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Come Celebrate Earth Day

by Paige Herlihy AltrUHelp, Altruism, Corporate Social Responsibility, Green, Volunteering • Tags: 5K, AltrUHelp, Applegate, Charity, charity run, Earth Day, Honest Tea, Life Is Good, LOCO Running, Londonderry, Manchester Monarchs, New Hampshire, Pretzel Chips, recycle, Rustic Crust Pizza, Seventh Generation, Stonyfield, upcycle

The food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe…it all comes from nature. This Earth Day, join people around the world in a global celebration of our planet and the bounty it provides. The first Earth Day in 1970 was instrumental in mobilizing public support across the country for passage of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and other key environmental initiatives!

Join us Saturday, April 20^th, to support Earth Day with Stonyfield Yogurt Works’ annual Earth Day 5K Celebration. Stonyfield, the world’s leading organic yogurt maker, has organized this family-friendly event and annual run to include giveaways, costumed characters, and more! At the AltruHelp Social Impact tent, visitors can sign up to see real-time local volunteer opportunities and amplify their impact via our ipad station. You can also join our upcycling volunteer project as we turn plastic water bottles and yogurt cups into planters, bird feeders, and blocks. We’ll be donating $1 for everyone that signs up for volunteering at our station to support victims of the Boston Marathon Tragedy. The first 100 people will also be able to win free car washes from our eco-friendly partner, ScrubaDub, and Social Impact t-shirts while they last! Proceeds from the Earth Day 5K will benefit the Life Is Good Kids Foundation, New Hampshire’s Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program, and scholarships for Londonderry High School students. Continue reading →

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Civic Leader Inspires National Service

by Paige Herlihy AltrUHelp, Altruism, Volunteering • Tags: AltrUHelp, Boston, Martin Luther King Jr., service, Volunteering

When one thinks of dedication to service and inspiration, few individuals epitomize these attributes in the same way as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As a father, scholar, pioneer, and civic activist, King served as a role model to countless Americans. King spread hope and the creed that doing what is right is at the core of strengthening our communities and advancing our nation. It’s no surprise, that only a few weeks ago, this civic leader was honored across the nation by millions with a National Day of Service.

Points of Light, the largest national nonprofit dedicated to increasing volunteerism, mobilized people across the nation to transform veteran’s homes in Phoenix, complete school makeovers in Los Angeles, repair communities impacted by Hurricane Sandy in New York and more. Their signature event was in Washington DC, the largest single-site service project of the inaugural weekend, which was made possible by Target, as they give 5% of their profit and thousands of volunteer hours to communities every day! Continue reading →

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My Experience Volunteering in Africa – Building A Habitat For Humanity

by Paige Herlihy AltrUHelp, Altruism, NPO Program Spotlight, Volunteering • Tags: Africa, AltrUHelp, Ghana, Habitat for Humanity, housing, Paige Herlihy, Volunteering

At AltruHelp, we encourage our team to practice what we preach and get involved in local communities as well as projects around the globe. From August 31 to September 13, one of our team members, Paige Herlihy, had the opportunity to travel to Humjibre, Ghana and help build houses with the Ghana affiliate of Habitat for Humanity. Below, from the eyes of Paige, is her story.

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Organic Companies: Balancing Sustainability & Trust

by Paige Herlihy Corporate Social Responsibility, Green • Tags: eden foods, Green, natural, organic, organic valley, Sustainability, USDA

Did you know buying organic food can strengthen sustainability initiatives and boost community impact? However, in a day and age where nearly every brand on supermarket shelves is owned by one of a dozen mega conglomerates, we often wonder which organic companies can we really trust?

Many large conglomerates, have bought up organic food and drink companies, like Odwalla and Honest Tea, continuing to market the product without any mention of their involvement. Why does this matter?

