CHOICE
Here's a collection, which I'll try to update regularly, of some of the causes and organizations I support. I figure if you're browsing through my pages, you might want to support some of these also, whether by giving money, time, publicity, etc, or at least just know about them. They're in no particular order, so I won't have to stress too much to update them, but I'll try to keep the Philadelphia local ones in a separate section at the beginning so you can skip them if you're not in Philly.
A great Philadelphia resource for information related to reproductive health - you can also call the CHOICE hotline at 1-800-848-3367.
The home page for Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
A Philly organization devoted to feeding those in need - they take food from restaurants, stores, and other donors and arrange for it to be brought to shelters and pantries and other places it will go to good use. They always need money and volunteers.
The Liberty City Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club
Philadelphia's progressive organization dedicated to increasing participation among gays and lesbians in Democratic party politics, and having a great time doing it. I was on the board since the beginning, so it was tough to leave and not really be involved in the group any more. But it's an awful long way to travel for meetings...
Hudson River Sloop ClearwaterFounder Pete Seeger continues to be very active in Clearwater activities, but notes that if Clearwater is associated only with him, it's a failure. Luckily, that's not the case, and there are many people who spend huge amounts of time on Clearwater's various environmental activities. The Clearwater Sloop sails up and down the Hudson, providing onboard education about environmental issues. Also, Clearwater members are invited to join for short sails of several hours, or to join for a week or longer as working sloopers. What hooked me initially was the folk music. I remember attending the Clearwater Revival festival when I was little, and still try to make it each June now - a weekend of great folk music and activities in upstate New York.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Since its opening a few years ago, the Holocaust Museum has continued to draw huge numbers of visitors each day, and reservations are still recommended. Allow more than just a few hours if you want to have the full experience, and don't go expecting a casual history lesson.
The National Organization for Women
The home page for the National Organization for Women, which includes resources, lobbying groups, outreach, and more.
People in need of bone marrow transplants frequently must rely on unknown donors -- unlike blood, bone marrow must be matched on a number of characteristics and the chances of a match are incredibly small. But the best way to increase those chances is to get more potential donors registered. The initial registration is pretty painless (and I say this as a total wimp, so it really is true!): they take a small vial of blood and type it. Then you're included in the registry. If you come up as a potential match, you're asked to give some more blood, so they do additional typing to determine if you're *really* a match. So far I've made it to that stage, which was scary (since if I matched the next step is the actual donation), but also very exciting, to think I could really help to save someone's life. Although I didn't match then, I'm still waiting to be called at some point. After all, Jewish tradition states "If you save one life, it is as if you are saving the world." The HLA Registry is a member of the National Marrow Donor Program, so you can register either with HLA or get additional information from the national organization.
The National Abortion Rights Action League
The title pretty much gives you the idea...
The Human Rights Campaign is a bipartisan organization devoted to gay and lesbian rights.
The American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU gets a lot of flak for defending free speech as it applies to hate groups and the like, and although I really hate having to support the rights of groups I totally disagree with, the alternative is even more frightening - there are just too many people who'd be more than happy to squash most of my civil rights to allow for selective enforcement. "I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to your death the right to say it."
The Southern Poverty Law Center
I'd been looking and looking for a web site for this group and couldn't find one, and now I know why - in the latest newsletter there was a notice about their NEW web site launched in March. I'm really glad they're online, cos it's a great organization. One of my favorite SPLC projects is Teaching Tolerance, an educational program designed to prevent hate and discrimination from happening in the first place. The SPLC also tracks hate crimes of all types, and publishes a Klanwatch report among other information. Check it out.
Here's one I just found out about: I don't know much about it yet, as I just read about it on the alt.music.guthrie newsgroup where someone had posted about a Pete Seeger spotting there. But from what I've read about it so far, it looks wonderful. It's a program that runs a summer camp in Maine for children from opposing sides of ethnic conflicts (ie, Arab and Israeli children), so that they can get to know each other and learn that the "enemy" is as human as they are. Very cool.
I've got a bunch of others to add, but that'll have to wait till I have more time. In the meantime, let me know if there are other sites you think should be here:
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