Sheftember 2021: 10 years of giving!
Ten years ago, I asked my friends and family to skip the birthday gifts and donate to a Water.org fundraiser instead. I was at a place in my life where I could afford to treat my self.
Birthdays are a big deal for me. I was sick in the earliest parts of my childhood, so birthdays always feel like a moment of reflection and gratitude.
When I was 12 years old my mom told me that for several years she would donate blood around my birthday, because — while I was in the NICU — I was given donated blood. That stuck with me. I like making my birthday an opportunity to pay it forward.
The longer I do #Sheftember, the harder it is for me to pick just one organization. There’s too much wrong with the world to just pick one do-gooder group. About a month before my birthday, I ask friends, family (and this year my employer) for suggestions, but all that does is make me think I should donate to all these great groups.
This year, in addition to sharing a list of charities, I’ve created some guidelines to show why I’m choosing specific organizations.
Sheftember Guidelines
- Organizations I choose will support the BIPOC (black, Indigenous and people of color)and LGBTQi2S community.
- Organizations I choose will support women of color, refugees and immigrants.
- Organizations I chose should motivate communities of privilege to support marginalized communities.
- Organizations I chose should create teaching moments for my friends and family. Instead of buying me birthday drinks, I’d love to know that Sheftember made my friends and family learn about a new group/cause.
- Organizations I chose will be vetted using Charity Navigator and GuideStar. I want to ensure that donations will go directly to support these communities, rather than just administrative uses.
Note: I am donating to five of these organizations, but I will not specify which ones. If you donate to any of these organizations, you’ve made my birthday wishes come true. Thank you!
The Afiya Center
The Afiya Center, or TAC, is one of the only reproductive justice organizations in North Texas founded and directed by Black womexn. TAC provides “refuge, education, and resources” for womxn and girls.
SAKHI for South Asian Women
Sakhi, means “woman friend.” The organization serves survivors from the South Asian diaspora who trace their backgrounds to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and Africa. “Sakhi for South Asian Women exists to represent the South Asian diaspora in a survivor-led movement for gender-justice and to honor the collective and inherent power of all survivors of violence.”
Partners in Health
Partners in Health, or PIH, is the largest non-governmental healthcare provider in Haiti. “Partners In Health strives to achieve two overarching goals: to bring the benefits of modern medical science to those most in need of them and to serve as an antidote to despair.” Right now, PIH is deploying staff and supplies, and providing trauma and emergency care to Haitians after the recent 7.2 earthquake.
World Central Kitchen
Chef José Andres and his wife Patricia began World Central Kitchen, or WCK, in 2010. They wanted to “use food to empower communities and strengthen economies.” Since then, WCK can be found at most major manmade and natural disasters providing hot meals to impacted communities.
Fonkoze
Fonkoze is an acronym for the Haitian Creole phrase “Fondasyon Kole Zepòl” meaning “Shoulder-to-Shoulder Foundation.” The organization aims to “empower Haitians, primarily women, with financial and development services to lift their families out of poverty.” Their programs include Adult Education, Ultra-Poverty Alleviation and a health program designed to create a new business opportunity for Fonkoze’s existing clients while also providing much-needed health products, services and education to rural communities throughout Haiti.
International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF)
IWMF provides safety trainings, bylines opportunities, emergency support grants, reporting fellowships tailored to women photographers and journalists. The organization also conducts research and advocates for inclusive practices that help propel women and minorities into leadership.
Women for Women International
Women for Women International invests in the power of women survivors of war and conflict to learn the skills they need to rebuild their families and communities. The organization helps women in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Sudan. Their programs help women learn practical job skills, how to run a business, valuable health knowledge including reproductive health. Women also learn about voting rights and how to inherit property.
Donate to Women for Women International
The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES)
RAICES provides affirmative, defensive, and litigation services to low-income immigrants as well as social services.
The Audre Lorde Project
“The Audre Lorde Project is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non Conforming People of Color center for community organizing, focusing on the New York City area.”
Donate to The Audre Lorde Project
Other helpful links:
Organizations supporting women’s reproductive rights in Texas and around the country.
Organizations supporting Haiti in the wake of the earthquake.
Organizations helping refugees from Afghanistan.
The late Michael K. Williams’ charitable organizations: We Build the Block and Making Kids Win
