Coats For Kids Poseideon 2013 cause

 

Pandora's Kharis is proud to announce that the Coats For Kids Foundation won this month's poll for the next cause to donate to. The options were the following, including their percentages:

• Arcadia Spiritual Association: 0%
• Oxfam America: 9%
• Coats For Kids Foundation: 46%
• Lucky Paws Animal Rescue Rhodes: 27%
• Because I Am A Girl 0%
• The Queens Galley 18%
• Ali Forney Center 0%

The Pandora's Kharis PayPal account is once more open to receive donations, and can be accessed in the right hand sidebar. The deadline to donate is January 2, 2014, and remember: we are giving to procure winter coats to at-risk kids.

The Coats for Kids Foundation, established in 2004 in Alexandria, VA has been a long time partner of Operation Warm, Inc. Founded on similar principles, both organizations have made it their mission to provide new winter coats to children in need. [Their] shared vision of ensuring every child wearing a new winter coat is healthy, able to attend school regularly and has a strong self-esteem is why Coats For Kids Foundation and Operation Warm, Inc. have united  with a goal of serving at-risk children in the Greater Washington D.C Metro area and an increasing number of children nationwide.

All PayPal costs will be covered by Elaion so your full donation will be transferred to the Coats For Kids Foundation. Thank you in advance for your donation, for spreading the word, and/or aiding the cause in any other way.

If you want to join the conversation, join Pandora's Kharis on Facebook.

$304,- raised for the Pagan Federation International Philippines

As the Hellenic month of Maimakterion draws to a close, Elaion is proud and very happy to announce $304,- was raised from within the Hellenistic community to donate to the Pagan Federation International Philippines for the amazing work they do in the aftermath of Haiyan.

PayPal takes its standard fees from the transactions--in this case about $20,-, which was covered by Elaion, making sure every cent of your donation went to Doctors Without Borders. The average amount paid by the contributors was around $18,-, with donations coming in as high as $50,-.

Pagan Federation International is a campaigning organization aimed at networking like-minded individuals that will fight against ignorance and negative attitudes towards paganism and make it possible to have a more proactive and visible celebration of Paganism. In light of the terrible typhoon, the Pagan Federation International Philippines is using donations to help the survivors in hands-on, practical ways--with food, clean water, clothes and medication.

We encourage our members who have given so generously to dedicate this gift to the Gods, and to pray for the well-being of the people of the Philippines. Hopefully the Pagan Federation International Philippines will let us know how the money will be spent.

From this moment on, the Pandora's Kharis Facebook page is open to pitches. If you do not have Facebook, feel free to pitch your cause in the comments; we will relay the message to the community. On to another month of pitching, voting, and giving. Thank you so much for your generosity!

Pagan Federation International Philippines Maimakterion 2013 cause

Pandora's Kharis is proud to announce that the Pagan Federation won this month's poll by a landslide; they recieved 73,4 percent of the votes! That means it is now decided: this month's cause is the Pagan Federation International Philippines. The other options were the following, including their percentages:

• UNICEF: 20%
• World Vision International: 6,6%
• AmeriCares: 0%

The Pandora's Kharis PayPal account is once more open to recieve donations, and can be accessed in the right hand sidebar. The deadline to donate is December third, and remember: we are giving to help the relief effort in the Phillippines after typhoon Haiyan hit it with its full destructive force.

Pagan Federation International is a campaigning organization aimed at networking like-minded individuals that will fight against ignorance and negative attitudes towards paganism and make it possible to have a more proactive and visible celebration of Paganism. In light of the terrible typhoon, the Pagan Federation International Philippines is using donations to help the survivors in hands-on, practical ways--with food, clean water, clothes and medication. They are helping to provide basics which are still sorely lacking in most areas, and we can help them by donating generously.

All PayPal costs will be covered by Elaion so your full donation will be transferred to the Pagan Federation and will go towards aiding the victims of Haiyan. Thank you in advance for your donation, for spreading the word, and/or aiding the cause in any other way.

If you want to join the conversation, join Pandora's Kharis on Facebook.

                            

Pandora's Kharis set to help victims of Haiyan

We have all heard about the terrible typhoon that hit (amongst other places) the Philippines only a short while back. Since Haiyan hit, causes have been pitched that relate in some way to the help and rescue efforts linked to its victims. While the other pitched causes are--of course--very valuable, the consensus of the members of Pandora's Kharis is that the victims of Haiyan need our help most right now.

