, sir) because "no lie can live forever." (Yes, sir) How long? Not long, (All right. How long) because "you shall reap what you sow." (Yes, sir)"

"How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."

FBI Contacts: Field Offices-http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm

Seattle French Dip Shop Feeds Homeless Youth

2009-11-25T18:34:32Z

This week, the Rizzos bought six Angus certified inside top round roasts. They plan to cook them in the home recipe au jus that has carrots, garlic, celery and their own seasoning mix.

They figure those six roasts will be enough for at least 150 French dips -- sandwiches they plan to give as gifts to street youth who come by their store Wednesday afternoon.

New Yorkers Line Up Early For Thanksgiving Supplies At City Food Bank

2009-11-25T17:46:54Z

In the face of unemployment and tough economic conditions, food banks are serving more than ever this Thanksgiving. CNN visited an upper Manhattan pantry and found that many working New York City residents were lining up as early as 5 a.m. to supplement their holiday dinners too.

WATCH THE VIDEO:

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Brad & Angelina Gave Away $7 Million In 2008

2009-11-25T17:21:03Z

Angelina Jolie, 34, and Brad Pitt, 45, gave a whopping $6.8 million to charities in 2008

Michael Brewer, Burn Victim, Has Thousands Raised For Him At Benefit

2009-11-25T16:59:00Z

Valerie Brewer described the turnout at a fundraiser held for her son Michael as "incredible." The 15-year-old Michael was doused with alcohol and set on fire a month ago in South Florida. Three boys have been charged with attempted murder and will be tried as adults. But Valerie Brewer says that she's not focusing on the prosecution of the assailants, only on her son's quick recovery.

A foundation to help pay Michael's medical bills has already raised over $130,000, including donations from several members of the Miami Dolphins who attended the fundraiser, including injured quarterback Chad Pennington.

All donations are currently being directed through Neighbors 4 Neighbors, sponsored by the local CBS affiliate. To make a donation to Michael Brewer's fund, visit their site and specify "Michael Brewer" in the field marked "Intention For Donation." You can also donate via the widget below.

Don't have money to donate? You can join the Facebook group Pray for Michael Brewer and leave him a message.

Michael's doctor and mother say that he is making great progress. Valerie says Michael is determined to overcome his ailments and return to normal life. His friend D.C., a brother of one of the suspects, expressed his sympathies to "Mikey" and said he hoped they could all get through this. Watch the complete report on "Good Morning America."

GroundReport: Robin Hood Foundation Embraces the Web to Feed NYC's Hungry

2009-11-25T14:09:11Z

By Rachel Sterne, GroundReport CEO

Want to give back this Thanksgiving, but can't make it to a soup kitchen?

A fascinating experiment in digital philanthropy is brewing in the headquarters of the Robin Hood Foundation, a New York City charity that has raised more than $1 billion for poverty-focused nonprofits.

Over the past two months, a skunkworks team of young internet influencers has met, brainstormed, emailed and twittered -- all in the pursuit of feeding more than 100,000 of the city's hungry.

The challenge? Convince 15,000 people to donate $50 online, providing a holiday meal to 8 people. Contributions are processed by delivery grocer FreshDirect, and the campaign spans Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr.

Why would Robin Hood, which historically brings in gargantuan donations from the city's financial elite, try such a grassroots approach?

The Robin Hood Foundation is not your typical New York City charity. First, it's relatively young for its size, founded in 1988. Its board is comprised not of descendants of the country's oil and railroad magnates, but of self-made hedge fund managers and media moguls. Above all, it breaks tradition with an approach that's closer to an investment firm than a homeless shelter.

A pioneer in 'venture philanthropy,' a charity model that embraces free-market forces, the foundation looks at the nonprofits it funds as investments, emphasizes accountability, and regularly measures ROI. To those in the internet industry, it might resemble Y Combinator, a successful venture firm that incubates promising startups by providing advice and network connections.

What's more, it's working, with a record fundraising bounty of $72.7 million in one night at the 2009 spring gala. 100 percent of that will go directly to charities, because Robin Hood's board members cover all administrative costs.

So why rock the boat? It's their free-market approach to evolving charity that has led to Robin Hood's success, and they're looking to evolve further. [Disclosure: I am part of the digital outreach team].

Mark Bezos, Robin Hood's SVP of Development and Communications, said that now the organization is asking, "How does a model like ours, that is very labor-intensive and customized, exist in a Kiva.org world?"

He admitted that the "brave new world" of web-based philanthropy is "all very new to us." By looking to the group, which includes Rachel Sklar of Mediaite, Soraya Darabi of The New York Times, and Serena Torrey from New York Magazine, Bezos said, "we're trying to crowdsource an answer."

The bottom line, according to Bezos? The Robin Hood Foundation is "trying recruit more foot soldiers in the fight against poverty." So far, efforts have raised over $360,000, providing almost 58,000 meals--not bad for a web foray, but still a long way off from the 120,000-meal goal.