Continue reading →

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10 Great Charity Reads – Authors & Books That Give Back

by Paige Herlihy Altruism, Celebrity Altruism, Natural Disaster • Tags: AIDS charities, celebrity charities, Elton John, Harry Potter, Kate Winslet, Michelle Obama, National Parks Foundation, To Write Love On Her Arms

From first-time writers to New York Times best sellers, authors like Elton John and J.K. Rowling have chosen to use their craft for the greater good, giving proceeds to such charities as The National Parks Foundation, Inspiration Kitchen, and Comic Relief. Next time your looking for a good book, grab one of these ten great reads and feel good about your contribution to some worthy causes. Continue reading →

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5 Innovative Ideas To Make A Difference While Going Green

by Paige Herlihy AltrUHelp, Altruism, Green • Tags: donate, Green, recycle, Volunteering

The average person already knows the little things they can do each day to save the planet: recycle, unplug appliances when they’re not in use, change to energy efficient light bulbs. Only the diehard green guru typically delves deeper to come up with ways to lower their carbon footprint while also giving back. Here are five easy ways to make a difference while going green:

Continue reading →

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Summer IMPACT Networking For Charity

by Paige Herlihy AltrUHelp, Altruism, Corporate Social Responsibility, MassChallenge, Social Entrepreneurship, Social Network, Volunteering • Tags: Animal Rescue League, Boston, Jumpstart, Microsoft, non-profit, Volunteering

On July 10^th AltruHelp hosted the second annual IMPACT Networking Event For Charity at the Microsoft N.E.R.D. Center in Cambridge, MA. Over 100 philanthropic Bostonians came together to enjoy a fun evening of speed-volunteering and networking to support the local non-profit community and increasing Millenial (ages 16-29) volunteersim. The attendees ranged from college and graduate students to accountants, lawyers, entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders and more. Continue reading →

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Inspiring Innovation: Social Good Hackathons

by antoinnemc AltrUHelp, Altruism, Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Entrepreneurship, Volunteering • Tags: AltrUHelp, Hackathon, mozilla, social good

What do you get when you bring together brilliant people that love to write computer code and program for 24 hours with a common goal of doing good? Well, a Social Hackathon of course!

This Spring, StartLabs brought together nine teams at the Cambridge Innovation Center to create the most socially beneficial, impressively designed, and well implemented websites and applications. StartLabs recruited innovative leaders from the “Social Impact” Space including Mozilla “FireFox” Foundation, AltruHelp.com, RedStar Ventures and Fundraise.com to mentor the participants, providing the newly formed teams with structure & vision in the brainstorming of product development. Continue reading →

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Green Action: EarthFest & Earth Day

by mattenglish1 AltrUHelp, Celebrity Altruism, Corporate Social Responsibility, Green, Volunteering • Tags: AltrUHelp, Earth Day, EarthFest, Green, Sustainability

With all the talk about going green and building a sustainable planet, its easy to miss some of the awesome action individuals and organizations are taking to make the world a better place. This past weekend, Radio 92.9 & Whole Foods Market teamed up to present EarthFest with musical performances from Third Eye Blind, Switchfoot, Eve 6, Spin Doctors and local Boston artist Twin Berlin. Thousands of people came out to hear some great live music while meeting environmental non-profits from across the country, tasting free samples from Whole Foods companies that focus our attention on being green, and experiencing Kids’ Planet – an interactive family area with environmentally focused learning, volunteer opportunities, and exhibits for children.

In addition to EarthFest, only a few short weeks ago more than 175 countries celebrated Earth Day where volunteer events were held worldwide to increase awareness and appreciation of the earth’s natural environment. Did you know Earth Day was designated to be held on April 22 in 2009 by the United Nations??? Continue reading →

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How Corporate Volunteer Programs Help Your Business

by Mathew Paisner AltrUHelp, Altruism, Corporate Social Responsibility, Volunteering • Tags: AltrUHelp, Corporate Social Responsiblity, Corporate volunteer program, corporate volunteering, CVP

A recent announcement by the Corporation for National and Community Service revealed that 582,000 Americans applied during the past year to serve in the AmeriCorps – an increase of almost 10 percent or 50,000 applications on the previous year. The Corps, however, has turned away close to one million potential volunteers since 2009 due to a lack of funding, and those people are looking for somewhere else to volunteer. A corporate volunteer program (CVP) offers multiple benefits to your company and employees, as well as the causes they take up.

Corporate Citizenship

Corporate America is catching on to the value of establishing CVPs, with almost one-third of corporations now offering some form of volunteerism for their staff – a growth of 150 percent over the past two decades. Continue reading →

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Want to Improve Your Health & Get Some Sleep, Try Altruism!

by Mathew Paisner Altruism, Science Behind Altruism, Volunteering • Tags: AltrUHelp, Altruism, Mental Health, Sleep

You first heard the idea in kindergarten: Share your toys. Later on, you were taught, “do unto others.” And as an adult, you may have gotten the advice that the best way to feel better about yourself is to help the less fortunate.

