A came across this organization when writing about Pippa Small's jewelry and thought I just had to include it in our Charity of the Day series. Survival International's mission is to protect tribal people's land and culture across the globe from encroaching governments and corporations whose expansion may very well wipe out these native populations. These secluded communities won't be able to preserve their way of life if other ambitious parties are not held in check. Support for this organization is possible through active participation such as sponsoring events, writing letters or becoming a campaigner (joining Richard Gere and Pippa Small as well) or through various levels of donations. Their website does a fantastic job of sharing their cause and enlightening those of us who wouldn't have known the depths of this struggle otherwise.

Tonic Generation offers just one product in many styles (T-shirts) but donates on average 40 percent of its revenue. The organization partners with designers and causes to create limited edition products in these areas: the environment, education, social welfare and poverty. Luella Bartley recently designed four T-shirts with names like Stag, Scary Douglas, Pagan Sun, and Robin. Each has been designed especially for Tonic. Made of a 70-30 bamboo/cotton blend, the fabric does not harm the environment and has been produced according to ethical practices. Tonic is similar to iGive in that you can choose your cause and track your impact. Read the FAQs for more info on how it works!

Minnesota Mom Jill Youse started sending her own breast milk to Africa in 2006, soon after which she began helping other moms around the country do the same through her organization, the International Breast Milk Project (IBMP). In just the past couple of years IBMP has successfully shipped over 85,000 pounds of milk to infants in Africa, primarily babies fighting illnesses that often abate when breast milk is introduced. Youse set up a program for women who have suffered the loss of an infant through the Madison Cassady Program , so that grieving mothers who still had milk stored in their freezers didn't have to throw it all away. Also distributed in the U.S. to children born prematurely or whose mothers cannot produce milk, donations are made easy for moms. Coolers and the necessary equipment arrive shipped to their doors and are later picked up and sent to babies in need. Even FedEx has chipped in to provide transport for the mothers' milk. Recognized as one of "Earth's Mothers" by Oprah Winfrey a little over a year ago, Youse and IBMP are revolutionizing how new moms think about breastfeeding, convincing them to add a few more mouths along the way.

It couldn't be more true that in order to have a healthy world we have to have healthy children, and Healthy Child Healthy World is a non-profit organization that makes that principle their main aim by working to protect our youth from harmful environmental exposures. Working through education, laws, governmental agencies, advocacy, and spreading awareness of environmental issues this charity is a no brainer because not only are they helping kids but they're also helping the environment (something we could all be doing more of).

Lighthouse International is one of the nation's leading non-profit organizations working to preserve vision, restore vision, and support people of all ages who suffer from vision loss due to a variety of causes, including everything from cataracts to macular degeneration to accidents. They help people learn to recover and cope and provide them with access to various educational, advocacy, and clinical services.

Lighthouse International was founded in 1905 in New York and they currently have locations in Manhattan and Westchester. Opportunities to get involved include donating money, volunteering, or simply shopping online.

Jaeger-LeCoultre has teamed up with actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio on the new "Time to Care" program, which will benefit the Leonardo DiCaprio Fund at the California Community Foundation. Two special timepieces will be sold in the fall of 2008 and all the proceeds will go to DiCaprio's fund.

The first unique piece for sale will be a one-of-a-kind Master Compressor Extreme Lab, worn by DiCaprio to the premiere of his documentary as shown in the picture above. This piece will be the first watch in the Extreme Lab series to be delivered anywhere in the world, and is valued at approximately $300,000. It will be engraved with Leonardo DiCaprio's signature and is crafted in carbon fiber and titanium. It has an automatic tourbillon, two time zones, a pointer-type AM/PM indication at 12 o'clock and a patented jumping date display between 15 and 16 linked to local time. The watch features the first mechanical movement to operate without any lubricant and it is resistant to extreme temperatures of -40 degrees to +60 degrees Celsius.

The second unique timepiece for sale will be a one-of-a-kind edition of the Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2 valued at approximately $400,000, It will contain the first-ever spherical tourbillon and will be the first watch in the Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2 series to be delivered anywhere in world. The platinum watch also contains a 50-hour power reserve. It is fashioned from over 371 parts and was specially created to commemorate the 175th anniversary of Jaeger-LeCoultre this year.

The watches will be sold at the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Boutiques in Boca Raton and Beverly Hills which are scheduled to open summer and fall of this year, respectively.

Yay! Three cheers for buying cute designer handbags and supporting charity at the same time! Artist and designer Julie Feldman has a gorgeous collection of handbags and has made several of them part of a charity effort called "Handbags for Humanity." Every time you buy a designated bag (on her website the eligible bags are marked with a special logo) a percentage of the profits are sent to various charities that are listed on the website and right now include Center Theater Group, Ellen's Run, Long Beach Women's Cancer League, and Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles.

