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Give It Your All: 11 Cool Non-Profits To Support During The 2011 Thankful Season

Have aspirations of saving the world—or at least your little corner of it? Well, plenty of non-profits get tons of exposure, and for good reason. But what about the smaller guys, who work just as hard but don’t have someone like, oh, U2’s Bono as their figurehead? Here’s our list of non-profits worth supporting, some of which you might not have been aware of until now.

MUSIC SAVES LIVES
WHO: Maybe you saw Music Saves Lives on Warped Tour. Maybe you bought their Glamour Kills collab tee. Or just maybe you watched the “Nurse, Boobies Please!” webisode with 3OH!3. The MSL crew aims to educate and inspire people to take life-saving community action by involving your blood. Morbid? Hardly: Donating blood, running blood drives or registering for the bone marrow program to help those with leukemia all make a huge difference to people who need those little red and white cells to live. 

WHY THEY'RE NEEDED: Since January 1, 2011, over 13 million people (and climbing) have been in need of blood.  That’s a whole lot of people.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: If you feel squeamish about giving blood, or you’ve just been tattooed—you have to wait 12 months after your last tat to donate—MSL has another way you can help. They recently partnered with socially responsible True Beans Coffee Roasters in Long Beach, CA, to create a 100% organic and fair trade coffee called More Perks. A single donation to MSL gets you one bag of the beans, while a regular monthly donation gets you—wait for it—two bags of coffee a month! We’re getting out our wallet with jittery, caffeinated fingers now.

KEEP A BREAST
WHO: You rock your I Love Boobies bracelet all the time. In fact, maybe you were even one of the people who got in trouble for it at school. (Now that’s support!) KAB continues to help raise breast cancer awareness through their scene-friendly campaigns such as All Time Low’s PSA demonstrating proper breast exam techniques (hey, get your mind outta the gutter), traveling education booths at fests like Warped and Bamboozle, and their first-ever Keep A Breast Tour.

WHY THEY’RE NEEDED: You’d think that by the 21st century, with scientists cloning sheep and doctors experimenting with stem cells, that we’d have a cure for cancer. In the meantime, awareness, early detection and prevention can help a lot. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP: If you missed the Keep A Breast Tour, there’s still plenty you can do. How about purchasing the infamous bracelets online? Even better, contact KAB about getting involved in their Music For Awareness campaign, which so far has partnered with bands such as Foo Fighters, Taking Back Sunday, Cobra Starship and tons more for benefits across the country.

CURE APPAREL
WHO: Most people have a preconceived notion of diabetes, and associate it with Bret Michaels or their grandma. But there are plenty of young people out there who suffer from type 1 diabetes, like Kelly Kiernan, who started Cure Apparel. The misconceptions and stereotypes inspired Kelly to look for ways to support diabetic research, and help people understand a bit more about the disease. 

WHY THEY’RE NEEDED:  A quarter of a million kids under the age of 20 were diagnosed with diabetes last year, and a lot of them don’t understand how to manage it. (For example, there’s a practice called “diabulimia,” when type 1 individuals skip or restrict their insulin doses to lose weight.) Kelly is thinking about launching a web application that would act as a diabetic journal, helping keep track of meals, blood sugar and insulin doses.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Buy a cool blood drop t-shirt on the Cure Apparel site – proceeds go to benefit JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), or check the JDRF site for upcoming Walks to Cure Diabetes. 

REVEL & RIOT
WHO: While not technically a non-profit, the primary objective of this super-cool merchandising company is to raise awareness of LGBTQ rights and equality through new media, graphics, art and writing. Their site also offers a comprehensive news section and an amazing resources listing with a focus on fundraising and community building. 

WHY THEY’RE NEEDED: There is still a scary high amount of discrimination, hate speech and crimes taking place against LGBTQ youth in America today. According to Youth Pride Inc., 84% of LGBTQ students have reported harassment, 50% report parental rejection and, in one report, 41% experienced violence at the hands of families, peers or strangers. It’s time for all of this to stop.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: A portion of the proceeds from their incredibly well-designed merch, such as God Hates Bags totes, Ask, Tell shirts or We Are The Gay Kids posters go to LGBTQ organizations and campaigns.  Go buy something cool!

THE TREVOR PROJECT
WHO: When the short film Trevor, about a gay 13 year-old boy who attempted to take his life when rejected by friends because of his sexuality, was scheduled to air on HBO in 1998, the creators searched for an appropriate support line to broadcast during the airing. They found none – so they started their own. The Trevor Project became the first and only nationwide, 24/7 crisis and suicide prevention lifeline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth.

WHY THEY’RE NEEDED: According to the Pediatrics journal, roughly 20% of LGBTQ teens have attempted suicide – compared to 4% of straight kids.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: One of the best ways is to volunteer! They have nationwide opportunities as Lifeline counselors, “Ask Trevor” authors, and TrevorChat authors, as well as regional project and event volunteers. Check their site for more info.

