Websites
LOCAL VOLUNTEER DIRECTORIES
United We Serve
Managed by the Corporation for National and Community Service, serve.gov is a resource for finding volunteer opportunities in your community and also creating your own.
Volunteer Match
Find a place to volunteer, search by zip code or organization, or find volunteers.
Volunteers of America
Through our thousands of human service programs, including housing and healthcare, Volunteers of America helps more than 2 million people in over 400 communities in 46 states as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
United Way
United Way Worldwide is the leadership and support organization for the network of nearly 1,800 community-based United Ways in 45 countries and territories. Find your local site and search for volunteer opportunities.
Homeless Shelter Directory
Search for homeless shelters or soup kitchens Nation-wide.
Food Pantries
Search for food banks by state or zip code.
Animal Shelter.org
Search for shelters or adopt a pet in your area.
ASPCA
Find a shelter to adopt or volunteer.
GLOBAL VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
United Planet
Over the past decade, United Planet has brought together thousands of people all over the world in the effort to build cross-cultural understanding and provide vital services to communities in need.
Go Abroad.com
Search for a volunteer abroad program by country and type of project.
Cross-Cultural Solutions
Our mission is to operate volunteer programs around the world in partnership with sustainable community initiatives, bringing people together to work side-by-side while sharing perspectives and fostering cultural understanding. We are an international not-for-profit organization with no political or religious affiliations.
Global Volunteer Network
The Global Volunteer Network (GVN) offers volunteer service opportunities in community projects around the world. We currently provide volunteer programs through our partner organizations in 22 countries throughout South America, Africa and Asia.
Back Door Jobs
Many opportunities to work, volunteer, or intern abroad.
POVERTY
End Poverty 2015
End poverty by 2015. This is the historic promise 189 world leaders made at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000 when they signed onto the Millennium Declaration and agreed to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs are an eight-point road map with measurable targets and clear deadlines for improving the lives of the world's poorest people. World leaders have agreed to achieve the MDGs by 2015.
Global Poverty Project
1.4 billion people on our planet live in extreme poverty. The Global Poverty Project seeks to invigorate the global movement to take effective concerted action on poverty through the presentation 1.4 billion reasons.
CARE
CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. We place special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. Women are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts to improve basic education, prevent the spread of disease, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity and protect natural resources. CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives.
ONE
ONE is a grassroots advocacy and campaigning organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa, by raising public awareness and pressuring political leaders to support smart and effective policies and programs that are saving lives, helping to put kids in school and improving futures. Cofounded by Bono and other campaigners, ONE is nonpartisan and works closely with African activists and policy makers.
The Hunger Project
The Hunger Project is a global, non-profit, strategic organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger.
In Africa, South Asia and Latin America, The Hunger Project seeks to end hunger and poverty by empowering people to lead lives of self-reliance, meet their own basic needs and build better futures for their children.
Live Below the Line
Live Below the Line is an incredible awareness and fundraising campaign that empowers those who want to eradicate extreme poverty within the next generation. Started in Australia in 2010, the movement quickly spread across 3 continents and is now catching on in the US.
HUMAN RIGHTS
UNICEF
UNICEF is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. We have the global authority to influence decision-makers, and the variety of partners at grassroots level to turn the most innovative ideas into reality. That makes us unique among world organizations, and unique among those working with the young.
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative
The mission of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) is to relieve human suffering in war and disaster by advancing the science and practice of humanitarian response worldwide. HHI fosters interdisciplinary collaboration at Harvard University in order to:
Improve the effectiveness of humanitarian strategies for relief, protection, and prevention;
Instill human rights principles and practices in these strategies;
Educate and train the next generation of humanitarian leaders.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 3 million supporters, members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights.
Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.
We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse.
United Nations Human Rights
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) represents the world's commitment to universal ideals of human dignity. We have a unique mandate from the international community to promote and protect all human rights.
UNESCO
UNESCO works to create the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values. It is through this dialogue that the world can achieve global visions of sustainable development encompassing observance of human rights, mutual respect and the alleviation of poverty, all of which are at the heart of UNESCO’S mission and activities.
United for Human Rights
United for Human Rights (UHR) is an international, not-for-profit organization dedicated to implementing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at local, regional, national and international levels. Its membership is comprised of individuals, educators and groups throughout the world who are actively forwarding the knowledge and protection of human rights by and for all Mankind.
