The Wolf Conservation Center Elaphebolion 2014 cause

In a (to us) surprising turn of events, the Wolf Conservation Center won this round as Elaphebolion 2014 cause for Pandora's Kharis! The Wolf Conservation Center (WCC), founded in 1999 by Hélène Grimaud, is a private, not-for-profit environmental education organization located in South Salem, NY. The WCC’s mission is to promote wolf conservation by teaching about wolves, their relationship to the environment, and the human role in protecting their future. The WCC accomplishes this mission through onsite and offsite education programs emphasizing wolf biology, the ecological benefits of wolves and other large predators, and the current status of wolf recovery in the United States. The WCC won with 53% percent of the votes (International Mental Health Research Organization - 20%, International Rescue Committee - 13%, Wounded Warrior Project 7%, Metro CareRing 7%).

The WCC also participates in the Species Survival Plan (SSP) and Recovery Plan for two critically endangered wolf species, the Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) and the red wolf (Canis rufus). The Mexican gray wolf and the red wolf are among the rarest mammals in North America, both species at one time were completely extinct in the wild. Presently there are approximately 400 Mexican gray wolves and 300 red wolves remaining in the world, the majority living within the network of facilities like the WCC participating in the SSP. Every one of these endangered wolves in captivity is a part of something bigger than their pack and the facilities that house them. These special canids are integral parts of the recovery of their rare species.

Many of these wolves contribute as ambassadors, living on view at a variety of zoos throughout the United States to help people learn about the importance of their wild counterparts. The WCC's two SSP exhibits offers visitors to the Center an opportunity to behold these species and their eight WildEarthTV webcams extend four wolf families to a global audience. Some of these education wolves can also contribute to the revitalization of their species more directly as participants of the SSP Wolf Captive Breeding program.

A special faction of captive wolves, however, can have the most direct impact on the conservation of their species as well as their ancestral habitat in the wilds of North America. These wolves are candidates for release into the wild. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), under the Endangered Species Act, is re-introducing Mexican gray wolves and red wolves to portions of their historic range, and two wolves from the WCC have been given this greatest opportunity - a chance to bring an ecosystem back to balance.

Looking forward, the WCC aims to become the pre-eminent facility in the Eastern United States for the captive breeding and pre-release of endangered canid species, and to continue expanding our education and outreach programs to communities far beyond the gates of their facility.

The PayPal account is open to receiving your donations to this beautiful and worthy cause! The deadline for donations is 31 March, and I thank you in advance already for them. All PayPal costs will be covered by Elaion so your full donation will be transferred to the Wolf Conservation Center. These are going to be the ones that push us past €1000,- given, and that's very exciting to us! You are all wonderful, and I want to thank you for helping make this initiative such a huge success. Lets make this one count!

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

Nominees Elaphebolion 2014

It is our great pleasure to announce the Elaphebolion 2014 nominees for charity of the month. One of the following causes will receive this month's donations 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 (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. At work in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities to restore safety, dignity and hope, the IRC leads the way from harm to home.

Wolf Conservation Center 
The Wolf Conservation Center (WCC), founded in 1999 by Hélène Grimaud, is a private, not-for-profit environmental education organization located in South Salem, NY. The WCC’s mission is to promote wolf conservation by teaching about wolves, their relationship to the environment, and the human role in protecting their future. The WCC accomplishes this mission through onsite and offsite education programs emphasizing wolf biology, the ecological benefits of wolves and other large predators, and the current status of wolf recovery in the United States.

International Mental Health Research Organization
The International Mental Health Research Organization (IMHRO) is committed to raising awareness and funding neuropsychiatric research to find preventions and cures for severe mental illnesses, focusing on schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder, within a generation. 100 percent of the money that is donated to them is dedicated to research.

Wounded Warrior Project
The Wounded Warrior Project aims to raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of injured service members, helps injured service members aid and assist each other, and provides unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members.

Metro CareRing Denver
Metro CareRing operates one of Denver’s largest hunger-relief programs, including a fresh foods shopping market, teaching garden, and weekly healthy living and nutrition classes. Instead of receiving a pre-packed or standard bag of groceries, families can shop for free at the Metro CareRing Market. A self-select shopping model gives participants more control over their food choices, exposes them to new foods, and reduces waste. Volunteer Personal Shoppers help participants choose their food, respectfully presenting healthy food options, and guiding them toward preparing nutritionally balanced meals.


Do you have a favourite out of these five? Vote for your favourite 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 March 24, 2014.

$120,- raised for the National Runaway Safeline

Elaion is proud to announce that the fifth Pandora's Kharis donation run has raised $120,- for our democratically decided upon cause the National Runaway Safeline. I am once more very happy to say you have all given generously, and in the spirit of the Gods!

NRS provides education and solution-focused interventions, offers non-sectarian, non-judgmental support, respects confidentiality, collaborates with volunteers, and responds to at-risk youth and their families 24 hours a day. I'll let Maureen Blaha, executive director of the National Runaway Switchboard explain their work better:

PayPal takes its standard fees from the transactions, in this case about $8,-, which was covered by Elaion, making sure every cent of your donation went to the Switchboard. The average amount paid by the contributors was around $20,-, with donations coming in as high as $40,-.