MUSICARES
WHO:  When you’re rocking out onstage in front of thousands of people, you usually don’t stop to think about your health insurance.  Unfortunately, your record label doesn’t either; technically, musicians are contractors and not provided with insurance. That can be catastrophic when you find yourself in a van accident or severely ill.  MusiCares has been around since 1989, offering assistance to musicians in times of need.  Services like the 2010 Nashville Flood Relief Fund and benefits for musicians like Eagles of Death Metal’s Brian O’Connor (who was diagnosed last year with cancer), help cover financial, medical, and personal emergencies.  

WHY THEY’RE NEEDED: There’s a health care crisis in America right now. Do your part to help the talented portion of our population whose art helps you. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Donate via their website, or visit the MusiCares online store and pick up some merch. You can also check out Tickets-for-Charity, a MusiCares partner who offers great seats to sold-out shows of bands. All proceeds from the ticket sales benefit MusiCares.

OUTSIDE IN
WHO:  There is a shockingly high number of homeless youth in Portland, OR—anywhere from 1,500-2,000. Outside In helps them start a healthy, stable life. Whether it’s housing assistance, education, employment, hot meals or medical care, the center’s goal is to provide safety from the streets.

WHY THEY’RE NEEDED:  According to the U.S. Department of Justice, there are over one million homeless youth under the age of 18 in America today. 12- to 17-year-olds are more at risk for homelessness than adults. They end up on the streets for many reasons; among them, poverty, violence, sexual minority issues, domestic violence and sexual abuse.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: If you’re over 21 and live in the Portland area, get in touch for volunteer opportunities at Outside In. Or you can donate: $35 allows two kids to attend a weekly support group for a month. You can also help for the holidays. Outside In’s goal is to make sure every homeless youth at the center gets a gift this year. A printable holiday wish list is on their site, and includes everything from gift cards to basic essentials like toothpaste and soap.

SHIRTS FOR A CURE
WHO: Punk photographer Mark Beemer established the Syrentha J. Savio Endowment (SSE) in 2002, after his wife Syrentha passed away due to breast cancer. The Shirts For A Cure Project (SFAC) is an extension of SSE. Beemer and his friend, producer Brian McTernan, thought they could raise money by getting all their grumpy, ex-hardcore-kid friends from all over the country to donate old band tees and sell them on eBay. It was a logistical nightmare, but out of it SFAC was born. Now bands donate actual shirt designs instead of shirts, SFAC puts ‘em on tees, you buy ‘em, and all the proceeds go to various charities to help women fight breast cancer.

WHY THEY’RE NEEDED: October shouldn’t be the only month for breast cancer awareness.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Buy a cool shirt! It’s that easy. You can choose from designs by bands such as Rise Against, blessthefall, Coliseum and Kid Dynamite. Best of all, they’re totally affordable, at $14 a pop.

EARTHJUSTICE
WHO: Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting this beautiful world we live in. Founded in 1971 as the Sierra Club Legal Fund, they’ve provided legal representation to over 1,000 clients, like the Wilderness Society and community-based coalitions.

WHY THEY’RE NEEDED: Lawyers are crazy rich, right? Like, why do they need our money? Well, here’s the thing: All of Earthjustice’s services are provided to their clients free of charge. Your support helps them with their three main priorities: preserving wildlife and special places, protecting the health of communities with a toxic-free environment, and promoting clean energy over fossil fuels to combat global warming.

HOW TO HELP: Get involved on a grassroots level and make a difference! Check the events calendar on their site, start a letter campaign to your local senators or representatives about your environmental concerns, or make a small donation.

INVISIBLE CHILDREN
WHO: Invisible Children began as a documentary, Invisible Children: Rough Cut, a disturbing story of child soldiers of Uganda. With the support the film received, the Invisible Children crew started working with people and institutions in war-torn Uganda to help re-build schools, and making sure Ugandan youth have clean water, proper sanitation, books and teacher support. They also provide scholarships and savings-and-loan initiatives that allow villagers to save money, start their own businesses and provide for their families. And in keeping with their vow to support the country, 95% of their staff is Ugandan. 

WHY THEY’RE NEEDED: In Uganda, children are sent to fight a war that’s not theirs, and used as human weapons. Whole villages are devastated. There are some things actually worth fighting for in the world, and this cause is one of them. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Buy the documentary, check their job openings page or run a book drive and turn your old Physics-for-Dummies and What-The-Hell Philosophy books into money that can rebuild schools and provide scholarship funds.

SUB CITY
WHO: Hopeless Records founder Louis Posen launched his charity subsidiary Sub City in 1999 with the idea that you “don’t have to be Bill Gates or Google to make a difference.” Hopeless gave artists an option to release their music on Sub City, where a portion of the revenue was donated to a charity of their choice. It also helped organize three press conferences on Capitol Hill as part of the annual Take Action! Tour (Sub City’s big event, if ya didn’t know), which helped pass the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Parity Act. Sub City has raised more than $2 million dollars donated to over 50 non-profit organizations.

WHY THEY’RE NEEDED: It’s a pretty safe bet that the bands you listen to and love have some of the same ideals that you do, and by supporting Sub City artists and the Take Action Tour, you’re in turn supporting your ideals.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Buy a Take Action! compilation CD featuring bands such as Chiodos, Four Year Strong, and Silverstein, or a ticket to the Take Action! Tour when it hits your town next year.