Hope-Filled Organizations (Part 5)

Together, we make it easier for local kids to thrive.

We unite small business leaders and professionals to meet real needs in our community — from basics to mentorship —

through hands-on projects, practical support, and joyful events.

Who We Are

Small Business, Big Hearts is a civic club and nonprofit uniting small business leaders and professionals to make a lasting impact on local children.

We focus on three areas: Basic Needs, Joy & Enrichment, and Empowerment & Mentorship.

We keep it simple, personal, and action-oriented — partnering with schools, nonprofits, and community groups to deliver help that’s thoughtful and effective.

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Guardians Mission Statement

The  mission of Guardians of the Children is to recognize and  react to  child abuse and educate the public to do the same; to serve as   advocates to provide strength and stability to families in crisis; and be an answer to the prayer of an abused child or teen for courage, support, and protection.  

We  serve as a public benefit organization. Our vision is to  improve the  quality of life in our community by educating the public and  making  them aware of the steps to take in order to prevent, recognize  and  react responsibly to the reality of child abuse.

GOC  is a Biker Organization also dedicated to protecting the  victims of  child abuse. Our alliances as Bikers allow us the ability to  call upon  resources that might not generally be available to the public  at large.

We  partner with Children Advocacy Agencies, Victim Assistance  Groups and  others to raise awareness of the prevalence of child abuse. GOC assist  these agencies by being one of many resources available to  them and  introduce the child into our organization where it has been  determined  it would be beneficial in order to lend support to their  family and at  the same time protect that child.

Our  members share a common goal in that we enjoy the open  road on our iron  horses and are here to convey an important message; ‘We  stand as one  prepared to protect this priceless resource’

“Valor, Truth & Integrity is the Guardian way”

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Faith in Action International supports grassroots organizing that enables those who are most vulnerable and exploited to build political and economic power to better their lives and communities.

The organizations we support in Central America, Africa, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe train leaders and equip them with the tools to: 

• Put their faith values into practice, 
• Organize their communities, 
• Decide on community priorities,
•  Hold public officials accountable, 
• Create economic opportunity, 
• Generate income for vulnerable families, and
• Press for more inclusive and effective policies to reduce poverty and suffering and
• Make society more equitable.

Organizing Takes Flight in Colombia

“The Church should not shut itself inside the temple. It must go into the streets to provide assistance, human development, and advocacy. I invited COFOA because we need a method to develop Christians who are more engaged in public advocacy.”
– Monsignor Juan Carlos Barreto, Bishop of Soacha Diocese, Bogota, Colombia

These words were shared at a diocesan-wide gathering of clergy and lay leaders from 52 parishes, where COFOA organizers Miguel Hernández and José Amaya were introduced. They visited parishes and communities to explore organizing in Bogotá.

Clergy and lay leaders shared stories of political corruption, social marginalization, and urgent local needs—from food insecurity and inadequate schooling to unemployment and community safety. Many neighborhoods must purchase water weekly to survive.

Pastors from three parishes identified nine communities ready to begin organizing. Local leader David Vazco has been hired and will spend two months in El Salvador for intensive training in leadership development and organizing methodology before returning to Bogotá to build leadership teams and launch organizing efforts.

The need, interest, and welcome point to significant opportunities for growth in Colombia and beyond. Fr. Charly Oliveros, who works with the Latin American Catholic Bishops Conference, invited COFOA to upcoming regional gatherings in 2026, to continue spreading the message of grassroots bottom-up positive change.

Our model begins with bringing people together to reflect on their purpose and share their stories. 

• We help people build teams that go out and solicit input from their neighbors. 
• People prioritize the most important concerns they hear and then do research to understand who has the power to make changes. 
• Building strong accountable relationships among themselves helps people build the collective power to hold public officials accountable. 
• Taking action to bring about tangible changes in a community and then reflecting on that action increases people’s confidence in themselves and deepens their understanding of the world. It paves the way for regional and national campaigns to change public policy on land rights, water, housing, health care and community development. 
• Through this cycle of action and reflection people gain the capacity to transform their lives and their society.