As always, we 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!

The National Runaway Safeline Anthesterion 2014 cause

By a huge margin, the American Non-profit organization the National Runaway Safeline has been elected as Anthesterion 2014 cause for Pandora's Kharis. NRS provides education and solution-focused interventions, offers non-sectarian, non-judgmental support, respects confidentiality, collaborates with volunteers, and responds to at-risk youth and their families 24 hours a day. Its sole competition was Adopt-A-Greek-School, an initiative which seeks to financially support struggling schools in Hellas using funds raised in the United States from individuals and other organizations. The National Runaway Safeline won with 78 percent of the votes.

Some history on the cause: Metro-Help was established in 1971 to fill a need for comprehensive crisis intervention for young people in Chicago. It was conceived as a centralized organization with free 24-hour services, expertise in all youth-related issues and as an information clearinghouse of youth services.

In 1974, the agency received an eight-month federal demonstration grant to establish a national hotline. During this time, 11,000 calls were received demonstrating the need for this type of service. Beginning as the National Runaway Switchboard, and now as National Runaway Safeline, NRS’ capabilities and services have grown considerably. The 1-800-RUNAWAY hotline now handles more than 100,000 calls each year. NRS’ 1-800-RUNAWAY crisis hotline is available 24-hours a day throughout the United States and its territories, including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam.

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 March 3, 2014. All PayPal costs will be covered by Elaion so your full donation will be transferred to the National Runaway Safeline. 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.

An update on the Gamelion 2014 winner Desmos

Last month, Greek Non-profit Foundation Desmos was elected as Gamelion 2014 cause for Pandora's Kharis. Unfortunately, it turned out that transfering funds to this cause is a banking nightmare unless you are in Hellas itself. We have been wrestling with banking systems to get the $146,- that was raised transferred and we are hoping to get confirmation of the transfer any day now.

Thank you for your patience and your more than generous donations!

Desmos Gamelion 2014 cause

By a large margin, Greek Non-profit Foundation Desmos has been elected as Gamelion 2014 cause for Pandora's Kharis. Desmos was established by a team of young, dynamic individuals sharing a common vision to responsibly and effectively address the imminent social and humanitarian crisis in Greece through collaboration and the involvement of the private sector. Desmos utilizes surplus products and services to meet the basic needs of vulnerable groups and individuals. With one phonecall or an email to Desmos, you can communicate your offer or your need, and enter into a dynamic network. Desmos won with 71 percent of the votes.

• Desmos: 71%
• Chicago Coalition For The Homeless: 12%
• International Rescue Committee: 0%
• Educate Girls Globally: 17%

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 February 1, 2014. All PayPal costs will be covered by Elaion so your full donation will be transferred to Desmos. 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.

Nominees Gamelion 2014

It is our great pleasure to announce the Gamelion 2014 nominees for charity of the month. One of the following causes will receive this month's donations 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.


Desmos
Desmos is a Greek Non-profit Foundation that was established by a team of young, dynamic individuals sharing a common vision to responsibly and effectively address the imminent social and humanitarian crisis through collaboration and the involvement of the private sector. Desmos utilizes surplus products and services to meet the basic needs of vulnerable groups and individuals. With one phonecall or an email to Desmos, you can communicate your offer or your need, and enter into a dynamic network!

"I wondered about the situation in Greece which is so bad and want to help..."

Chicago Coalition For The Homeless
Since 1980, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) has followed a clear mission: to organize and advocate to prevent and end homelessness, because they believe housing is a human right in a just society. They are the only non-profit in Illinois dedicated to advocating for public policies that curb and can ultimately end homelessness. The organization leads strategic campaigns, community outreach, and public policy initiatives that target the lack of affordable housing in metropolitan Chicago and across Illinois. In addition, CCH presses for access to jobs, training, and public schools. Community organizers, policy specialists, and public interest attorneys advocate with people hurt by homelessness, including mothers with children, unaccompanied youth, ex-offenders, prostitution survivors, and low-wage workers.

" It being so cold here in the states, I think it's important to support efforts to aid the homeless. I'd like to pitch support to the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. They are a top-rated non-profit and have 4 stars (highest rating) from Charity Navigator."

International Rescue Committee
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. At work in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities to restore safety, dignity and hope, the IRC leads the way from harm to home.

" They're well-established (81 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."

Educate Girls Globally
Educate Girls Globally exists to provide opportunities for women and girls to achieve their full potential, recognizing that educated women are the world’s most powerful agents of social change. As a result of their education, the world becomes a safer, healthier, and more just place.

" I have come to believe that one of the root causes for MANY of the problems in the world is the oppression of women. Knowledge is power, so I would like to see our donations go to Educate Girls Globally, which focuses on bringing basic education to girls in places where it's not at all common to do so."

Do you have a favourite out of these four? Vote for your favourite 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 January 22, 2014.