Youth for Human Rights
Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2001 by Dr. Mary Shuttleworth. The purpose of YHRI is to teach youth about human rights, specifically the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and inspire them to become advocates for tolerance and peace. YHRI has now grown into a global movement, including hundreds of groups, clubs and chapters around the world.
SENIORS
Meals on Wheels
The Meals On Wheels Association of America is the oldest and largest national organization composed of and representing local, community-based Senior Nutrition Programs in all 50 U.S. states, as well as the U.S. Territories. These local programs are our MOWAA Members.
Twilight Wish
Twilight Wish Foundation, founded in 2003 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization that grants wishes to economically-disadvantaged seniors age 68 and older who cannot make their own dreams come true. Our mission is to honor and enrich the lives of deserving elders through wish granting celebrations that connect generations. Our vision is to make the world a nicer place to age, one wish at a time.
EMERGENCY & DISASTER RESPONSE
CERT
The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.
Act Alliance
ACT is an alliance of 111 churches and church-related organisations that work together in humanitarian assistance and development.
The alliance works in 140 countries and mobilises US$1.6 billion annually in its work for a just world.
The alliance has over 33,000 people working for it globally.
EFSP
The Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program was created in 1983 to supplement the work of local social service organizations within the United States, both private and governmental, to help people in need of emergency assistance. This collaborative effort between the private and public sectors has provided over $3.6 billion in Federal funds during its 28-year history.
Red Cross
Since its founding in 1881 by visionary leader Clara Barton, the American Red Cross has been the nation's premier emergency response organization. As part of a worldwide movement that offers neutral humanitarian care to the victims of war, the American Red Cross distinguishes itself by also aiding victims of devastating natural disasters. Over the years, the organization has expanded its services, always with the aim of preventing and relieving suffering.
FEMA
Advising on building codes and flood plain management, teaching people how to get through a disaster...helping equip local and state emergency preparedness...coordinating the federal response to a disaster...making disaster assistance available to states, communities, businesses and individuals, training emergency managers...supporting the nation's fire service...administering the national flood and crime insurance programs...the range of FEMA's activities is broad indeed and spans the life cycle of disasters.
PETITIONS & MEDIA
Global Oneness Project
The Global Oneness Project produces films, media and educational materials that explore how the simple notion of interconnectedness can be lived in today's complex world.
Since 2006 we've been traveling the world gathering stories that not only question the current paradigm but also reveal our greater human potential.
Change.org
Every day, across the world, people like you start campaigns on Change.org to fight for issues they care about — and the Change.org team works to mobilize people to help them win.
We believe that building momentum for social change globally means empowering citizen activists locally. That's why anyone, anywhere — from Chicago to Cape Town – can start their own grassroots campaign for change using our organizing platform.
Credo Action
CREDO is a social change organization that supports activism and funds progressive nonprofits. Our mobile telephone company, CREDO Mobile, generates revenue to support progressive nonprofits and our our activism arm, CREDO Action. CREDO Action, powered by CREDO Mobile customers, helps channel the power of its 3.3 million members to fight for progressive change.
AVAAZ
Avaaz—meaning "voice" in several European, Middle Eastern and Asian languages—launched in 2007 with a simple democratic mission: organize citizens of all nations to close the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want. Our model of internet organising allows thousands of individual efforts, however small, to be rapidly combined into a powerful collective force.
Care2
Care2 is a trusted social action network that empowers millions of people to lead a healthy, sustainable lifestyle and support socially responsible causes.
Care2's content offering includes original stories, blogs and syndication partners covering a wide range of healthy and green lifestyle areas, and causes ranging from health and the environment to human rights and animal welfare. A deeper level of engagement is achieved by integrating action opportunities such as petitions, pledges, daily actions, contests and click-to-donate sites with relevant content.
Sum of Us
SumOfUs is a movement of consumers, workers and shareholders speaking with one voice to counterbalance the growing power of large corporations. Join us on our journey as we seek to make the world a better place for ourselves, our children and all who share our planet.
ANIMALS
ASPCAThe ASPCA was the first humane organization in the Western Hemisphere. Our mission, as stated by our founder, Henry Bergh, in 1866, is “to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States.” The ASPCA works to rescue animals from abuse, pass humane laws and share resources with shelters nationwide. Learn more about what we do, and join our fight today!
Animal Shelters
Animal Shelter directory search by state or zip code.
PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world, with more than 2 million members and supporters. PETA works through public education, cruelty investigations, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns.