No matter how you got the message, the concept of altruism is one that is ingrained (or should be) in our collective social conscience. Not only because acts of altruism benefit society as a whole but because, darn it, it just feels right!

So volunteering and giving feel good. But is altruism actually good for your health? The Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science tackled that question in 2009 and came to the conclusion that …it is. Continue reading →

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A BILLION+CHANGE: Companies Pledge To Commit BILLION$ To Skill-Based Volunteering

by Mathew Paisner AltrUHelp, Social Entrepreneurship, Volunteering • Tags: A Billion+Change, AltrUHelp, corporate volunteering, Pro bono, Skill-based Volunteering, Volunteer

On International Corporate Philanthropy Day, this past Monday, AltruHelp joined more than 100 leaders in business, policy and civic engagement in New York City to celebrate the continuing success of A Billion + Change, a national campaign to mobilize billions of dollars of pro bono and skills-based volunteer service from corporate America by 2013. Since the summer of 2011, more than $1.6 billion of skills-based volunteer services has been contributed and 78 pledge companies have joined the movement. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the campaign’s honorary chairman, announced this as part of a program hosted by Morgan Stanley at the company’s headquarters in NYC. The event recognized the innovative pro bono programs companies are developing to deliver high-impact services to address community needs.

A Billion + Change, housed and managed by Points of Light, is seeking 500 companies willing to pledge their best business skills and talents to serve the needs of nonprofits and communities at home and around the world. The campaign’s vision is to inspire the largest commitment of corporate pro bono service in history. A Billion + Change is encouraging companies of all sizes across all sectors to achieve this kind of change. Pledge companies range in size from small businesses, like gothamCulture and AltruHelp, to large companies such as Nielsen, General Mills, Boston Beer Company, State Farm, Hewlett-Packard, UnitedHealth Group and Morgan Stanley. To date, these companies have committed to give more than 11 million hours of time and talent to nonprofits by 2013. Continue reading →

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Measuring the IMPACT of Networking on Charity

by mattenglish1 AltrUHelp, Altruism, Social Entrepreneurship, Volunteering • Tags: AltrUHelp, Charity, networking, nonprofit, Philanthropy, Social Impact, Volunteer, Volunteering

With the recent surge in corporate social responsibility and startups supporting the charity scene – a trend that became more visible at the Social Good 2.0 conference two months ago– AltruHelp has partnered with multiple nonprofits in the community (Animal Rescue League of Boston, Playworks Metro Boston, American Red Cross and more) to pioneer “IMPACT Networking For Charity,” a fun series of speed-fundraising, volunteering & networking events aimed at increasing Millenial volunteerism and community IMPACT.

On January 26th AltruHelp hosted it’s first Winter Impact networking event to kick off a new year of social impact! Borrowing a page from speed dating, we matched professionals and college students with various speed-volunteer/fundraising stations enabling them to support multiple nonprofits in one night, under one roof, while forming meaningful career connections!

Over the course of just 2 hours, 100+ local Bostonians generated some awesome IMPACT for the nonprofit community:

150+ Postcards for Postcards From Farr Away
80 Letters To Our Soldiers & Military Families for The American Red Cross
52 Fleece Blankets Made For The Animal Rescue League of Boston
52 Booklets Made For Playworks Boston
50+ technology surveys completed for the members of Tech Goes Home
30+ video interviews for the City of Cambridge
20+ books donated to Horizons for Homeless Children

What’s more, the event also raised more than $2000 for Charity! Think of it this way: while attendees were sipping on ice cold Narragansett Tallboys, eating tasty Boloco Burritos/Panera sandwiches, and expanding their professional networking connections, they created more good for the greater community on a Thursday night than the average person does in a year! If that doesn’t deserve kudos, we’re not sure what does! Continue reading →

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Volunteering INCREASES Employment: Meet Scott Bailey of MassChallenge

by Allison AltrUHelp, Altruism, MassChallenge, Volunteering • Tags: AltrUHelp, incubator, MassChallenge, Social Entrepreneurship, Volunteer, Volunteering

During these difficult economic times the job search process can be challenging but what if you tried something new? Instead of spending each day applying to jobs online, submitting your resume to Monster.com, Craigslist, Careerbuilder and more, why not try a few days of volunteering? Sounds crazy right??? New case studies show that taking time to give back will expand your network, enhance your character, and potentially lead to full-time career opportunities! This post marks the first in a series of interviews we’ve conducted with successful individuals who have obtained AWESOME Jobs, expanded their network, and increased their personal development by volunteering!

