STATEMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

Last Chance for Animals (LCA) recognizes that animals have the ability to experience pain, and as such they deserve certain basic rights protecting them from pain caused by humans. LCA believes that non-human animals should not be subjected to suffering and exploitation by humans because alternatives exist for nearly every traditional "usage" of animals.
 

LCA opposes the use of animals for scientific curiosity, entertainment, clothing, and food. LCA recognizes the use of non-human animals in medical experimentation as both immoral and of questionable scientific validity due to the tremendous biological difference between species. LCA's work advocates conscious and informed lifestyle decisions, and the organization is committed to disseminating truthful information about societal animal abuse to improve the treatment of animals. 

LCA HISTORY

Founded in 1984 by Hollywood actor Chris DeRose,Last Chance For Animalshas its roots in fighting and exposing the inherent cruelty of vivisection. In the organization's early years, DeRose led teams of dedicated activists employing non-violent strategies modeled after social movements led by such leaders as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease through an aggressively funded research agenda and to ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson’s today.

We believe without fail that our goal is within reach - but we can’t get there without your support. Please join the fight today.

For The Michael J. Fox Foundation, there is one clear measure of success: delivering patients better treatments and, ultimately, a cure for Parkinson's disease. We've developed a targeted approach to research funding that helps us identify and prioritize the patient-relevant science that will allow us to reach our goal.

We tap leading specialists from around the globe to help us maintain a comprehensive view of the field and determine the research areas that hold the most promise for improving diagnosis and treatment of PD. In 2006 we convened over 350 top researchers from academic and industry labs all over the world for meetings to set strategy and future direction. Our meetings lead directly to funding initiatives, new collaborations and other action steps that will move the field forward faster.

The Foundation's scientific staff and expert advisors review proposals from researchers around the world. What are they looking for? The ideas that are most readily translatable into new treatments, the teams that can execute those ideas, thoughtful and realistic work plans, and outcomes that can take us closer to our goal: delivering better treatments and, ultimately, a cure for PD.

As soon as we identify the research proposals best aligned with our patient-relevant goals, we eliminate red tape to get funding to scientists as quickly as possible. We fund projects fast - in most cases, within two months.

But the Foundation's involvement doesn't stop there. Our scientific staff and advisors stay closely involved as research teams carry out their projects. We establish milestones and evaluate outcomes and progress, troubleshoot problems if they arise, and work with the team to set future directions. We believe our interactive approach is the best way to ensure accountability.

When we learn of promising findings (whether or not they resulted from research we funded), we work quickly to identify and partner with researchers equipped to further develop those discoveries in pursuit of the ultimate goal: improved treatments for Parkinson's patients.

Science is risky by nature, and not all of our research leads to positive outcomes. But even negative outcomes are useful for informing our next steps. Everything we learn helps us prioritize the next promising areas of focus, and the process starts again-one step closer to our goal.

Since we began in 2000, the Foundation has funded more than $221 million in Parkinson's research, either directly or through partnerships. And every one of those dollars has helped us learn more about the disease, develop better treatments for patients and, ultimately, get us closer to ending Parkinson's.

What We Do

Working with more than 3,000 local partner organizations, we work with people living in poverty striving to exercise their human rights, assert their dignity as full citizens and take control of their lives.

We focus our efforts in these areas:

Development

We work with and through partners and communities on long-term programs to eradicate poverty and combat injustice.

Emergencies

We deliver immediate life-saving assistance to people affected by natural disasters or conflict, and help to build their resilience to future disasters.

Campaigning

We are part of a global movement for change. We raise public awareness of the causes of poverty and encourage ordinary people to take action for a fairer world.

Advocacy

We press decision-makers to change policies and practices that reinforce poverty and injustice.

Policy research

We can speak with authority as a result of thorough research and analysis, and the real experience of our partners in developing countries.

Oxfam’s commitment to human rights

We believe that respect for human rights will help lift people out of poverty and injustice, allow them to assert their dignity and guarantee sustainable development.

When we speak about having a rights-based approach, this is what we mean.

We believe that everyone should have the right to:

A livelihood

Oxfam works at many levels with partners and communities in support of their right to a decent living.

We argue for better working conditions and better protection of the natural resources on which poor communities depend. We campaign for fairer trade rules at the global level, and for better policies at the national level. We work with partners and communities to implement programs that lead to self-sustaining livelihoods, with a strong focus on women.

Basic services

Being healthy and educated is an essential step along the route out of poverty.

Yet millions of people have no access to health services, schooling or safe water. They are constantly at risk from illnesses that are easily prevented or treated, or are unable to read and write, which means exclusion from their society. We campaign for more and better aid, with a focus on basic services. At the program level, Oxfam provides health training and clean water supplies, as well as funding schools and teacher training.

Be safe from harm

War and natural disasters cause untold suffering for millions of people around the world and keep them locked in poverty.

