Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting people living with muscular dystrophy, ALS, and related neuromuscular diseases. Founded in 1950 by Paul Cohen, who lived with muscular dystrophy, MDA accelerates research, advances care, and works to empower families to live longer and more independent lives. Renowned for The MDA Labor Day Telethon, the annual telecast aired live from 1966 to 2010 and was hosted by Jerry Lewis, who also served as MDA's national chairman.
The Green Belt Movement (GBM) is an indigenous grassroots organization in Kenya that empowers women through the planting of trees. It is one of the most effective and well-known grassroots organisations addressing the problem of global deforestation. Professor Wangari Maathai established the organization in 1977 under the auspices of the National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK). GBM's successes in forest conservation, education, and women's economic empowerment have gained the organisation worldwide acclaim. It is also noted for its advocacy of human rights, democratisation of access to public lands, and environmental justice issues such as the role of women's traditional ecological knowledge in addressing environmental degradation and desertification.
Youth empowerment is a process where children and young people are encouraged to take charge of their lives. They do this by addressing their situation and then take action in order to improve their access to resources and transform their consciousness through their beliefs, values, and attitudes. Youth empowerment aims to improve quality of life. Youth empowerment is achieved through participation in youth empowerment programs. However scholars argue that children's rights implementation should go beyond learning about formal rights and procedures to give birth to a concrete experience of rights. There are numerous models that youth empowerment programs use that help youth achieve empowerment. A variety of youth empowerment initiatives are underway around the world. These programs can be through non-profit organizations, government organizations, schools or private organizations.
The Alzheimer's Association is a nonprofit voluntary health organization that focuses on Alzheimer's disease care, support and research.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research aims to find a cure for Parkinson's disease (PD) founded in 2000 by Michael J. Fox. It concentrates on funding research and ensuring the development of improved therapies for people with Parkinson's.
The Alzheimer Society of Ontario (ASO) is a care and research charity committed to helping people living with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias by:
The Arthritis Foundation is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to addressing the needs of people living with arthritis in the United States. There are nearly 60 million adults and 300,000 children living with arthritis, the nation's leading cause of disability. The Foundation works to provide information and resources, access to care, advancements in science and community connections.
The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA), founded in 1977, is a national voluntary health organization based in Washington, D.C., with a network of chapters, offices and support groups located in communities throughout the United States. The Foundation is devoted to solving the mystery of lupus. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for all people affected by lupus through programs of research, education, support and advocacy.
The Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) is a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to wildlife conservation.
The Davis Phinney Foundation is a non-profit with a mission to help people with Parkinson's live well with the disease. It was founded in 2004 by Davis Phinney, a former professional road bicycle racer and Olympic medal winner. Today, Davis is an inspirational figure in the cycling community and people living with Parkinson's.
The Alzheimer Society of Canada (ASC) is a Canadian health charity for people living with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Active in communities right across Canada, the Society partners with Alzheimer Societies in every Canadian province to offer information, support and education programs for people with dementia, their families and caregivers. The Alzheimer Society of Canada acts as the national voice for the thousands of Canadians living with dementia and advocates on their behalf for positive change. The Society also funds young and established Canadian researchers working to find the causes and a cure through the Alzheimer Society Research Program.
The ALS Society of Canada is a registered, not-for-profit Canadian organization. ALS Canada, founded in 1977, is a national voluntary health organization dedicated to the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and to providing support for those living with ALS.
The National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA) is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to help improve the quality of life for people living with fibromyalgia (FM) and other chronic pain conditions. The NFA has worked to build international awareness of this chronic pain disorder, provide patient assistance and support, educate the medical community, facilitate and implement research, and build collaboration between the patient, health care providers and scientific communities.
“Think Positive” is a Lebanese association established in 2009 by young activists who have been working hard to serve their society by raising awareness among youths and marginalized groups. It started its activities with fighting HIV/AIDS, Drug Use, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Stigma and Discrimination. It has launched the regional campaign against HIV+ Phobia in collaboration with 10 partners at International, Regional and National levels and conducted many activities and projects under the main theme of the campaign.
Founded in 1983, AIDS Vancouver (AV) is a non-profit and community-based health organization whose mission is to alleviate collective vulnerability to HIV and AIDS through support, public education and community-based research. The organization exists to both ameliorate the life of persons living with HIV and AIDS, and to prevent the spread of HIV by educational initiatives. Based in Vancouver, it is Canada's oldest and Vancouver's largest HIV and AIDS service organization.
BAPS Charities is an international, religious, charitable organization that originates from the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) with a focus on serving society. This focus on service to society is stated in the organization's vision, that "every individual deserves the right to a peaceful, dignified, and healthy way of life. And by improving the quality of life of the individual, we are bettering families, communities, our world, and our future." BAPS Charities carries out this vision through a range of programs addressing health, education, the environment, and natural disaster recovery. The organization's worldwide activities are funded through donations and are led by a community of over 55,000 volunteers who are mostly members of BAPS. The volunteers work with local communities and other charities and the organization's activities are mainly based out of their mandirs.
The Parkinson's Association is a Southern California mental health care service organization, supports Parkinson's research and is a not-for-profit organization. The Parkinson's Association helps people with Parkinson's disease navigate the symptoms of Parkinson's through medical support programs, education, research, awareness and support. Parkinson's families are treated through managing the symptoms.
The Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc. (SCDAA) is a nonprofit organization with the sole purpose of supporting research, education and funding of individuals, families those who are impacted by sickle cell disease.
Diane G. Cook is a Parkinson’s disease patient advocate, especially well known for the use of the science of self-efficacy to help newly diagnosed patients with Parkinson’s. She accomplishes this through her roles as a senior patient advocate for the ProjectSpark Foundation. Cook also is a present and past clinical investigator on a number of clinical trials, and a speaker, writer and presenter at numerous local, state, national, and international forums focused on Parkinson’s. She was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2008.
The Parkinson's Foundation is a national organization that funds research and provides educational resources to Parkinson’s disease patients and caregivers. The Parkinson's Foundation was established in 2016 through the merger of the National Parkinson Foundation and the Parkinson's Disease Foundation. The Parkinson's Foundation has headquarters in Miami and New York City, in addition to 17 chapters throughout the United States.