Community Support

In addition to sharing my passions for hobbies I also hoped to utilize this website to share charitable causes that I currently support and bring awareness to some of the issues that trying to solve. If you have any questions about these causes or would like to donate to help support them you can go to @() to help support.

I imagine this one is pretty familiar to many of you but for those of you who are not Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia that is funded and operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Their goal is to provide free access to information to people around the world no matter their socioeconomic status, religious affiliation, or cultural ethnicity. This one is one of my favorites because they have a simple and straightforward mission to provide the infrastructure that allows everyone around the world the opportunity to educate themselves.

The Wikimedia Foundation is a nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and several other free knowledge projects, dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to the sum of human knowledge. Founded in 2003 by Jimmy Wales, the Foundation supports Wikipedia, the world's largest encyclopedia with millions of articles in hundreds of languages, all created and maintained by volunteer contributors. Beyond Wikipedia, the organization runs sister projects including Wikimedia Commons (a repository of free media files), Wiktionary (a multilingual dictionary), and Wikibooks (free textbooks), among others. The Foundation's mission centers on providing free access to educational content for people worldwide, regardless of their economic circumstances or geographic location. Funded primarily through donations from millions of individuals rather than advertising or subscription fees, the Wikimedia Foundation maintains the technical infrastructure, develops software, and provides legal and community support necessary to keep these knowledge resources freely available. The organization operates under the principle that access to knowledge is a fundamental human right and works to eliminate the knowledge gap between different populations around the globe.

I discovered Plastic Bank from a Tedx Talk by the Founder David Katz as I was browsing Youtube and after hearing their mission and how issues such as poverty and plastic pollution are linked and how solutions could solve both at the same time I was inspired to support. If you would like to view it you can watch the video below.

Plastic Bank is a social enterprise founded in 2013 by David Katz and Shaun Frankson that tackles two global challenges simultaneously: ocean plastic pollution and poverty. The organization operates on an innovative model that enables the exchange of waste plastic for money, goods, or blockchain-secured digital tokens, revealing the true value of the material and making it too valuable to throw away. Through their network of collection branches in underserved coastal communities, Plastic Bank empowers local residents to collect plastic waste before it reaches the ocean and exchange it for income, essential goods like groceries and fuel, or digital payments through their blockchain-secured platform. The organization began operations in Haiti in 2013, then expanded to the Philippines in 2016 and has since grown to serve communities across multiple countries. By creating economic incentives around plastic waste collection, Plastic Bank transforms environmental cleanup into poverty alleviation, providing sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable populations while preventing millions of pounds of plastic from polluting marine ecosystems. Their "Social Plastic" initiative has created a circular economy model where plastic waste becomes a valuable currency, demonstrating how environmental solutions can directly address social and economic inequality.

The Planetary Society came up as I was listening one of my favorite podcasts Startalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson. Some of you may also be familiar with the organization's CEO as well Bill Nye who is a strong advocate of science education and coincidentally also Ultimate Frisbee. The reason for my interest in this organization is that NASA's space missions to the moon and scientific advances in astrophysics have led to some of the most profound and impactful inventions that we use in technology today (MRI machines, water filters, wireless headsets, memory foam, scratch resistant lenses, and more). As such investments in outer space education is paramount for newer generations to invent the next reality changing technology and that's why I want to highlight this organization on my page.

The Planetary Society is the world's largest non-profit space advocacy organization, founded in 1980 by Carl Sagan, Louis Friedman, and Bruce Murray, and currently led by CEO Bill Nye since 2010. The Society is dedicated to the exploration of the Solar System, the search for near-Earth objects, and the search for extraterrestrial life with a mission "Empowering the world's citizens to advance space science and exploration." The organization focuses on three core objectives: increase discoveries about the worlds of our Solar System and beyond, elevate the search for life as a space exploration priority, and decrease the risk of Earth being hit by an asteroid or comet. Through membership-driven advocacy, educational outreach, and innovative projects like the LightSail solar sailing spacecraft, The Planetary Society works to inspire public support for space exploration while directly funding space science missions and technology demonstrations. Under Nye's leadership, the organization continues the vision of its co-founder Carl Sagan by making space exploration accessible to citizens worldwide and advocating for increased investment in planetary science and space exploration programs.

Compassion International is a humanitarian organization dedicated to releasing children from poverty. I came across this organization when I was younger because my family supported two children in the Phillipines and my sister and I had the chance to visit them on a trip when we were in high school. When I got my first job out of college this was one the first organizations that I signed up for and I've been supporting a child through the program since I graduated in 2018. Being able to support someone one on one and write to them has been one of the most fulfilling ventures I've had the chance to have and if you would like to learn more about the organization I've included some more information below.

Founded in 1952, the organization works in partnership with local community centers in developing countries to provide holistic child development programs that address the physical, emotional, educational, and spiritual needs of children living in extreme poverty. Their flagship child sponsorship program connects individual sponsors with specific children, providing access to educational opportunities, healthcare, nutritious meals, and life skills training as well as letter writing service where you can share about your own life with them to inspire their curiosity and wonder for the world. Beyond meeting immediate needs, Compassion focuses on long-term transformation by empowering children to become responsible and fulfilled adults who contribute positively to their communities. The organization currently serves over 2 million children across more than 25 countries, emphasizing that each child is known, loved, and protected through the one-to-one sponsorship model that creates lasting relationships between sponsors and the children they support.

While these are some of my favorites below is a list of other organizations that I support and if you have recommendations again please go ahead and send them my way.

Organization	Mission
National Alliance to End Homelessness	Providing housing for homeless populations in the United States
Amazon Watch	Protecting indigenous tribes in the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil and also protecting the forest itself from illegal logging and deforestation
World Wildlife Fund	WWF works to sustain the natural world for the benefit of people and wildlife, collaborating with partners from local to global levels in nearly 100 countries
NRDC (National Resource Defense Council)	NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council) combines the power of more than 3 million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and other environmental specialists to confront the climate crisis, protect the planet's wildlife and wild places, and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities.
UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency)	The UNHCR is a global organization mandated by the United Nations to save lives, protect the rights, and build a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people by providing life-saving aid and finding lasting solutions to their plight.

Lastly I would actually put out a thought experiment that providing cash or food or whatever you have at the time to people asking for help on the streets can be another way to help. I've heard counter arguments that this money can be spent on unproductive things such as alcohol, cigarettes, or other seemingly unproductive things but sometimes they are used for food, toothbrushes, and soap. Also for those who live in a world where tomorrow isn't guaranteed it feels wrong to judge wanting to purchase something that could bring you a little joy and happiness in the moment whether that's alcohol to bring temporary warmth when it's cold outside or a cigarette to curb your hunger when your next meal may never come. To provide another perspective a dollar to you may not mean much to you but it could mean the best day for the life of someone who may never see tomorrow.