I love free stuff, and I especially love free coffee from Starbucks. Free becomes even more enticing when it’s used to benefit or bring awareness to a cause. That’s why I became ecstatic today when I learned that  Starbucks decided to give away a cup of coffee to all customers who bring in their own reusable travel mugs. The promotion is valid on brewed coffee of any size up to 20 oz, and will run all day.

This whole campaign is part of Starbucks participation in The Big Picture Project. With the catch phrase “One person switching can save trees. Together we can save forests”.  It’s true, one person can make a difference and the short filmStarbucks released displays a surprising example. Their short film features thousands of New Yorkers trading in their paper cups for reusable travel mugs. You will have to watch the video for a surprising reveal when thousands of cups of  coffee are grouped together all in the name of green.

How will you make a difference today? Visit Starbucks website today and make your pledge.

This post is written by guest blogger Brittany Trotman editor of BeautyGirlMag.com specifically for GivMusic.com. BeautyGirlMag.com believes that every female should look and feel her best, but we also believe in the really important things like giving back and serving our communities. When we find great products that are fashionable and also help support a cause, we can’t help but to spread the word!

Here are our top picks from shoes and shirts to jewelry and handbags that will add to your new spring wardrobe!

She Dances

She Dances is a non-profit organization “whose mission is to provide healing, hope, and a future for girls who are victims of human trafficking. Through safe homes, raising awareness, and the arts, they strive to create a movement of freedom.” Currently, She Dances is providing a safe home for girls in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The girls who arrive at the home are provided with education, mental therapy, spiritual renewal, and most of all, rescue and freedom from abuse and exploitation. When purchasing a She Dances T-shirt, your money will go towards the organization’s efforts in raising awareness and providing a safe home for these victims.

Purchase a She Dances shirt here.

TOMS Shoes

The simple TOMS Shoes have become a fashion staple to many Americans, but to orphan children in other countries, it is simply a protection that they’ve never had. For every pair of TOMS that someone buys, one is given away! By purchasing a pair, you are directly helping their efforts in Ethiopia. Podoconiosis, a disease that plagues those who are barefooted, can be prevented just with a pair of shoes. Check out this shoe from the new spring line!

To buy a pair of TOMS shoes, click here.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.  Founder, Nancy G. Brinker, promised her dying sister, Susan, “to do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever.” The foundation has contributed to the many victories over the years, such as more early detection, more research, and more survivors. The Susan G. Komen Store donates proceeds of all purchases to fight against breast cancer. Be sure to check out the many products that are offered, such as water bottles, accessories, and clothing. Below is a fashionable leather wrap bracelet that is a great addition to your spring accessories.

Purchase the bracelet here.

Sseko Designs

Sseko Designs was created to help women of Uganda pay for their college tuition and also help the “overall economic development of Uganda.” Students in Uganda must wait nine months after graduating high school to attend college. This time is intended for them to earn money for their tuition.

The Sseko Designs sandals come in a variety of colors and patterns and are perfect for spring and summer. Not only are these sandals stylish, they are also very versatile because the straps are interchangable! Buy one pair of sandals and have the option to buy many patterns! Each girl has a story. Check out the class of 2010 here.

Purchase Sandals here

Change.org

Change.org serves as a platform for social change, whether they are raising awareness for certain issues such as women’s rights or signing petitions for providing a homeless shelter in Colorado, they are making a “change” in America. One issue they are passionate about seeing a change in is the issue of human trafficking.

Every week, they provide a Red Light Special, which showcases products that go towards human trafficking surviors. “This soft felt zipper bag is the perfect size to keep together small items like toiletries, jewelry, or crayons while traveling. The soft colorful felt and sleek, modern design mean that it will be loved and appreciated by kids and grownups alike.”

When you buy this bag, you’ll be supporting the human trafficking survivors in Nepal.

Buy this item here.

Global Good Partners

Global Goods Partners is a “not-for-profit organization dedicated to empowering women, alleviating poverty and promoting social justice. ” GGP partners with communities in Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Middle East. They provide these partners with access to the United States markets to sell their products and also with “technical assistance to build sustanable livelihoods.”

Burmese women living in Thai refugee camps are making an income by making beautiful hand woven scarves. The proceeds from these scarves enables them to provide their families with health care, education and other necessities. So add some fashion and compassion to your wardrobe with a trendy two-tone scarf.

Purchase the scarf here.

Invisible Children

The nonprofit, Invisible Children, gives women who are war victims in Uganda a second chance at life and a way to make a living through MEND, a rehabilitation program. “MEND is designed to seam a personal connection between products and their makers, while repairing the lives of women in distressed regions of the world,”  as stated in their mission. The women craft these trendy bags and sell them around the world. The unique thing about this program is that Invisible Children actually provides you with the name and story of the woman who made your bag!

Purchase the a Mend Cinch Bag here.