While we are settling on a specific cause, the funds that will be raised this month will go towards helping the victims back onto their feet. Our thoughts and prayers are with them while we raise the funds, and we pray the Gods—any Gods—watch over these brave men and women in their time of greatest need.

Please, come over to Pandora’s Kharis on Facebook to cast your vote and use the donate button to donate towards the relief efforts. Thank you on advance.

$174,- raised for Doctors Without Borders

Elaion is proud to announce that the first ever Pandora's Kharis donation run has raised $174,- for our democratically decided upon cause Doctors Without Borders. This is an astounding amount for a giving circle that came together only a few short weeks ago, and it shows the generous spirit of the Hellenistic community.

PayPal takes its standard fees from the transactions--in this case about $10,-, which was covered by Elaion, making sure every cent of your donation went to Doctors Without Borders. The average amount paid by the contributors was around $7,-, with donations coming in as high as $25,-.

As Doctors Without Borders only allows PayPal donations on specific projects, we have decided to contribute to Doctors Without Borders' 'Treating Global Childhood Malnutrition'-campaign, which they host on Global Giving. Doctors Without Borders teams treat more than 300,000 children annually at more than 100 nutrition programs, mostly in Africa and Asia focusing on the most vulnerable populations, children under age three with severe acute malnutrition. Until 2005, MSF hospitalized these children in inpatient therapeutic feeding centers. Now, thanks to the advent of therapeutic ready-to-use food (RUF), MSF can treat the majority of malnourished children as outpatients and dramatically increases the number of patients treated.

Our donation is enough to purchase 765 emergency food rations, seven months of lifesaving therapeutic food to treat a severely malnourished child, or purchase several infant scales to weigh children too young or too weak to stand on their own.

In days to come, the organization will receive a letter from Elaion, detailing our donation and our cause. We also encourage members who have given so generously to dedicate this gift to the Gods, especially the Kourotrophos; (mostly) female deities who watched over growing children--Gaea, Artemis, Hekate, Eirênê, Aglauros and Pandrosos, especially. A pre-made ritual can be found here, on the Elaion Facebook page.

From this moment on, the Pandora's Kharis Facebook page is open to pitches. If you do not have Facebook, feel free to pitch your cause in the comments. We will relay the message to the community.

On to another month of pitching, voting, and giving. Thank you for your generosity!

Médicins Sans Frontièrs/Doctors Without Borders Pyanepsion 2013 cause

 

It is our honor and privilege to announce the winning Pyanepsion 2013 charity! With roughly 39% of the votes, Médicins Sans Frontièrs/Doctors Without Borders will be the first charity we donate to. The donate button can be found on the right hand side and leads to PayPal--the medium we have decided to use. The end results for this month's poll were as follows:

• International Rescue Committee: 5,6%
• Médicins Sans Frontièrs/Doctors Without Borders: 38,9%
• The Wild Hunt's Fall Funding Drive: 27,8%
• The Hellenic Education and Language Program (H.E.L.P.): 27,8%

Thank you to all who voted, and if you would like to pitch next month's cause and/or vote for your favorites, please join us on Facebook. Obviously, you do not have to be a member of the Pandora's Kharis Facebook group to donate. Thank you in advance for your donation!

Community notes on Pandora's Kharis

We keep a record of blogs talking about Pandora's Kharis, as well as press coverage, on the 'Press and Community Reactions' page, but we would like to take a moment to thank those who have written about us and invite you to comment with your own links in case some are missing. So far, we are grateful to Ann Hatzakis of the GreekRevivalistMommy blog for her passionate speech on giving, to Terence P. Ward of the Dirty Money PaganSquare blog for his complete support, and to Jason Pitzl-Waters from Pagan news outlet The Wild Hunt for spreading the word about our giving circle. We are infinitely proud to have such great allies!

If you would like to contribute to Pandora's Kharis but feel you do not have the money to do so, come join us on Facebook anyway. Pitch causes, cast your vote. If you have a blog at your disposal, a friend at a news outlet, friends in the Hellenistic Polytheistic community, then spread the word. With more members, even a dollar per person goes a very long way. Spread the word and help us make Pandora's Kharis a great success!

Nominees Pyanepsion 2013

It is our great pleasure to announce the Pyanepsion 2013 nominees for charity of the month. One of the following causes will recieve the very first donation made by members of Pandora's Kharis. We would like to thank every community member who stood up to pitch their pick for a cause and as our numbers keep growing, we hope for even more causes to choose from next month.
 

