Catchafire’s Post

#Philanthropy is highly underrated. I give my time and skillsets to Family & Children's Services. As a member of the Young Professionals Advisory Council, we toured the CATS (Child Abuse & Trauma Services) facilities and heard from front line experts. This week, we will be volunteering to put on a holiday party for the child clients and their families. Here’s how I found the best-suited cause to volunteer and serve: 1️⃣ YOUR PASSIONS: Find causes that align with your personal passions and values. Reflect on issues that genuinely matter to you — is it education, healthcare, or environmental sustainability? Getting involved in a cause you’re passionate is key for a fulfilling commitment. 2️⃣ NEED-BASED: Look for specific needs within your local #community. You can reach out to local organizations or attend community meetings. If you understand the needs of your community, you can see where the most impact can be. 3️⃣ NETWORK: Partnering locally can serve you too. There’s people associated with the same cause who you can connect with for expertise, resources, and #networks. Where do you #serve?

Today is #NationalNonprofitDay. I’m a big believer in the amazing and impactful work that nonprofits can do in our communities. Here are a few that I’m engaged with: 1. www.bebraven.org, focused on closing the education-to-employment gap faced by students from challenged backgrounds. 2. www.catalyst.org, focused on building workplaces that work for women 3. www.Elwyn.org, focused on children and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. What nonprofit organizations do you volunteer with? Share in the comments below!

This Thanksgiving, we want to extend our warmest wishes to our community, partners, and everyone who has been a part of our journey. We believe in the power of giving back. Here's a list of 10 Online Volunteering Opportunities that allow us to make a difference from the comfort of our homes: 1. @VolunteerMatc: Connect with causes that need your skills. 2. Points of Light Global Network: Join global volunteer initiatives. 3. United Nations Online Volunteering: Support international projects aiding women and youth. 4. Crisis Text Line: Train as a crisis counselor. 5. Online Tutoring: Teach or mentor through platforms like Tutor.com, Chegg Inc. Tutors, or MentorCruise. 6. Crafting for a Cause: Submit craft patterns to Warm Up America! . 7. Fundraising for a Cause: Start a campaign on GoFundMe or JustGiving. 8. Transcribing for Project Gutenberg: Help digitize books. 9. Online Advocacy: Create or support petitions on Change.org or Avaaz. 10. Online Support or Counseling: Join 7 Cups to offer emotional support. Let's use this time to contribute positively. Happy Thanksgiving! #Thanksgiving2023 #Volunteering #CommunityImpact #TaTiO

Mothers experiencing marital distress often find themselves in vulnerable positions, facing emotional and economic challenges. Widows, often marginalized and forgotten, face unique hardships as they navigate life without a partner. Teenage motherhood often comes with unique challenges, including limited access to education, healthcare, and social support. Motherhood advocacy is a powerful force for positive change in the lives of vulnerable mothers. By addressing the specific needs of teen moms, women challenging societal norms, those facing marital distress, and widows, advocates contribute to the creation of more inclusive and supportive communities. Empowered mothers, in turn, become agents of change, inspiring future generations and reshaping the narrative of motherhood in marginalized areas. Are you a teen mom, beaten by life, judged, shamed, and shunned, and still have the role of a mother, not knowing how to navigate the terrain? Are you a mother in distress, needing somebody to talk to, a helping hand, or just a means to regain your footing? Are you a young widow, a mother, lost in pain and misery, and needing support to get through? Welcome all to the Empower Mom Network. a Christian-based organization working closely with vulnerable mothers in need of support, emotionally, materially, and psychologically to rebuild their lives Would you like to partner with EMN to create real change in the life of a struggling mother? you can partner with us in our activities, mentorship programs, workshops, storytelling sessions, and economic programs #happymotherhoodadvocacy contact : [email protected] https://lnkd.in/dJr554Gy

Did you know?… - Between 2008 - 2020 more than 66,000 adoptees ended up in the foster care system? That’s the findings of a first-of-its-kind USA TODAY analysis of federal and state data. - More than 50% of foster care placements fail? - In 2020, more than 20,000 youth left foster care without a family to call home? A safe and loving home is priority #1 for these children and youth, but it needs to go further than that. Healthy relational connections to heal the effects of their trauma is the focus of Chosen’s model of care — keeping families together and children in place without yet another disruption. Would you consider financially supporting Chosen as we seek to provide families and children with life changing support? Link to give - https://lnkd.in/e2nkXJ84

I look forward to reading these insights and exploring this new resource. 👇 #HealingTheNationsDivides

On April 2, the Chronicle of Philanthropy launches The Commons, a major new project to explore how America’s nonprofits and foundations are working to heal the nation’s divides. We’ll look at potential solutions and examine how philanthropy can do more — and how it can avoid creating or deepening fissures. The Commons is taking on far more than polarization and red vs. blue discord. We’re exploring income, race, gender, geography, and other areas of life where division threatens progress. The Commons brings you the rigorous reporting and expansive range of opinions you can count on from the Chronicle. Plus, we’re offering resources and tools that can help you and your organization act. #TheCommons

Happy Reframe Friday! Today we are addressing the importance of funding grassroots organizations doing the work with high risk youth with the goal to support them to build capacity, increase programming and staffing. Grassroots group are typically those mobilized in local communities, with deep, trusting and long standing relationships within their community. They are also funded at smaller percentages and are often investing more resources into frontline service delivery and less into grant writing as they don't have capacity at the front end to do so. This means they are often disqualified from grants as they don't have the current infrastructure to do so, as the limited resources they do have go towards the people they are serving everyday. Despite the critical need for funding, smaller agencies are left with pennies, while larger, more substantial agency spaces are funded over and over again, limiting the ability from a grassroots agency to expand beyond the grassroots stage. Grassroots organizations are consistently rights holders, meaning they are comprised of people who are directly impacted by a problem in their local context. They also have a better understanding of the local needs of their communities. They know the social fabric of their context and are committed in ways that a larger organization may not be. Compared to larger NGO's grassroots agencies have lower operating costs because they are embedded in their communities. Therefore, funding grassroots organizations is an essential stagey for building self sufficient communities and supporting local development (Philanthropy Digest, 2015). The violence in our local Hamilton community is on the rise and grassroots agencies are often those most connected to providing solutions at the ground level. Granting these small agencies funding opportunities not only supports them to scale up and grow, it also immediately supports those at highest risk of harm in community. We have young people dying everyday, and it is our responsibility as service providers to step up and lean into best practices. It is also on funders to recognize the dedicated, fierce work being done by these small groups and the strongest form of recognition is putting belief that funding them will result in positive community based impact. #bedifferent #grassroots #communityimpact #systemchange