]]> http://www.givmusic.com/2010/04/givback-product-talk-with-beautygirl-mag/feed/ 1 http://www.givmusic.com/2010/03/its-twestival-time/ http://www.givmusic.com/2010/03/its-twestival-time/#comments Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:55:34 +0000 Tianna Calcagno http://www.givmusic.com/?p=1562

Yes, you read that right… Twestival! Don’t have a clue as to what I’m talking about? Think Twitter meets Festival = Twestival. Today more than 200 cities around the world will come together to rally for one cause, Education. Run 100% by volunteers around the world with 100% of all ticket sales and donations going directly to projects. Taking the concept of tweet-ups, (meetings and events) @Amanda Rose founded Twestival in 2009.  On 12 February 2009, the first Twestival Global was held in 202 international cities to support @charitywater. The event successfully raised 250k+, which resulted in more than 55 wells in Uganda, Ethiopia, and India.

Today, Twestival will benefit another organization, Concern Worldwide. Concern was founded in 1986 to meet the needs of people living in extreme poverty. Where exactly will this years Twestival funds go? Directly to Concern Worldwide’s education programs. Each city and school hosting a Twestival event was given the opportunity to select an area of education to support for fundraising to go towards Concern’s education programs. The 40-year-old non-profit works in all areas of education, including educating new teachers, furnishing classrooms, providing uniforms, providing buildings, and meals for students who otherwise would have have access to these resources. Read more about Concern Worldwide here.

Want to Get Involved in Twestival?

Tweet. Meet. Give.

Post by Chad Houck, GivMusic Blog Contributor: Chad is the co-founder and director of World Wins International.  You can follow Chad and his family on their travels at http://share5.org.

In 2007 my wife and I had the pleasure of taking a two week trip to Ghana, West Africa to do some speaking.  On our arrival, we asked about the possibility of hiking Krobo Mountain, the area where the tribal natives used to live.  The first mile or so was fairly flat, but I had heard that the terrain at the top was a bit more challenging.  I debated if my Asics running shoes were appropriate, or if my Asolo waterproof cross-hikers might be the better choice with their more aggressive tread.  On the day of our hike, I noticed two of our guides had only leather strap sandals with flat, smooth soles.  One person was wearing the same shoes they had worn to church, yet I was the one who felt overdressed.

Last week I was down in Mexico on a missions trip with an American team of High School students.  We were doing construction work, so in the morning, I got up, crawled out of my sleeping bag, and laced up my Vibram-soled steel-reinforced work boots to hit the job site.  After a good hard day of kicking shovels and dropping hammers on my feet, I returned to the campsite and slid my toes out of my boots and into a pair of slightly more comfortable Converse All-Stars.  Later that night, I ditched my Cons for my Crocs sandals to trudge to the shower.

Before you label me a “retifist” (a person with an irrational shoe fetish), allow me to share what has my soul all fixated on my soles.

While the African instance stuck in my head for a while, the Mexico scenario didn’t so much as make me even bat an eye until earlier this week.  That is when I saw a day on my calendar that I had committed to “take a walk” in another’s shoes.  Technically, it would be more accurate to say that I had agreed to walk in their lack of shoes.  April 8^th is the date for the TOMS Shoes national “One Day Without Shoes” campaign, and a day that both my wife and I, despite a corporate shareholder’s meeting and a handful of appointments, will go through with nothing on our feet.  It is the day where we will make an effort to better grasp how the less fortunate in this world live, work, and play – barefoot.

In many developing nations, both children and adults must daily walk many miles for water, food, or medical attention.  Adults may suffer scrapes from work in the fields.  Some children are not allowed to attend schools for lack of footwear.  Others simply can’t attend because of sickness and disease resulting from infected cuts on their bare feet.

In Ethiopia today, approximately one million people suffer from a disease known as Podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring, yet completely curable disease caused by walking barefoot on volcanic soils.  The sharp clay cuts the soles of the feet, impregnating them with small pieces of silica and causing lymphatic disease and severe, incapacitating swelling.  Prevention is as simple as a pair of shoes coupled to some basic hygiene.

So what can YOU do about it?  Start with awareness and ACTION.  Join me by going barefoot on April 8^th, whether for an hour or the day.  Go to the One Day Without Shoes website and educate yourself, then either join an event in your area or host one of your own.  You may even want to buy a pair of TOMS shoes to slide your tired, bare feet into at the end of the day.

Last Christmas, TOMS provided over 37,000 pairs of shoes to children in Ethiopia to help prevent Podoconiosis.  They were able to do so because of 37,000 people that either bought or gave TOMS as gifts during the Christmas season.  For every pair of  TOMS they sell, they give a pair away, One for One.  Perhaps they should be your next pair of shoes?

Don’t have the dough to go out and buy you and a your new friend on the other side of the world a new pair of kicks?  No worries! You could always offer him or her a pair of your gently used ones by donating them to Soles 4 Souls (www.Soles4Souls.org), a charity that is giving away a pair of new or gently used shoes every 9 seconds.

Find a shoe drop-off location near you at http://www.soles4souls.org/about/locations.html

 A GivStory by Cathy Robinson | Franklin, TN

Have you ever been changed by helping others in need?  Do you ever feel you have nothing to offer?  Are you held back by thoughts like “what could I possibly do?”  Here is a testimony of a family who put legs to what God spoke to their hearts and has experienced His blessings in return. 

