Project #3 Update

Thanks to The Spud's 50 new Facebook fans, we donated $50 to Trees for the Future (that translates to 500 new trees in the Philippines)!

Project #3: Help Plant Trees in the Philippines

Help plant trees in the Philippines—it's more urgent a situation than you think. Due to climate change, the South China Sea levels are higher than they were just 40 years ago. This puts its islands—particularly the roughly 7,000 islands that make up the Philippines—at greater risk to flooding and mudslides from typhoons such as the four (yes, four) that recently hit the country last October. One solution: Replant lost tree cover since trees help absorb water when tropical storms hit. (The Philippines was once covered by about 95 percent rain forest; a shocking 7 percent remain). One worthy organization tackling the problem is Trees for the Future; their goal is to plant 2.3 million trees in the Philippines this year alone. Peer-to-Peer Match: The Spud will match the first $100 in donations to Trees FTF's Philippines tree planting project. It only takes 10 cents to plant one tree. Donate in any amount directly to Trees FTF, indicate "Philippines" in the comments field, and forward your gift confirmation to thespudorg@gmail.com. We'll match the donations in the order we receive the confirmations, up to the first $100. The match will be completed within 24 hours and we'll forward you the matching gift confirmation. Additionally, we'll donate $1 for each new Facebook fan we receive by midnight Friday. To become a fan, click here. The Spud thanks Ratha Tep for sponsoring this challenge. UPDATE: This challenge has closed.

Photo credit: Trees for the Future

Haiti Earthquake Challenge #3

Since the earthquake struck six days ago, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has treated some 3,000+ patients—performing over 400 surgeries—and has started building an inflatable hospital in an open field near the Port-au-Prince airport. Haiti Earthquake Challenge #3: The Spud will match an additional $100 in donations to MSF made by midnight Friday. That means if you donate $5, we'll match that amount—doubling your impact. Donate directly to MSF and forward your gift confirmation to thespudorg@gmail.com. We'll match the donations in the order we receive the confirmations, up to the first $100. The match will be completed within 24 hours and we'll forward you the matching gift receipt. The Spud thanks Ambika Patni for sponsoring this challenge. UPDATE: This challenge has closed.

Photos © Julie Remy

A Persistent and Urgent Question

“Life's most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?” — Martin Luther King, Jr. The Spud thanks those who acted in MLK's spirit and donated to the Haiti earthquake relief efforts. 

Haiti Earthquake Challenge #2

Countless Haitians need immediate medical assistance from yesterday's massive earthquake. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) area medical facilities have been severely damaged, but MSF has set up clinics in tents and some 900 Haitians have already been treated. In the works: a 100-bed makeshift hospital, and an additional staff of 70 are expected to arrive in the coming days. Haiti Earthquake Challenge #2 To help MSF with their relief efforts, The Spud will match the first 25 $5 donations to their Haiti Earthquake Response. That means if you donate $5, we'll match that amount—doubling your impact. Donate directly to MSF and forward your gift confirmation to thespudorg@gmail.com. We'll match the $5 donations in the order we receive the confirmations, up to the first 25. The match will be completed within 24 hours and we'll forward you the matching gift receipt. The Spud thanks Annalise Nelson, Rick Thiounn, Thomas Chadefaux, Kai Chan, Nilesh Parikh, Lisa Kim Holbrook, Daniel Holbrook, and Rivka Golomb for sponsoring this challenge. UPDATE: This challenge has closed.

Photo credit: Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières

Emergency Relief: Help Haiti Quake Victims

Donate Directly Mercy Corps is deploying their team to Haiti tomorrow. Donate to their Haiti Earthquake Fund here. The Red Cross pledged an initial $200,000. Text "HAITI" to "90999" to donate $10 (the charge will go to your cell phone bill) or donate here. Unicef created a fund to help children affected by the earthquake. Donate here. Haiti Earthquake Challenge #1 We'll donate $1 to Mercy Corps' Haiti Earthquake Fund for each Twitter follower we receive @thespudorg by 5PM EST tomorrow. UPDATE: This challenge has closed.

Project #1: Help Send Fuel-Efficient Stoves to Darfur

Because of regional conflict, over 2 million Darfuris have fled their homes and live in refugee camps. Women risk attacks when they walk up to 7 hours out of these camps in search of firewood to fuel their cooking fires. In collaboration with Darfuri women, Berkeley scientist Ashok Gadgil of the Darfur Stoves Project built the fuel-efficient Berkeley-Darfur Stove (it uses 75% less wood than the traditional cooking fires). Women cut the time they spend in search of wood, significantly lowering their risk to violence. How it works: Sheet metal pieces are first stamped out in India; these "flat-kits" are shipped to and assembled in DSP's workshop in Darfur, then distributed to refugee families. $14 covers the cost of getting a stove “flat-kit” to Darfur (project partner Oxfam America pays for the rest); JustGive.org. The Spud Challenge For every new Facebook fan The Spud gets by Friday, we'll donate $1 to the Darfur Stoves Project. To become a fan, click here. UPDATE: This challenge has closed.

Photo credit: Darfur Stoves Project

Introducing The Spud!

The Spud's mission: To change the world one small act at a time. Each Monday, we’ll announce one worthy charity project. To help, you can 1. Donate directly to the project or 2. Participate in a Spud Challenge, in which The Spud will "sponsor" a donation on behalf of the members. Start believing in the power of small.

Countdown to The Spud: 3 Days Until Launch

"I firmly believe that we can create a poverty-free world if we collectively believe in it." — Mohammad Yunus, Nobel Lecture. It's time to collectively believe: The Spud, launching in 3 days.

Countdown to The Spud: 4 Days Until Launch

Two companies The Spud loves: Chase, for its Chase Community Giving challenge (despite its controversy), and now Pepsi, for foregoing advertising in the Super Bowl this year after a 23-year streak to launch its cause-related marketing campaign, Pepsi Refresh Project. Its new medium of choice? Social Media. For more on the crowdsourcing-for-good revolution: The Spud, launching in 4 days.

Countdown to The Spud: 5 Days Until Launch

According to the New York Times, "the everyday donor is emerging as philanthropy’s newest hero, the driver of a more down-to-earth approach to charity." For down-to-earth giving: The Spud, launching in 5 days.

Countdown to The Spud: 6 Days Until Launch

Help tag images for the Smithsonian (35 seconds) or build a mapped database of defibrillators around the world (2 minutes). The Extraordinaries collects micro volunteer tasks that can be completed in a few seconds to a few minutes from your web browser or iPhone. Another example of the power of small: The Spud, launching in 6 days.

Countdown to The Spud: 7 Days Until Launch

Bill Gates, 2007 Harvard Commencement: "All of us here... have seen human tragedies that broke our hearts, and yet we did nothing—not because we didn’t care, but because we didn’t know what to do... The barrier to change is not too little caring; it is too much complexity. To turn caring into action, we need to see a problem, see a solution, and see the impact." The Spud, launching in 7 days.

Countdown to The Spud: What do you Want to do in 2010?

What do you want to do in 2010? Help build a bridge, pave a road, construct a school. Welcome to The Spud, where we're changing the world one small act at a time. Join our countdown.