Small & Gutsy: Nonprofit Stories with Heart

Creating a World where Children's Choices are not made by Corporate Profits Fairplay, formerly known as Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood works to create a world where children's lives are shaped by what's best for them, not by corporate profits. One of their key projects, The Children's Screen Time Action Network is a global membership organization, born out of the needs of educators, pediat...

Providing Opportunities for Underprivileged Youth through the Discipline of Sport (Tennis) Pablo Arraya recognized the need to serve others and 26 years ago, he opened the Arraya Tennis Academy, training many national champions and international players while providing over 120 tennis scholarships. From this effort, more recently, Tennis For a Purpose was born - its mission is to provide underpriv...

Provocative Theatre Encourages Great Conversations Make-believe enhances our creativity and often builds the bridge between what we experience and how we feel and offers the opportunity to express those feelings and our curiosity about our world through play. Provocative theatre and arts education are mediums that provide the underpinnings of learning more about people and the world. Our featured...

Enabling the Future Imagine what can happen when a group of very caring and very technically savvy individuals gets together to make others' lives better? Real Magic happens. e-NABLE is an online global community of "Digital Humanitarian" volunteers who use their 3D printers to make their magic (free and low-cost prosthetic upper limb devices) for those in need.    You can listen to this podcast a...

Live4LALI is a Legacy for Support and Resources Many of us have lost friends and relatives to addiction, but few of us have been brave enough to build a program that fosters healing. The organization featured today was started, because a family was suffering and wanted to prevent another family from experiencing that same loss and sadness. LIVE4LALI is a legacy for harm reduction, resources, and e...

Change the World with One Random Act at a Time It takes vision, optimism, deep belief and many, many volunteers with truly big hearts to put into practice all that is kind which results in the betterment of humanity. Over 10 years ago, one man had a vision that the world could really change with single acts of kindness and, in a moment, you'll hear about how that concept has changed the way we col...

Building the Bonds Between Cops and Kids Through a partnership of community and law enforcement, Hollenbeck PAL'S mission is to nurture young people to become responsible, productive, and law-abiding citizens by offering character-building, education, sports, financial literacy, and life-enhancing programs to low and moderate-income families. Some of those programs this podcast features are Pal-Up...

Leadership Can Be a Calling Cyclical LA is a collective of leaders is an ecumenical community of innovators that share a common culture and set of practices created to thoughtfully start new churches across Los Angeles. Cyclical Los Angeles has 12 core values that drive their offerings for Discerners, Starters, and established Churches to support sustainability.    You can listen to the podcast at...

After Hollywood legend, Spencer Tracy, and his wife, Louise Tracy's infant son was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss in 1925, Louise Treadwell Tracy devoted her time and energy to studying how deaf children could be taught to communicate with the hearing and speaking world. She patiently guided her son, John, into an understanding of language and lip-reading.  With her encouragement, he learn...

Most of us never have to consider our car as our home, but some of us do….and as the featured organization will soon share: nobody plans to be homeless... Founded in 2016, Safe Parking LA is a coordinating organization for the community which assists homeless families and individuals living in their vehicles. They support the implementation of "Safe Parking Lots", by providing individuals a safe p...

  Music can relax the mind, energize the body, and even help people better manage pain. Music is also known to evoke memories. In his article, How Opera Makes Brain Sense, Dr. Norman N. Holland discusses the complexity of opera and our response to both the music and the specific situational story that evokes emotion, tying the emotion and situation together as compared to other mediums where a sto...

Can you look in the mirror and see the hero or heroine that may be inside you? Why shouldn't all children be exposed to heroic figures from history who look like them? How can they feel not just a sense of pride, but a sense of true belonging as folks who look like them have contributed and continue to contribute to our world in significant ways? That genuine pride of being connected to a fundamen...

What if an entire community got together and recognized how powerful it would be to collaborate on projects and opportunities using the concepts of geoscience and geospatial technologies? What if these projects propelled young students into envisioning new ways of understanding STEAM, the acronym for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics? And what if, by building their capacity,...

Behold, a new type of group emerges to try to reduce the stigma of mental health, not a 12-step or a therapy group or a coalition, but an anime club with a passion and commitment to community, connection, and support. Anime characters have their own difficult journeys, but somehow most always make it through successfully, providing the foundation for club members to share their own challenging exp...

Untreated mental illness lies at the root of many barriers to adolescent success and is an underlying cause of suicide. The early detection and treatment of mental illness save young lives. LifeAct's mission is to prevent suicide by teaching young people to recognize the warning signs of suicide in themselves and their peers and seek professional help. Life Act has a pro-active, positive approach...

What if the world were a big neighborhood, with potluck dinners, shared lawnmowers, and goods and services offered to those who needed them from those who had an abundance? It's not charity; it's reciprocity of kindness. We all have things we don't need and things we need; iShared provides the opportunity to reduce our carbon footprint by offering what we have to others and requesting things we ne...

Rocket is a Fantastic Teacher Rocket Rules, the adorable red Dalmatian, offers children the opportunity to learn about emergency preparedness along with other safety precautions to develop good instincts and build skills that ultimately can save their own and others' lives! You can listen to the episode at the bottom of the page or wherever you listen to podcasts!

Adaptivities has created a new way to play by adapting some of the best classic games for those with special needs; Adaptivities is a platform of adaptive resources to stimulate dialogue and to increase opportunities for fun, engaging and reciprocal interaction for anyone with special needs. Adaptivities offers Game Day promoting hours of stress- free play and entertainment by doing all the planni...

Social workers are the best kept secret, because no one seems to know how valuable they are in every industry, not just as therapists. Although, they are certainly talented there. Learn about this amazing network that brings together social workers to engage in business discussions, share resources and advance their skill sets across various organizational sectors, all to benefit industry!

Girls Are Loud is a powerhouse of female musicians and producers ready to support any artist interested in recording; Girls Are Loud is changing the face of the music industry!

What makes camp wonderful and magical? Community, safety and fun! Learn why Harbor Camps is so incredibly special to so many youth who might not otherwise experience the pure joy of camp! Come to the sing-along with me!

Listen to Dr. Jennifer Kaplan's journey through her own loss to healing and guiding others to heal as well. A beautiful tribute to life through loss. www.jeffsplace.org  

Learn about the amazing work of DCRC! DCRC works towards achieving a world where everyone's voice and value is recognized, and there are no barriers to living a full life. DCRC is dedicated to: connecting people with disabilities to resources, training and advocacy tools; promoting disability pride; and building self-determined lives.    

Transforming Shame and stigma into hope and dignity is the mission and mantra of an incredible organization called POPS The Club. POPS the Club is based on the school club model and serves to support students whose parents or loved ones are in prison or jail. POPS The Club is designed to nourish and empower students through creative expression, emotional support, and the development of community....

It Takes the Hood to Save the Hood United Playaz is a San Francisco-based violence prevention and youth development organization providing a comprehensive range of services to prepare vulnerable youth for higher education, employment, and healthy living within a safe, nurturing, and collaborative environment. United Playaz transforms the lives of students and staff while serving the community; the...