 “My husband, Ronny, is a businessman and I (Cathy) recently obtained my degree in Spanish.  We have one daughter, Courtney, who is 24, and a son Michael, who is 16.  We reside on a farm in Franklin, Tennessee, a 160 acre retreat called “Rancho El Paso.”  The name was inspired by the Lord a couple of years before we were introduced to Rancho Los Amigos just across the border from El Paso, Texas!  The children from Rancho Los Amigos are always surprised when they visit and see our sign at the entrance.

Although our church is very involved in missions and evangelism, our first mission trip outside of the country was with our daughter’s school in 1997.  We had supported Youth With a Mission over the years, but had never been to any of the operating locations until then.  That is when we first became involved with Rancho Los Amigos.  On that trip we helped build a home, did some evangelism, and visited the children.

Cathy pictured with the children of Ranco El Paso

When we returned home, we began to sponsor one of the boys we had met there.  He really stole our hearts!  During the summer, he came to stay with us for 6 weeks.  Then at Christmas, he and his brother spent 3 weeks with us.  Shortly afterward, their mother was released from prison and their family was reunited.  Later, I had a dream about them and felt that the Lord wanted us to visit them.  They were not easy to find, but the staff of Rancho Los Amigos helped us locate the boys and allowed them to stay at Rancho for a couple of days while we visited.  We had the most blessed time!  It was awesome that their mom was willing to “share” them both with us.  We visited them again a few years later and they are now wonderful grown men. 

On our second trip to Rancho Los Amigos we were able to spend more time and witness first-hand what goes in to providing for the children.   It was an amazing revelation to us and we felt called to help in any way we could.  We began to host various children at holidays as well as hosting a drama team of some of the children who visited the USA during the summer.  The Lord knit our hearts with the children as we watch them grow and mature through the years.  He also called us to support those who lay down their lives for the sake of these children. 

Looking back over the past ten years, we have lost track of how many times we have been able to visit the home!  We have celebrated Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve with them, enjoyed snowball fights, hosted Vacation Bible School, babysat for staff retreats, been on wild bus rides through the mountains of Mexico with them, hosted construction teams to help with ‘face-lifts’ to the property…and the list goes on!  Each time we visited, we found God to be faithful in returning the blessings ten-fold.  Blessings never go in just one direction!  Our friends who have visited there have felt the same, many of them returning again and again, just as we have. 

We have reaped another huge blessing through our relationship with Rancho Los Amigos.  We can honestly say that the current home directors have become like family to us!

Everyone had been praying for a couple to come and wisely ‘parent’ the children, but I do not believe anyone expected the answer to those prayers to be quite so amazing.  Fernando and Maria Luisa Carpinteyro had already successfully raised their four kids, who grew up to become missionaries, so who would be better than this wonderful couple to disciple the children!  They and their family have poured wisdom, love, and numerous talents into this home.  I use the word “home” very literally, because it truly feels like a home that just happens to have 33 kids living in it!  We are continually blown away by their tireless dedication and amazing ingenuity as they seek to train the children up “in the way that they should go.”  We are confident that the children of Rancho Los Amigos, due to the godly instruction they receive, when they are old, will not depart from the Lord, just as Proverbs 22:6 promises.

We encourage people to become involved with Rancho Los Amigos for many reasons.  It’s not too often that you can have such a personal relationship with a child that you sponsor and with those who are taking care of them.  I would tell others to come and see for themselves what an awesome thing the Lord is doing for the ‘least of these’ through a few selfless individuals who are heeding God’s call.

Here’s a word to the wise, however…be prepared for your life to change forever!”

Get Involved:

Find out more about Rancho Los Amigos: http://ywamepj.org/page.aspx?ID=35820

Tell us your GivStory: http://www.givmusic.com/submit-your-givstory/

A GivStory by Mark Schultz

A few summers ago I was contacted by Family Christian Stores’ Foundation,  The James Fund. A non-profit organization dedicated to meeting the needs of orphans and widows around the world. They contacted me because I was also adopted and they thought that I would make a good spokesperson for the organization. They took me down to an orphanage in Mexico and there I met a husband and wife team that started an organization called Back 2 Back. They were the hands and feet for the churches and orphanages in the area, providing them with food and education.  I will never forget one of the girls there. She was giving us a lesson about kids and orphans.  During this lesson, she took out an ordinary piece of paper and asked us to visualize the paper being an orphan’s heart. She said children come to the orphanage and they are not like any of the other kids in their community. She then rips the piece of paper in half and says “now you are working with just this half piece.” She then explains that the children will want to go to school, but they don’t have the money.  She then rips off another piece of the paper. She gives several examples until she is left holding a piece of paper the size of a thumb print and says “this is what orphans’ heart will typically look like.” She said that each time we give to these orphans we are investing another little piece of paper back into their hearts.  

I thought to myself  “What can I do to make a difference?” I’m adopted and I have a heart for kids….