The Humane Society
The Humane Society of the United States works to reduce suffering and improve the lives of all animals by advocating for better laws; investigating animal cruelty; conducting campaigns to reform industries; performing animal rescue and emergency response; and providing care to animals through our sanctuaries, emergency shelters, wildlife rehabilitation centers, and clinics.
PeaceAnimal
PEACEANIMAL is dedicated to expanding the definition of PEACE to include all species and to supporting those who seek to do the same. This work creates a call to action that extends the scope of our awareness and inspires our participation, with an objective of creating the social change that manifests as a sustained PEACE …in all places…for ALL beings.
Humane Farming Association
The Humane Farming Association is the nation's most effective organization dedicated to the protection of farm animals. Founded in 1985, and over 250,000 members strong, HFA has gained national recognition and respect for its hard work, integrity, and its highly-successful campaigns.
Certified Humane
The Certified Humane Raised and Handled® program is a certification and labeling program that is the only animal welfare label requiring the humane treatment of farm animals from birth through slaughter. The goal of the program is to improve the lives of farm animals by driving consumer demand for kinder and more responsible farm animal practices. When you see the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® label on a product you can be assured that the food products have come from facilities that meet precise, objective standards for farm animal treatment.
Mercy for Animals
Mercy For Animals is a national non-profit organization dedicated to preventing cruelty to farmed animals and promoting compassionate food choices and policies.
CLEAN WATER
Charity: Water
charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects.
Water.Org
Water.org is challenging the traditional approach to assisting people in developing countries. Our goals are to draw attention to the world’s number one health problem, unsafe and inadequate water supplies, and to raise funds to help fight this immense problem – one community at a time.
Global Water
Global Water is based upon the belief that the lack of access to safe drinking water is the primary cause of hunger, disease and poverty throughout the developing world.
We’re focused on providing safe water supplies, sanitation and hygiene facilities, and related health programs for rural villagers in developing countries.
End Water Poverty
We're a coalition campaign, made up of 185 members in 55 countries. We campaign and advocate to decision makers, the media and other development organisations to take action to end the water and sanitation crisis. Our strategic goals are to:
- make water and sanitation a higher priority for governments who give aid and for governments in the poorest countries who can raise the availability of sanitation and water to millions more people
- strengthen the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) partnership so that the poorest communities get access to sanitation and water
- campaign for better delivery of sanitation and water through joined policies with health, education and nutrition
Give Clean Water
Give Clean Water, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, provides and installs clean water filters in people’s homes so no matter what type of water they have access to, these families will always have clean water to drink.
NUTRITION & FOOD
Vitamin Angels
Our mission is to mobilize and deploy private sector resources to advance availability, access and use of micronutrients, especially vitamin A, by newborns, infants and children in need. Vitamin Angels reduces child mortality worldwide by connecting essential nutrients, especially vitamin A, with infants and children under five. Essential nutrients enable young immune systems to fight infectious diseases, helping children attain good health and the opportunity to lead meaningful and productive lives
Seva Cafe
Seva Café is an experiment in the shared joy that comes from humble giving and selfless service. Our wholesome meals are cooked and served with love by volunteers and offered to our guests as a genuine gift, paid for in full by previous guests.
UN World Food Program
The World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.
In emergencies, we get food to where it is needed, saving the lives of victims of war, civil conflict and natural disasters. After the cause of an emergency has passed, we use food to help communities rebuild their shattered lives.
Free Rice
FreeRice is a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Programme.
FreeRice has two goals:
Provide education to everyone for free.
Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.
Feeding America
Our mission is to feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger.
Food Research & Action Center
The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) is the leading national nonprofit organization working to improve public policies and public-private partnerships to eradicate hunger and undernutrition in the United States. FRAC works with hundreds of national, state and local nonprofit organizations, public agencies, corporations and labor organizations to address hunger, food insecurity, and their root cause, poverty. As Congress Daily has written, FRAC is “the premier anti-hunger group in Washington.”
NY Coalition for Healthy School Food
The New York Coalition for Healthy School Food (NYCHSF) is a statewide nonprofit that works to improve the health and well-being of New York's students by advocating for healthy plant-based foods, including local and organic where possible, farm to school programs, school gardens, the elimination of unhealthy competitive foods in all areas of the school (not just the cafeteria), comprehensive nutrition policy, and education to create food- and health-literate students.
PCRM Healthy School Lunches
Doctors and laypersons working together for compassionate and effective medical practice, research, and health promotion.