Want to help? $50 can feed 8 New Yorkers in need this winter through a donation to the Robin Hood Foundation via FreshDirect.

Learn more about the campaign here. 100% of all donations will go directly to local charitable organizations.

9 Ways To Show Your Gratitude On Thanksgiving Day

2009-11-25T03:05:30Z

Favorite Turkey Recipe? Check. Special occasion dishes and gravy boat? Check, check. Ways to express your gratitude this Thanksgiving? Don't worry, we've got you covered with nine ways you can show what you're grateful for this year by giving back to others who may not be faring as well.

Tweet your thanks on Tweetsgiving
Between November 24 and 26, Epic Change encourages social media users to share their gratitude both on and offline by participating in TweetsGiving. Share what you're thankful for via Twitter, your blog, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, or blip.fm with the #tweetsgiving tag and a $10 donation. This year, they hope to raise $100,000 to build an educational facility in Arusha, Tanzania, and fund future Epic Change projects.

Sign the Charter for Compassion
In February 2008, former nun Karen Armstrong won the TED Prize and asked for the help of others to create, launch and promote an international Charter for Compassion. Thousands of people contributed to the creation of the multilateral Charter to promote compassion across cultural and religious boundaries. By signing the online document, you agree to live by and encourage the "golden rule" by treating everyone in this world with compassion and respect.

Send a holiday care package to a soldier abroad
Our service men and women who are out of the country during Thanksgiving often long for the comforts of home. By sending a care package through Any Soldier, you can show them your gratitude for their duty and make them feel loved. Any Soldier has provided care packages to 96,371 service members and has an extensive list of popular items that have been requested by soldiers if you need ideas for what to include in your package.

Deliver a Thanksgiving meal to housebound neighbors
Don't forget seniors or the seriously ill during this holiday. By volunteering with a local Meals on Wheels Program to bring a hot dinner to those who may not be able to join family or friends. They'll appreciate the food and, more importantly, the time you share with them at their homes.

Feed families with pocket change
According to a recent government report, 49 million Americans went hungry last year, so you can bet that many families are facing slim pickings for Thanksgiving this year. Help change this by participating in Feeding America's Thanksgiving Feast for 9 Million. By donating $1, you can provide seven meals this holiday, and $50 will provide 350 meals for hungry families.

Run a "Turkey Trot"
All over the country this Thanksgiving, companies and nonprofits are hosting 5k races to benefit local charities and good causes. San Francisco's fun run will benefit a local high school's Track & Field team and Ann Arbor's will benefit local animal shelters and community groups. The bonus? Most of these races are Run/Walks that encourage full family participation and you can work off some of dinner before you even sit down at the table. Runs are planned for on and around Thanksgiving day and some require advance registration, so be sure to mind the rules specific for your area.

Pledge to Give 29 Things Away
‪Thanksgiving is a perfect time to sign up for the 29-Day Giving Challenge, a commitment to give something away each day for 29 days. It can be a tangible object or something as simple as a compliment. The goal is to make giving a habit and share your stories with others who might be inspired. Each month, 29Gifts features a different cause, so if you get stuck one day there are plenty of ideas ready to go.‬

Serve Thanksgiving Dinner at a Homeless Shelter
All the donated food that is raised during Thanksgiving time has to have willing hands to help cook it. Lend yours by volunteering this thanksgiving at a homeless shelter to prepare and dish up a meal with all the trimmings for those who don't have a home to go to this Holiday. The National Coalition for the Homeless has a searchable directory to find homeless shelters in your area.

Sponsor a Family in Need
Thanksgiving is only one day out of the year that U.S. families go hungry. Why not do a little to help one family a lot during the whole year? Family-to-family.org can help you connect with individual families that you can help by providing food, clothing and other necessities throughout the year. Or, open a family-to-family branch in your area.

For more information on how to sponsor a family in your area, you can watch a step-by-step "How To"from Create The Good:

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"So You Think You Can Dance" Producer Puts Underprivileged Youth In The Spotlight

2009-11-25T02:26:50Z

"So You Think You Can Dance" co-creator and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe sees a lot of talented young people who aren't quite ready to take the stage on his hit show. That's why he decided to create a nonprofit to boost dance education in the U.S. through scholarships, school programs and a dance academy in Los Angeles, CNN reports.

The Dizzy Feet Foundation is a group effort by Lythgoe, director and choreographer Adam Shankman, Carrie Ann Inaba of "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Dancing with the Stars," and "So You Think You Can Dance" guest star Katie Holmes.

The scholarships have come first: Last month, Dizzy Feet announced that it had awarded scholarships to underprivileged students to attend the Juilliard School, the American Ballet Theatre and the Debbie Allen Dance Academy...But with their background and interest in dance, Lythgoe and his co-founders aren't content merely to raise money and hand it out. They also want to establish an accreditation program for dance schools, and national standards for dance education, to ensure that students receive high-quality instruction.

You can read more about the Dizzy Feet and Lytgoe's efforts to provide for the dancers of tomorrow at CNN.com.

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