A few years ago my wife rode her bicycle across the country and I had always admired her for that. I thought that maybe I could ride my bike to help raise money for some of the kids I had seen. So, I called up my manager and told him my crazy idea. Before I knew it I was riding my bike across the country all the way from California to New Hampshire playing thirteen concerts along the way. At the end of the eight week tour we were able to raise a quarter of a million dollars. It was one of the greatest feelings of my life!

I have been doing music professionally for over ten years and I would call giving money to kids that really need it the highlight of my career.

 Most of the money that we raised went to the The James Fund orphanages, but some of the money was also given to World Vision. From my relationship with The James Fund I started to learn more about World Vision. I soon realized that they were also working within organizations and helping kids, orphans, and families. I thought “what a great ministry… I want to get involved.” I thought that I could help by playing concerts and helping to get children sponsored all over the world. It’s been an amazing journey. I was in the Dominican Republic a few months ago and was invited to a World Vision building that housed children with AIDS. The children were drawing on pieces of paper and smiling. Not quite the vision that comes to mind when you think about AIDS, but there they were smiling and happy. One of the teachers asked the students if anyone wanted to volunteer to sing a song.  A little girl began to sing a beautiful song in Spanish. The song translated in English says “God I Love You More Than My Own Life.”  When they translated it for me I was just floored because I realized that with AIDS, she didn’t know how long she had to live. I also found out that this child had an amazing dream, to become a doctor!  I immediately called my wife, who is a doctor, and told her about this sweet little girl. Her immediate response was “Go get her!”  So, of course we immediately signed up to become her sponsor family and are an active part of her life through sponsorship, letters, and encouragement.  I am honored to have the opportunity to be a part of her life  and to be a fan and advocate for a great organization like World Vision . I can’t think of anything in life that is more rewarding than giving hope to others in need.

To learn more visit:

World Vision www.worldvision.org

Mark Schutlz  www.markschultzmusic.com

Tell us your GivStory http://www.givmusic.com/submit-your-givstory/

A Guest Blog Post by Chad Houck

As 2009’s final weeks and days pass, I find myself at what has often in the past been a difficult season.  It’s that season where I evaluate my past year, perhaps contemplate setting some new lofty goals, and maybe even lay out a few new practices that I’d like to implement into my life.  About every third year or so, I been known to buy a gym membership that I later fail to utilize and try to get out of come March.  That’s right, New Years and its accompanying resolutions are right around the corner.

Personally, thanks to the lessons I’ve learned over the past year of my life, I plan to approach this New Year a bit differently.  I won’t be setting any earth shatteringly high bars to leap over.  I likely won’t even set any “resolutions” at all, save one -  to begin.

You see, I’ve come to realize that the primary reason I’ve failed to achieve certain goals or to take advantage of certain opportunities that I’ve encountered may not have had anything to do with the difficulty of the final objective.  In fact, probably more often than not, the things I either wanted or needed to do weren’t even that difficult.  I just never got the ball rolling.  I simply failed to begin to do something.

Lately, however, I’ve come to realize just how far you can go in the 365 days following that all-important first step.

Perhaps there is no better example of this than a young friend of mine from Arizona named Austin.

Austin Gutwein

If you met him today, you’d likely be amazed at by how humble this remarkably influential young man is.  At a surprisingly young age, he is directly responsible for the development of 2 clinics and a high school in Zambia, Africa, as well as additional projects in Kenya and Swaziland.  In 2007, the organization that he founded (at the age of 11) provided bicycles and World Vision’s AIDS caregiver kits to 250 indigenous AIDS caregivers in Sinazongwe, Zambia.  For Austin, 2009 will be remembered as the year that his organization crossed the $1,000,000 mark in funding for AIDS orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa.  Oh, and also as the year that he turned 15.

Austin Gutwein didn’t set out to build the world’s largest basketball free-throw shoot-a-thon. In 2004, after watching a World Vision video about AIDS orphans in Africa, he realized that these were children just like him.  He felt that God was calling him to do something to help them, so on World AIDS day, with his friends and family sponsoring him, 9 year-old Austin shot 2,057 free throws, one for each child that would be orphaned by AIDS during his typical school day.  As his father Daniel counted the shots, Austin’s solo effort raised just over $3000 that day.   More importantly, however, it was the beginning of Hoops of Hope.

Austin will be the first to tell you that he had no idea where those initial shots would lead.  The following year he was joined on the court by several friends and collectively they raised over $35,000, supporting and caring for 100 orphans.  2006 saw the first school built in Zambia, providing 1,000 children the opportunity to envision a future with an education – But it never would have continued if it hadn’t begun.

Occasionally we see an opportunity before us but we fail to respond. Perhaps we think that one irrelevant person, one insignificant compliment, or one inconsequential donation won’t really matter.  We trivialize our participation as volunteers in our communities, as mentors in the lives of others, or as donors to a cause we believe in, because we don’t think we have the qualifications, credentials, or capacity to REALLY make a difference.  In doing so, we negate the impact we could have had and the change we could have brought forth if we had simply been willing to take that all-important first step… to begin.

Today, in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is an entire community of young people whose paths have been irreversibly altered, possibly even rescued from the curse of AIDS that is systematically killing their generation. They have been impacted by the choice of one solitary nine year old that had the courage to believe he could make a difference, and by the lives of every single individual that has hosted, shot at, sponsored a shooter, or attended a Hoops Of Hope event since.