To learn more about Faith in Action International, click on this link: Home - Faith in Action International

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Dementia Friendly Community Initiative – Walworth County, Wisconsin

What Is The DFCI - Walworth County? The Dementia Friendly Community Initiative (DFCI) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in Walworth County led by wife-husband duo Bernadette and Eric Russow. We provide free training to businesses, agencies, and churches to create dementia-friendly spaces and promote dementia awareness throughout the community. This training gives advice on recognizing signs of dementia, effectively communicating and assisting individuals with dementia, and locating dementia resources.

Here are 2 links which will provide the reader with more information about the leadership and work done by the Dementia Friendly  Community Initiative:

First Link: About Us – DFCI – Walworth County

Second link: DFCI – Walworth County – Together We Can Make A Difference

 

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Together we have the power to build up families. 

6000 Moms NFP is a gathering of women committed to creatively pursuing all avenues by which we can assist, comfort, and defend those seeking legal asylum in the United States, as well as those negatively affected by our current immigration system.

6000 Moms members, both near and far, work together to help immigrant and refugee families thrive by connecting them to care, advocacy, support, and community. We envision a society where immigrants and refugees are welcomed, empowered, and treated as equals with kindness, dignity and respect.

We do not define ourselves by political party or religion, but are each led by our own personal beliefs to our unified purpose.

Get Involved: There are many ways that you can be a part of the good work being done by 6000 Moms!

Whether you donate your time, contribute resources, or participate in a fundraising or community event, we couldn’t do what we do without your support.

Some of the easiest ways to support the mission of 6000 Moms include donating gift cards, helping to fulfill wish lists, donating new or gently-used household items, and making financial donations that can be used to support all of the families in our care.

We are incredibly grateful for your generous donations! All donations are used to support our immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking families.

We have done all of the following and more:

• Personal Care/Donations – Food, clothing, furniture, meals, personal items, PPE, childcare, transportation to work/appointments, tutoring, mentoring, translating, encouragement, help getting dental care, celebrations, friendship, help getting eyeglasses, help setting up banking accounts, caring for members with COVID*, assistance with life skills (examples: calling ComEd, application completion), bicycles, cars, assistance getting COVID vaccinations
• Research and Implementation – Food banks, counseling, legal resources, housing, medical care, social security, connections to legal services (sometimes pro bono), locating therapy services, insurance
• Employment – Job offers, internships, job leads, job mentoring, assistance with job applications, work permits, educational mentoring and assistance
• Financial Assistance – Food, clothing, housing, legal fees, transportation, car purchases
• Activism – Marches, letter writing, event sharing, information sharing, standing witness, posting on current events, updates, and actions related to immigration issues
• Housing – Locating, assist with moving,  helping with funds, removing from dangerous situations such as lead poisoning or the cartel, furnishing, bedding
• Emergency Assistance –  At times, 6000Moms have had to activate quickly for urgent needs such as housing, baby formula, food, safety situations, funds, and reuniting families

To learn more about 6000 Moms, click on this link: https://6000moms.org/

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We Bake the World a Better Place

Community Loaves™ is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit grassroots bread and cookie home-based volunteer brigade, baking and delivering Honey Oat Sandwich Loaves and Energy Cookies in support of our overstretched food pantries. As a community, we are passionate about wholegrain baking and united in the pursuit of providing delicious, nutritious baked goods to our local food pantries. We are fully entrenched in the greater Seattle area, and have outposts in Oregon, Idaho and California too.

Mission Statement: To nurture strong communities through the connection, training, and empowerment of home-based bakers to reduce hunger and promote wellness.

This project began humbly, in April 2020, with an aspirational and understated donation of 19 loaves created by a handful of pioneer bakers. With each successive donation, our numbers have climbed. To date, our organization has donated a total of 211,464 loaves and 231,833 energy cookies. Our dedicated volunteer community is composed of bakers, four re-packers, drivers, and tech support gurus, all organized into 66 neighborhood hubs and supporting 50 food banks between California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Across the country, millions of people are newly experiencing food insecurity, and our food pantries cannot meet the demand. Amongst other things, wholesome, nutritious bread and healthy Grab ‘n Go snacks are needed. Community Loaves™ and our “Breader Together” network is answering the call, one volunteer at a time. Our impact is limited only by the size of the baking brigade; more bakers mean more donations.