Food Banks
Directory of soup kitchens and food banks. Food Banks are distribution hubs. They supply the food to the Soup Kitchens, Food Pantries, Shelters etc. They in turn provide that food to the individuals that need it. Food Banks do not directly serve individuals in need.
Food Pantries
Another directory of food banks.
Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is an alliance driven by the vision of a world without malnutrition. Created in 2002 at a Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Children, GAIN supports public-private partnerships to increase access to the missing nutrients in diets necessary for people, communities and economies to be stronger and healthier.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Sarvodaya
The Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement is the largest people's organization in Sri Lanka. Sarvodaya is Sanskrit for 'Awakening of All' and Shramadana means to donate effort. It began in one village and has grown to more than 15,000. (Read More). Today we are engaged in Northern Emergency Humanitarian Relief. You can contribute below.
Sarvodaya USA
Sarvodaya USA promotes self-help development to improve the quality of life for everyone, especially the poorest and underprivileged. It also seeks to influence global development policies to become more human-focused and more mindful of our traditional and cultural values.
CLOTHING & HOUSEHOLD
TOMS Shoes
In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One.
Soles 4 Souls
Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects shoes from the warehouses of footwear companies and the closets of people like you. The charity distributes these shoes to people in need, regardless of race, religion, class, or any other criteria.
Donations Directory
We started developing this website in September 2008 as an online directory of charities that offer donation pick up service. It became apparent that people needed a resource devoted entirely to the charitable donations of clothing and other household goods. There are plenty of great websites out there that focus on donating money to charity, but practically no websites devoted to the donation of non-cash items. DonationTown.org is here to change that!
Goodwill Locator
Find the Goodwill stores, headquarters, job training centers and donation sites near you.
Salvation Army
Find a donation center.
HOUSING & HOMELESSNESS
Homeless Shelter Directory
This homeless resources was created for people who want to find and donate food and/or supplies to their local shelter.
Volunteer Opportunities are also needed at most shelters. I have listed contact information for volunteering at these shelters.
National Alliance to End Homelessness
The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a nonprofit, non-partisan, organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. By improving policy, building capacity, and educating opinion leaders, the Alliance has become a leading voice on this issue.
National Center on Family Homelessness
The National Center on Family Homelessness informs policies at local and national levels to achieve lasting impact. We conduct rigorous studies and write reports that document the causes, correlates, and consequences of homelessness. This information provides local and national leaders with accurate information to help create effective policy.
Beyond Shelter
Beyond Shelter is a non-profit organization founded in 1988 in response to increasing numbers of homeless families in Los Angeles and the need for a more comprehensive approach to serving them. Today, the mission of the agency is to develop systemic approaches to combat poverty and homelessness among families with children, and to enhance family economic security and well-being.
U.S. Dept. of Housing
Homelessness is a problem that affects many people in America. If you are homeless yourself and need help or if you want to learn more about homelessness and how you can help, we have information for you.
Habitat for Humanity
We are a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian ministry founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a decent, safe and affordable place to live. We build with people in need regardless of race or religion. We welcome volunteers and supporters from all backgrounds.
NeighborWorks
NeighborWorks America is the country’s preeminent leader in affordable housing and community development. We work to create opportunities for lower-income people to live in affordable homes in safe, sustainable neighborhoods that are healthy places for families to grow.
Rebuilding Together
Rebuilding Together is the nation’s leading nonprofit working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize communities. Our network of more than 200 affiliates provides free rehabilitation and critical repairs to the homes
of low-income Americans.
HEALTH CARE
Health Care for the Homeless
The National Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) Council is a home for those who work to improve the health of homeless people and who seek housing, health care, and adequate incomes for everyone. In the National HCH Council, agencies and individuals, clinicians and advocates, homeless people and housed people come together for mutual support and learning opportunities, and to advance the cause of human rights.
Find a Health Center
Federally-funded health centers care for you, even if you have no health insurance. You pay what you can afford, based on your income. Health centers are in most cities and many rural areas. Type in your address and click the 'Find Health Centers' button to find health centers near you.
National Health Service Corps
The National Health Service Corps (NHSC), through scholarship and loan repayment programs, helps Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) in the U.S. get the medical, dental, and mental health providers they need to meet their tremendous need for health care.
Malaria No More
Malaria No More is determined to end malaria deaths in Africa by 2015. Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease and recent progress shows that malaria's days are numbered — but we need your help. Together, we can make malaria no more.