So what is YOUR plan this new year? Whatever your dreams may be, when you wake up on the morning of January 1, 2010, my prayer for you is that you take advantage of the opportunity to begin.

Chad Houck is the director of Share5.  Along with his wife and two children, he has spent the last 14 months living in a 35’ motorhome, traveling the United States sharing their lives and their hearts with people and communities in need.  You can learn more about them at their website at http://share5.org.  Chad will be releasing his first book, “Share Well With Others” in early 2010.  It was begun in January of 2009.

Austin Gutwein’s Hoops of Hope shoot-a-thons now take place across the United States and in China, Pakistan, Qatar, Canada, Korea, and Portugal.  Austin is currently touring on the Revolve Tour and is launching his own “AllStars Festival” 12 city Tour in 2010.  You can find tour schedules as well as Austin’s new book, “Take Your Best Shot”, on his website at http://HoopsofHope.org

Nearly $80,000 Donated To Help Poor

The 19 Genre-Defining Artists Featured on CompassionArt: Creating Freedom From
Poverty CD/DVD Provide First Wave of Funding

(Nashville, TN) December 22, 2009 – The award-winning CompassionArt charity announces its first grants to 16 charitable projects chosen by the CompassionArt songwriters. The four “headline” projects will each receive $9,944 (£6,000) and the 12 individual artist nominated projects will each receive $3,315 (£2,000) for a total of $79,556 (£48,000).
The grants come from personal gifts and proceeds being raised by the CompassionArt: Creating Freedom From Poverty CD and 50-minute DVD documentary, and its companion book, The Art of Compassion, written by the 12 world-acclaimed CompassionArt songwriters. In an unprecedented effort to engage people everywhere to help end world poverty, song and artist royalties received from these acclaimed projects will be donated to the poorest of the poor.

“It’s exciting to see the vision of CompassionArt and its songwriters coming to fruition; to see the labor of love that began with an unlikely gathering of songwriters almost two years ago now tangibly helping to ease the suffering for thousands in projects all over the world,” says CompassionArt founder Martin Smith. “The amazing thing is that this is only the beginning, as these CompassionArt songs take hold and inspire more and more people and worship leaders to get involved.”

Anyone can help support CompassionArt’s charitable efforts through purchasing the CompassionArt CD/DVD and book for themselves, family, friends or as Christmas gifts ( http://compassionart.tv/created/), as well as through personal donations ( http://compassionart.tv/donate/).

The following outlines where the initial grant money will be used:

FOUR HEADLINE PROJECTS

1) South America – Grants from CompassionArt will be used to help buy a boat to carry ministry teams, doctors, etc., to the sick and needy in places near Santa Isobella, Brazil that are only reachable by boat.

2) Worldwide – Grants will be used for “Start Freedom,” an education campaign for schools and young people, teaching them about the issues surrounding human trafficking and the power they have to make a difference. Start Freedom aims to create freedom from the oppression and poverty that is caused by human trafficking by reaching out to local communities worldwide, equipping young people to empower and act on behalf of their peers who have no voice.

3) India and Cambodia – Funds will be used to help provide food, education and more in a Phnom Penh, Cambodia rubbish dump, a sprawling 100-acre garbage dump where hundreds of children work. Toiling through the mountains of trash as early as 3 a.m., the children hope to make 50 to 75 cents a day to help feed their families. The funds will help two buses rebuilt into mobile feeding and education centers to establish a place where these children could eat a good meal, take a shower and learn basic reading and writing skills.

4) Africa – The grant will be used toward building a Creative Arts Center, helping to restore hope to orphaned children to abused mothers and those whose lives have been devastated by suffering in Uganda. The Creative Life Center will encourage artistic education and plans for a better future for all.

12 SONGWRITER – NOMINATED PROJECTS

1. Nominated by Darlene Zschech, the grant will be used in the Village of Hope (VOH) project in the Gasabo District of Kigali, Rwanda. VOH is a self-sustaining, holistic model for the complete needs of the child, widow, orphan and community, providing much needed housing, healthcare, education and community for the most vulnerable families who were victims of the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

2. Nominated by Michael W. Smith, the funds will support the salaries of Life Skill Educators who work directly with 8,200 children in six urban township communities located in the Deep South Peninsula of South Africa’s Western Cape. Offering Life Skills Education and After School Children’s Clubs, these programs function to prevent HIV by equipping youth with HIV facts, empowering them with skills to make responsible decisions, helping youth identify goals for their future and increasing confidence, while teaching Biblical principles to shape values and build strong character.

3. Nominated by Martin and Anna Smith, the grant money will be used for the Community Healthcare Training project at the Tondo Rubbish Dump and Navotas Cemetery in Manila, Philippines. The project works with over 1,000 people each week in communities living on the Tondo Dump and Navotas Cemetery, providing healthcare training, education, nutrition and family enhancement programs, guided by Godly values and beliefs, to some of the poorest Filipino communities. By promoting health, it is hoped to improve attendance at school and the family’s ability to work to earn a living for themselves.

