Charity Talks

Dan Hubbard, the founder and Director of 4Amanda.Org, is this episode’s guest. 4Amanda is a non-profit foundation that provides emergency financial support to cancer patients. The foundation is named for Amanda Pagans-Hubbard, Dan’s deceased wife, who with Dan set up the foundation before her passing. As Dan and Brooke discuss, the financial challenges that coincide with cancer treatment are often as crippling as the disease. 4Amanda is dedicated to helping those cancer patients and their families with the fiscal difficulties that accompany the diagnosis and treatment. 4Amanda has only existed for a couple of years, but it has already made a huge difference in the lives of many suffering from cancer. (0:36).

Website: https://4amanda.org/

David Coker, the President of Fisher House Foundation, joins Charity Talks. The Foundation builds comfort homes where military and veteran families can stay free of charge while a loved one is in the hospital, and are located in military and VA medical centers around the world. The Foundation also operates the Hero Miles program to bring family members to the bedside of injured service members, as well as the Hotels for Heroes program, which allows family members to stay at hotels near medical centers without charge. In addition, the Foundation manages a grant program that supports other charities and scholarship funds for military children, spouses, and children of fallen and disabled veterans. Overall, the Foundation has helped hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom are going through the toughest times of their lives. (0:28). Website: https://fisherhouse.org/

Joey Savoie, the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Charity Entrepreneurship, is this episode’s guest. CE’s core mission is to launch high-impact nonprofits by connecting entrepreneurs with effective ideas, training and funding. As Joey and Brooke discuss, each year CE dedicates hundreds of research hours to identifying the most effective charity ideas. It then recruits aspiring entrepreneurs, and through its two-month incubation program, provides them with training and funding to turn these idea into high-impact organizations. CE’s systematic approach has already led to the launch of 32 highly effective charities in the areas of animal welfare, health and development policy, mental health and happiness, family planning, capacity building and health security. (0:26).

Website: https://www.charityentrepreneurship.com/

Andrea Goodman, the CEO of I AM ALS, joinsCharity Talks. I AM ALS was founded by Brian Wallach and his wife Sandra after he was diagnosed with ALS in 2017. ALS is aterminal neurodegenerative disease that robs people of their ability to move, speak, eat, and breathe, usually in less than five years. Brian and Sandra founded I AM ALS tofind a way to empower people who are living with ALS to be a part of finding the solution for their disease. AsAndrea and Brooke discuss,I AM ALS is a patient-led community that provides critical support and resources to those living with ALS, caregivers and their loved ones. It also empowers advocates to raise mainstream awareness and lead the revolution against ALS in driving the development of cures. I AM ALS is infusing hope in so many who are suffering from this disease. (0:30). Website: https://iamals.org/

Titus Syengo, the Executive Director of Teaching at the Right Level Africa (“TaRL”), is this episode’s guest. TaRL began as a joint venture between Pratham and J-PAL (whose Global Executive Director — Iqbal Dhaliwal — was a guest on Charity Talks last year). Its primary goal is to strengthen children’s foundational literacy and numeracy skills by using its evidence-based approach. As Titus and Brooke discuss, TaRL is supporting governments and organizations in over 14 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, helping them to build the capacity to design, deliver and scale impactful programs. TaRL’s goal is to help every child across Africa build foundational skills for a better future. (0:29).

Website: https://teachingattherightlevel.org/

John Renouard, the Founder and Executive Director of WHOlives, joins Charity Talks.  On a trip to Africa in 2010, John was shocked to see how little access to clean water many villages he visited had.  So, working with college engineering students, he invented the “Village Drill,” which is a low cost, hand-operated water drill, and then started WHOlives.  Since then, WHOlives has helped bring clean, safe water to over 12 million people in 40 countries.  In addition, when John learned that girls were being subjected to female genital mutilation and essentially sold into slavery as “child brides,” he again decided to do something about it.  Working with local police and government authorities, WHOlives has helped support their efforts to enforce the laws prohibiting these appalling practices.  Given the impact John and WHOlives has had, it is not surprising that the American Red Cross presented John with an International Hero Award in 2015.  (0:37).    Website:   https://wholives.org/

Marko Kasic, the Founder of FundLife, is this episode's guest.  FundLife works directly on the ground in the Philippines, where a very high percentage of children live in poverty and without access to the tools to develop flourishing lives.  FundLife has developed a youth-led, community-first approach to ensure that all children there have an equal opportunity.  As Marko and Brooke discuss, through a variety of programs, including education and empowerment, as well as emergency humanitarian programming and peace building, FundLife is helping thousands of children reach their full potential.  (0:26).   Website:  https://www.fundlife.org/

Sean Mayberry, the founder and CEO of StrongMinds, joins Charity Talks.  StrongMinds treats depression suffered by women largely in Africa. For African women, depression is a leading cause of disability. Yet, due to the lack of investment in mental health services, approximately 85% of people in low-income countries – if not more – receive no treatment.  As Sean and Brooke discuss, StrongMinds addresses this by providing group interpersonal therapy delivered by lay community health workers.  To date, StrongMinds has provided group talk therapy to approximately 260,000 women and adolescents in Uganda and Zambia. 80% of clients are depression-free after treatment, and those results are sustained six months post-treatment.  As a result of this success, StrongMinds has brought its treatment model to the United States, where it is already getting positive results.  (0:22).

Website:  https://strongminds.org/

Catherine Spencer, the CEO of Cochrane, is this episode’s guest.  Cochrane is a global organization that collaborates to produce trusted health evidence, make it accessible to all, and advocate for its use.  Its work is internationally recognized as the benchmark for high-quality information about the effectiveness of health care.  During the podcast, Catherine and Brooke discuss the process by which Cochrane produces this information, the research groups it has all over the world, and how it communicates its research to health care professionals and the general public.  They also discuss some of the recent impactful research findings Cochrane has made, including, for example, in the area of Parkinson’s disease.  (0:21).

Website:  https://www.cochrane.org/

Dr. James Deutsch, the CEO of Rainforest Trust, joins Charity Talks.  For more than 30 years, Rainforest Trust’s primary mission has been to raise funds in order to make grants in Africa, Asia and South America that preserve and protect land and habitats there.  As James and Brooke discuss, by protecting millions of acres of land, Rainforest Trust is saving endangered species from extinction.  But its impact goes well beyond that.  Rainforest Trust’s work also is helping to ameliorate the effects of climate change, since rainforests keep carbon locked up in their wood and soil, while removing excess CO2 from the air.  It also is empowering indigenous people with the resources to preserve their land and culture.  These are just some of the positive impacts that Rainforest Trust’s conservation efforts have had.  (0:27).

Website:  https://www.rainforesttrust.org/