Meet Scott Bailey. Scott knows the key to success, and it’s not based on the money you make. “It’s a weird thing,” he says. “Right out of college, people think you need a job that really pays.”As a recent college graduate I certainly questioned this philosophy; isn’t a well-paying job the goal of a degree? After sitting down to talk with Bailey, the Director of Partnerships at MassChallenge, it seems he had the right attitude as he set forth into the professional world. Continue reading →

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Program Spotlight: Trekkers

by Allison NPO Program Spotlight • Tags: mentor, nature, outdoor, Volunteer, wilderness

It is well known that one of the greatest keys to success is positive mentorship. During our formative years, we find ourselves deeply influenced by the words and actions of our parents, teachers, community leaders and various others who touch our lives each day. Often though, it can be difficult for young people—especially during their early teen years—to place themselves in positions where great mentors are not only available but relying on positive influence and self-reflection is made the cornerstone of everyday life.

Trekkers, a non-profit based in Tenant’s Harbor, Maine, is an organization that brings the shaping of positive, altruistic personalities to the forefront of kids lives starting in the seventh grade. Continue reading →

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Cradles To Crayons: AltruHelp Visits the Giving Factory

by Allison AltrUHelp, Altruism, Volunteering • Tags: AltrUHelp, Charity, Cradles To Crayons, nonprofit, Volunteer, Volunteering

This past Saturday morning, the AltruHelp team joined dozens of professional groups, families, and individuals at the Cradles to Crayons Giving Factory in Brighton, MA. This nonprofit organization works year-round to provide children up to twelve years old with many of the necessities we often take for granted, such as clean, presentable clothing; school supplies not typically provided in the classroom; new or gently used toys; and other goods that add to the key senses of happiness and security in a child’s life.

During our time at Cradles to Crayons, all volunteers split into small teams and worked together to build winter clothing packages for children in need. The AltruHelp team Continue reading →

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Social Good 2.0

by Mathew Paisner AltrUHelp, Altruism, Social Entrepreneurship, Social Network • Tags: AltrUHelp, Boston, nonprofit, Philanthropy, Social Good 2.0, startup

Boston, MA, is best known for it’s rich history, but in recent years this New England city has become a hot spot for technological advances and innovative minds. Academic research, clean energy, and health care are some of the most prevalent fields of business here, but beyond these powerful industries is a buzzing (and buzzed-about) progressive startup community that’s causing a stir out of positivity and new media advancements.

One of the strongest branches of this young community is an added element of social entrepreneurship, social enterprise, and altruism never so clearly seen before in the tech world. New technology has innovated processes in the nonprofit community Continue reading →

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Turning The Gears of Social Innovation: AltruHelp Partners With Cambridge Chamber of Commerce

by Mathew Paisner AltrUHelp, Social Entrepreneurship, Social Network, Volunteering • Tags: AltrUHelp, Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, Corporate Social Responsiblity, CSR, Social Impact

BOSTON, MA and CAMBRIDGE, MA — AltruHelp, a social media platform, toolbox and online community to support volunteering and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), has announced a partnership with the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce (CCC). The Cambridge Chamber will use the AltruHelp platform to measure enterprise involvement in the local community.

The goal of the partnership is to create a more detailed report of enterprise social impact in the Cambridge community than has ever been created before. Previous Chamber reports have highlighted the philanthropic initiatives of companies with local offices like Microsoft, Liberty Mutual, Novartis, Biogen Idec and more.

