For good causes

HappyPorch strives to constantly support good causes and in that way live our values and improve our awareness about the fact how much our planet and the people need support and help.

In October 2020 we started with regular monthly donations of small amounts to various charities chosen by a different team member each month. So far, we have collected many stories of world-wide charities that need fund-raising and all kinds of support and here are some of them we are proud to be able to help with:

Because we carry

“Because We Carry” acts according to the saying ‘less talk, more action’. 

A group of friends from Amsterdam traveled to the Greek island Levsos and felt they needed to help and start a charity because they came across thousands of refugees that arrived crossing the sea from Turkey, living in very poor conditions. 

The volunteering teams from this charity help those arriving on feeble boats on the inhospitable shore, by handing out dry clothes, deliver baby carriers for the long walking journey ahead, and supply the often exhausted people with food.

Mark chose this charity as it was our former colleague’s partner’s charity: “I chose Tim's charity because I thought it would be a good thing for HappyPorch to do. It was that first donation that sparked the monthly donations so it acted as the catalyst for what we see today with each person choosing a charity.”

Liga portuguesa contra o cancro

A charity from Madeira “Liga portuguesa contra o cancro” (“The Portuguese League Against Cancer”) is a national reference in supporting cancer patients and their families, promoting health, preventing cancer and encouraging training and research in oncology.

The main activities and purposes of the League that need support are:

• Disseminating information about cancer and promoting health education, with an emphasis on its prevention;
• Contributing to social support and the humanization of care for cancer patients, at all stages of the disease;
• Cooperating with institutions involved in the area of ​​oncology, namely the Centers of the Francisco Gentil Portuguese Institute of Oncology and the Hospitals of the Autonomous Regions;
• Encouraging and supporting training and research in oncology;
• Establishing and maintaining relationships with similar national and foreign institutions;
• Developing structures for primary and secondary prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, alone or in collaboration with other entities
• Defending the rights of cancer patients and survivors.

Filipe chose this charity: “I picked Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro as it's a charity that assisted my mother when she was diagnosed with cancer some years ago. They were immensely helpful and this is one way I can give something back.”

Be Human

A charity from Serbia “Be Human” is desperately trying to help every person in the country with any kind of illness that needs a cure that is non-affordable for them and their family and friends. 

This charity managed to restore trust and faith in humanitarian work, because the way the foundation was set up from the first day allows every person who wants to help someone to follow the donation flow from the moment it is paid, until it reaches its beneficiary, that is - the ill person.

Marina chose this charity: “This is a very long-term problem in Serbia where the government invests in other priorities rather than saving the lives of it’s citizens and many, many children. So the only way to help is the good will of citizens and kind people around the globe to donate as much as they can so that everyone can get cured. Because there is a cure! Only there isn’t enough funds…”

Mind

A mental health charity from England “Mind” strives to support and respect anyone having a mental health problem despite their age, gender, background, religion. 

They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. 

They design their services together with the people who use them which means they stand up to the injustices that make life harder for people with mental health problems and build on the incredible power of their local “Mind” network and shops right across England and Wales.

During the Covid-19 pandemic “Mind” was working hard with helping and supporting many people around the world.

Grace chose this charity: “I chose Mind because they had a lot of programs supporting the mental health of people in lockdown. People typically experienced higher rates of struggling with mental health during lockdown and they were unable to access traditional support. I'm glad we were able to support the work Mind did to fill that gap.”

Ulster Wildlife

In the past forty years, the charity “Ulster Wildlife” has been protecting Northern Ireland’s threatened wildlife and inspiring the next generations to love nature.

They have been working on saving species like the barn owls, red squirrels, sharks and other wildlife. 

They also look after 19 nature reserves across Northern Ireland and work with partners to protect and restore wildlife habitats on land and at sea.

“Ulster Wildlife” is one of 46 independent Wildlife Trusts working across the UK and are one of the largest grassroots movements standing up for wildlife.  

Barry chose this charity: "It's great to be able to do a tiny bit to support defending habitats and biodiversity in my native Northern Ireland!"

Social Income

A charity from Switzerland named “Social income” is successful in fighting global poverty everyday. 

They strive to combine two approaches to wealth redistribution:Universal Basic Income, which is a promising path to building a more equal and inclusive society and Direct cash transfers to people living in poverty.