 

 

International Rescue Committee

The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and in 22 U.S. cities, the IRC restores safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

"They're well-established (80 years this year) and use >90% of funds for the people they serve. They focus on some of the biggest humanitarian crises around the world, particularly refugee resettlement."

 

Médicins Sans Frontièrs/Doctors Without Borders

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from healthcare. MSF offers assistance to people based on need, irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation.

"They have a good rating with >85% of funds going towards program services and provide needed medical care in troubled areas."

 

The Wild Hunt's Fall Funding Drive

The Wild Hunt is primary destination for those interested in following news relating and of interest to modern Pagan religions and other minority faiths. Founded by Jason Pitzl-Waters in 2004, The Wild Hunt has grown to become one of the most-visited and popular destinations exploring these topics. Recruited to Patheos.com in the Summer of 2011, The Wild Hunt decided to exist as an independent entity once more in the Summer of 2012. In addition, The Wild Hunt has now expanded into a media outlet with paid contributors and two paid staff members.

 

"[H]aving a Pagan news resource is a valuable thing that we should not take for granted. While it is not a charity per se (the money will be used to pay for writers and server costs, mostly), it would be good [...] a good way to mend some bridges between Pagan and Polytheist camps."

 
 

The Hellenic Education and Language Program (H.E.L.P.)

The Hellenic Education and Language Program (H.E.L.P.) is a not-for-profit, community based initiative based in Astoria, NY. It's programs are open to all and none are rejected based on their financial situation. It's purpose is to provide an in-depth Hellenic education in all subjects of learning, from Hellenic history, language (both modern and ancient), mythology, and music. The school's philosophy is firmly embedded in the pre-Christian Hellenic traditions. HELP educates its students through classical instructional methodology, providing a comprehensive curriculum with a pleasant learning environment, and always faithful to Plato's saying " Do not train children to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each".  The do not currently have a website.

 

"HELP is the first and only school founded and ran by Ethnikoi in the United States."

Do you have a favorite out of these four? Vote for your favorite in our poll. If you would like to donate to any of these, or have other causes to pitch for next month? Come join us as well! We will announce this month's winner on the 29th of October. 

 

Launched!

After a long time of back and forth, of planning and of deliberating, Pandora's Kharis is now a fact! A charity circle, run by Hellenic Polytheists, intended for Hellenic Polytheists with the aim of collecting funds for charities and causes which align with our ideals, our Gods and our communities. Through Pandora's Kharis, we hope to bring together a scattered community and have a positive impact on the world, in honor of the Theoi, the Hellenic (Greek) Gods.

Pandora's Kharis is a movement which arose from within the Hellenistic Polytheistic community, and sponsored by Hellenistic Polytheistic organization Elaion. Its goal is to come together as Hellenists--followers of the ancient Hellenic (Greek) Gods--and collect funds monthly to support a worthy cause, decided upon by vote from the members of the group. Donations will be collected throughout the month and provided to the organization on the Noumenia; the religious beginning of the new month, which coincides with the return of the moon after it's just gone through its dark phase. It is a time of hope and promise, and Pandora's remaining gift after the amphora was opened was exactly that. As such, she has been elected to represent what we stand for: to keep an open eye of wonder towards the world, to see the good in it, and to offer hope to those in need.

Elaion is a religious organization committed to re-establishing the ancient Hellenic religion (known as Dodekatheism, Hellenic Reconstructionism, Hellenismos) to its rightful place in society. Our motto enshrines the values of "piety, tradition and virtue/excellence" as key principles of the organization. We seek to be pious and honorable in our thoughts and actions and virtuous in our relationships with mortals and immortals as we strive for excellence in keeping with traditional Hellenic polytheistic practices.

Elaion is an organisation with a proactive remit and emphasis on traditional ethics and values. The Hellenic revival in the West is growing, and worshippers need organisational support to establish worship groups, connect with other like-minded individuals, and gain greater fulfilment in their spiritual lives.

Our discussion forum is on Facebook and can be found here. The goup is closed to insure the privacy of group members; pitches of worthy causes can get quite personal, and discussions can land on the financial; both of which, Elaion's admins would like to facilitate a safe discussion of. We invite all Hellenic Polytheists to join Pandora's Kharis and to help us make this initiative a success!