“Citizens today are much more interested in how companies are giving back to their community and aware that CSR can provide profound impact,” said Kelly Thompson Clark, president & CEO of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce. “Sometimes this impact is difficult to capture, track, and showcase. By working with AltruHelp, the CCC will be able to produce a report for the City of Cambridge and our own efforts that will highlight company involvement in community programs and set the stage for a larger scale inventory of the Cambridge business community.” Continue reading →

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Saving the World: Acting Local, Thinking Global

by CeceSantos AltrUHelp, Altruism, Social Entrepreneurship, Volunteering • Tags: Act Local, Do Something Awards, Giving Back, Real Change, Volunteering

It’s not hard to believe that the ever-growing world population is close to reaching 7 billion people this year. What’s truly surprising, though, is that after experiencing advances in technology coupled with the staggering pace of development in the way we communicate, global social issues such as: health, agriculture, AIDS, and democracy, among others, would appear to have been left in the wake of progress.

So I wondered: Where does the disconnect between humans, technology and social responsibility lie? Could it be that when it comes to addressing social issues, a global solution has thwarted us from acting locally? In looking for the answer, I first thought of my personal approach in helping solve world problems:

I was truly committed, and felt responsible as an individual to get involved and save the world, but: Where and how to start? I tried donating money to organizations in other countries; still, deep inside I knew I could do much more. I discovered that having global perspective on social issues triggered something within me, but I concluded that thinking global yet acting local, would allow me to get hands-on and achieve REAL impact. Turns out I wasn’t alone…

Young people (Gen Y’ers), those under the age of 25 who represent nearly half of the world’s population (almost three billion people) are creating tremendous IMPACT. Continue reading →

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The Three Degrees of Altruism – Volunteer Social Networking

by Nick Jacob AltrUHelp, Altruism, Science Behind Altruism, Social Entrepreneurship, Social Network, Volunteering • Tags: AltrUHelp, Altruism, Social Entrepreneurship, Volunteer Social Network

Have you ever wondered if social networking promotes cooperative behavior? The nature of human social networking—our ability to connect deeply and instantaneously with friends, family, and other individuals—would seem to suggest that social networking can foster cooperation with others. Until recently, there was no scientific proof that social networking itself leads to altruistic cooperation. If one person helps another, could a third party be influenced simply by participating in the same network?

In an attempt to answer this question, Fowler and Christakis (2009) researchers from Harvard Medical School and the University of California, San Diego designed an experiment (n=240) to test whether people really do “pay it forward,” or pass along altruistic behavior through indirect, “networked” interaction (Experiment Details).

The results of the experiment suggest—objectively—that cooperative, altruistic behavior can spread as far as three degrees within a social network (from person to person to person). In other words, by helping others, we can create a “cascade” of altruistic behavior!

Because each “degree” in a social network represents exponential growth, helping your friend could trigger a wave of altruistic behavior in hundreds or even thousands of people!

Does this research make you think differently about the impact of your altruistic actions?

Check out AltruHelp.com to trigger your own volunteer network.

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3 Movies That Inspire Altruism! What Inspires YOU?

by CeceSantos AltrUHelp, Altruism, Celebrity Altruism • Tags: Altruism, feel good movies, feel-good, finding nemo, friendship, helping, life affirming, patch adams, the blind side

I consider human satisfaction a metric of success. In life, your outlook has a major impact on how you interact with the world. Seeing the glass as half-full and not half-empty can turn your day around—works for me all the time. When dealing with my day-to-day life, having a positive attitude helps me get through many situations while achieving the results I want.

Feeling positive and confident not only effects how you experience the world around you, but also improves your ability to connect and form relationships with others. Of course, it’s part of our human nature to experience a plethora of negative emotions. The question then becomes: how do you let those emotions effect you?

All of our actions and reactions are interconnected. It’s rare to see people at work—or even friends—stick around when we are continually radiating negative energy. Realizing the powerful impact that mood and mindset can have, I came up with a fun way to get inspired: feel-good movies. Below I have compiled a list of 3 AMAZING movies that moved my spirit in a meaningful and enduring way: Continue reading →

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Forbes & AltrUHelp Collaborate on Coverage of 2011 National Volunteer Conference

by Mathew Paisner AltrUHelp, Altruism, Social Entrepreneurship, Volunteering • Tags: CSR, Forbes, National Service, Volunteering

Last week thousands of non-profits, volunteers, and corporate executives gathered at the 2011 National Conference on Volunteering and Service (NCVS) in New Orleans to discuss innovative solutions for addressing the challenges of the social IMPACT sector.