Not only has research shown that those who receive direct aid greatly benefit from the money, it’s also shown that they use it locally, responsibly, and successfully.

They believe that sending regular, long-term cash contributions to people in need can have a big impact on reducing poverty. 

Also by directly sending cash to recipients, “Social Income” also circumvents the administrative costs that are unfortunately hard to avoid for NGOs.

Ondrej chose this charity: "I picked it because it tries to make the world more equal. It's about fairness."

SOS Children’s Village

The “SOS Children’s Village” is a charity from Macedonia but a part of the  international non-governmental organisation for social protection, dedicated to protecting and applying the children’s rights around the globe since 1949, the year when the first SOS Children’s Village was founded Austria.

They have been working for almost 70 years to protect and care for the children who have lost parental care, and for those at risk of losing it. They work with communities, partners and states to ensure that the rights of all children, in every society, are fulfilled.

Currently, they provide care for 81 700 children and young people without parental care in 551 SOS Children’s villages, worldwide.

Dejan chose this charity: "Help is always needed for the most vulnerable...SOS Children's Village offer social and emotional support, responding to the needs of children and families at risk in the two of the poorest districts of the capital.
Children are cared for to the highest standards and they have access to essential educational, health and nutritional services."

Canal & River Trust

“Canal & River Trust” is a charity that is working on safeguarding the waterways now and for the future, and helps make life better for millions of people across England and Wales.

Their story is rooted in the history of the waterways themselves. The Trust was taking over the guardianship of British Waterways’ canals, rivers, reservoirs and docks in England and Wales - and heralding the next chapter in the renaissance of the waterways.

They have around 1,600 members of staff and hundreds of volunteers dedicated to making the waterways the best places they can be. They consist of experts from hydrologists to historians and ecologists to engineers.

Tom chose this charity: “I chose the Canal & River Trust because they are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the canal network in the UK.One of those canals goes round the town where I live and we enjoy going for walks along the canal, so that's why I wanted to support them.”

The Nadace Via Foundation

The mission of “Nadace Via” is to increase citizen engagement in community affairs and to encourage philanthropy in the Czech Republic and they devote their energy and expertise to caring and working collaboratively to improve their communities, giving to help others and trusting others.

South Moravia was hit by a tornado and a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. The Via Foundation has launched a fundraising campaign that will help the affected villages, people, and communities to cope with the tragedy. They are distributing donations to tackle the fallout of the catastrophic storm that left several villages completely destroyed.

Jana chose this charity: “I chose to contribute to this cause because it was an emergency situation. So many families ended up without a place to stay or any belongings within minutes. So I think it’s important to show support to your local community.”

The Rahul Kotak Foundation

"The Rahul Kotak Foundation" (RKF) is a grassroots non-profit in Kisumu (Kenya), working to make high quality education accessible to disadvantaged children living in informal settlements and rural areas of Kisumu County. 

RKF achieves this through the implementation of various programs designed collaboratively with local communities to solve the most pressing challenges faced by children within that given community. 

Peter chose this charity: “The main reason I chose this charity is because they focus on helping disadvantaged children (some orphans) in the rural areas where there isn't much development and instill values to the children such as gender equality and the importance of taking care of our environment like tree planting projects.”

Art4Sport

The “Art4Sport” foundation believes in sport as therapy to help physical and psychological recovery for children with limb prosthesis and they aim to enhance the quality of life of children with limb prosthesis and the one of their families as well.

Their mission is to use sport as physical and psychological recovery for children with physical challenges. They also promote Paralympic sports practice and awareness.

Luca chose this charity: “A bit of context about my choice, since it's a sad but happy story. The charity was founded by Beatrice Vio's family

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Vio), who happen to be my neighbours here in Bagnaia, Elba.

Beatrice contracted meningitis at 11 years old and both her forearms and legs had to be amputated. At the time, it was a tremendous shock for us here in this small town, as we are very close to the family. In the context of what was undoubtedly a tragedy, Beatrice reacted in an extremely positive way and decided to focus on her passion, fencing. She ended up winning the Gold medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, and she is now flying for the Tokyo Paralympics. Not only is she one of the happiest persons I know, but she has been a very popular role model here in Italy for fighting adversity and disability with a positive mindset, with millions of followers on social media. A really cool story on the power of motivation!”

In the following months we will continue to support different charities and share the stories!