Seva Foundation
For more than 30 years, Seva has served people around the world who are struggling for health, cultural survival and sustainable communities.
We call it compassion in action.
YOUTH
Ripples International
Funded by Global Christian Interactive Inc USA in 2004, New Start Center Orphanage is known as Oasis of Hope and Love. New Start Center Orphanage is a rescue centre that cares for completely abandoned children irrespective of their HIV/AIDS status. The centre was born out of the desperation, stigma, discrimination and possible death that abandoned children and those living with HIV/AIDS face.
Mentoring Programs
For more than 20 years, MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership (MENTOR) has been the lead champion for youth mentoring in the United States. MENTOR helps children by providing a public voice, developing and delivering resources to mentoring programs nationwide and promoting quality for mentoring through standards, cutting-edge research and state of the art tools.
Student Mentor
StudentMentor.org is a nonprofit organization matching college students seeking career or academic advice with professionals nationwide.
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Each time Big Brothers Big Sisters pairs a child with a role model, we start something incredible: a one-to-one relationship built on trust and friendship that can blossom into a future of unlimited potential. And thanks to the first-ever nationwide impact study of a mentoring organization, we have the facts to prove it.
Kids are Waiting
The Kids Are Waiting: Fix Foster Care Now Campaign thanks its many partners for their outstanding leadership and dedication to improving the well-being of children in foster care. We are also deeply grateful to the federal policy makers who championed recent reforms to ensure that children spend less time in foster care and have the safe, permanent families they need and deserve.
Kids in Need of Defense
KIND was founded by the Microsoft Corporation and actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie to create a pro bono movement of law firms, corporate law departments, NGOs and volunteers committed to providing fair, competent and compassionate legal counsel to unaccompanied immigrant children in the U.S. We're calling this new coalition KIND -- but it's about more than compassion, it's about protecting the rights of children.
Child Help
Childhelp® exists to meet the physical, emotional, educational, and spiritual needs of abused, neglected and at-risk children. We focus our efforts on advocacy, prevention, treatment, and community outreach.
World Vision
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.
Save the Children
Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world. Recognized for our commitment to accountability, innovation and collaboration, our work takes us into the heart of communities, where we help children and families help themselves. We work with other organizations, governments, non-profits and a variety of local partners while maintaining our own independence without political agenda or religious orientation.
Films
Global Oneness Project
The Global Oneness Project produces films, media and educational materials that explore how the simple notion of interconnectedness can be lived in today's complex world.
Since 2006 we've been traveling the world gathering stories that not only question the current paradigm but also reveal our greater human potential.
The End of Poverty
Renowned actor and activist, Martin Sheen, narrates The End of Poverty?, a feature-length documentary directed by award-winning director, Philippe Diaz, which explains how today's financial crisis is a direct consequence of these unchallenged policies that have lasted centuries. Consider that 20% of the planet's population uses 80% of its resources and consumes 30% more than the planet can regenerate. At this rate, to maintain our lifestyle means more and more people will sink below the poverty line.
The Homeless Home Movie
"The Homeless Home Movie" interweaves the stories of five very different homeless people over the course of a year. They range from a pregnant 15 year old runaway Tina to a couple who live in their car Ken and Debbie as well as a Vietnam Vet West Side who lives out year round, and a man Greg bankrupted after his daughter's long fight with leukemia. Their opinions, actions, and histories of these homeless people, come together to expose the harsh realities and problems of homelessness.
The Human Experience
From Grassroots Films of Brooklyn, New York comes THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE – the story of a band of brothers who travel the world in search of the answers to the burning questions: Who am I? Who is Man? Why do we search for meaning? Their journey brings them into the middle of the lives of the homeless on the streets of New York City, the orphans and disabled children of Peru, and the abandoned lepers in the forests of Ghana, Africa. What the young men discover changes them forever. Through one on one interviews and real life encounters, the brothers are awakened to the beauty of the human person and the resilience of the human spirit.
Inocente
At 15, Inocente refuses to let her dream of becoming an artist be caged by her life as an undocumented immigrant forced to live homeless for the last nine years. Color is her personal revolution and its extraordinary sweep on her canvases creates a world that looks nothing like her own dark past – – a past punctuated by a father deported for domestic abuse, an alcoholic and defeated mother of four who once took her daughter by the hand to jump off a bridge together, an endless shuffle year after year through the city’s overcrowded homeless shelters and the constant threat of deportation.