The Co-Founders of AltrUHelp were on site to cover the event for Forbes and spotlight pockets of social entrepreneurship (To see the Forbes article: Click here). Organized by the Corporation for National & Community Service and the Points of Light Institute, more than 4000 attendees came together to explore this budding space.

Discussion topics ranged from Bringing Community Organizing into Online Campaigns to seminars like Does Your Employee Volunteer Program Measure Up? A seminar led by a community engagement leader from Timberland focused on developing reporting standards for corporations to measure the impact of CSR activities. Leaders from Citizen Schools, Heart of America, Fidelity Investments, and Capital One also lead an intriguing workshop titled Building a Sustainable and Results Oriented Volunteer Movement Within Your Company.

I was able to sit down with Kelly Fisher, Assistant Manager of Philanthropy for Toyota Motor North America, who walked us through one of Toyota’s current CSR programs, “100 Cars for Good.” Read More

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AltrUHelp Selected Finalist in 2011 Global Startup Competition

by Mathew Paisner AltrUHelp, MassChallenge, Social Entrepreneurship • Tags: AltrUHelp, Entrepreneurship, MassChallenge, Social Entrepreneurship, startup

MassChallenge is the world’s largest $1 million startup competition & accelerator program that connects early stage entrepreneurs to the resources they need to launch high-growth, high-impact businesses.

Last week MassChallenge joined by Governor Deval Patrick and business leaders, announced AltrUHelp as a FINALIST in the world’s largest start-up competition. Hundreds of expert judges from the startup ecosystem (CEO’s, lawyers, VC’s, angel investors & more) selected 125 finalists after several rounds of judging on 733 original startup entry applications from around the globe (24 countries).

The finalists range from high-tech and life science business to social impact ventures like AltrUHelp. The finalist companies represent 19 states and five countries, including Kenya and South Korea. According to MassChallenge, last year’s finalists from the 2010 competition have raised more than $30 million in funding and hired over 300 new employees. Read More

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Lights, Cameras, ACTION: Celebs Taking Altruism to Heart

by Mathew Paisner Altruism, Celebrity Altruism, Japan, Social Entrepreneurship, Volunteering • Tags: AltrUHelp, Altruism, Celebrity, Philanthropy, Volunteer

Writing checks, headlining the occasional soiree, a photo-op with some charity – These are the common images which come to mind when people think of celebrities and altruism. With their otherworldly lives, good looks, and sheer fame, can we expect celebrities to empathize, to really get it, when all the rest has gotten to their heads?

Actually, there are many celebrities out there who do!!! In fact, a roll call of A-listers are putting their energies and passion toward an amazing breadth of causes. For a dose of true celebrity star power, check out this brief list of celebs: Lady Gaga, Brad & Angelina, Mark Wahlberg, and Prince William & Princess Kate to see the dynamic work they are doing for causes they value.

Lady Gaga

Few celebrities combine fashionista, musical talent, global reach and Twitterati quite like Lady Gaga. Just 25 years old, she’s already a 5-time Grammy award winner, the holder of two Guinness World Records, and She’s closing in on 10 million followers on Twitter @ladygaga – more than any other twitting being on Earth. With every red carpet cameo, she upends the fashion world with her avant garde ensembles and slightly absurd sensibilities. Lady G is the quintessential 21^st century celeb, and with that comes extraordinary altruistic clout!

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Selfless Therapy Part II: Sharing as Giving – A Prisoner’s Perspective

by Jordan Nacht Altruism, Science Behind Altruism, Social Entrepreneurship • Tags: AltrUHelp, Altruism, Help, menal health, therapy

This marks the second post in AltrUHelp’s new series of guest blog posts from industry professionals. Jordan Nacht is a Mental Health Counselor from New York and a thought leader on the topic of altruism in the therapy arena.

As a mental health counselor who works with parolees, probation and pre-trial clients, I’ve heard countless anecdotes of the horrors of prison life. As it is with most daunting experiences, there are points of happiness and growth in these perceivably “dark” experiences. I make it a point to assume a nonjudgmental and unconditionally positive stance toward my clients (which is utterly necessary for any therapist). To do so, I search for these shining lights—redeeming, uplifting moments—however bright or dim.

