Introduction

The African continent has millions of orphans and people in desperate need. Many people are working to make a difference. Two of these people are Oprah Winfrey and Janet Littlefield. One is famous and one is the daughter of teachers who is herself a teacher in Maine. These very different women are changing lives in Africa using two very different methods. Oprah Winfrey recently opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. This project cost her $40 million. Janet Littlefield opened an orphanage in 2003 in Malawi called the Littlefield Home and literally saves pennies to send over to the Home to help the 67 children, mostly HIV/AIDS orphans who live there. Oprah, the billionaire, and Janet, the pennywise are very different, but they are still changing the world and saving lives. What would you do if you could change the world and save a life?

Help is needed all over the world and it is crucial that resources are wisely spent and distributed. It is necessary for people interested in helping those in need understand efficiency in the distribution of aid. Since you are ready to help the world, during this blogquest you will evaluate five charities and assess which is the most worthy of support. You will develop a proposal or a plan for your involvement in support of that charity. Now, get ready to save lives!

The Task

1. Click on the spreadsheet and either print it out and write on it, or make your own spreadsheet with whatever application you are comfortable with. (Be sure to label the rows and columns in the same way as the attached spreadsheet.) The other blog is available for any additional resources needed. (http://katiesblog202.blogspot.com/)

2. Research the first charitable organization by going to the first website on the spreadsheet.

3. Search the site for the answers to the questions in each column of the spreadsheet and then write the answers in the appropriate boxes on the spreadsheet. (Wait to answer the question in the last column until you have finished answering all the other questions on the sites.)

4. Go to the next four websites and answer the same questions about the other four charitable organizations.

5. After you have answered all the questions, rank the charitable organizations by entering values from 1-5 in the last column of the spreadsheet. A score of 1 indicates the charitable organization you assess to be the most efficient and effective and worthy of your support. A score of 5 marks the charity you are least likely to support. (Please note, there is no right or wrong answer. These rankings reflect your values, morals and analysis of the data you have collected.)

Final Product

Now that you have evaluated various organizations and determined the one most worthy of support, develop a plan that would generate support for this organization. This plan can be as big or as small as you want. You can take it to a global level, like Oprah and Janet, or keep it local. You may want to do some research on how some charitable organizations got their starts. Make sure that your project is relevant and real.

Some examples:

• Raise awareness
• Raise money
• Solicit Volunteers
• Start a local organization, foundation or fund that would support the larger organization

Think about these ideas while you are developing your project proposal:

• What problem are you trying to address?
• How will this project help alleviate the problem? Where and who will it benefit?
• What will be the scope and size of your project?
• How long do you think will it take to start your project?
• What are some of the steps that you are going to have to take in order to get your project off the ground?
• What financial and/or civic assistance will you need to get the project going?
• How are you going to publicize your project? (TV, radio...)

Describe your project as a proposal to be presented before some organization that could authorize the program - a school committee, town selectmen, church council or other legislative body. This description could be a formal proposal that includes a cover letter to the council or committee, and a report that includes a summary of the project, discussion of its implications and recommendations. The description could also be a multimedia presentation that would be used to gain support for the project.

Conclusion

Upon finishing this blogquest, you should feel empowered that one person can make a difference. Just like Oprah and Janet. After data collection you should be able to evaluate any charity that may ask for your support. After reviewing various charities, you should have an appreciation for their work and how much more there is to do. Janet Littlefield reflected that, "I was put in a position in which I had to help...(I) made sure that I did what I could so those first 20 kids had shelter, and then food and then school fees and it kept building." Now you too should feel compelled to change the world.

This is the table that you need to fill out.






These are the websites that you need to visit.

Kiva
http://www.kiva.org/

Heifer International
http://www.heifer.org

Habitat for Humanity
http://www.habitat.org

Doctors Without Borders
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

Friends Forever
http://www.friendsforeverusa.org/index.php?page=homepage


**Please Note: If you are unable to read the table, please come see me, and I can either print you out a copy, or tell you what the questions are.