Showing posts with label Charities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charities. Show all posts

November 20, 2013

November 20, 2013 - Universal Children's Day











"The foundation of all human knowledge, the beginning of human consciousness, must be that each and every one of us is an object of love. Before you know if you have red hair or brown, before you know if you are black or white, before you know of what religion you are a part, you have to know that you are loved"
Michael Jackson




More on Universal Children's Day / Children's Rights:




Philippines Relief







September 21, 2013

Children's Day, September 21st, 2013 - International Day of Peace

“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”
Albert Einstein

 The UN passed the resolution for a world peace day in 1981 and in the next year the day was first observed as International Day of Peace.
The theme chosen for this year's International Day of Peace is "Education for Peace", in recognition of the importance of educating people about consequences of war on our children, our environment and on every aspect of life with the intent to reduce the probability of wars prolonging and expanding and thus holding captive our spirits and killing our loved ones.



 “The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labour. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent.”
George Orwell ("1984")


Educating ourselves, our children and people around us will improve our understanding of the world and each other. Getting to know ourselves, the others and the world in which we live will bring us closer to finding a solution to our disagreements and making wars just part of our history. And most of all we need to rediscover our connections.

“Human knowledge consists not only of libraries of parchment and ink - 
it is also comprised of the volumes of knowledge that are written on the human heart, 
chiseled on the human soul, and engraved on the human psyche. ”
Michael Jackson


The end of war is within our power. Now I know I cannot stop the conflict in Syria, or the violence in Sudan, but I can donate, I can sign a petition, I can raise awareness to a cause, I can post a tweet or a Facebook update that will state my believes or help spread the word, I can participate in public debates and in the political process in my country, I can learn, I can open my heart and my mind, I can pray, I will.

“Declare it. Just the same way we declare war. That is how we will have peace... we just need to declare it.”
John Lennon 




November 21, 2011

Children´s Day - November 2011 - Paulo Coelho Institute

According to UNICEF statistics, about 42% of Brazilian children live in poverty. Also, approximately 1/8 of all Brazilian children live on the streets. The causes of child poverty in Brazil are complex. 

Being an international webteam  we are  living on four continents (still missing someone from Africa) - but no one can give first-hand-informations about Brazilian children poverty. Because we have learned that availaible information may be subject to misinterpretation we usually count on UNICEF data to access the situation of children all around the world.

Unicef´s statics clearly show that Brazil´s more than 10 million children benefit from reduced infant mortality rate and increased access to school.
To accelerate this progress WE have to increase our support. Brazil is still responding to two floods in 2011. One of them (in January 2011) is seen as one of the worst natural disasters in Brazilian history.



Today the It´s-All-For-Love-webteam wants to turn your attention to a project (which is not meant to be a charity) from Paulo Coelho, world-famous native brazilian writer, lyricist, novelist and simply impressing humanitarian. Paulo kindly allowed us to reblog his article about the Paulo Coelho Institut and we thank him for showing this courtesy. Even more we want to thank him for being such a giving and loving person, who always watches things with his heart and who inspires millions with his work. 

In his book "Aleph" Paulo shares with us an astonishing, very beautiful explanation of universal love.


“...all the lovers in the world are like different rivers flowing into the same lake, where they meet and are transformed into a single love that becomes rain and blesses the earth.”

“I receive your love and I give you mine. Not the love of a man to a woman, not the love of a father for a child, not the love of Gos for his creatures, but a Love with no name and explanations, like a river that follows a particular course but simply flows onwards. A love that asks for nothing and gives nothing in return. I will never be yours and you will never be mine, nevertheless, I can honestly say: I love you, I love you. I love you.” 
~Paulo Coelho
We love you, Paulo.


Paulo Coelho Institute

I would like to bring your attention to the 430 children needing our support.
The PAULO COELHO Institute is a non-profit-making institution financed largely by my royalties.
My aim was for it not to be a charity, but an institute to give opportunities to the underprivileged and ostracized members of Brazilian society.

