Welcome to the JustGive.org Newsletter
June 4, 2001

June 12 will be 8 months since we launched, and we're stronger than ever. We have already passed through almost $350,000 to over 800 nonprofit organizations, and every day, more people discover how easy it is to donate to charities through us. And that's not all! Your support for JustGive.org has been tremendous. Thanks to all of you who donate to JustGive.org. By making a contribution to us, you are supporting all the incredibly vital causes that need attention in our society. Donations to JustGive.org are fully tax-deductible and allow us to pass 100% through to charity. Support JustGive.org today so that both individuals and charities may continue to benefit.

Table of Contents:

1. Father's Day -- Make a gift donation in honor of your favorite dad
2. June's Giving Calendar -- Need a reason to give?
3. Weddings in the air -- June is still the most popular month for nuptials
4. Inspiring Stories -- One woman changes hundreds of lives
5. Our Wish List -- Another way to help JustGive.org
6. Tell a Friend -- Pass it on!
7. Quote of the Month -- Food for thought

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1. Father's Day -- June 17

DID YOU KNOW...

• In 1909, Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, organized the first Father's Day celebration on June 19, her own father's birthday. Dodd's father, a farmer and Civil War veteran, had been a single father to six young children after the death of his wife. Sonora Smart Dodd wanted to honor her father's commitment and strength in raising his children.
• In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge publicly supported plans for a national Father's Day.
• In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed Father's Day to be an official national holiday.
• In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed into law a permanent U.S. Father's Day to be observed on the third Sunday of June.

You can follow Sonora's tradition by honoring your own father, your children's father, your grandfather, your stepfather, or a special father figure. Make a donation on his behalf by choosing a charity that would be meaningful for him. We've even created a special Father's Day area so you can choose charitable organizations that focus on fathers. An e-Card is automatically sent to your recipients notifying them of your generous gift. (If your recipient does not have email, simply enter your own email address in the Gift Option, and print out the e-Card so you can hand-deliver it.)

"Fathers, like mothers, are not born. Men grow into fathers-- and fathering is a very important stage in their development." ~David M. Gottesman

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2. June's Giving Calendar -- Need a reason to give?

-June 3rd is Cancer Survivor's Day -- The bad news is that cancer is the second leading cause of death in the US, exceeded only by heart disease. In the U.S., 1 of 4 deaths is from cancer. The good news is that, according to The National Cancer Institute, as much as 80 percent of cancer cases can be prevented. Prevention is the light at the end of the tunnel for those looking for a way to reduce the cancer epidemic. What can you do?
1. 30% of cancers are due to tobacco. Avoid smoking, and lung cancer becomes very unlikely.
2. 35%-60% of cancers are due to dietary factors. Epidemiologists have found that populations that consume large amounts of plant–derived foods have lower incidence rates of some types of cancer. Eating 5 or more servings of vegetables and fruits per day is associated with a decreased risk.
3. Avoid excessive exposure to sunlight -- a critical step in the prevention of skin cancer.
4. Support The Cancer Project, an organization whose primary aim is cancer prevention, distributing lifesaving information on reducing cancer risk. When cancer has been diagnosed, they work for improving survival.

-June 5th is World Environment Day -- This annual event is used to enhance attention and action. Whether you care about global warming, endangered species and habitats, rainforest depletion, hazardous waste, air pollution, water pollution, overpopulation, oil drilling, toxic waste, marine conservation, or forest renewal -- or all of the above -- you can make a difference! Don't know where to start? Here are some tips:
1. Read our 50 Ways to Save the Environment.
2. Read Grist Magazine's section on what you can do to help the environment.
3. Make a donation to an organization that is seeking to protect the Environment.

