AMAZING ORGANIZATIONS DOING AMAZING THINGS FOR AMAZING PEOPLE, CAUSES, AND CREATURES, GREAT AND SMALL!!
I just wanted to take a moment to celebrate and highlight some organizations that leave me in awe. Now, I realize that every person has their own reason for the causes that move them heart and soul, these are merely mine…
OUR BEACHES AND OCEANS
The Surfrider Foundation is A-MAZING – they have been doing what they do for 36 years and are bigger and stronger than ever before, a virtual Superhero protecting our beaches and oceans. The defend through Ocean Protection (defending ocean ecosystems from threats), Coastal Preservation (defending coastlines and beaches from threats), Clean Water (solutions to ocean pollution), Beach Access (protecting fair and full beach access), and Plastic Pollution (finding alternatives to single-use plastics). I just love this organization, be it the great grand real-world impacts they continue to make, to small scale beach and bay trash pick-ups, and everything in between. I know you will too…
The Ocean Conservancy uses state of the art research and science-based solutions to protect our oceans from global threats and challenges. Their mission is to defend not merely the precious wildlife and waters, but the communities that depend upon the health of both, as well. Their 2020 campaign is International Coastal Cleanup #CleanOn and their motto Small Cleanups, Big Impacts!! AND their website is LITERALLY a work of art…
Thank you to my extraordinary parents for instilling in us such a powerful empathy for all living creatures, also for Dad and his hands-on approach to learning and respecting all of nature’s gifts. Save The Sharks is important to me because one of Dad’s absolute favorite living beings was the Great White, and protecting their wellbeing is important for future generations. In fact, I am going to USE THEIR WORDS to make the impact here…. “100 MILLION SHARKS EVERY YEAR ARE KILLED BY LONG LINE FISHING OR FOR SHARK FIN SOUP…90% OF THE WORLDS SHARK POPULATION HAS BEEN WIPED OUT…SHARKS ARE A KEY COMPONENT TO THE MARINE ECOSYSTEM, KEEPING EVERYTHING IN PERFECT BALANCE” (again, their words, and they have done the research and the work). How insanely frightening are these statistics, it breaks my heart, and so YES PLEASE let’s Save The Sharks…
VSSN – VETERANS SUPPLEMENTAL SUPPORT NETWORK
The VSSN is run by a powerhouse of a woman named, Daisy Tate, who in 2010 started this non-profit organization because she recognized the ENORMOUS GAP between the services provided to our Military and Veteran Service Members, and that of the actual Military and Veteran Service Members who find themselves in need. Daisy is a force of nature, she is also Air Force AND JAG, and I have been honored to be a part of her organization and many of her events; AND IT IS EVERYTHING when you get to witness these life changing connections being made. Ultimately VSSN’s mission is to end suicide, hardship, and homelessness, by creating easy access to a network of community resources for Military and Veterans and Transitioning Service Members and their families. Please, please, please, if you have any interest, or if YOU are in need, or if you actually KNOW of any Military, Veteran, or Transitioning service member in need of HELP… please reach out!! You can even email me here at Bottom’s Up Bikini’s (help@BottomsUpBikinis.com – just title it VSSN) if you would like help in making the connection…
www.vetsupportnet.org and www.facebook.com/VeteranSupplementalSupportNetwork/
The Wounded Warrior Project is REMARKABLE for its Warrior Care Programs (mental and physical health and wellness), and its networks, resources, outreach, and support. The Wounded Warrior Project was created following the attacks on September 11, 2001, and it is a PHENOMENAL service organization offering a multitude of services, programs, and events for Wounded Military Veterans. I CANNOT possibly do them justice with meager words on a page, so PLEASE follow the link below to check them out yourself…
Operation Homefront focuses on the families of our Military and Veteran Service Members by providing critical and short-term financial assistance and long-term stability with recurring support programs. I had the pleasure of collaborating with them during the holidays when I was able to involve work and it was incredible, Operation Homefront assigned us a local military family who was struggling, then were given their specific needs/wish list (along with ages of family members and pets), and then we decorated a
ginormous empty box to set in our waiting room and collect donations. The response was beyond what we had anticipated, and the greatest part was finally being able to meet the family we have been collecting for and ease their stress a little. Operation Homefront has many many ways to support and give back to these Military and Veteran Families, all with the goal of building a stable and strong and secure environment within which they can thrive…
This man is incredible, I found out about his foundation when he/they/it were building a home for a disabled Veteran in a town about 30 miles from me. He truly and humbly dedicates and devotes his time to all Military and Veteran Service Members but also to all first responders and frontline workers as well. Gary does this through building Smart Homes for wounded Veterans, performing with his Lt. Dan Band at all day festivals on Military Bases, serving meals to deploying men and women, and so VERY MUCH
MORE. Basically, Gary rocks, and it is not just because he truly does ROCK…
OUR MILITARY, VETERAN, & TRANSITIONING SERVICE MEMBERS
I discovered Mountain Meadows Equine Rescue and Rehab through a post on Neighborhood Nextdoor by them seeking volunteers to help feed the horses. I
remember it so clearly because I was so excited, I had been hoping for years to find a horse facility nearby that I could volunteer at and suddenly there they were, and literally
less than a half a mile from my house. Fast forward from May 2018, and I am now not only on the Board of Directors, but I have also rescued my own beautifully abused boy,
my ginormous Andalusian who I named Apache. Mountain Meadows is a part of my every day, and currently we have a full house of horses in need. But we are open to the
public to anyone who wants to come and meet our horses, help feed, groom, and even ride if it is scheduled. We also have amazing events, the next being our Halloween Trot
or Treat, so check us out, especially with Halloween being compromised this year it is an excellent solution to hitting the streets…