The Changing Face Of Hip-Hop And Giving Back
For decades, the hip-hop lifestyle has been synonymous with a certain love of luxury: fast cars, jewelry, gold teeth, and multi-million dollar mansions. Now, hip-hop as a genre is beginning to take on a more innovative and independent tact. Ira Riklis looks at how the genre’s biggest stars are using the proceeds from their multi-platinum... Read More
How One Company Is Setting The Tone For Socially Conscious Corporations
As our global marketplace becomes more social media-driven and, inevitably, more socially conscious, charitable contributions are playing an outsized role in the way major corporations and online start-ups alike are perceived by their clientele and by their employees. The notion of a major industry giving back to society is as old as Andrew Carnegie, but... Read More
How The UJA-Federation Of New York Raised $238 Million This Year
This year has been huge for the (United Jewish Appeal) UJA -Federation of New York, the largest philanthropy organization in the world. Ira Riklis dives into its community and charity efforts that span over 70 countries in the last century and how the organization was able to raise a record $238.2 million in its centennial... Read More
Rosario Food Bank Receives Generous Donation From Soccer Star
Rosario Food Bank received a pleasant surprise from Barcelona forward Lionel Messi who donated all the leftover food and beverages from his wedding. Messi married his high school sweetheart, Antonella Roccuzzo, in their hometown of Rosario, Argentina. Among the 260 people in attendance for the June 30 wedding were Barcelona and Argentina teammates including Neymar,... Read More
Cast Of Dodgeball Reunites For Charity
This week, Ira Riklis shares the story behind the cast of Dodgeball reuniting in an effort to raise some money for a great cause. Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Justin Long, and Christine Taylor reunite for a special event since the 2004 release of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. The reunion is set to raise money... Read More
New 2017 Honda Civic Type R Auctioned For Charity
Can you imagine a world where a parent, won’t have to hear a doctor say, “I’m sorry, your child has a brain tumor”? Well, in Ira Riklis‘ latest blog he talks about the charity efforts of Honda and Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation to end this disease. The world without this disease is the vision and... Read More
The Work Of Mentoring USA
How do children grow up to be happy adults? Do young people from harsh environments believe they have a right to pursue happiness? Our forefathers wrote the Declaration of Independence as an instrument of change for a new–unmapped country–with an unknown future. Those men had a vision about unalienable rights such as life, liberty and... Read More
The Work Of New York Foundation For The Arts
The New York Foundation for the Arts was first founded in 1971 with a goal and a drive to enable artists, aspiring artists and aspiring art organizations to survive through the difficult times that marked the beginning of their career. Though it was first created with the intent of supporting those within the state of... Read More
What Is The Robin Hood Foundation?
The mission of Robin Hood is immensely powerful in its simplicity: To fight poverty in New York City. What Does Robin Hood Do? Robin Hood is New York City’s largest poverty fighting organization. Founded in 1988, Robin Hood has created and funded programs and schools in New York City’s most at-risk neighborhoods. Programs funded by... Read More
Citymeals On Wheels NYC Serves Up Meals and Friendship
Citymeals-on-Wheels New York City diligently works towards their lofty mission of ensuring that not a single elderly citizen will go one day without a meal. But, if you think that they are just a food service provider, you would be mistaken. The service they provide that has the most impact is that of friendship. Feeding... Read More
Charities responding to the Ebola crisis
With an expected infection rate of 20,000 people by November 2014 and a death rate of 50%, the Ebola crisis in West Africa has become a world-wide crisis, read the report here. Nations all over the world are doing what they can to help stop the spread of the virus by providing teams of healthcare... Read More
Nonprofit Highlight: Project HOME
Twenty five years ago Sister Mary Scullion and her associate, Joan Dawson McConnon, founded Project HOME with the intention of terminating homelessness in Philadelphia. Thankfully their efforts do help, help people in Philly with jobs, education, and homes. Much progress has been made and there is a lot to celebrate with the opening of 55... Read More
Charity Highlight: Restore NYC
Restore NYC is a charity that reaches out to the victims of sex trafficking and helps to bring them out of hiding so that they may live a fulfilling life (read the Polaris report on trafficking here). By partnering with the court system and collaborating with both federal and local law enforcement, this charity strives... Read More
Philabundance: Meeting the Needs of the Hungry
Philabundance is an organization dedicated to stamping out hunger in the Philadelphia and the surrounding Delaware Valley area. Philadelphia is among the poorest large city in the United States. Food insecurity, the threat of hunger from an inability to access food, is a rampant problem in this area. According to research undertaken by Philabunndance, over... Read More
Children Of Promise
They say it takes a village to raise a child and that’s the basic premise of the children’s charity, Children of Promise. And that is what they’re doing for children of incarcerated parents in New York City, New York. The Children of Promise, located in Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn, is a non-profit, community based organization with... Read More
Philadelphia Corporation For The Aging
The Philadelphia Corporation for the Aging has been serving seniors of Philadelphia since 1973. They are a private, non-profit agency with a mission to help seniors and persons with disabilities to improve their quality of life. They do this through a compassionate staff and countless programs to assist seniors and the disabled. Their goal is... Read More
Northeast Animal Rescue
Northeast Animal Rescue aids animals that cannot defend themselves. Animals have certain rights that they do not always receive. They are entitled to become part of a warm, loving family, as well as the right to exist. Since animals cannot speak for themselves, they have others that are more than capable of doing their bidding.... Read More
Big Brothers Big Sisters Of America
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is one of the nations most well know children’s charities. Founded in 1904, Big Brothers Big Sisters is celebrating 110 years of improving the lives on young people. The charity seeks to prove that all children are capable of succeeding and thriving in their life. Big Brothers Big Sisters... Read More
Nonprofit Highlight: Women Against Abuse
Women Against Abuse is Philadelphia’s leading non-profit organisation helping stop domestic violence and give service to those affected by domestic violence. If you look at the numbers of people served by the nonprofit, then you can see just how much their program is really needed. For example: 580 survivors are safely housed in Emergency Safe... Read More
Upwardly Global Lifts American Immigrants to Higher Social Status
Over 1.8 million immigrants have entered America as college-educated professionals. In their homelands, they were doctors, engineers, scientists, and accountants. However, in the States these people find themselves struggling as they work for minimum wage at low-skill jobs if they can find employment at all. Upwardly Global seeks to remedy this imbalance. Upwardly Global is... Read More