Give - A Philanthropy Podcast

In Touch

Avani, Annaiya, Torani, and Divya

On this episode of the GIVE podcast, we are speaking to four young ladies that have started their own nonprofit that is tackling teen mental health. So today I am chatting with Avani, Annaiya, Torani, and Divya.  They are the founders of In Touch, a teenage mental health nonprofit that is run out of California.  Mental health is a large issue for teenagers at the moment and In Touch is working to provide free resources and destroy the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

In Touch provides a survey to teens that matches them with the resources they need, including counseling, peer support groups, and even hotlines.  They are working closely with their local high schools to help provide what kids need to help them heal from the wounds of mental health.  In Touch is also organizing virtual workshops to help during the time of this pandemic to promote healing while still social distancing.

Communication is the key to mental health and these ladies are breaking down every door that they see to make sure everyone knows that mental health issues are not shameful- and they can be treated.    Different demographics have different views on mental health and In Touch is working hard to make sure to reach out to every group of teens to get them the knowledge that they need.

How to help In Touch:

• Volunteer
• Spread the word on Instagram
• Sign up for their newsletter and share the information

Be inspired. GIVE.

How to reach In Touch

Website | Instagram

Read the full transcription of this episode by clicking here. 

Jesse Lewis Choose Love

Scarlett Lewis

In this episode of the GIVE podcast, we are thrilled to welcome Scarlett Lewis of the Choose Love Movement.  Scarlett is an incredible woman with a heartbreaking story.  When her son, Jesse Lewis, lost his life in the Sandy Hook mass shooting, Scarlett’s life was changed forever- he was just six years old. Guided by his life and his legacy, Scarlet lives every day to deliver a compassionate curriculum into schools everywhere.

The Choose Love movement has created a new program, offered for free, to help schools, homes, and communities to help teach students of all ages how to have healthy relationships,  meaningful connections, and how to self-regulate and manage our emotions.  They believe that being able to grow through difficulty and still being able to make responsible decisions is an important life lesson that so many are lacking currently.

The program is actually modeled after a course to help returning soldiers integrate back into civilian life.  Many kids are having to face trauma, both emotionally and sometimes even physically - so this program focuses on positive psychology trauma techniques that will help these kids develop the mental clarity to express themselves.  

How to get involved with the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement:

• Visit the website and spread the word about the free resources.
• Follow on social media
• Donate

Be inspired. GIVE.

You can connect with the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement here:

Website | Instagram | Facebook

Read the entire transcript of the episode here. 

Variety- The Children’s Charity

Debbie Dodge

On today’s episode of the GIVE podcast, we are happy to welcome Debbie Dodge from Variety- The Children’s Charity.  Variety’s Freedom Program delivers vital life-changing equipment and services for mobility, independence and social inclusion to individual children and children’s organizations.

Through the Freedom program, Variety changes children’s lives by granting items and services that provide independence, mobility and freedom. Variety’s Future Program delivers crucial life-enriching communication equipment and services, education and self-esteem to individual children and children’s organizations. Through the Future program they enrich children’s lives by granting items and services that provide communication, education and self-esteem. 

Variety- The Children’s Charity is currently in 13 different countries and has multiple chapters throughout each one.  They help kids with mobility issues, children that are in the third world

or developing countries.  Variety also helps with medicine. They do everything they can for kids just so that they can have a fair shot at life

Ways you can get involved with Variety- The Children’s Charity:

• Volunteer
• Donate
• Connect on social media

Be inspired. GIVE.

How to connect with Variety- The Children’s Charity 

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Click here to read a full transcript of this episode. 

Annie E Casey Foundation

Amoretta Morris 

On this episode of the Give podcast, host Shannon Maganzein welcomes two members of the Annie E Casey Foundation to let us know a little about the work that they do.  The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private philanthropy foundation that creates a brighter future for the nation's children by developing solutions to strengthen families, build paths to economic opportunity and transform struggling communities into safer and healthier places to live, work and grow.

Today we are speaking with Amoretta Morris who is the director of national community strategies for the Annie E. Casey Foundation. She lives in Washington DC, and she leads the foundation's national community change strategies. She has more than a decade of experience shaping policies and programs to improve the lives of youth and families.

As a foundation, they also are ones that are really committed to racial equity, and in this moment,  the country has embraced many challenging conversations. Some of these are about how to bring equity to communities, and what it looks like to be able to do the work differently and approach issues differently for everyone. They seek to look at everything that we do with an equity lens.  

How can you get involved with the Annie E Casey Foundation?

• Spread the word on Social Media
• Subscribe to the blog
• Donate
• Volunteer

Be inspired. GIVE.

Find Annie E Casey Foundation here

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

For a full transcription of the episode, click here. 

Both Ends Believing

Mark Schwartz

Today on the GIVE podcast we are thrilled to welcome Mark Schwartz, the president of Both Ends Believing.  Both Ends Believing is a nonprofit that uses technology to create a digital identity for children around the globe- so they have a better chance at adoption, instead of aging out of the foster care system. 

Millions of children are hidden behind the walls of institutions and orphanages. The primary reason is simply that countries lack the digital infrastructure that creates visibility into who and where they are. Without a digital identity, institutionalized children face a bleak future. The best place for a child is always with a loving family unit and Both Ends Believing uses technology to help them find those family units.

Both Ends Believing works to capture comprehensive digital profiles of children through Children First Sofware, a technology-driven advocate designed to identify a child’s best opportunity for family-based care. Partnering with countries around the world, we transform the process to move children to their best future, a chance to grow and flourish in a loving family.

How can you get involved with Both Ends Believing:

• Donate
• Spread the word through social media
• Raise awareness

Be inspired. GIVE.