In disasters, people are at greater risk of violence, disease and abuse. We save lives in emergencies by providing shelter, clean water and sanitation. And by working with local partners, we help communities to rebuild and to better prepare themselves for future disasters.

Be heard

People living in poverty often have little influence over decisions that affect their lives.

Oxfam supports partners and communities to understand their rights and to speak out about their needs and concerns. And, with others, we get people in power to listen and act.

Be treated as equal

People who are marginalized – because they are women, disabled or members of a religious or ethnic minority – are more likely to be poor.

We combat such discrimination, and work with these groups to ensure they have the means to enjoy equal access to jobs, essential services and influence.

About Us

The International Red Cross is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering, without any discrimination based on nationality, race, sex, religious beliefs, class or political opinions.

The movement consists of several distinct organizations that are legally independent from each other, but are united within the movement through common basic principles, objectives, symbols, statutes and governing organs. The movement's parts are:

• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian institution founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Henry Dunant. Its 25-member committee has a unique authority under international humanitarian law to protect the life and dignity of the victims of international and internal armed conflicts. The ICRC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions (in 1917, 1944 and 1963).
• The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was founded in 1919 and today it coordinates activities between the 186 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies within the Movement. On an international level, the Federation leads and organizes, in close cooperation with the National Societies, relief assistance missions responding to large-scale emergencies. The International Federation Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1963, the Federation (then known as the League of Red Cross Societies) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the ICRC.
• National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies exist in nearly every country in the world. Currently 186 National Societies are recognized by the ICRC and admitted as full members of the Federation. Each entity works in its home country according to the principles of international humanitarian law and the statutes of the international Movement. Depending on their specific circumstances and capacities, National Societies can take on additional humanitarian tasks that are not directly defined by international humanitarian law or the mandates of the international Movement. In many countries, they are tightly linked to the respective national health care system by providing emergency medical services.

Our Vision  

Save the Children's vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation.

Our Mission  

Save the Children's mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.

Our Values

ACCOUNTABILITY: We take personal responsibility for using our resources efficiently, achieving measurable results, and being accountable to supporters, partners and, most of all, children.

AMBITION: We are demanding of ourselves and our colleagues, set high goals and are committed to improving the quality of everything we do for children.

COLLABORATION: We respect and value each other, thrive on our diversity, and work with partners to leverage our global strength in making a difference for children.

CREATIVITY: We are open to new ideas, embrace change, and take disciplined risks to develop sustainable solutions for and with children.

INTEGRITY: We aspire to live to the highest standards of personal honesty and behaviour; we never compromise our reputation and always act in the best interests of children.

Who We Are

When a child is diagnosed with a serious illness, the day-to-day joys of childhood take a back seat to the rigors of treatment and hospitalization. For more than 25 years, Starlight Children’s Foundation has been dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses and life-altering injuries by providing entertainment, education and family activities that help them cope with the pain, fear and isolation of prolonged illness.

We understand what families go through when a child is sick, and how important it is to find relief from constant worry and isolation. Our programs have been proven to distract children from their pain, help them better understand and manage their illnesses, and connect families with others facing similar challenges so that no one feels alone.

Unlike any other charity, Starlight offers a comprehensive menu of outpatient, hospital-based and Web offerings that enable us to provide ongoing support for children and families — from diagnosis through the entire course of medical treatment. Programs include:

Family activities and outings that give families a chance to have fun together away from the hospital so they can relax, regroup and return home with a renewed sense of strength and hope. The events also forge important connections between families struggling with similar issues to combat feelings of isolation.

In-hospital entertainment technology that helps kids fill hours in hospitals or treatment centers with therapeutic fun; find distraction during long or painful medical procedures; access Starlight’s online educational programs and communities; and stay connected with the outside world and keep up with school work during extended hospitalizations. 

Online communities and interactive websites that help seriously ill teens connect with each other and find tips and strategies for coping with their medical conditions.

In-hospital playrooms, kid-friendly treatment rooms and special events that help ease the loneliness, fear and boredom that accompany hospital stays.

Educational programming — delivered via online interactive games, ezines, webisodes, a comic book and websites — to help sick children understand common hospital procedures and manage illnesses and injuries such as cancer, sickle cell, cystic fibrosis, asthma, Crohn’s and colitis, severe burns and kidney disease.

Research studies have found that Starlight’s programs help reduce children’s pain while helping them to better deal with, understand and manage their illnesses. In addition, Starlight programs help the child, parents and siblings experience less depression, anxiety, pain and isolation and bond as a family.

The way we see it, while researchers look for cures and doctors work to restore a child's health, Starlight works to restore the entire family's spirits.

We invite you to be a part of the growing Starlight network of supporters who are making a difference in the lives of children and families suffering through childhood illness.

Click here to learn how you can get involved.

Click here to review a report on Starlight's organizational goals, capacity and performance evaluation measures.