4. Nominated by Matt Redman, the grant will help the Kasese Child Survival Programme, a church-based project in the Kamaiba Village of Kasese in SW Uganda that provides critical care for 38 mothers and 39 babies from pregnancy to the age of three. Kasese provides nutrition, medical assistance, economic development, parental education, social support and spiritual care for mothers and caregivers, ensuring that some the most vulnerable babies and toddlers in the community survive and thrive during the first years of life.

5. Nominated by Paul Baloche, the grant will help create an aftercare/transition home based in East Texas for some of the estimated 300,000 children being trafficked and exploited in America. With the home groundbreaking planned for early 2010, this specialized home will help meet the urgent physical, psychological, and spiritual needs of children rescued from trafficking and exploitation. There are only five to seven such specialized transition homes in the entire US.

6. Nominated by Graham Kendrick, the grant will be used for tuition and exam fees for fatherless, motherless and boundary-less young people ages 5 to 25 to attend Restoring The Sound (RTS), an accredited London College of Music Exam Centre based in Macassar township in Cape Town, South Africa. RTS is a music based arts empowerment project aimed at youngsters who would normally fall prey to gangs and drug abuse.

7. Nominated by Tim Hughes, the funds will go to help reduce the re-offending rate in the UK by equipping local churches to help ex-offenders to successfully re-integrate and make a positive contribution to society.

8. Nominated by Stu Garrard, Beanz Meanz Livez will partner with Living India and start an animal husbandry program to help the orphanage at Chandrakal (Hyderabad, India) to become self-sustaining. The program will begin with a barn, six cows and a dozen chickens. The grant will also be used to train the children in much needed skills for work.

9. Nominated by Steven Curtis Chapman, the grant will go to Maria’s Big House of Hope, a 60,000 square foot special needs care facility in Luoyang China. The facility is staffed, operational and currently cares for 80 special needs orphans. The grant will be used to feed and house these special children, as well as to further their physical care through medical treatments, surgeries and recovery.

10. Nominated by Andy Park, the funds will support an ongoing initiative in Tin Siu Wai, Hong Kong that looks after distressed and single families in an area that is known for teenage drug addicts, suicides and mental illness. The grant will help convert an old car park into a gathering place where people can gather for youth programs that help rescue children and single parents from the drug trade, etc.

11. Nominated by Chris Tomlin, the grant will go toward the ongoing operations costs of The Bulrushes, a home for orphaned and vulnerable babies in Kampala, Uganda. Tiny premature babies to toddlers found on rubbish heaps, in trash cans or abandoned in hospitals and police stations, are brought to this new home where they find acceptance, physical and medical care and unconditional love.

12. Nominated by Israel Houghton, Lakewood Missions will use the grant to help finish a new school building, specifically the ceilings for the Mosop Orphanage (Sotik, Kenya, East Africa), which cares for 87 children from 5 to 18 years of age.

*More information on all of CompassionArt’s charitable projects can be found at http://CompassionArt.tv.

These initial grants from CompassionArt are in addition to the Family Christian Stores initiative running through January 2010 where $1 for every CompassionArt: Creating Freedom From Poverty CD/DVD sold this year through Family Christian Stores, with an additional $1 for the first 25,000 units sold, will be donated through the James Fund foundation. Earlier this year, the CompassionArt: Creating Freedom From Poverty CD/DVD was named as the first-ever Family Christian Stores Album Of The Year.

The CompassionArt CD/DVD:

The 19 genre-defining songwriters/guest vocalists featured on the 14-song charity album, CompassionArt: Creating Freedom From Poverty, include: (Songwriters) Paul Baloche, Steven Curtis Chapman, Stu G, Israel Houghton, Tim Hughes, Graham Kendrick, Andy Park, Matt Redman, Martin Smith, Michael W. Smith, Chris Tomlin and Darlene Zschech; and (Guest Vocalists) Kirk Franklin, Amy Grant, Joel Houston, Leeland Mooring, Christy Nockels, tobyMac and CeCe Winans. Together, they combine for at least: 101 million albums sold, 103 No. 1 songs, 36 GRAMMY Awards, 213 Dove Awards, 18 Stellar Awards, 3 American Music Awards, and 116 CCLI Top 500 songs sung by millions in churches around the world.

In addition to EMI CMG releasing the CompassionArt: Creating Freedom From Poverty CD/DVD in North America in January of this year, the project also released November 2008 in Europe and Scandinavia through Kingsway, Asia, Africa and South America through Integrity and Australia and New Zealand through Crossroads.

About CompassionArt:

CompassionArt, a charity based in Littlehampton, England, held a songwriters’ retreat in January 2008 and began recording songs from the 12 world-acclaimed CompassionArt songwriters a month later for the CompassionArt: Creating Freedom From Poverty album at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London, England, with later recording sessions in Nashville, New York and Los Angeles. Recognized by Gospel Music Channel with its first “Gospel Angel Award” presented during the network’s telecast of 2008’s Dove Awards, more information on CompassionArt can be found at http://CompassionArt.tv.