Thus, the Institute concentrates its funds on:
a) Children
b) The elderly
At present, the PAULO COELHO Institute provides financial support to Creche Escola Meninos da Luz, Lar Paulo de Tarso (in the Pavão-Pavãozinho favela, Rio de Janeiro), who look after these 430 children.
In 1996 we started with 80 children, and now with our continued effort we are supporting 400 children.
The real warriors behind the project are: Isabella de Moraes and Yolanda de Moraes Rego.
If you would like to make a donation to Lar Paulo de Tarso:
Email Belina Antunes : instituto@paulocoelho.com.br.
Telephone : (5521) 2522-9524, 2247-0810 or 2247-8145.
If you would like to visit the site, please go to : http://www.meninosdeluz.org.br
If you have Google Earth installed in your computer, key in: Rua Saint Roman 149, Rio de Janeiro 22071, RJ, Brasil and you will see the favela Pavão-Pavãozinho (the houses scattered by the hill).
Thanking you in advance for any support you may give us.
Thanks on behalf of these warriors, Isabella and Yolanda.
Thank you on behalf of the 430 children.
Thank you on behalf of my country, for the difference you can make.
Love,
Paulo
Last - but not least let´s give this blogpost "caring about the children from Brazil" the "MJ-touch":
You´ll all remember the video "They don´t really care about us", which was shot in Brazil, a favela in Rio de Janeiro called Dona Marta and in Salvador Da Bahia . State authorities tried to ban all production over fears the video would damage their image, the area and prospects of staging the 2004 Olympics. Still, the residents of the area were happy to see the singer, hoping their problems would be made visible to a wider audience. 



The making of TDCAU in Rio de Janeiro 1996

Alas, the Brazilian Long Version from "They don´t really care about us"  on the internet is only availaible to certain countries.  



*

September 15, 2011

“Rhythm and Hue”: A Fitting Tribute to MJ

Recently, I came across an awesome work of art by painter/philanthropist David Garibai
At first, I was impressed (mesmerized) by his painting style...it was something I haven't seen before.
                                               The art and the artist speaks for itself!

Looking further into the work of Mr. Garibai, he also has created images in the likeness of President Obama, Bob Marley, Lady GaGa, even Jesus! He also created images to honor the September 11th attacks. Quite impressive to say the least!

David has taken the opportunity to use his craft to help others (sounds like someone we know!) 
He has raised thousands of dollars for various charities and has a vision to help more: you can read more about David, his art and his vision here


As so many of our post conclude, we (IAFL webteam,) hope you, the fans and admirers of Michael Jackson and his legacy will find our post inspiring...encouraging  you to follow your dreams and help others around the world!



May 14, 2011

Ending Modern Day Slavery

Most of us relate slavery to African-Americans being shipped over from Africa to the United States in the 16th through the 19th centuries...few of us are aware of the ongoing struggle many people face in the 21st century.

Modern day slavery is still a strong cell of activity around the world: Globally, some 600,000 to 800,000 people are being trafficked across international boarders each year, 20% of the victims are children.*
In the United States, the CIA estimates 50,000 people are trafficked through the USA annually as sex slaves, domestics, garment and agricultural slaves.*


These numbers are startling to say the least; thankfully, there are many groups dedicated to ending this disturbing trend.
Members of IALF will share information via CNN's Freedom Project. Please feel free to check out the following link for information, stats, and ways to help: http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/


For additional information about human trafficing, visit UNICEF (www.unicef.org), World Hope International (www.worldhope.org), and Save the Children (www.savethechildren.org)






*stats from grnet.com and US State Department

June 23, 2010

June, 25th: Keeping Michael´s L.O.V.E alive - Donate to Charity



The Sunday Project – Distribution of Meals to hungry Children in Haiti

„It´s unbelievable that it´s been a whole year. We still can´t believe it´s true. It´s like unreal, it´s a dream, but unfortunately it is reality,” Tito Jackson told  in an interview. The entrie´s headline is





“A Year Without Michael”


Bet, we are millions, who feel the way Tito feels, though our way of grief may be different. One year ... and doesnt´t it more feel like this tragedy happened yesterday?

For me this was no year without Michael – just the opposite! I think most of us will have spent much more time than before with talking and writing about Michael, re-reading his books and books written about him, interpretating the lyrics of his songs, listening to his music, watching videos with him on You Tube, reading tribute-sites on the internet, going into the theater to see “This is it”,  paying attention to audio files of his  speeches, researching the web for some wandwritten, lovely notes to his fans such as

and so much more....What it all comes down to is: he kept us pretty busy.:))



His loss made some of us even creating an own MJ-related website or blog, to keep his legacy of L.O.V.E alive...

So this year was both: A year without Michael – and on the other hand so fullfilled with thinking of him. We felt frustrated to the extreme because he has physically left us – and we were blessed enough to feel his spirit all around us, making us meeting wonderful friends on an international level and inspiring us for actions and activities of L.O.V.E.