I often ask my clients a particular question regarding their time in prison: “How did you keep your sanity,” or more pointedly, “how did you maintain the goodness I see inside you while stuck in such a ‘bad’ environment?” This question can elicit such emotion that clients decline to answer–in which case I revisit the question once a more trusting relationship has been established. Oftentimes, though, a response comes forth immediately. It never fails to relate to altruism. In this piece, I will depict some of these experiences, those through which incarcerated persons maintain their humanity. Read More

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Altruism: The Helper’s High

by BVainshtein Science Behind Altruism, Volunteering • Tags: Altruism, Brain, Emerging Research, Nature v. Nurture, Pleasure

*Welcome to Part II of The Science Behind Altruism, our series of posts exploring the new scientific discoveries surrounding altruism.

“When I do good, I feel good.” – Abraham Lincoln

Leave it to Honest Abe, who provided America such oratorical masterpieces as the Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural, to sum up altruism in seven simple words. Plain yet spot-on, what Lincoln described is the core experience of being altruistic: that doing good for others really provides us an unmatched feeling of well-being, simply from knowing we helped another person.

Psychologists call it the “Helper’s High.” But here at AltruHelp we know it’s more than that. Why? Because of the flurry of cutting edge research that is bringing new understanding to how and why this sensation of “feeling good” happens, and the possibilities ahead for recognizing the contributions of altruism to our health and happiness.

Thanks to advances in brain-imaging technology and the advent of neuroeconomics, a new field that applies neuroscience to study economic behavior, scientists have designed several experiments that actually trace altruism—and the pleasure we gain from it—to specific regions and systems in the brain. In fact, two studies offer striking evidence that our brains are naturally wired to help us be altruistic. Read More

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Tap Your Inner Child: The Science Behind Altruism

by BVainshtein Altruism, Science Behind Altruism • Tags: Altruism, Children, Emerging Research, Nature v. Nurture

Do humans have an innate desire to help others without expecting anything in return? It’s a simple question that has tested the wits of scientists and philosophers across millennia, including the likes of Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Hobbes and Darwin. Now it’s AltruHelp’s turn to weigh in on this perennial question.

Today’s post marks the start of a three-part series examining the emerging research on how humans are naturally altruistic—i.e. how we are innately composed via our brains, genes and neurons to help others selflessly. By looking at recent experiments conducted at leading institutions such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the German-based Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, as well as articles from prominent science and psychology journals, our goal is to shed light on the cognitive, genetic and neurochemical processes that likely combine to make altruism an innate human behavior.

One of the most fascinating areas of research focuses on whether young children have a natural (versus a learned or socialized) willingness to be altruistic. Read More

November 24, 2011

AltruHelp’s Thanksgiving Reflections 2011

by antoinnemc AltrUHelp, Altruism, Volunteering • Tags: AltrUHelp, Altruism, Thanksgiving, Volunteering

Thanksgiving is here, and for some, this time of year cannot come soon enough! Turkey, quality time with family and other loved ones, rest and relaxation are just a few of the ways one can enjoy the holidays.

Along with food and happy memories, this time of year also serves as a great pause from the daily hubbub to reflect on the things for which we are thankful. What are you thankful for?

From the AltruHelp team, we would like to pause and give thanks to our blog readers. We are humbled by those who continue to show us their support by viewing and sharing our content with others, posting comments, or writing to us directly. Together we can inspire altruism and amplify our social impact!

Here are three simple idea on ways that you can show thanks by giving back: Continue reading →

October 29, 2011

AltruHelp’s Halloween Volunteer Adventure

by mattenglish1 AltrUHelp, Altruism, Volunteering • Tags: AltrUHelp, Altruism, Boston, Children, Halloween Volunteer

In the spirit of the season of changing leaves and things that go bump in the night, the AltruHelp team was happy to volunteer this past weekend at the Castle Island Association’s 29^th Annual Children’s Magical Halloween Castle. For one weekend a year the Castle Island Association transforms Fort Independence in South Boston, into a haunted castle open free to the public.

As we helped at the event we were treated to a parade of kids in costumes; we saw brave superheroes, roguish pirates, howling werewolves, and all manner of witches, princesses, ninjas, knights, ghosts, and ghouls. After exploring the shadowy depths of the castle, kids were treated to a magician, a storyteller, a temporary tattoo station, and an assortment of pastries, donuts, cider and of course, candy. Over the course of two days, over 10,000 people came to the event! And we were proud to be a part of the 30 plus volunteers who helped to make that possible.

