Philanthropy

Extending a Hand Foundation is a nonprofit whose mission is to increase awareness about the poor living conditions and the primary necessities of children and elderly in situations that include vulnerability, abandonment, sexual abuse, lack of affection, and the physical and psychological mistreatment.

To celebrate International Women’s Day (Thursday, March 8), National Geographic is welcoming its first guest editor for the @NatGeo Instagram account: actor, activist and UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson. Working alongside National Geographic’s editorial team, Emma will curate the account and highlight the work of eight female Nat Geo photographers from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Australia, the U.S. and the Philippines throughout the day starting at 8 a.m. EST. Their photos cover a wide range of important topics relevant to women around the world today.

Today is International Women’s Day and some of you may be asking yourself questions like “What can I do to get involved?” “Why do we need this and why is it being talked about?” “Is it a celebration or is it a somber occasion?” Chelsey Cole, Charity Relations Specialist at Benevity, believes it’s both.

Health impacts multiple aspects of women’s daily lives, yet many lack access to quality care. In support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we at Pfizer are committed to advancing Global Goal 5, gender equality, by improving access to equitable healthcare for women in underserved communities.

With tremendous global activism for women's equality, there is now, more than ever, a strong momentum to close the gender gap. At Common Impact, we recognize the need for gender parity across all sectors and are consistently working to hone our unique model of social impact to design programs that both engage and develop female leaders at all levels of their careers.

John A. Lanier, Executive Director of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, has been named Chairman of the Board for Southface

I know what’s it’s like to be the “first woman.” It’s really lonely! It feels like all eyes are watching you. I was the first female attorney hired at Microsoft, supporting the engineering groups, and the “only woman in the meeting” far more times than I could count. Now it’s an honor to “pay it forward.” As a society, we have a responsibility to inspire the next generation of female science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) leaders.

In North Carolina, 371,000 low-income children participated in the national School Breakfast Program on an average school day in school year 2016–2017, according to a report released today by the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), an anti-hunger advocacy group.

“School breakfast means less hunger, better health, and improved educational outcomes for our children,” said Jim Weill, president, Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). “The many schools in North Carolina offering breakfast at no charge to all students and serving breakfast after the bell are ensuring that children start the school day ready to learn. We strongly encourage other schools to follow their lead so that more children may reap the benefits of school breakfast.”

If a company wants to do a side project or charitable initiative to support an environmental or social cause, that is all well and good. There’s no penance in sustainability though.

Fair Trade USA, the leading certifier of Fair Trade products in North America, and PUR Projet, a social business working with companies to regenerate ecosystems, announce a new partnership to develop community-driven agroforestry projects within Fair Trade supply chains in Côte d’Ivoire. Côte d’Ivoire produces about 39% of the world’s cocoa and has lost about 85% of its forest since the 1960s largely due to agricultural expansion. The partnership will equip cocoa producers to better revitalize and protect their land.