Worthwhile Charity Suggestions Needed!

on July 26, 2009

I really love the feedback on the Bloggers and Freebies post. What I like most is that people can disagree or point out another side of the argument without getting nasty. Three cheers for civility! I like reading the dissenting opinions, too. They are very insightful!

🙂

It’s been a relaxing kind of evening. With a 6.0 mile run and a trip to the farmers’ market under my belt, I’m perfectly happy to just lay low tonight.

Snacks:

Dinner was pretty simple. I made some Anne’s Mac and Cheese with broc:

But I added too much milk to the cheese mix and ended up with slightly-cheesy pasta. So, I added some shredded cheddar cheese to the top.

Operation Beautiful Charity Necklace

I got a sweet e-mail from the Husband’s best friend’s brother’s fiancee (still with me?) who has been reading Operation Beautiful since the beginning. Lauren is a jewelry maker and designed this pretty Operation Beautiful necklace:

She’s planning to sell the necklace on her Etsy shop site and the Operation Beautiful shop site. We’ve decided to donate 30% of her profits to a charitable organization that helps women.

I need YOUR help choosing a worthwhile charity. I would love to choose a charity that is in line with the Operation Beautiful mission. Any suggestions?

** Also, remember that tomorrow is a Healthy Living Summit Golden Ticket silent auction day! All proceeds from that auction will go to the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! **

{ 26 comments }

Angel July 26, 2009, 3:42 pm
How about Dress for Success or Susan G. Komen.
Nicole (anotheronebitesthecrust.wordpress.com) July 26, 2009, 3:51 pm
A friend of mine is involved with a non-profit organization called The Dressing Room Project, which is a group for the empowerment of teen girls and women. It kind of reminds me of Operation Beautiful.

Here's an excerpt from their site about their workshops:
"The Dressing Room Project Workshop is an interactive presentation which helps teenage girls learn to focus on their positive qualities, expand their definition of "beautiful", value uniqueness in themselves and others and become more critical thinkers regarding media."

It seems like a pretty great organization.

http://www.thedressingroomproject.org/drp.html
Jenn Eats Nutritiously Now July 26, 2009, 3:52 pm
Maybe the Dove self-esteem fund?

http://www.dove.us/#/cfrb/selfesteem/
*Andrea* July 26, 2009, 4:02 pm
pretty necklace!!! i like the dove foundation idea.
Heather July 26, 2009, 4:08 pm
Awesome necklace! I was trying to find a charity similar to what Nicole posted – I think that's something that relates directly to what you've done with Operation Beautiful. I was also thinking of Girls on the Run, while not being directly linked with OB, but still fosters a healthy environment for girls by promoting positive reinforcement.
Julie July 26, 2009, 4:11 pm
Ha! I was just about to suggest Dove too. They are all about natural beauty and self-esteem for young women.
Lovely Lacey July 26, 2009, 4:12 pm
How about some type of battered women's shelter charity? Battered women need to feel good, beauitful and worthy and often they dont because of their situations.
Erin July 26, 2009, 4:17 pm
Have you heard of Mercy Ministries? They help girls with issues like eating disorders, cutting, depression etc. at no cost to the girls. They currently have 3 US homes and are opening a fourth one in Lincoln, CA in the fall. They are completely donor funded. Nancy Alcorn is the founder. It is an awesome organization- mercyministries.org. Just a suggestion!
*Erica* July 26, 2009, 4:46 pm
I MUST suggest the Susan G. Komen Foundation! 😉
Betsy July 26, 2009, 5:31 pm
What a great idea! I always think any cause that helps prevent violence against women is a good one.
Holly Noelle @ Domestic Dork July 26, 2009, 5:42 pm
Count me as a vote against Dove. I think one of the other charities could use the help more and frankly, I find the Dove campaign a little un-genuine (is that even a word?).
Kimberly July 26, 2009, 6:14 pm
I'm personally a big fan of Dress for Success — while they do provide appropriate attire for job interviews, the larger focus is on self-confidence, self-sufficiency, and female empowerment. A woman trying to learn how to provide for herself and her family, by competing in the professional world, has no chance of success if she doesn't trust that she's beautiful!
Lori July 26, 2009, 6:34 pm
There is also the Mary Kay Ash Foundation
http://www.mkacf.org/Pages/Home.aspx

And Dress For Success
http://www.dressforsuccess.org/
roseyrebecca July 26, 2009, 6:47 pm
Your mac & cheese looks great!! I love Annie's!!
MarathonVal July 26, 2009, 6:54 pm
I am a Girls on the Run coach and I think it is a fabulous, worthwhile program, but if you want something that most directly aligns with the OB mission statement than I definitely agree that Dress for Success, or a similar program, would be a fabulous charity to donate to!
vegetarianontherun July 26, 2009, 6:54 pm
I have a great charity for you! The American Cancer Society's Look Good Feel Better campaign. I used to volunteer for the ACS (disclaimer, haha!). The Look Good Feel Better Campaign is for women undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and they have makeup application demos, skincare demos, hair and or wig demos for women who are losing their hair during their cancer therapy. I'm not describing it very eloquently, so here is the link: http://www.lookgoodfeelbetter.org/general/facts.htm

Also they have their own "operation beautiful" style campaign for women with cancer:

http://womenofhopeisbeautiful.com/

They seem to be very in line with the Operation Beautiful values!
jenna July 26, 2009, 7:14 pm
NEDA!!! [National Eating Disorders Association]

As a woman in recovery from a serious eating disorder and who [obviously] struggled/s with self esteem I cannot tell you how much Operation Beautiful has meant to me, and I think it would be a great cause!
Deva July 26, 2009, 7:21 pm
I second NEDA and also suggest The Elisa Project http://www.theelisaproject.org/
Sana July 26, 2009, 7:46 pm
I second the Dove's Self-esteem fund!! The necklace is gorgeous.
Anonymous July 26, 2009, 9:52 pm
Ideas for a charity: Something Fishy. It's a website about eating disorders. There are pages with information, and active bulletin boards which are "always open" for anyone experiencing or knows someone with an eating disorder and needs support. This site was an integral part of my recovery.
Ellie July 26, 2009, 11:06 pm
I love the idea of NEDA or Mercy Ministries. The mission of operation beautiful is really in line with organizations trying to beat eating disorders and other related problems (drugs, depression, etc). I have a good friend (who I met while in treatment for my eating disorder) who kept on relapsing because her family couldn't afford to keep her in treatment long enough. She just recently when off to Mercy Ministries which is such a blessing for her and her family, so I clearly think that would be an awesome charity too!

Regardless, this is an amazing thing you're doing!
Weight Control Help and Strategies July 26, 2009, 11:31 pm
OCF
Emmett July 26, 2009, 11:31 pm
Love the blog!
eatingjourney July 27, 2009, 4:45 am
Dress for success. I think that targets women of shapes and sizes. Or perhaps giving it help with kids which have diseases, a scholarship foundation for kids to go to summer camps…ohh that would be fun. There's nothing more fun than going to summer camp.

It just keeps snow balling with goodness. Nice work catilin.
Natalie M. July 28, 2009, 1:33 pm
Hi Caitlin,

I'm a little behind reading blog posts since I've been away from my computer for a few days but I think this is a great project to donate to if you haven't chosen a charity yet:

http://www.vday.org/about
Carly July 28, 2009, 3:55 pm
To Write Love On Her Arms – a non-profit aimed at finding help and giving hope to people who struggle with addiction, depression, self-injury and suicide. Their site is http://www.twloha.com/

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