Resources
Here is a list of resources, organizations, and websites to help you get involved in decreasing world suck/increasing awesome.
Starting a Stargirl Society
http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/stargirl/societies.html
http://www.jerryspinelli.com/stargirl.htm
http://www.dosomething.org/project/the-stargirl-society
Gurl Guide to Activism
GLSEN (The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network)
“GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, is the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students. GLSEN seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the positive contribution it makes to creating a more vibrant and diverse community.”
YouthNoise
“YouthNoise empowers young leaders to act for the causes they care about locally, nationally and globally. YouthNoise offers online and offline tools that equip youth to take action for a wide range of social issues. From health to education, from violence to poverty-- YouthNoise is where leaders can turn ideas into action.”
Do Something
“DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the US that helps young people rock causes they care about . . . DoSomething.org inspires, empowers and celebrates a generation of doers: teenagers who recognize the need to do something, believe in their ability to get it done, and then take action.”
Volunteer Match
“VolunteerMatch strengthens communities by making it easier for good people and good causes to connect. The organization offers a variety of online services to support a community of nonprofit, volunteer, and business leaders committed to civic engagement. Our popular service welcomes millions of visitors a year and has become the preferred Internet recruiting tool for more than 76,000 nonprofit organizations.”
Servenet
“Launched in 1996, servenet.org is a website that mobilizes and empowers the volunteer service community to tackle some of the toughest challenges facing local communities. Since its inception, servenet.org has enabled millions of youth volunteers to connect with local nonprofits to make a difference in communities throughout America.”
Taking it Global
“We use the power of online community to facilitate global education, social entrepreneurship, and civic engagement for millions of youth worldwide. Founded in 1999, our award-winning www.tigweb.org is the leading social network for global citizenship, bringing together over 340,000 members with more than 22,000 non-profit organizations across 13 languages.”
Organizations Mentioned by the Vlogbrothers
Below is a list of organizations that Hank and John have mentioned in their videos and have supported.
Water.org
"The water and sanitation problem in the developing world is far too big for charity alone. We are driving the water sector for new solutions, new financing models, greater transparency, and real partnerships to create lasting change. Our vision: the day when everyone in the world can take a safe drink of water."
Video: Helping Haiti
Video: Helping Haiti
This Star Won’t Go Out
"The purpose of This Star Won't Go Out foundation is to financially assist families struggling through the journey of a child living with cancer. Caring for a seriously ill child creates tremendous stress for the family system, and having to worry about money is both burdensome and distracting. TSWGO's goal is to carry a bit of that burden for hurting families through financial gifts.
TSWGO has a second goal, and it's tied to why the foundation got started in the first place. TSWGO was established in memory of 16-year old Esther Earl, an avid Nerdfighter and passionate Harry Potter Alliance fan. Her online friends and causes met many of the social and emotional needs in her life, hampered as she was by her progressing thyroid cancer. Yet Esther (Persian for "Star") lived life fully, getting involved in social justice issues, loving her friends, her family and cats, and always remembering to be awesome. With the goal of never letting her Star go out, TSWGO will also be funding occasional projects that fit Esther's quirky, compassionate life vision."
Video: With Esther
Video: Rest in Awesome, Esther
Video: You are Awesome
TSWGO has a second goal, and it's tied to why the foundation got started in the first place. TSWGO was established in memory of 16-year old Esther Earl, an avid Nerdfighter and passionate Harry Potter Alliance fan. Her online friends and causes met many of the social and emotional needs in her life, hampered as she was by her progressing thyroid cancer. Yet Esther (Persian for "Star") lived life fully, getting involved in social justice issues, loving her friends, her family and cats, and always remembering to be awesome. With the goal of never letting her Star go out, TSWGO will also be funding occasional projects that fit Esther's quirky, compassionate life vision."
Video: With Esther
Video: Rest in Awesome, Esther
Video: You are Awesome
The Uncultured Project
"The Uncultured Project is not an organization, charity, or anything formal. It’s my journey to make the world a better place – one meaningful difference at a time. I do this by trying to be a bridge-maker. I believe we can use the web and technology we already have to directly connect with those in need and help in a way that’s tangible for everyone."
Video: Nerdfighting in Bangladesh
Video: Nerdfighting in Bangladesh
Save the Children
"Save the Children is the world's leading independent organization for children. Our vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation. Our mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives."
Video: A Video about Videos
Video: A Video about Videos
Harry Potter Alliance
"The Harry Potter Alliance (HPA) takes an outside-of-the-box approach to civic engagement by using parallels from the Harry Potter books to educate and mobilize young people across the world toward issues of literacy, equality, and human rights. Our mission is to empower our members to act like the heroes that they love by acting for a better world."
Video: Lighting a Candle for Rwanda
Video: Lighting a Candle for Rwanda
Partners in Health
"At its root, our mission is both medical and moral. It is based on solidarity, rather than charity alone. When a person in Peru, or Siberia, or rural Haiti falls ill, PIH uses all of the means at our disposal to make them well—from pressuring drug manufacturers, to lobbying policy makers, to providing medical care and social services. Whatever it takes. Just as we would do if a member of our own family—or we ourselves—were ill."
Video: PROJECT FOR AWESOME 2010: Save the Children and Partners in Health
Video: PROJECT FOR AWESOME 2010: Save the Children and Partners in Health
The Trevor Project
"The Trevor Project is the leading national organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth."
Video: Be the Change
Video: Be the Change
The Nature Conservancy
"The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.
We address the most pressing conservation threats at the largest scale."
Video: Project for Awesome: The Nature Conservancy
We address the most pressing conservation threats at the largest scale."
Video: Project for Awesome: The Nature Conservancy
The Red Cross
"Since its founding in 1881 by visionary leader Clara Barton, the American Red Cross has been the nation's premier emergency response organization. As part of a worldwide movement that offers neutral humanitarian care to the victims of war, the American Red Cross distinguishes itself by also aiding victims of devastating natural disasters. Over the years, the organization has expanded its services, always with the aim of preventing and relieving suffering."
Video: Thoughts from Places: Los Angeles after the Earthquake
Video: Thoughts from Places: Los Angeles after the Earthquake
One Kid One World
"The mission of OneKid OneWorld is simple: to make a difference in the lives of children in need around the globe: One world, one school, one kid, at a time. OneKid OneWorld’s goal is to provide an education to children in impoverished communities through the creation of academic and athletic programs."
Video: Brotherhood 2.0: April 6: Nerdfighters Never Surrender
Video: Brotherhood 2.0: April 6: Nerdfighters Never Surrender
Heifer International
"By giving families a hand-up, not just a hand-out, we empower them to turn lives of hunger and poverty into self-reliance and hope. With gifts of livestock and training, we help families improve their nutrition and generate income in sustainable ways."
Video: Introducing...The Awesome
Video: Introducing...The Awesome
Malaria No More
"We’re determined to end malaria deaths in Africa by 2015—and we’re helping the world get it done. Malaria No More leverages high-impact awareness campaigns to engage the world, global advocacy to rally leadership and strategic investments in Africa to accelerate progress, build capacity and save lives."
Video: THE 2009 PROJECT FOR AWESOME!!!
Video: THE 2009 PROJECT FOR AWESOME!!!