Operation USA

No Love, No Money for Nonprofits in Election Season

Richard Walden | Posted 05.16.2012

Read More: Nonprofits, Elections, American Politics, Women, Operation USA, Media Strategists, Political Consultants, Impact News

For every dollar you give a "Pol, PAC or Party," try to match it with a dollar wisely chosen to meet human needs at your most trusted nonprofit.

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Your Politics and Your Charity

Richard Walden | Posted 01.16.2012

Read More: Nonprofits, Presidential Campaign, Operation USA, Charities, National Elections, Impact News

Over the next year, between $5-$6 billion will flow from Americans into thousands of candidates' and parties' campaign chests. From there, most of t...

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Irene's Fury and Your Response

Richard Walden | Posted 10.28.2011

Read More: Joplin, Disaster Relief, Smart Aid, Community Clinics, Hurricane Irene, Katrina, American Red Cross, Fema, Operation USA, Irene Emergency Response, Hurricane Preparedness, Hurricane Preparations, Hurricane Aid, Impact News

You're not a First Responder like a fire department or paramedic unit; you're not FEMA; and, do not command the vast logistical resources of an entire government... What would SMART Aid consist of in this situation?

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African Famine, Wall Street and All of Us

Richard Walden | Posted 10.11.2011

Read More: Michael Jackson, Drought, Relief, Ethiopia, East Africa Famine, Ngos, Do They Know It's Christmas, Lionel Richie, Operation USA, Bob Geldof, We Are the World, Quincy Jones, Operation California, Impact News

It's more than a bit disconcerting to look at the low level of the African famine relief response -- especially when you've been around long enough to remember the 1984 Ethiopian famine and its massive tug on the hearts of the world.

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Somalia: Henry Kissinger and Me, Circa 1980

Richard Walden | Posted 10.08.2011

Read More: Drought, Ronald Reagan, Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon, Famine, Gerald Ford, Somalia, War, Ussr, Operation USA, Ethiopia, President Mohammad Siad Barre, Operation California, World News

At the time of Ronald Reagan's election, Somalia was sagely thought by Henry Kissinger to be ready for a tour de force, however off our collective radar screen it was at that time.

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What We Can Do Now For Japan

Richard Walden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Recovery, Relief, Tsunami, International-Relief-Agencies, Red Cross, Televangelists, Rebuilding, Earthquake, Operation USA, Japan, Radiation, Impact News

I urge the donating public to take it slowly and deliberately. Better to carefully sort through relief agencies' descriptions of what they plan to do over the next month to two years in Japan to help it recover.

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One Year After: Haiti Aid Is not Rocket Science nor a Spectator Sport

Richard Walden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Chronicle of Philanthropy, Clinton Initiative, Honeywell Hometown Solutions, United Nations, Operation USA, Aid, Samaritans Purse, Franklin Graham, Haiti, Sarah Palin, Impact News

Many reports from NGOs are clearly inflated either by overvaluing supplies having been sent or by counting as money spent things which are planned for later on.

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Blake Edwards Was the Real Deal for Operation USA

Richard Walden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Cambodia, Queen Noor, Cbs, Operation USA, Blake Edwards, Vietnam, Haiti, Julie Andrews, Blake Edwards Obituary, Blake Edwards Dies, Blake Edwards Dead, Impact News

Unlike the "watch me" generation of celebrity activists and philanthropists, Blake preferred the occasional intervention -- ones which had enduring effect.

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7 Ways to Make Your Turkey Taste Better & Do Good

Richard Walden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Education, Vitamin A, Black Friday, Healthclinics, Thanksgiving, Cholera, Operation USA, Micro-Lending, Haiti, Water Purification, Impact News

Here are some suggestions about what you and yours might do with $100 or $1000 saved from unnecessary consumption this Holiday Season.

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Hurricane Tomas Hits Haiti: How To Help

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Haiti, Haiti-Flooding, Haiti Floods, Hurricane Tomas, Tropical Storm Tomas, Operation USA, Impact News

This week, aid workers and government officials scrambled to warn homeless Haitians about the dangers of severe flooding ahead of a storm threatening ...

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Typhoon Megi Leaves 200,000 Homeless In The Philippines

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Natural Disaster, Typhoon Megi, Bbc, Philippines Typhoon, Homeless, Typhoon Juan, China, Operation USA, Impact News

Typhoon Megi, which swept through the northern Philippines earlier this week, has left 200,000 residents homeless, reports BBC. The storm is the wors...

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Children Under Water: Pakistan Relief Imperative

Richard Walden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Pakistan Floods, Operation USA, Humanitarian Aid, Pakistan Crisis, Nuclear Weapons, Impact News

The relief community I've known for over 30 years wants to respond massively to such a huge mega-disaster. It cannot do this without money and materiel from the American people.

