We wanted to let you know about an exciting opportunity that we are participating in, through GlobalGiving. When a donation is made to any of our projects on Wednesday 16th June 2010, GlobalGiving will be match your gift by 50% !

And if we raise the most money or get the most donations, we will be eligible for bonus prize.

We need to act fast! By selecting one of our projects, such as  Haiti Humanitarian Radio Relief Fund your donation will ensure Haitian children will quickly get back on an educational track with our wind-up and solar-powered Lifeline radios.

Please help us make the most of it of this opportunity – it’s an easy way to get more impact from your donation dollars right now !

Make your donation go further today.

International Tom Hanks Day organiser, Kevin Turk

This year’s International Tom Hanks Day raised $1265! The money raised from the event will go to our Haiti Humanitarian Radio Fund. The project provides wind-up and solar-powered Lifeline radios to children effected by the January 2010 earthquake. Thanks to contributions from donors like Kevin, they will be able to obtain access to basic education and receive ongoing education.

International Tom Hanks Day was founded by Chicago resident Kevin Turk. Kevin started the day by inviting a small group of friends to his house for a Tom Hanks movie marathon. Through word of mouth, the event grew each year.

Inspired by Tom Hank’s commitment to good causes, Kevin decided to make the day a charity event. The fundraiser now takes place Galaway Bay, a bar in Chicago where Kevin sells T-shirts, food and tickets for a raffle to raise money.

Kevin already has big ideas for next year, when the event will move to a larger venue.

“This year was a huge success. People were at the event before the doors even opened and they stayed well beyond the event hours.” say Kevin. “We are busting at the seems in our current venue, so next year we should be moving up to a larger space with a lot more activities. Thanks to Tom Hanks for all the support.”

For more information, please visit the International Tom Hanks Day website. Lifeline Energy would like to thank Kevin Turk – we look forward to the next fundraiser!

We are proud to announce an innovative and cost effective programme to get Haitian children quickly back on an educational track following the January earthquake. Reports from Haiti are saying that children could face months or even years without education, making our project all the more important to get rapidly off the ground.

The initiative is a joint venture with leading radio education provider Education Development Center (EDC) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) – both organizations have extensive experience and an outstanding track record of working in Haiti.

The project ensures vulnerable children obtain a solid basic education, via Ministry of Education-supported interactive radio instruction using Lifeline radios. The broadcasts provide lessons in math and Creole as well as vital life skills lessons on topics such as water and hygiene.

In addition, EDC will provide the content and instruction for an early childhood education programme that caregivers and children can follow together. NDI will work with its broad network of Haitian community action committees to identify children, including orphans, whose schools have been destroyed and also distribute our Lifeline radios. Furthermore, broadcasts will be designed to incorporate post-trauma programming and provide psychosocial support to quake survivors.

Immediately after the earthquake, our US ambassador, Mr Tom Hanks kick-started our fundraising campaign. More than 1,000 Freeplay wind-up and solar-powered Lifeline radios have been committed. However, we need to deploy a further 2,000 to successfully implement this project, which will reach up to 100,000 children.

Radio is Haiti’s most popular form of media as electricity rates are low and batteries are expensive and hard to come by, especially in rural areas. Lifeline radios solve the problem of access. Let’s also remember that the radios will help with early warnings for the hurricane season.

The most recent UN reports confirm that all schools in western Port-au-Prince have been destroyed as well as 40% of schools in the southern part of the city – leaving thousands of children without access to education in a country where 47% of the population are illiterate.

“We have identified the most effective placement of our Lifeline radios for the rebuilding effort in Haiti. They’re robustly engineered for large group listening,” said Lifeline Energy CEO Kristine Pearson. “Thousands of children, including those newly orphaned and those who cannot attend formal school, will receive essential lessons even under the most basic of conditions. We cannot allow more time to be lost – education is the key to mitigating poverty in their lifetimes.”

We are ready to launch this project and we need your help to reach our goal. The cost of a delivered Lifeline radio is $65.00/£38.00 however any amount will be appreciated. This equals a few cents per child.

Make your donation by visiting our website:
http://www.lifelineenergy.org/haitiearthquakefund.html

The World Economic Forum (WEF) attracts its fair share of criticism, I suspect by those who’ve never attended. You get out of an event like this what you put into it. One scarce commodity is time. Days packed with meals, sessions, receptions, networking events, hallway conversations and workshops leave little time to write. On the 2nd and 3rd day of the Forum, I attended an Energy Poverty Action committee meeting which is tasked with bringing grid electricity to poor countries. I was the sole civil society voice. This reminded me a bit of the 1894 Berlin conference when the Colonial powers carved up Africa.

President Jacob Zuma at WEF

Other sessions I attended included an update on the Millennium Development Goals moderated by Lord Malloch Brown, panelists consisted of Jeffrey Sachs, Bill Gates, Morgan Tsvangirai and Helen Clark. This was a joint creative session between the Technology Pioneers and the Social Entrepreneurs. I also attended an update on Haiti led by former US President, Bill Clinton and a South African lunch hosted by President Jacob Zuma.

Bill Clinton speaking at WEF

Setting the Stage for the Girl Effect was NY Times Columnist Nic Krystof and Melinda Gates – a reception for women leaders followed by a sensational dinner for women leaders moderated by the effervescent Rosabeth Moss Kanter and the charming Ariana Huffington.

Its Friday night, my muscles ache and my feet are sore, by brain is in overdrive and there’s another day and a half to go. Great, can’t wait! Tomorrow is South Africa’s day as we host the big soiree on Saturday night .

The start-up programme can launch in a few weeks, but additional funding is needed to reach a significant percentage of those thousands of Haitian children in need.

For the official press release, please visit our Media Centre.

You can also make a donation by visiting Haiti Humanitarian Radio Relief Fund.