The anniversary of Michael´s passing will be a hard and strange day. There will be people visiting Forest Lawn`s Holy Terrasse and various memorials all over the world; there will be prayers, candlelight and ...tears – though Michael would like us to smile. There will be events to celebrate Michael Jackson for what he was and will always be: The world´s greatest entertainer.

People will spend this day in many different ways – how about doing something this day to honor him and his humanitarian efforts for children?
He spend hundreds of million dollars for children who were in need.

Let´s follow him  on his  humanitarian path and donate some money for some of the poorest of the poor: The children of Cité Soleil in Port au Prince, Haiti.
After the devasting earthquake in January 2010  Carel Pedre, a born Haitian became THE VOICE of Haiti, keeping the world updated with what was going on in Port au Prince and coordinating via his account on Twitter (@carelpedre) aid supplies given  to charity to come to people who were in strong need for it over weeks. Left himself with bread and water and sleeping in his car with some friends he was still on air to send stories from people who survived to encouraged the  haitian people. 

Carel Pedre (wearing the Sunday Project shirt)

This world could really need more people like this.


Carel did not leave Haiti - he remained staying there. He sent his wife with his little daughter to The States, where they are save.

On EasterSunday he started a project called "theSundayProject" intending to distribute food to the children in Soleil Cité,  one of the poorest departments in Port au Prince. 

 Cité Soleil, department of Port au Prince

It´s great work these guys are doing and the world needs more people who just look around and feel that they have to care and start acting having nothing left but their life, their love and their intent to care for others.

Dear #MJfam, let us support #TheSundayProject on Haiti and donate money  in Michael Jacksons´s name to honor him on his first anniversary of death.
Michael has taught us, that the children of the world are OUR children, especially when their parents not able to care about them. 

 Children attending their Sunday Meal

Therefore WE have to care about them. 
We can not relax and say “they´ll” help them.
Who - if not WE?
WE have to make that change and help. 
Go for it, spread the word around and help Carel Pedre and his team be able to buy food for the hungry children of Cité Soleil -so that we can go on dreaming of a better tomorrow.



Every Dollar can help. Do not give up the idea of donating just because your are not able to spend much. Help spreading the word around to finally get many, many people of the MJfam helping #TheSundayProjet to go on with their great work.

Do it to honor Michael. Do it all for L.O.V.E.

Thank you. Love and peace to you.

God bless you.





How you can support:


Donating: watch the project´s website
(add the note: Donation in remembrance of Michael Jackson ...or something similar)


Get some more  informations about the project and how to donate here:

http://www.sundayprojecthaiti.org/ 

Two freelance writers, Eleanor Miller from the USA and Gemma Pitcher from Australia, whom both visited Cite Soleil on two different occasions  The Sunday Project and wrote great articles about Carel Pedre and The Sunday Project. 

Article from Eleanor Miller
Please take the time to follow the links, they are very positive. Get ready for pictures and updates this sunday as  the amazing people of #TheSundayProject  are getting ready to do their 11th Distribution.
 

February 13, 2010

But we do know that we had him. And we are the world.



"We Had Him" - A Poem by Dr. Maya Angelou

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Angelou)

Beloveds, now we know that we know nothing
Now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips like a puff of summer wind

Without notice, our dear love can escape our doting embrace
Sing our songs among the stars and and walk our dances across the face of the moon

In the instant we learn that Michael is gone we know nothing
No clocks can tell our time and no oceans can rush our tides
With the abrupt absence of our treasure

Though we our many, each of us is achingly alone
Piercingly alone
Only when we confess our confusion can we remember that he was a gift to us and we did have him

He came to us from the Creator, trailing creativity in abundance
Despite the anguish of life he was sheathed in mother love and family love and survived and did not more than that

He thrived with passion and compassion, humor and style
We had him
Whether we knew who he was or did not know, he was our's and we were his
We had him

Beautiful, delighting our eyes
He raked his hat slant over his brow and took a pose on his toes for all of us and we laughed and stomped our feet for him

We were enchanted with his passion because he held nothing
He gave us all he had been given

Today in Tokyo, beneath the Eiffel Tower, in Ghana's Blackstar Square, in Johannesburg, in Pittsburgh, in Birmingham, Alabama and Birmingham England, we are missing Michael Jackson

But we do know that we had him
And we are the world.