Continue reading →

September 16, 2011

9/11 National Day of Service

by richcheng AltrUHelp, Altruism, Natural Disaster, Volunteering • Tags: 9/11, National Service, September 11, Volunteering

On September 11th 2011, Team AltrUHelp bonded together to pay tribute to the tragedy of the September 11th attacks that occurred a short 10 years ago. After the September 11th tragedy, there was a tremendous outpour of unity and altruism that should always be present in our everyday lives.

This past Sunday, our team volunteered on a community project in Waltham, MA as a part of the September 11th National day of Service and Remembrance with volunteers from Boston Cares, City Year, and AmeriCorps Vista Project Leaders. The National day of Service was written into law in 2009 and is promoted heavily by the White House. Continue reading →

September 2, 2011

Altruism in the wake of Irene

by richcheng AltrUHelp, Altruism, Natural Disaster, Volunteering • Tags: Emergency, Hurricane, Irene, Relief, Volunteer

As Hurricane Irene tumbled through the East Coast this past weekend, leaving a trail of destruction, the team here at AltrUHelp has been inspired by the stories of Altruism and individuals going above and beyond to help others. Individuals traveled thousands of miles to give their time and energy for the benefit of others. Stories like the ones below are the motivation that team AltrUHelp uses to push forward in creating a social media platform to prove that individuals inspire the uninspired.

Red Cross volunteer travels from IL to Boston to help in Irene recovery (link)

Pat Johnson, a Red Cross volunteer, traveled from her home in Knoxville, IL to travel to Boston, MA to volunteer at a shelter for two weeks. Johnson has been an active volunteer ever since retiring in 2005, and says ““I just wanted to do something and have a sense of accomplishment. It’s been a very great experience for me. I’ve learned a lot and met a lot of wonderful people. I have some very good friends I’ve remained in contact with. I feel I’ve received more than I’ve given out.”

Search dogs part of Irene rescue team (link)

Search dogs came to the East Coast from Ohio to New York after training their whole lives to rescue trapped individuals. Continue reading →

August 10, 2011

AltrUHelp Interns Organize Boston Team Volunteer Day

by jessicambrennan AltrUHelp, Altruism, Volunteering • Tags: AltrUHelp, Altruism, CSR, Volunteering

Have you ever painted kid’s faces and blown up beach balls while simultaneously making snow-cones? How about doing this for hundreds of elementary school students in Boston’s South End and then leading them in a Hokey Pokey flash mob dance?

This was exactly how AltrUHelp’s co-founders and several members of the team spent our Tuesday morning, volunteering through Boston Cares at the Arts in the Park festival in Titus Sparrow Park.

The festival, run by the United South End Settlements—a nonprofit that provides Boston children, teens, adults, and seniors with educational programs and social services—drew over 600 children and adults from the Greater Boston community. Many of those 600 attendees stopped by the snow-cone booth to cool off with AltrUHelp-handmade cherry, orange, grape, and blue-raspberry flavored ice. Keep reading to see the video of the elementary school kids hokey pokey flash mob dance! Continue reading →

August 5, 2011

How to Live Past 100?

by Nick Jacob Altruism, Science Behind Altruism, Volunteering • Tags: 100, Altruism, dyslexia, old age, Volunteering

Lillian Davis was about to celebrate her 101st birthday—but you’d never know it—this centenarian takes only two prescription medications, lives alone in an apartment, and…still volunteers at the International Dyslexia Association after more than twenty years.

In fact, volunteering might just be Lillian’s secret to long life: She claims that her time stuffing envelopes for the IDA has helped her stay “physically and mentally healthy.”

It shouldn’t be surprising that she plans on volunteering “as long as [she] can.”

Could volunteering really be the key to living healthily into (very) old age? Research (and our recent blog post on the science behind altruism) shows that taking time to help others is as hard-wired into our brains as having sex and eating food: it’s a basic need that many of us don’t fulfill. So maybe it’s not such a big stretch to think that altruism is the secret to a long and healthy life.

What do you think? Could volunteering make you live forever?

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“When I do good, I feel good.” – Abraham Lincoln

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