5 Ways to Save the Elephants Online

Image via Wikipedia

Whatever cause is close to your heart, there's a way to support it online.

I am a big softie when it comes to elephants. They seem so . . . well . . . human. They are intelligent, have highly complex social networks and are capable of showing empathy and self-awareness.

Elephants need plenty of space to survive - and unfortunately we humans are continually encroaching on their land, cutting off their access to water, and poaching them for their ivory. They need our help to survive!

Here are some great ways we can ensure the continued survival of Elephants:

1. Join the 'Be a Voice for Elephants' cause on Facebook. Invite all your friends - and download the causes toolbar so you can raise 1 cent for the charity Elephant Voices every time you do a search.

2. Help the IFAW save the elephants. They work to eliminate human-elephant conflicts, stop poaching and secure elephant habitats.

3. Sign up with Better the World and help the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy restore an old migratory route for Elephants in Kenya. You can also support them by joining their Facebook cause.

4. Donate at JustGiving to help save the last of the Mali Desert elephants. The worst drought in 26 years is threatening them with extinction. All the donations go to Save the Elephants.

5. Join the African Wildlife Foundation's Elephant Conservation Research Project. Join their cause on Facebook and download the causes toolbar to raise money for their work ensuring that we don't have to live in a world where Africa is without elephants!

Got any other great online ways to support Elephant conservation efforts? Share them in the comments!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Animal charity saves 60 elephants amid controversy (telegraph.co.uk)
• Poaching for Ivory is Increasing? (richardleakey.wildlifedirect.org)
• African elephants adopting surrogate relatives to replace those killed by poachers (telegraph.co.uk)

The New Causes Toolbar

Image by kqedquest via Flickr

If you're on Facebook, you can earn money for your favourite causes using the Causes toolbar. Every search you make generates 1 cent for your favourite cause. Easy!

At the moment I'm raising money for the Sea Studios Foundation through the cause Stop Trashing the Ocean: The Great Garbage Patch. Who would you raise money for?

Download it and start making money for the causes you care about today!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Great Pacific Garbage Patch - Mapped (gcaptain.com)
• Addicted to Plastic: must-see film not made by Disney (fakeplasticfish.com)

Give a Greenlight to Socially Responsible Shopping

Want to help make socially responsible shopping easier?

Become a backer for Greenlighted. Its a tool designed to help consumers find companies that are concerned with the environment, human rights, social justice, animal protection, and community involvement in their corporate practices.

Pledge your support today!

Donate Your Email

What better way to make a donation than to have someone else pay for it!

Replyforall is a free cause email signature that inserts automatically into your outgoing email messages. It looks something like this:

All you need to do is to pick the cause you want to raise money for. You can choose to help

• end poverty
• find a cure for cancer
• stop global aids
• defend animal rights
• protect children's rights
• fight global warming
  
• provide clean water
• support education

Then you personalise your signature and you're all go! Replyforall then shares the advertising revenue with its non-profit partners and you get to donate without paying a cent! You can also monitor your impact so you can see the difference you are making!

Replyforall is supported by both Firefox and Internet Explorer and works with Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail and Outlook 2007.

Sign up today - and tell your friends. The more people who join, the more money the sponsors pay and the more money your cause receives!!

Create a Butterfly for Justice

"In the run-up to the August anniversary of the end of World War II, Amnesty International is calling for justice for former 'comfort women' in Japan.

During the war, up to 200,000 women and girls were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military. These women and girls were kept in 'comfort stations' in China, Taiwan, Borneo, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), Indonesia and many of the Pacific Islands.

Women were abducted, deceived or sold by extremely poor parents. The majority of woman were under the age of 20 and some were girls as young as 12. These women and girls were kept for months or years on end.

The women who made it home at the end of the war often kept silent about their experiences and suffered severe psychological and emotional trauma. Many survivors died without talking about what happened to them. In recent years, however, a number of women, now very elderly, have courageously been speaking out. They hope that justice can still be achieved in their lifetime.

The Japanese Government's apologies so far have been inadequate and the government has refused to accept any legal responsibility. Over the past few years there has been growing international pressure on the Japanese Government to accept responsibility and apologise for the abuses of 'comfort women'.

Sixty years on, this lack of justice for 'comfort women' is a human rights abuse. Given the age of the survivors, there is an urgent need to act on this issue. We must never forget the atrocities committed against these women. Japan still has the opportunity to right this terrible wrong.

Amnesty International is calling on the Australian Government to pass a motion in the House of Representatives urging the Government of Japan to:

• Accept full responsibility for the abuses of 'comfort women'
• Officially apologise for the crimes committed against the women
• Provide adequate compensation to 'comfort women' or their immediate families
• Accurately describe the sexual slavery system in Japanese textbooks on World War II

Since 2007, the US, the Netherlands, the UK, Canada, the European Union (with 27 member countries), South Korea, Taiwan and three city councils in Japan have all passed similar motions. It's time for Australia to do the same."

The survivors have chosen the butterfly as their symbol of hope.

You can help by creating your own unique butterfly. Each one is sent to the Prime Minister of Australia. By uploading your butterfly as your avatar on social networks like Twitter, Facebook and MySpace you can help raise awareness.

Carnival of Digital Philanthropy Volume 7

Image by arimoore via Flickr

Welcome to the July 8, 2009 edition of the Carnival of Digital Philanthropy.

Please Stumble the posts you like, or submit them to other social bookmarking services. Let's promote each other, as well as this blog carnival.

Check out 10 Online Resources to Help You Become an Expert for Your Cause at How to Make a Difference.

Lee presents 30.000 Calorie Challenge to Feed Kids posted at Givealittle Blog. Sponsor Lisa to burn 30,000 calories to raise money for UNICEF. So far she has raised $702.95.

Thats it for this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Digital Philanthropy using our carnival submission form. Past posts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Win a Trip to Nepal with Capital Cause

The Capital Cause Charitable Trust was founded by a group of friends in Wellington, New Zealand with the aim of connecting people with great causes.

Up till now Capital Cause has run events in Wellington, but this winter they are going global. They have chosen to help a fantastic orphanage in Nepal that was set up by 3 travellers - one of whom is Kiwi Amanda McKay.

Capital Cause is running a global campaign to raise money for the Orphan Help Centre, using Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, the Capital Cause webpage and online donation site Givealittle.

All you have to do is guess the weight of the Capital Cause backpack and you could win a trip to Nepal! Entry is easy - simply check out the backpack photos, make a $5 donation and enter your receipt number and best weight guess on the Capital Cause webpage.

So, get your give on and enter today!!