Trouble the Water
Nominated for an Academy Award® for best feature documentary, TROUBLE THE WATER takes you inside Hurricane Katrina in a way never before seen on screen. It's a redemptive tale of two self-described street hustlers who become heroes-two unforgettable people who survive the storm and then seize a chance for a new beginning.
The film opens the day before the storm makes landfall-twenty-four year old aspiring rap artist Kimberly Rivers Roberts is turning her new video camera on herself and her 9th Ward neighbors trapped in the city. "It's going to be a day to remember," Kim declares. With no means to leave the city and equipped with just a few supplies and her hi 8 camera, she and her husband Scott tape their harrowing ordeal as the storm rages, the nearby levee breaches, and floodwaters fill their home and their community. Shortly after the levees fail, their battery dies.
Education Under Fire
Education Under Fire is produced by Single Arrow Productions and co-sponsored by Amnesty International. The 30-minute documentary profiles the growth, struggle, and inspiring spirit of the Baha´i Institute for Higher Education. Baha´is in Iran have been subjected to systematic persecution, including arrests, torture, and execution simply for refusing to recant their beliefs. They are also prohibited from going to college (and blocked from many professions).
Precious Knowledge
Arizona’s battle over ethnic studies in public schools, while students transform lawmakers push to eliminate the classes.
Angels in the Dust
AIDS is leaving entire South African villages decimated and thousands of children orphaned, with no adults to raise them. Marion and Con Cloete walked away from a privileged life to build Boikarabelo, an extraordinary village and school that provides shelter, food, and education to more than 550 South African children. The Social Action Campaign for Angels in the Dust is designed to help support Boikarabelo and raise awareness of the HIV/AIDS crisis in South Africa.
Arna's Children
Arna Mer Khamis was a legendary activist against the Israeli Occupation. Born into a Jewish family, she married a Palestinian Arab and spent her life campaigning for justice and human rights in her homeland. Arna founded an alternative education system for Palestinian children whose lives had been disrupted by Israeli occupation. In the Jenin refugee camp, Arna opened a theatre group where she taught the children to express anger, bitterness and fear through acting and art. The children slowly grew to trust and to love Arna: “She’s like my mother,” says one child. “She helps us. She saved us from the streets.” Arna’s son, Juliano Mer Khamis, was a director at the theater group and filmed his mother and the children rehearsing and performing over a six year period. When Arna died of cancer in 1995, the theater group struggled to continue for another two years but ultimately did not survive.
Sunset Story
SUNSET STORY is a funny and intimate documentary drama that will make you think differently about growing old. Set against the backdrop of a retirement home for political progressives, the film goes inside the world of two women, Irja (81) and Lucille (95), whose feisty engagement with life draws them together inextricably.
Deep in the heart of central Los Angeles, in a neighborhood bustling with immigrant Latino and Korean families, lies a fascinating anomaly. A "retirement home for free-thinking elderly," founded in 1923, Sunset Hall integrates aging with progressive activism, giving residents the opportunity to engage daily with causes they hold dear. The library, overflowing with books and adorned with a bust of Lenin and a portrait of Paul Robeson, is the site of many a heated debate. Bingo, dismissed by one resident as "a ridiculous game," is categorically rejected.
Enemies of the People
The Khmer Rouge ran what is regarded as one of the twentieth century’s most brutal regimes. Yet the Killing Fields of Cambodia remain unexplained. Until now.
In ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE the men and women who perpetrated the massacres – from the foot-soldiers who slit throats to the party’s ideological leader, Nuon Chea aka Brother Number Two – break a 30-year silence to give testimony never before heard or seen.
The Lottery
In a country where 58% of African American 4th graders are functionally illiterate, The Lottery uncovers the failures of the traditional public school system and reveals that hundreds of thousands of parents attempt to flee the system every year. The Lottery follows four of these families from Harlem and the Bronx who have entered their children in a charter school lottery. Out of thousands of hopefuls, only a small minority will win the chance of a better future.
Waiting for Superman
Documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim explores the tragic ways in which the American public education system is failing our nation's children, and explores the roles that charter schools and education reformers could play in offering hope for the future. We see the statistics every day -- students dropping out, science and math scores falling, and schools closing due to lack of funding. What we don't see are the names and faces of the children whose entire futures are at stake due to our own inability to enact change.
