Omaze

19,000 children die every day from preventable causes, but YOU can help get this number down to ZERO.  UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) works in more than 190 countries and territories to save and improve children’s lives, providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief, and more.   The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF’s work through fundraising, advocacy, and education in the United States. UNICEF’s Next Generation, the organizer of this charity sweepstakes to benefit UNICEF, is an initiative which engages a diverse group of young professionals, ages 21 to 40, who share a commitment to UNICEF’s future and a belief in ZERO. To learn more please visit: www.unicefusa.org and www.unicefusa.org/nextgeneration

Cesar Millan and the Cesar Millan Foundation obviously care deeply about dogs, but do you know how deep that love goes? These good guys are on a mission to promote animal welfare by supporting  the rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming of abused and abandoned dogs; to establish and fortify community humane education programs and curricula; and to build a balance between dogs and people through the teachings and philosophies of animal behaviorist Cesar Millan.   Now that’s a cause we can put our paws behind and donate some bones toward!

Founded by Linkin Park, Music for Relief is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing aid to victims of natural disasters and the prevention of such disasters.  Since its inception in 2005, Music for Relief has raised over $5 million for survivors of multiple disasters across four continents including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, hurricane Katrina, China’s Wenchuan earthquake, a cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe, the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the 2011 earthquake & tsunami in Japan. Music for Relief also supports environmental programs as a means of disaster risk mitigation including the planting of over 1 million trees to help reduce global warming.  The organization was recently recognized by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon for the Download to Donate program to raise funds and awareness in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake. Currently Music for Relief is supporting Hurricane Sandy recovery and clean energy solutions through the Power the World campaign.  www.musicforrelief.org.

If 70% of disaster funding goes to immediate relief, what happens when the disasters are forgotten? Aid Still Required (ASR) is shifting the paradigm of global disaster relief by providing the long-term work of rebuilding that often goes sorely underfunded. With the help of celebrity supporters, these fine folks champion areas frequently neglected by government agencies and provide long-term, sustainable programs that engender self-sufficiency.

The SC | Foundation was established by Shawn Carter and his mother Gloria Carter in 2003 as a 501c3 public charity, under the name Shawn Carter Scholarship Fund.  The Foundation’s mission is to help underserved students further their education at institutions of higher learning.  Since then, the charity has touched thousands of lives through its nationwide scholarship program, its annual college tours, and annual holiday toy drive, and has invested over $1.7M since 2003 in these efforts. Visit www.shawncartersf.com for more information.

For a long time, Alzheimer’s has been classified as the “old person’s disease” despite proof of the disease’s rapid growth rate. Hilarity for Charity is changing that through an awesome, annual event that brings A-list comedians together with top musical acts and a young community of Americans – all to teach people how they can make a difference. Every entry supports the Hilarity for Charity Fund to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association, through which monies raised will be directed to help families struggling with Alzheimer’s care, increase support groups nationwide, and fund cutting edge research.

The Mission Continues awards community service fellowships to post-9/11 veterans, empowering them to transform their own lives by serving others and directly impacting their communities. Mission Continues Fellows serve for six months at a local nonprofit organization addressing key educational, environmental or social issues. Each Fellow works to achieve a post-fellowship goal of full time employment and/or pursuit of higher education, while maintaining a permanent role of public service.

Tie The Knot was founded by Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita with a clear goal: advocate for the civil rights of gay and lesbian Americans throughout the United States and to look damn good while doing it.They release a collection of neckwear seasonally, produced in limited quantity to inspire and promote uniqueness and individuality. The proceeds from the sales of the Spring 2013 collection will benefit The Respect for Marriage Coalition, a partnership of more than 80 civil rights, faith, health, labor, business, legal, LGBT, student, and women’s organizations working together to end the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and grow support for the freedom to marry. Visit www.TieTheKnot.org for more information.

Recently established by a group of mothers in West Adams, LA, City School West Adams aims to provide a culturally diverse setting with language immersion programs to help inner city students reach a higher education level and stay connected to their roots at the same time. This strategic and dynamic environment will help students establish a complete language foundation and create a brighter future.

Centro Fox is dedicated to providing innovative leadership training to Mexico’s poverty stricken youth with the intent of promoting freedom and democracy in the country.

Jennifer Lopez and the Lopez Family Foundation have designated these three charities as the beneficiaries of funds raised during this experience. These charities, American Red Cross, Boys & Girls Club of America, and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles have come together to accomplish one goal: changing the world. Your contributions make a difference, so please support these charities as they are dear to Jennifer Lopez and the Lopez Family Foundation

The American Indian College Fund believes in educating the mind and spirit. They do this by providing American Indian students who cannot afford a higher education with scholarships, giving them hope for a better future. Every dollar makes a difference. Whether it’s allowing students access to higher education or providing financial support for 34 accredited tribal colleges or universities, you’re helping to preserve and grow Native students and their cultures.

MTV and Architecture for Humanity are teaming up to rebuild the boardwalk of Seaside Heights, which was was the hardest hit area of any coastal areas during Hurricane Sandy. The 18-block boardwalk, which is the economic lifeline of the area has been completely devastated.

So we have to step up and be the difference that rebuilds this area. With your help we can raise enough money to restore the boardwalk and save this area that is the home to 3,000 people and attracts 65,000 visitors every year.

Tyra Banks first established the TZONE in 1999 as a weeklong overnight camp experience for girls outside LA. TZONE will now have a brick and mortar presence as part of the first permanent home of the new Lower Eastside Girls Club. Through a mix of career development workshops, mentoring, experiential learning opportunities, financial literacy initiatives and community-wide events, hundreds of preteens and teens will build self-esteem and prepare for life as entrepreneurs and change-makers.

Young Storytellers Foundation believes arts education is a right, not a privilege. They go into Los Angeles public schools that lack the resources for an arts curriculum and provide writing mentorship for the students. Professional writers teach nine-week courses where the students write their own original plays which are then performed by professional actors in front of a live audience of friends and family.

They’re too humble to admit it, but these folks are true heroes. They served as veterans and are now harnessing the skills cultivated in the combat zone to help save lives in disaster zones.

The X PRIZE Foundation is on a mission to bring about radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity, thereby inspiring the formation of new industries and the revitalization of markets that are currently stuck due to existing failures or a commonly held belief that a solution is not possible.

The Andre Agassi Foundation is helping transform public education in the United States through their school in Las Vegas and by influencing state and national policy.

InsideOUT writer’s goal is to reduce recidivism among juvenile offenders by providing youth and young adults with tools for pro-social means of self-expression. IOW offers two innovative programs: The Writing Program offers writing classes for youth incarcerated at four Los Angeles juvenile detention facilities. The Alumni Program provides a continuum of care for former Writing Program participants (Alumni) who have been released from detention.

P.S. ARTS partners with underserved public schools to provide students with a high-quality education in music, theater and/or visual arts. Their Teaching Artists provide weekly instruction to ensure that every child in the community receives comprehensive and sustainable arts education.