CompassionArt is not associated or affiliated with, or otherwise sponsored or endorsed by, Compassion International, Inc. Compassion® is a registered trademark of Compassion International, Inc.

For more information, contact: Rick Hoganson, Hoganson Media Relations, 615-459-9870, Hoganson@comcast.net.

 “It’s A Miserable Life” is the third and final part in the “No Room at the Inn” series on homelessness by Chad Houck of http://share5.org

During this series, we have been encouraging you to actively participate in Mark Horvath’s  12 days of Christmas Homeless Push.  So why we didn’t choose to let you know of the push in time for it to end on Christmas Day?  Well, homelessness won’t end on Christmas Day, and the hardest times for a shelter, the greatest needs, come AFTER the holidays – when everyone thinks they’ve done their part.  Thanks to our slight yet intentional delay, your timing should be just about perfect!

No holiday brings out the nostalgia like Christmas.  Every year in my hometown of Boise, ID, Jimmy Stewart’s “It’s a Wonderful Life.” is played on the big screen in our historically restored Egyptian Theatre.  Legend has it that as a young soldier, USAF Col. Jimmy Stewart used to sit in the Egyptian’s orchestra pit and play the piano during his days stationed at nearby Mountain Home Air Force Base.  Those behind the traditional playing of the movie see it as a homecoming of sorts, so every year, with popcorn in hand, locals are treated to the return of Clarence the angel, George Bailey, Mr. Potter, Mary, and ZuZu’s petals.

 If you’ve never seen the movie, allow me to summarize.  George Bailey lives in a small town. As a child he decides that he is going to get out and make something of himself someday.  Time goes on, and he instead stays to support those around him.  One thing after another doesn’t work out, and in an ironic twist of fate, a simple mistake ends up causing George’s world to seemingly crash in on him.  In a moment of struggle and confusion, believing that he has no one he can turn to, George chooses to end his life.

 Sounds like a wonderful movie doesn’t it?  If it were to end there, you would have to say “It’s a miserable life.”  Fortunately for George Bailey, that is not the end of the story.  His suicide attempt is cut short by the entrance of Clarence, his personal, albeit somewhat clumsy, Guardian Angel in training.  Saving George is Clarence’s chance to earn his wings.  George needs Clarence, and ironic as it may sound, Clarence needs George.

 Not long ago I met a man named Dave.  We were both coming out of Walmart at about 7am, headed to a far corner of the parking lot.  I had seen Dave earlier on my way in to get some milk.  Now, headed back out, I was carrying my milk and Dave was still empty handed.  He wore a thick flannel shirt jacket, worn jeans, and work boots.  Living the past year in a number of parking lots as we traveled told me that Dave had spent the night in his car in the same parking lot as us.  He had gone inside to ward off the chill of the 40-degree air. 
“Cold out here, isn’t it?” I said as I walked beside him.

“Yep, chilly” he replied.

“Did you sleep alright?”

Dave’s face went blank.  He seemed astonished that I knew he had slept in his car.  Realizing he would quickly try to escape the conversation, I immediately followed up by asking him if he had eaten.  He said no, and I asked if he liked coffee. 

“Sure” he replied.

“Then come on in.  I’ll make you some breakfast, and the coffee’s already started.”

First came a look of both confusion and disbelief, followed by about a 7 second delay as if he thought he was being set up or tricked.  With another encouraging “come on” from me, Dave stepped into our RV and took the seat that I offered him on the couch.

Within seconds, my kids were at his side.  Knowing he was in good hands, I set about making him a couple of breakfast burritos.  When they were ready, I sat him at the table, put his food on a real plate, and poured him a cup of hot coffee in a mug.  This was not a “to-go” meal.

Dave and I sat and talked and he shared a story not entirely different than that of George Bailey.  One circumstance after another had caved in on him, and now he had nowhere left to turn.  He said that he didn’t know if God still cared.  I told him that the food in front of him was a message from God sent by a courier to remind him that He did. 

As we wrapped up our meal, my kids handed Dave a care package with some candy, two water bottles, granola bars, a few drawings, and some socks.  Inside was a postcard with the message, “We hope that this package provides you with something of value, but more importantly reminds you that you are someone of value.” 

With the encouragement of Clarence and a little divine intervention, George Bailey realizes that the world would not have been a better place if he were never born.  As  Christmas Eve descends, he returns to his home, to his family, and to his community, where he finds that the very people that he thought would never miss him had come together to support him.  We never see Clarence again, but we know he got his wings. 

I knew I couldn’t fix Dave’s problem that day, but that wasn’t the point.  I was simply giving him what I could, providing him with the hope he needed to make it through another day, perhaps another week.  I was making sure the movie didn’t end too early.  On that particular morning, Dave needed to hear that he was valued.  Perhaps even more profoundly, however, I needed Dave to remind me that unless I choose to respond to those put before me, people in need will have needs that go unmet. 

As we wrap up this series, and as you go on your way this Christmas, challenge yourself to reflect. Take a moment to reread the 12 days of Christmas Homeless Push.   Ask yourself – Have you overlooked the homeless, lending to their invisibility, and if so, how can you begin to learn their names?  With open eyes that can clearly see the precious person and life that is before you, how can YOU give YOU?   We look forward to hearing your GivStories back here at GivMusic.com, and Merry Christmas.