-June 8th is World Ocean's Day -- The world's oceans cover more than 70% of our planet's surface, and the rich web of life they support is the result of hundreds of millions of years of evolution. There is no doubt that the earth's climate is changing -- for the worst -- and that our oceans are in peril. Sea levels are rising, polar regions are warming up, coral reefs are dying, ocean productivity is decreasing, fish populations are gravely threatened. Pollution, oil spills, run-off, household wastes are other ways we threaten the oceans. The time to do something is now. What can you do?
1. Reduce the amount of garbage you produce -- and NEVER litter. Organize a beach clean-up.
2. Use ONLY non-toxic cleaning products and materials. Some eco-friendly brands are Earth Friendly, Bio-Kleen, Seventh Generation, and Ecover.
3. Plant trees. Walk instead of drive. Invest in alternative energy sources (solar, wind).
4. Support the Oceanic Society, whose mission is to protect the marine environment through conservation-based field research and environmental education.

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3. Weddings in the air -- Choosing charitable donations over traditional wedding gifts

Whether you are getting married or attending a wedding, charitable gift donations make the perfect present.

• Couples getting married can choose specific charities, and we create a special page they refer their guests to, allowing them to donate to the charities in their names.
• If you've been invited to a wedding and want to give something more intimate and personal than a kitchen appliance, you can choose a charity that would be meaningful to the happy couple and make a donation in their name. We can help you find a charity.

Learn more or contact us.

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4. Inspiring Stories -- "It is the giving of ourselves that is important. You have to give to live." ~Cathrine Sneed

While she was hospitalized with serious kidney disease, Cathrine Sneed picked up a copy of Grapes of Wrath. The basic message of the book profoundly changed her outlook: People feel hopeful when they have a connection to the land. When she returned to her job as a counselor at the San Francisco County Jail, she convinced officials to let prisoners do some gardening on prison grounds. The result was The Garden Project, which allowed inmates to grow food for their own use, and to give away to homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and individuals in need.

The success of the program has moved several individuals to donate additional plots of land in downtown San Francisco to be used to grow food. The program not only teaches prisoners gardening skills while they are in jail, but more importantly, provides them with employment upon release. More than 2,500 individuals have been thus employed - working in community gardens, schoolyards, and planting trees and flowers in San Francisco. The program has been so successful, it is being replicated in dozens of American cities.

Anthony Travis, Jr., a former prisoner and now one of the supervisors with The Garden Project summed it up when he said, "Cathrine Sneed is a great person. She helped me get on my feet and gave me a chance to sprout and grow. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't have a job, and I would probably be back in jail. Her program works. We don't only grow flowers and trees, we grow people."

Cathrine Sneed has been given the National Caring Award by the Caring Institute, which seeks to identify, honor, and reinforce the activities of particularly caring Americans -- those who ennoble the human race by transcending self in service to others. Each year the Caring Institute recognizes 10 adults, and 5 young adults through the National Caring Awards. Acknowledge these amazing people by supporting the Caring Institute with a charitable donation.

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5. Our Wish List -- Another way to help JustGive.org

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization passing through 100% of donations to charities, JustGive.org relies on donations from individuals like you. Financial donations are always needed (and greatly appreciated!) to cover our operating costs, but there are other ways you could help us as well. Please contact us at help@justgive.org if you could donate any of the following:

-Small refrigerator
-Copier
-Fax Machine
-General Office Supplies

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6. Tell a Friend -- Pass on what you love about JustGive.org

Spread the news and encourage your friends, family, and coworkers to join the Giving Movement! Simply fill in the email addresses of the people with whom you would like to share JustGive.org's services. We'll tell them the things you already know:

• We pass 100% through to charities
• We have over 700,000 nonprofits on our site
• We offer a gift option
• We provide an annual tax summary of your charitable contributions
• And much more...

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7. Quote of the Month -- Food for thought

"If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it." ~Mary Engelbreit

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We encourage you to pass this newsletter on to others. If you have any questions or feedback, please send them to feedback@justgive.org. Thank you for your support and for joining the Giving Movement, as we all create the world we imagine.

Regards,

Colleen A. Patrick
Senior Content & Creative Director
feedback@justgive.org
http://www.justgive.org