Garbarge Dreams
Garbage Dreams follows three teenage boys into the trash trade and growing up in the world's largest garbage village, on the outskirts of Cairo. It is the home to 60,000 Zaballeen, Arabic for "garbage people." Far ahead of any modern "Green" initiatives, the Zaballeen survive by recycling 80 percent of the garbage they collect. When their community is suddenly faced with the globalization of its trade, each of the teenage boys is forced to make choices that will impact his future and the survival of his community.
Global Oneness Project
Our living library of films is available online, through select broadcast outlets, and on DVD. Through our screening program and in-depth study guide, we offer ways for people to engage their community, stimulate dialogue and take action. We hope that by showing diverse expressions of oneness—in fields including sustainability, conflict resolution, spirituality, indigenous culture, and social justice—others will be inspired to create solutions to local and global problems from their own lived understanding of oneness.
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Pray the Devil Back to Hell chronicles the remarkable story of the courageous Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country.
Thousands of women — ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim — came together to pray for peace and then staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace. Armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they demanded a resolution to the country’s civil war. Their actions were a critical element in bringing about a agreement during the stalled peace talks.
A story of sacrifice, unity and transcendence, Pray the Devil Back to Hell honors the strength and perseverance of the women of Liberia. Inspiring, uplifting, and most of all motivating, it is a compelling testimony of how grassroots activism can alter the history of nations.
Where the Water Meets the Sky
Narrated by Morgan Freeman, Where the Water Meets the Sky is the story of a remarkable group of women in a remote region of northern Zambia, who are given a unique opportunity: to learn how to make a film, as a way to speak out about their lives and to challenge the local traditions which have, until now, kept them silent.
Crips and Bloods
Directed by critically acclaimed documentary filmmaker Stacy Peralta and Executive Produced by NBA star Baron Davis and Silicon Valley entrepreneur Stephen Luczo, CRIPS AND BLOODS: MADE IN AMERICA tells the story of the Crips and Bloods, South Los Angeles’ two most infamous African-American gangs.
Combining unprecedented access into the worlds of active gangs, CRIPS AND BLOODS: MADE IN AMERICA offers a compelling, character-driven documentary narrative which chronicles the decades-long cycle of destruction and despair that defines modern gang culture.
Beyond the Call
In an Indiana Jones meets Mother Teresa adventure, three middle-aged men – former soldiers and modern-day knights – travel the world delivering life-saving humanitarian aid directly into the hands of civilians and doctors; in some of the most dangerous yet beautiful places on Earth, the front lines of war.
Seoul Train
.With its riveting footage of a secretive “underground railroad,” SEOUL TRAIN is the gripping documentary exposé into the life and death of North Koreans as they try to escape their homeland and China.
SEOUL TRAIN also delves into the complex geopolitics behind this growing and potentially explosive humanitarian crisis. By combining vérité footage, personal stories and interviews with experts and government officials, SEOUL TRAIN depicts the flouting of international laws by major countries, the inaction and bureaucracy of the United Nations, and the heroics of activists that put themselves in harm’s way to save the refugees.
A Place at the Table
Fifty million people in the U.S.—one in four children—don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine the issue of hunger in America through the lens of three people struggling with food insecurity: Barbie, a single Philadelphia mother who grew up in poverty and is trying to provide a better life for her two kids; Rosie, a Colorado fifth-grader who often has to depend on friends and neighbors to feed her and has trouble concentrating in school; and Tremonica, a Mississippi second-grader whose asthma and health issues are exacerbated by the largely empty calories her hardworking mother can afford.
MissRepresentation
Like drawing back a curtain to let bright light stream in, Miss Representation (90 min; TV-14 DL) uncovers a glaring reality we live with every day but fail to see. Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself.
Books & Writings
Sarvodaya Collected Works
The Sarvodaya Research Institute began collecting Mr. A.T. Ariyaratne’s writings most of which published either as pam-phlets or in local and international journals are not readily available to those interested in his philosophy that gave rise to the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement. The numerous pamphlets and articles depict the seeds of Sarvodaya philosophy and its gradual maturation with the progress of time. As Sarvodaya in Sri Lanka has become synonymous with A.T. Ariyaratne, an understanding of his writings is necessary to understand the rapid growth of this formidable people’s Movement in rural Sri Lanka.