Read Part I – No Room at the Inn 

Read Part II – Hidden in Plain Sight

Chad Houck is the director of Share5.  Along with his wife and two children, he has spent the last 14 months living in a 35’ motorhome, traveling the United States sharing their lives and their hearts with people and communities in need.  You can learn more about them at their website at http://share5.org.  Chad will be releasing his first book, “Share Well With Others” in early 2010.  It was begun in January of 2009.

Hidden in Plain Sight is part two of a three part series on the plight of the homeless written by Chad Houck of http://share5.org specifically for the GivMusic.com blog.

As we approach our Christmas and New Year’s festivities, may we be mindful and purposeful toward those who find themselves without a home this Christmas season, and beyond.  Don’t know where to begin?  Check out the 12 Days of Christmas Homeless Challenge and get started!

As Christmas day draws ever nearer, one of my biggest challenges of living in the small space of a 34’ ever-moving RV is figuring out where to hide Christmas gifts from the prying eyes of my two young children.  It seems that regardless of my craftiest attempts at camouflage, their attentive eyes pick up even the slightest hint that something is out of place. 

My wife is the same way.  While I can’t even find my keys when they are right in front of me, she can spot a deer with a death wish at twilight on the side of the freeway from two hundred yards or more.  She is the ultimate road-trip spotter. (That’s why she gets the co-pilot seat!)  She picks up on everything.  One day in 2007, she picked up on something that would literally change our very lives.

We had just left church on a sunny Sunday afternoon in March in Boise, ID. I needed a few things for my honey-do chores back home, and I knew I would find what I needed at either Wal-Mart or Lowes.  Since the two are side by side, I figured it would be a quick trip.  Pulling into the Wal-Mart parking lot, I took my normal shortcut through the back corner towards Lowes.  “Oh my gosh” Amy gasped, in a tone that typically meant I was about to ram headfirst into something.  I swerved, not knowing what I was trying to avoid, and came to a stop. 

 “What?!?  What is it?”

“Over there – look at that car”

“What about it?”

“There is someone inside it”

“All I see is bags in the windshield”

“I mean there is someone living inside it,” she said.

Actual photo of the 4 cars at Walmart. John's van is on the left.

Suddenly, it was as if a pair of glasses were placed over my eyes and what before had merely been part of the background stepped into the foreground and came into clear focus.  Not only was there a person in that car, but there were 6 or 7 other cars, vans, and trucks in that corner, each with a person or family in them.  We had just come face to face with the mobile homeless.  They were there all along, but for whatever reason, we had failed to take notice.

 In the days that followed I could not shake the fact that an small population of people in need were literally living in a parking lot less than 2 miles from the church I had been attending for over 3 years.  The following Sunday we headed back to Walmart.  This time, I wanted to know more.

 As I pulled up, Amy asked me what I planned to do.  “I don’t know.  Give me 5 minutes”, I responded.  I parked our minivan and walked toward the man who climbed back into his van as we approached.  I wanted to know his story.  He had been a cook.  He had been a construction worker.  He was disabled in an accident but denied disability, and when he couldn’t pay for his mortgage and his pain meds, he lost his home.  Now he had to do without both.  He was a father and a grandfather, yet his own daughter would not allow him to see his granddaughter because she was ashamed of the fact that he had lost his home.  She didn’t know how to explain to her four year old that he lived in a van, so instead, she forbade him to come around.  Without family, without income, and without a home, he had come here.  His name was John.

In the weeks that followed, my wife and I got to know John better, and we came to know several of the others that lived there as well.  When Easter came around, we made up an invitation and hosted a dinner for them at our church.  When they didn’t show up and we realized our error (expecting them to leave their world and enter ours) we packed up the dinner and took it to them.  Some were reluctant to come out, and yet others were more than happy to sit and eat pot roast, turkey, and deserts with us from the back of our minivan on paper plates.

John moved on that summer.  One day I stopped at the parking lot and he was simply gone.  I don’t know where he went, but I know that his story and his struggle have deeply impacted our lives.  He was a gift to us, opened slowly as we took the time to learn the value that he held in his damaged and discarded state.  The journey he helped us begin has now led us literally 589 miles short of the distance it would take to circumnavigate the earth at the equator (24,890 miles if you were wondering.)  It has taken us to over 20 US states and to Mexico four times.  Who would have ever imagined that a homeless man would help to launch a ministry, and maybe even a movement, simply by being hidden in plain sight.

Read Part I – No Room at the Inn 

Up Next: Part III – It’s A Miserable Life 

Chad Houck and his wife Amy are the founders of World Wins International and Share5.org.  In October 2008, they launched the Share5 Tour, a grassroots experiment to impact people and communities by sharing 5 Christ-like character traits with others through specific and intentional acts of sharing.  They have now, as a full time road-tripping family, traveled just shy of 22,000 miles by RV and another 3,000 by air as they seek to “share well with others.”  You can read more about their journey and their stories at http://share5.org