February 11, 2010

Michael Jackson Will Be A Part Of ‘We Are The World’ Remake



Michael Jackson Will Be A Part Of ‘We Are The World’ Remake


Full article:
http://www.accesshollywood.com/_article_28871

Excerpt:
Michael will appear posthumously in a split-screen with sister Janet Jackson joining him.

“To have Michael’s presence singing his part is the best gift we could ever get,” Lionel said. “His original image and him seeing his part.”

Lionel called the duet with Janet “magical.”

“She’s singing with Mike,” Lionel said. “It was all put together with fabulous choreography. It’s magical.”

The request came straight from Katherine Jackson, Michael’s mother, herself, the pair told Access.




Just reading this is giving me chills... The song will be premiered tomorrow for the Olympic Games opening ceremony in Vancouver.

Let's not forget: WE ARE THE WORLD!!! For Haiti... for Africa... and for everyone in need...

"We must lend a hand to life..."

Further information on the project can be found here:

http://www.world25.org/

January 22, 2010

Children's day: Remembering the Lost Children in the fatal earthquake of Sichuan 2008

As today is children's day and the fatal power of earthquake has come to our painful remembrance in Haiti again, I would like to put the spotlight on the children that have lost their lives in the province of Sichuan that was hit by earthquake in 2008 and on a very brave Chinese artist that acts as their ambassador ever since.

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei almost lost his life remembering the thousands of children that had to die in the earthquake in the province Sichuan 2008 because their schools had been built neglecting the building code due to corrupt officials that cared more for their personal livelihood than for the lives of the children that went to study in these buildings every day.

After the government refused to issue a detailed report on the events and the names of children and adolescents who have died in the earthquake in Sichuan, Ai Weiwei has published with the help of volunteers such names on his blog.

Therefore Ai Weiwei got beaten down by government authorities for several hours in a hotel room in Sichuan. So hard that he had to under go emergency operation weeks later in Munich, Germany which was very last minute according to the doctors.

He has dedicated a huge installation called "Remembering" that was shown in Munich to the kids that lost their lives for no reason...



The arrangement of the 9000 children's backpacks, hanging on the museum's facade, resulting in Chinese characters the words "For seven years she lived happily in this world." The quotation is from the mother of a victims.

The colors in this table refer to the logo of the toy retailer "Toys R Us". Ai Weiwei has written them with backpacks, because after the earthquake in the area of school satchels, of many the buried children had been found. With his art, he puts the lost and buried in those days, the world public. In a colorful, cheerful colors change, he exposes the buried hope.

In an article I read that the journalist had asked Ai Weiwei in 2007 if he had any children and he said: "No, I have a kid inside myself." and when she asked him that same question again in 2009, he said: "Yes, now I have kids. The children of Sichuan."

This message and the whole concept of it reminded me so much of MJ's message: It's about saving the kids that have no voice, true commitment, freedom of speech and positive and hopeful energy at the same time...

Therefore I today dedicate "The Lost Children" to all children that have been harmed in earthquakes around the world. -> Make That Change!!!

December 22, 2009

Charities Supported By Michael Jackson


“Michael Jackson’s dedication to humanitarian issues, including helping to raise untold millions of dollars to alleviate poverty and hunger, showed us that he understood how to use his fame to advocate for equality and freedom worldwide. Michael's compassion and vision for a better world, which he so clearly expressed in his music, will be part of his ongoing legacy,”
NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous


AIDS Project L.A.
American Cancer Society
Angel Food
Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles
BMI Foundation, Inc.
Brotherhood Crusade
Brothman Burn Center


Camp Ronald McDonald
Childhelp U.S.A.
Children's Institute International
Cities and Schools Scholarship Fund
Community Youth Sports & Arts Foundation
Congressional Black Caucus (CBC)
Dakar Foundation
Dreamstreet Kids


Dreams Come True Charity
Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation
Juvenile Diabetes Foundation
Love Match
Make-A-Wish Foundation
Minority Aids Project
Motown Museum
NAACP


National Rainbow Coalition
Rotary Club of Australia
Society of Singers
Starlight Foundation
The Carter Center's Atlanta Project
The Sickle Cell Research Foundation
Transafrica


United Negro College Fund (UNCF)
United Negro College Fund Ladder's of Hope
Volunteers of America
Watts Summer Festival
Wish Granting
YMCA - 28th Street/Crenshaw


In 2000, the Guinness Book of World Records cited Michael Jackson for holding the world record for the “Most Charities Supported by a Pop Star.”