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An Unchanging Burma vs. An Immovable Force for Good

Richard Walden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Thailand-Burma Border, Dr. Cynthia Maung, Operation USA, Mae Tao Clinic, Burma, Myanmar, Impact News

On the Thailand-Burma border, Dr. Cynthia Maung's Mae Tao Clinic has for 21 years managed to care for over 250,000 semi-permanent refugees while also providing quiet cross-border assistance to those who need it.

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Bibi: Does Your Mother Know You're a Pirate?

Richard Walden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Flotilla, Piracy, Israel, Lebanon, Cyprus, Operation USA, Gaza Aid, Operation California, World News

Having provided aid to 99 countries over 31 years, I can say without hesitation that sending aid to the West Bank/Gaza/Palestine is an extremely difficult thing to do.

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Chile Earthquake Powerfully Reminds Us We Are Vulnerable

Richard Walden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Earthquake Preparedness, Tsunami, Operation USA, Tidal Wave, Chile Earthquake, World News

While relief agencies and governments gear up to help those affected by the quake and resulting tsunami, Americans get yet another warning about our own vulnerability to a sudden quake or tidal wave.

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Making an Impact in Chile

Richard Walden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Operation USA, Tsunami, Preparedness, Haiti, Chile Earthquake, Impact News

The damage from an 8.8 will be massive but it could have been far worse without Chile national program of disaster preparedness.

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Haiti, Katrina and America's Poorest Community

Richard Walden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: American Indian Movement, Preston Randolph, Katrina, Pine Ridge Reservation, Operation USA, Poverty in America, Haiti, Peter Coyote, Impact News

Most Americans are completely oblivious to the abstract and harsh poverty right here at home. This is proven by American ignorance of the horrors occurring at Indian Reservations across the Dakotas.

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Julie Andrews, Haiti and Operation USA: UPDATE

Richard Walden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Operation USA, Haiti Earthquake Relief, Haiti, Julie Andrews, Impact News

This morning on NBC's "Today Show" the iconic Julie Andrews spoke to America about her 30 years' work with Operation USA as a founding board member.

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Can People Still Afford to Care?

Richard Walden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Indonesia, Watchdog Groups, Economic Crisis, Nonprofits, Guidestar, Samoa, Relief Groups, The Philippines, Operation USA, Asia Tsunami, Constitutional Rights Foundation, Charity Navigator, World News

Just $7,700 was contributed online to Operation USA a full week after the recent natural disasters. This compares with over $1 million donated online within 24 hours in 2004 after the Asia tsunami.

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A Ripe Tomato: The Perfect Holiday Present!

Richard Walden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Ronald Reagan, Holiday Gift, Crops, Contra War, Landmines, Micro-Credit, Irrigation, Nicaragua, Santarosa-Unida, Operation USA, Politics News

When Geronimo Basilio borrowed $100 from Santa Rosa Unida, the local NGO with a micro-credit loan fund in his northern Nicaraguan village, he did so a...

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True Angels in the City of Angels: The Top 5 Social Enterprises in LA

Jonathan Greenblatt | Posted 05.25.2011

Despite the negative press, LA is a vibrant hub of ethnicities and ideas, a thriving metropolis that spurs continuous innovation for the common good.

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Swine Flu Outbreak Precautions Begin

Richard Walden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Bird Flu, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Operation USA, Swine Flu, Politics News

We do not yet know the lethality of this particular strain or mix of animal and human viruses, but it appears at first glance less deadly than the "bird flu."

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China's 10 Million Quake Victims Remain Victims

Richard Walden | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Katrina, Disaster Relief, Honeywell Hometown Solutions, Operation USA, China, Sichuan Earthquake, Honeywell Corporation, World News

China's 10 million-plus victims of last May's Sichuan Earthquake remain largely in massive temporary prefabricated housing complexes, in tents or under blue tarps in partially damaged homes.

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Nicaragua Ten Years After Hurricane Mitch

Richard Walden | Posted 05.25.2011

It's important to understand that the immediacy of a disaster response can also be followed by a long term recovery period that leaves those affected by Mother Nature better off than they were before.

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Operation USA Named #1 Privately Funded Charity

Richard Walden | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Disaster Relief, International Relief, Charity Navigator, Operation USA, Personal Finance, US Government, Worldbank, Nongovernmental Group, Fema, Non-Governmental Relief, Healthy Living News

Most of the large brand name relief groups derive 20-75% of all their funds from US government agencies but non-governmental Operation USA is not beholden to political winds.

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