Bridges Out of Poverty
by Ruby K. Payne, Philip E. DeVol, and Terie Dreussi Smith
Bridges Out of Poverty is a unique and powerful tool designed specifically for social, health, and legal services professionals. Based in part on Dr. Ruby K. Payne's myth shattering A Framework for Understanding Poverty, Bridges reaches out to the millions of service providers and businesses whose daily work connects them with the lives of people in poverty. In a highly readable format you'll find case studies, detailed analysis, helpful charts and exercises, and specific solutions you and your organization can implement right now to: Redesign programs to better serve people you work with; Build skill sets for management to help guide employees; Upgrade training for front-line staff like receptionists, case workers, and managers; Improve treatment outcomes in health care and behavioral health care; Increase the liklihood of moving from welfare to work. If your business, agency, or organization works with people from poverty, only a deeper understanding of their challenges-and strengths-will help you partner with them to create opportunities for success.
Open Our Eyes: Seeing the Invisible People of Homelessness
by Kevin D. Hendricks
"I had it all and ended up on the streets," says Elvin. "I put a smile on my face for my kids' sake," says Cecilia. "I'm hoping I can survive another day," says Eddie. These are the gritty, unfiltered voices of America's homeless. This epidemic is putting families, children, veterans and executives on the street. While their stories are often ignored, they're not invisible, thanks to the efforts of InvisiblePeople.tv founder Mark Horvath. He travels the country collecting and sharing raw, unedited videos and gives voice to the nation's homeless. These are the stories of real homeless people, collected and retold from InvisiblePeople.tv videos. Interspersed with those real life stories are reflections from social media experts, nonprofit heroes, technology executives and more, sharing their connection to homelessness and how the inspiring example of InvisiblePeople.tv has impacted them.
The Working Poor: Invisible in America
by David K. Shipler
The Working Poor examines the "forgotten America" where "millions live in the shadow of prosperity, in the twilight between poverty and well-being." These are citizens for whom the American Dream is out of reach despite their willingness to work hard. Struggling to simply survive, they live so close to the edge of poverty that a minor obstacle, such as a car breakdown or a temporary illness, can lead to a downward financial spiral that can prove impossible to reverse. David Shipler interviewed many such working people for this book and his profiles offer an intimate look at what it is like to be trapped in a cycle of dead-end jobs without benefits or opportunities for advancement. He shows how some negotiate a broken welfare system that is designed to help yet often does not, while others proudly refuse any sort of government assistance, even to their detriment. Still others have no idea that help is available at all.
Wealth and Poverty in America: A Reader
by Dalton Conley
What does it mean to be poor in America at the dawn of the 21st century? For that matter, what does it mean to be rich? And how are the two related to each other? These apparently simple questions present enormous theoretical and empirical challenges to any student or social scientist. Wealth and Poverty in America is a collection of over 20 important essays on the complex relationship between the rich and poor in the United States. The authors include classical and contemporary thinkers on a wide variety of topics such as economic systems, the lifestyles of the rich and poor, and public policy. An editorial introduction and suggestions for further reading make this a useful and valuable source of information and analysis on the realities of the American rich and American poor.
Five Miles Away, A World Apart: One City, Two Schools, and the Story of Educational Opportunity in Modern America
by James E. Ryan
How is it that, half a century after Brown v. Board of Education, educational opportunities remain so unequal for black and white students, not to mention poor and wealthy ones?
In his important new book, Five Miles Away, A World Apart, James E. Ryan answers this question by tracing the fortunes of two schools in Richmond, Virginia--one in the city and the other in the suburbs. Ryan shows how court rulings in the 1970s, limiting the scope of desegregation, laid the groundwork for the sharp disparities between urban and suburban public schools that persist to this day.
A.T. Ariyaratne (Compassionate Activist)
By Richard S. Brooks
From farmers in remote Sri Lankan villages to luminaries at the United Nations and the seats of political power around the world, the reputation of Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne is that of a father, teacher and leader. He is known as a great motivator as well as insightful scholar who combine deep knowledge of Buddhism, history and human nature. But more than any other image, the full picture of A. T. Ariyaratne is that of a compassionate activist. In a lifetime of commitment he has forthrightly addressed the inequalities and incongruencies of life around him while also accepting the changing nature of existence itself. Although he has written and spoken on topics ranging from Pali texts and systems theory to appropriate technology, his message has been consistent: see the relationships and the whole; know that what you think and do has meaning not only for yourself but for all beings. You are part of the whole, and your actions on behalf of others are not unnoticed in the karmic equation. The pages of this volume display the remarkable impact of his life's work, the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement.