Causes

Here are a few causes that we're big fans of. Some of them we have fundraised for and some of them we haven't, but all are worthy of your support. What we look for in a cause is something creative that brings joy to those are less fortunate.

Artomatic is a month-long art festival in DC that is free to the general public that celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2009. Monument Realty and the Capitol Riverfront BID provided a brand-new 275,000 square foot building to host Artomatic, right next to the Nationals Stadium. The event features nine floors of visual and installation art, theater performances, dance and comedy, three music stages, street performances such as fire dancing and drum troupes, and a film screening theater.

Website:
http://www.artomatic.org

The mission of Bread for the City is to provide vulnerable residents of Washington, DC, with comprehensive services, including food, clothing, medical care, and legal and social services, in an atmosphere of dignity and respect. We recognize that all people share a common humanity, and that all are responsible to themselves and to society as a whole. Therefore, we promote the mutual collaboration of clients, volunteers, donors, staff, and other community partners to alleviate the suffering caused by poverty and to rectify the conditions that perpetuate it.

 

Every summer Burning Man participants (aka Burners) meet in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada to re-engage with our community, and to celebrate shared values of radical self-expression and self-reliance. We celebrate the power of community, honor the importance of art, and enjoy the immediacy of experience. Then we leave - without a trace of our having been there. But that experience and those values don't get left behind in the desert.

CLOWNS WITHOUT BORDERS offers laughter to relieve the suffering of all persons, especially children, who live in areas of crisis including refugee camps, conflict zones and territories in situations of emergency.

We bring levity, contemporary clown/circus oriented performances and workshops into communities so that they can celebrate together and forget for a moment the tensions that darken their daily lives.

Website:
http://www.clownswithoutborders.org/

 A Burners Without Borders endeavor, The Motomoto Circus Project trains youth living on the streets (street survivors) of Mombasa Kenya to perform acrobatic fire dancing (poi) shows. Through fire dance and group work this project takes life skills training directly to the streets where traditional outreach attempts have continually failed.

Website:

http://www.burnerswithoutborders.org/motomoto-circus/

 

 PIH has a community-based approach to health care and socioeconomic support. From their website:

“At its root, our mission is both medical and moral. It is based on solidarity, rather than charity alone. We are driven by three goals: to care for our patients, to alleviate the root causes of disease, and to share lessons learned with other countries and NGOs. We bring the benefits of modern medicine to those most in need and work to alleviate the crushing economic and social burdens of poverty that exacerbate disease.”

We respond instantly following natural and other disasters by delivering boxes of aid to those who need it most. Each ShelterBox supplies an extended family with a tent and essential equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless.

http://www.shelterboxusa.org/

Skateistan is Afghanistan’s (and the world’s) first co-educational skateboarding school. The school engages growing numbers of urban and internally-displaced youth in Afghanistan through skateboarding, and provides them with new opportunities in cross-cultural interaction, education, and personal empowerment programs. The students are selected from all of Afghanistan’s diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. They will develop skills in skateboarding, skateboarding instruction, healthy habits, civic responsibility, information technology, the arts, and languages.

UNICEF has always worked in emergencies, both natural and man-made. Originally called the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund, the organisation was created to provide humanitarian assistance to children living in a world shattered by the Second World War. Much has changed since then, but UNICEF’s fundamental mission has not.

The Walking with Africans Foundation seeks to empower the rural poor to raise their living standards by establishing their own small business enterprises. Through a credible and innovative microfinance program, WAF aspires to cultivate a culture of saving and financial independence.

Website:
http://www.walkingwithafricans.org