Katherine Kehrli, founder of Community Loaves, slices bread donated by her organization at the Edmonds Food Bank in Edmonds, Wash., Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

And it isn’t just about giving away baked goods, heck that can be accomplished through purchases at the grocery store. As the world continues to face a wide array of struggles, all the things, this project provides purpose and fosters a heart-warming connection with your local community. We delight in supporting bakers of all levels, from novice to professional, bread or cookie enthusiasts, or both. Our signature formulas, featuring locally sourced wholegrain ingredients, provide the blueprint, while our volunteers generously contribute their time and baking skills.

And beyond baking, we have a wide range of volunteer opportunities to assist with our work. I warmly invite you to add your time, talents and treasure to our volunteer network.

Attend an information session to learn how you can help Bake The World A Better Place. One of the things I enjoyed about this group and their website was their play on words, for example, “We’re Breader Together” instead of “We’re Better Together.”

To learn more about this organization, click on this link: Community Loaves – We're Breader Together

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U.S. Green Building Council

This hope-filled organization started as a local group and has grown into a national organization, making a positive impact on our environment.

USGBC accelerates and scales the transformation of the built environment. The evolution of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) through LEED v5 sets a new standard for sustainable building, pushes boundaries, and creates effcient and extraordinary spaces. Building a future where the built environment supports a healthy, sustainable world.

To learn more about this organization, click on this link: USGBC | U.S. Green Building Council

One example of a recently completed Green Building is: Ascent MKE - A mass timber apartment community in Milwaukee, Wisconsin encompassing 351,347 square feet.

New Land Enterprises' 25-story multi-use building is the world’s tallest mass timber apartment community, and it certainly adds a flourish to the skyline of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In addition to its striking walls of windows, Ascent MKE showcases a construction using engineered wood products such as cross-laminated timber, which the team approached as way to lower its carbon footprint.

Offering 259 apartments, as well as office and restaurant spaces on the first floor, Ascent MKE opened in 2022, but sought LEED certification just two years later under LEED v5 for Operations and Maintenance, to further meet its decarbonization goals in a way that would be ongoing throughout the building's life cycle. Ascent MKE achieved Silver certification under the beta program in November 2024.

According to Ascent MKE's sustainability resource page, attaining LEED v5 for Operations and Maintenance is "a milestone that reflects both innovation and stewardship," combining results in energy efficiency, indoor air quality, sustainable site management and water conservation.

“We were excited to learn that Ascent would be the first project in the U.S. to receive LEED v5 O+M certification," says Laura Kleczkowski, vice president of property management, New Land Enterprises. "While our choice of mass timber construction has drawn worldwide attention, it’s important to note that we don’t think of sustainability as a one-time achievement, but rather as an ongoing practice."

To learn more about the Milwaukee project, click on this link: usgbc.org/articles/look-leed-v5-ascent-mke

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About Cards for Hospitalized Kids

Cards for Hospitalized Kids (CFHK) is an internationally recognized nonprofit charity that distributes uplifting, handmade cards to Children’s Hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses in all 50 states. Doctors provide the medicine and CFHK aims to provide hope, joy & magic through cards. CFHK was founded in 2011 by a high school student named Jen Rubino whose own experiences a “hospitalized kid”, undergoing 20+ surgeries, inspired her to start CFHK to help others. Founder Jen worked to build CFHK from the ground up into the national charity it is today.

To learn more about CFHK and how you can be part of this joyful effort, click on this link:
https://www.cardsforhospitalizedkids.com/

To view a 4 minute, 45 second interview of Jen Rubino, click on this link:
Cards for Hospitalized Kids Founder Jen Rubino Interview on NBC News

I know this is a lot of information about one organization, but the more I looked into CFHK, I was so impressed by who Jen is and what she was able to start and keep it going. And I found her story and organizaton truly inspiring. I hope you will take a few more minutes to read an artcle which an interviewer did with her several years afer she got CFHK going. Click on this link: Interview with Jen Rubino, Teen Founder of Cards for Hospitalized Kids