Find Both Ends Believing here:

Website | Facebook | Instagram

Read the full transcript of this episode here.

Beulah’s Safe Haven

Tanya Barns

Today on the GIVE podcast we are thrilled to welcome Tanya Barns from Beulah’s Safe Haven.  This is a nonprofit that is located in Shreveport, Louisiana.  Beulah’s Safe Haven is an amazing resource for girls that are aging out of the foster care system.  Girls who are in foster care as teens are potentially facing issues such as homelessness, poor relationships, and potentially human trafficking. 

Even though these girls may technically be adults, they struggle mentally because many of them have not had the chance to develop life skills that normal teenagers take for granted. These girls have had so many traumas happen to them in their young lives that sometimes they simply need a chance to breathe and take their time moving on to the next step of adulthood.  Beulah’s Safe Haven does its best to provide that service.

Beulah’s Safe Haven helps these girls find jobs, know how to cook, learn finances, and take care of their mental health.  Beulah's Safe Haven is here to try to help them along, give them a little more time to develop so that when they get ready to leave here, then they're on the road to success.

How to get involved with Beulah’s Safe Haven:

• Donate
• Share the story on social media
• Interact with their social media

Be inspired. GIVE.

Find Beulah’s Safe Haven here:

Website | Instagram | Facebook

Read the entire transcript of the interview here. 

Operation Not Alone

Susan Fochs

On today’s episode of the GIVE podcast, we are thrilled to welcome Susan Fochs, the founder of Operation Not Alone.  Susan started this nonprofit when she was18 years old.  She felt compelled to take charge and make a difference in the lives of servicemen and women.  Her journey was inspired by her father, who served in the US Marine Corps and is now permanently disabled.  She’s made it her mission to create an organization that exists in the hope that no one feels alone both during and after their deployment.

Operation Not Alone sends care packages, cheer packages, and participates in nursing home visits. To this day, they have sent over a thousand packages and that number continues to grow!  They work hard with the families of deployed service people to make sure that the packages are something that brings joy to each person that receives them.

Operation Not Alone aspires to empower community members to make a positive change by taking part in our programming and saying, ‘thank you for your service’ in a variety of ways. They want every man and woman in uniform to know that, no matter what they are facing, they are never alone and they will never be forgotten for their dedication, sacrifice, and service.

How you can get involved with Operation Not Alone:

• Donate
• Purchase Operation Not Alone merchandise on their website
• Spread the word and follow them on social media

Be inspired. GIVE.

How to find Operation Not Alone

Website | Facebook | Instagram

Read the full transcript of this episode here.

Urban Blooms

Tyler Wolf

For today’s episode of the GIVE podcast, we are thrilled to welcome Tyler Wolf to the show.  Tyler is the founder, executive director, and Living Wall designer for Urban Blooms.  This nonprofit mixes engineering, science, art, and plants to create green spaces in urban environments that otherwise might not see these types of plants.

The living walls are carefully designed with each community in mind.  They use hydroponics and engineering to make sure that they can be enjoyed for years to come. Urban Blooms has done these wall installations all over the country and has, in the process, brought nature and fostered a one-on-one connection and inspiration that can be drawn from viewing these.

Urban Blooms is able to install these living walls through grants, donations, and working directly with the cities themselves.  They try to build them next to schools and in underserved neighborhoods to inspire the next generation into thinking about all that can be accomplished with art, engineering, and botany. 

How to get involved with Urban Blooms:

• Volunteer
• Donate
• Spread the word on social media

Be inspired. GIVE.

Website | Instagram

To read a full transcript of this episode, click here.

Sunshine After the Storm

Alexa Bigwarfe

On today’s episode of the GIVE podcast we are thrilled to welcome Alexa Bigwarfe, the creator of the Sunshine After the Storm nonprofit.  Sunshine After the Storm is a nonprofit to support women who have lost children in utero or shortly thereafter. As with most nonprofits, it started to help fill a void that the creator never anticipated on seeing. 

Alexa’s journey into nonprofits began with the tragic loss of one of her twin babies.  As she was going through the grieving process she started blogging to work through some of these feelings that she had and bringing awareness to the horrific realities that women in Alexa’s place are going through. 

Blogging turned into writing a book.  When she was writing the book- she realized that she did not want grieving mothers to have to pay for it- so she sent them the book and a small care package for free. This gave her the idea to create the nonprofit, so she could help more and more moms and dads who are going through this difficult time.

How you can help Sunshine After the Storm:

• Purchase an item from their Amazon wish list
• Donate
• Spread the word and follow them on social media

Be inspired. GIVE.

Instagram | Facebook | Website

Read the full transcription for this episode here.

Quantum Foundation

Randy Scheid

Today on the GIVE podcast we are speaking with Randy Scheid of the Quantum Foundation.  The Quantum Foundation is not like the typical non-profit we feature on the Give Podcast.  They are a grant-making foundation whose mission is to inspire and fund initiatives that improve the health of communities.

The Quantum Foundations works to promote change by driving action and working with others to find solutions.  They take strategic risks with their resources and make bold decisions in the fulfillment of our vision & mission.  They provide regular grants organizations and community level grants.  You can visit their website for more information about their programs.

Some of the long-term missions they are working on include building a healthcare workforce.  Behavioral healthcare workers and mid-level nurses are needed in many communities and so they are supporting the pipeline that leads young adults into those sorely needed careers.  They are also working on initiatives create stronger communities and develop the field of telehealth.

Listen today and learn more about this incredible organization - and stay tuned for part 2 of this episode!

Ways to get involved with Quantum Foundation

• Volunteer in your local community
• Support local organizations
• Spread the word + share this episode

Be inspired. GIVE.

Where to find Quantum Foundation

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Read the full transcription of this episode here.