Incredible holiday gift idea! Sponsor a child from Casa de Hogar Sion orphanage. Only $24/month w/ @friendsofelfaro! www.friendsofelfaro.com

For you not familiar with the work Friends of El Faro does or what the organization is, take a look: The organization was established in 2000 by Adam Smith and his wife Leigh Kilton-Smith. Their mission is to help improve the lives of the children of Casa Hogar Sion in anyway possible. Long term, our goal is to purchase land and build them a new home. In the mean time there are hungry children to feed, to shelter, keep safe and send to school.

This new project donates 100 per cent of the profits (a minimum of 30 per cent of the sales price) to the hospital, and it taps into HSN’s network of designers, experts and personalities, including Sarah Jessica Parker, Iman, Martha Stewart, Padma Lakshmi, Molly Sims and Marlo Thomas, St. Jude national outreach director. There are 75 ornaments in all.

Model, actress and jewelry designer Molly Sims made a gold ball covered in coloured crystals and pearlized stones with a gold tassel. “I’ve gotten a new ornament every one of my 37 years,” says Sims. “This will hang on my tree. I’m a big Christmas fan. I’ll do different themes — coloured balls, white ones, things I’ve had since I was a kid.”

Her mother will still display the paper-mache ones Sims made as a child. One of the ornaments she took from the family home in Tennessee featured Barbie. She’ll hang that alongside this St. Jude ornament that Sims based on one of the necklaces in her Grayce collection. “Sometimes I have a fancy tree, sometimes I don’t. But this year will be a fancy tree.”

That won’t stop her, however, from pulling out a little holiday cheese. “I’m in that camp where I put reindeer ears on my dogs. Christmas is a big deal for me.”

Source

On World Malaria Day, PSI’s ambassador to United Against Malaria, Molly Sims, gives Tonic the lowdown on how to eradicate the very preventable and controllable disease.

If you knew that a small $10 donation could help eradicate cancer or AIDS you’d do it, right? Of course you would; it’s a no-brainer. Well, United Against Malaria (UAM) plans to do just that: reduce deaths from Malaria to near zero by 2015. Considering most countries, including the United States, haven’t had to deal with malaria since 1951, helping put an end to a deadly disease that disproportionately affects the continent of Africa seems like a reasonable and logical thing to do — not to mention humane.

So how does UAM plan to wipe the globe free of a disease that claims the lives of one million people annually? Tonic talked to actress and Population Services International (PSI)’s Five & Alive program ambassador, Molly Sims, during her recent trip to Washington D.C., where she and local youth soccer teams presented 20,000 signatures supporting UAM efforts to members of Congress.

UAM, which functions through the cooperation of seven founding organizations: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Comic Relief, Malaria No More, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs (CCP), ONE, PATH, saw the opportunity in leveraging the 2010 World Cup to raise awareness around the issue. A truly amazing platform since its the world’s most watched event in the month of June and one-third of the players are of African-descent.

Sims explains, “It’s all about the World Cup. It’s using celebrities and soccer players and advocates and politicians — anybody who has a voice to say that malaria can be completely preventable and controllable. You can imagine how many people that will help. A child dies every 30 seconds. So in the length it takes to play a soccer match — 180 people are dead in an hour and a half.” Or as she later put it, “three jumbo-jets worth of people die everyday.” Horrific, considering these are completely avoidable statistics.

In addition to the efforts of the World Cup, NGOs and individual influencers, UAM is seeking governmental support for this non-partisan issue. Sims underscores this fact saying, “It doesn’t matter if you’re poor, rich, red, white or blue. This isn’t an issue of Republican or Democrat — the mosquito doesn’t care.” Sims and other UAM advocates made the rounds on The Hill last week, explaining the facts, the solution and asking for the $680 million that’s already been pledged.

Sims says the best and easiest way to make an impact is by making a $10 donation. “$10 will buy a net for a family for five years — $5 for the behavior change, and $5 for the net. You can get an amazing return on your investment because you can end it. If people get treated, they can live. It’s a pretty good investment to bet on.” We couldn’t agree more.

Some more startling facts about the very treatable and preventable disease:

* Malaria kills a child in Africa every 30 seconds and nearly one million people each year.
* Worldwide, 3.3 billion people are at risk of malaria — that’s half of the world population.
* 91% of malaria deaths occur in Africa; 85% of these are children under 5 years of age.
* In addition to the death toll, malaria contributes to the cycle of poverty and limits economic development: Malaria costs Africa at least $12 billion in lost productivity every year.
* 40% of African health expenditures are on malaria alone.

From Tonic

From the New York Post

More than 1500 young children will benefit from the services provided at the center in its first year alone, with thousands more expected to benefit in the future. While the large majority of these children are those currently living on the street, many are children locally known as “restaveks” – young boys and girls sold into domestic slavery by desperately poor families in need of cash.

“It is heartbreaking to see so many young girls and boys suffering in a country just a few hours away from my own,” said Sims, an Ambassador for PSI’s child survival program Five & Alive. “I realize how incredibly fortunate I have been in my own life and I feel humbled to be able to work to share that good fortune with others.”

Through its strong partnership with community based organizations and local NGOs, PSI/Haiti will provide clinical health services and education at the center, including reproductive health services and HIV testing and follow-up support. Haiti’s HIV prevalence rate is at epidemic proportions, with more than 200,000 people suffering from the disease – it is the highest HIV rate in the entire Caribbean region. Street children and “restaveks” are among those most at risk for the disease as both groups are often regularly mistreated, abused and exposed to violent and life-threatening situations like sexual abuse.

PSI/Haiti has been working in the country for 20 years, helping to improve the health and well-being of people through programs in HIV prevention and treatment, reproductive health services, malaria prevention and child survival programs, such as safe water solutions and nutrition. The opening of the new youth center will allow PSI/Haiti to reach even more people in need of such services.

“I did not have any hope in my life, but since the arrival of this new project for Haitian Youth I am confidant to have a better future,” said Farmara, one of the young Haitians who will benefit from the center. Added a friend Jordani, “Since the creation of this center, I see a peaceful future because of the small business training I’m willing to learn.”

H&M has long been committed to raising awareness about HIV prevention and treatment. It has twice partnered with Designers Against AIDS on the Fashion Against AIDS campaign, which brings together well-known designers, musicians and artists to create fashion collections with 25% of the sales price going to the cause. The funds raised from the 2008 campaign will continue helping children at the center through the efforts of PSI/Haiti and its partners.

From Caribbean Net News