We Are Together is a film about children living in the Agape orphanage in Africa. It chronicles their lives, individual personalities, and incredible journeys through life. They are also all part of a choir and have recorded an album that coincides with the film (absolutely beautiful music!), with profits from the both the film and CD going to benefit children in South Africa.

There are lots of ways to support the cause, including joining their email list (which includes getting a free music track download), donating money, or simply by purchasing the CD and watching the film (coming soon to HBO).

The mission of First Book is to supply children of low-income families with their first new books to read and enjoy as a family and instill in them the joy of stories for years to come. Certainly an admirable objective that is sure to encourage not only intellectual growth but confidence as well. Donations don't need to be large to make a difference:

• $10 can introduce a child to four new books
  
• $50 means a family will be given twenty new books to share and learn together
  
• $100 will supply a tutoring kit of forty books that a mentor and child can work through during an entire year
• $250 brings one hundred books to a classroom providing a stack of books for each child
• $500 supplies two hundred books to fill forty children's backpacks in community-based programs
• $1,000 opens doors of a neighborhood library with four hundred books to share

Of course as a non-profit the donation is tax-deductible but you don't just have to give monetarily. Consider volunteering, fundraising, and spreading the word, all of which will make a difference. Fifty million books have already been distributed...imagine what your donation could do.

The Drink 1 Give 10 campaign is simple: for every liter of Volvic bottled water you drink 10 liters of clean drinking water will be provided to children in Africa. The campaign is a result of a collaboration between Volvic and UNICEF, and the money donated to UNICEF through Volvic will be used to build wells, educate the people, and help maintain clean water supplies -- because every child has the right to clean water.

If you don't have Volvic water available in your area you can also donate money to the cause directly.

Bands and musicians often have foundations but not every band's foundation wins an award from eBay for their work. The Make Yourself Foundation, which was founded by the members of the rock band Incubus recently won eBay's 2008 Golden Ribbon Award for a nonprofit. The foundation auctions tickets and memorabilia via eBay Giving Works using a portion of their proceeds from all band-related activity and online eBay sales to fund various environmental and arts-related causes such as the Surfrider Foundation, Save the Music, Future Forests and Heal the Bay. Last year, the Foundation raised over $600,000 for causes like these through eBay. The band encourages fans to donate by buying Incubus bootleg CDs, Make Yourself Foundation gear or selling things on eBay through Mission Fish and donating to the foundation that way.

All children should have the right to play but for some on the world's most disadvantaged communities, the simple joy of sport and play is not always available. The Right to Play program uses the medium of sports and activities for a variety of purposes including teaching HIV prevention, helping rehabilitate children affected by war, encouraging the healthy, phsycial, social and emotional deveopment of refugees and simply bringing laughter and play to children in need. The program accepts donations and trains volunteers as coaches but one simple way you can help is by buying a mini red ball which is available at Adidas stores.

Posh Paws is an idea put into motion by Cantoni furniture store and inspired by a small polyethylene dog originally created by designer Eero Aarnio as part of his children's collection. The Posh Paws version takes the original dog, adds in a few local and national celebrity designers, and comes up with an entire line of adorable and unique puppy toys (toys that are puppies, not toys for puppies) that are up for sale to benefit various charities in the name of animal rescue and helping stray pets find permanent homes. My favorite is this one by Zsofia Mezey Koppani.

Jenny's Light is a charity devoted to raising awareness about perinatal mood disorders. The organization was founded by the family of a woman named Jenny who suddenly took both her and her husband's life while suffering from untreated post partum depression. Jenny's Light funds research into post natal mood disorders and also provides support to women suffering from the darkness and hopelessness that sometimes occurs after giving birth. Help shine light on this serious health issue, donations are greatly appreciated as much research still needs to be done!

Since 1986, Rails to Trails Conservancy has been repurposing old railroad tracks into hiking and biking trails with its goal to create "nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people."

I'd heard about this group, but forgot about it until a few days ago, when taking a different route home, I noticed two nearby streets had dedicated bicycle lanes, and my memory was sparked. I think this group has more significance than ever, as more and more people are going green, and walking and biking more. The conservancy even has a pledge you can sign to "Burn Calories, Not Carbon!" I like that this group was ahead of its time, and isn't just jumping on the green bandwagon, or "greenwashing" its claims.

The conservancy has a strong political arm, defending the federal railbanking statute in Congress and the courts as an essential tool to preserve unused rail corridors. Read about how you can get involved.