“Gershon woke up and told me he had to go to the bathroom, which was unusual. He went in the bathroom and stood there. Finally he walked back into the doorway and his eyes rolled to the back of his head and a thick liquid fell from the corner of his mouth. He collapsed in my arms. That was the last time I saw Gershon in many ways. By the time Gershon arrived at the hospital, he was already in a coma. The doctors told me they didn’t expect him to make it. I couldn’t believe it,” his mother said.

SEE ALSO: Giving a Megaphone to the Underdog: Chive Charities Mission to Do Good

Gershon was diagnosed with Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM). It affects less than 3,000 people in the US each year.

After his initial collapse, Gershon spent five months in the hospital and underwent seven brain surgeries. He was left immobile and unable to vocally communicate.

Chive Charities heard about Gershon’s story and helped him and his family by purchasing a wheelchair accessible van. After meeting with the 12-year-old, Chive representatives realized that he needed more than mobility assistance; he needed a way to communicate.

The Chivers, made up of generous people from around the globe, gathered together and created a GoFundMe page for Gershon to raise $10,000 for an eye-gaze machine, which will allow him to communicate.

During the organization’s launch party for the 5th grader’s crowdfunding page, they reached the $10K goal in minutes. Five days later, generous donors chipped in more than $37,000 for Gershon’s medical needs.

Gershon’s GoFundMe page is still open. If you’d like to donate, click here.

What is Chive Charities?

Chive Charities is a nonprofit organization that brings attention to individuals and causes that do not have a large public following.

Members of the Chive Nation give monthly donations to help these causes. It also starts up crowdfunding sources to raise money to those in need. The organization has helped more than 80 causes with more than $3.3 million in grants.

The post Chive Charities Raises More Than $37,000 for Boy with Brain Disease appeared first on Positive Celebrity News, Good Celebrity Gossip, Positive Entertainment News | Good Celebrity.

According to a recent post of the Nonprofit Fundraising Survey, more than half of the American non-profit organizations reported that a quarter of their contributions are collected between October and December, while 16% of all organizations received over half their year’s total contributions during those months.

This time of year is a great time to organize and tailor your charity plan. Below are five ways to keep your methods for giving back smart and effective.

1. Create a Mission Statement

There is a valid reason why organizations like ours develop a mission statement. It’s a way to organize values into a streamlined concept that you can visualize and achieve. Individuals should take a note from their business pals and create a mission statement of their own, centered around their charity goals.

According to a study by Fidelity Charitable, only 22% of its 1,042 donors had a solid mission statement crafted for their giving plan.

“A mission statement is very personal, but it really identifies what’s important to you and helps you prioritize your giving,” Amy Danforth, President of the organization, said.

Developing a personal giving mission statement puts your goals into perspective. It is the first step to understanding how to give back to charities you care about. Your “how” should include methods such as donations or volunteering, along with goals for giving back like budget and time.

A concrete plan increases your likelihood of following through with your charitable acts.

2. Develop a Budget

Budgeting is crucial for all aspects in life, including charitable donations and time. It’s important to be realistic about giving back.

If you have $5 dollars to spare every week, factor that into your overall budget. If you plan your charitable spending with your bills and utilities, you will keep donations on your priority list.

“The more you align your spending with your priorities, the better you will feel. By spending money on things you truly care about—things that bring you joy—you are decreasing the uncertainty, stress and anxiety about what your money is doing,” You Need a Budget founder Jesse Mecham said in a blog post.

During the holiday season, ensure that you’re budgeting for your donations along with your gifts. This is the time of year when expenses increase and you do not want to slip on your donation plan.

3. Choose a Cause you Care About

When you have a passion for something, you’re more likely to get excited about getting involved. Our passion is shining light on worthy causes and the people that help make them work. For instance, we’ve been able to talk about and help share several worthy causes so far this year including Chive Charities, One Simple Wish, The Teen Project and Autism Speaks.

Use this passion to find organizations that spark your interest and pick those organizations as your selected charities. Start out with one charity and work your way up to more. When you focus on one passion, you can test different ways of giving back and use those experiences as lessons learned for the future.

4. Recruit Family and Friends

One of the smartest ways to give back during the holidays – and any time of year – is getting other people on board.

For the holidays, team up with your family, friends or office and adopt a family. Organizations including the Salvation Army provide resources for groups to adopt a local family and collect donations to give them a cheerful holiday. Groups collect clothing, toiletries, toys and other items on the families’ needs list and bring their donations directly to the family or the organization to be distributed and enjoyed.

When you work together with a group, you can make a greater impact and increase your giving power.

5. Volunteer Reasonably

It’s wonderful that you’re interested in giving back, but it’s crucial that you remain realistic. When volunteers start with an organization, they may want to get involved with many activities and projects, but it’s very each to get burnt out. Once these volunteers get burnt out, they are not useful and not giving back.

Be smart and realistic about your availability. The holidays are an especially busy time of year, which means you need to readjust your volunteer schedule to accommodate family gatherings and other responsibilities that arise with the season.

Volunteer coordinators should respect your time and they will appreciate your honesty because it keeps you on board for the future.

The holiday season is a great time to get involved. Take this season to learn what you’re interested in and create a charity-driven mission statement that sparks opportunities throughout your lifetime.

The post Five Ways To Effectively Give Back During The Holidays appeared first on Positive Celebrity News, Good Celebrity Gossip, Positive Entertainment News | Good Celebrity.

SEE ALSO: Giving a Megaphone to the Underdog: Chive Charities Mission to Do Good

For the Kulas family, things were looking dim. At only two years old, their son Kyan was diagnosed with Type 2 Spinal Muscular Atrophy. SMA Type 2 is a disease that, in its basic sense, atrophies all muscles that control motor movement until the affected patient can no longer move, swallow or breathe on their own. The disease does nothing to impair cognitive skills, but the atrophy gets so severe so quickly that life expectancy is usually around 10 years. Currently, there is no cure.

As if that diagnosis wasn’t heartbreaking enough, the Kulas family was informed that this was indeed a genetic disease, and they suggested testing the other two children. Their younger son, Kalen, tested positive as well. The chances were slim, but real: two of their three children had SMA Type 2.

Parents Jared and Sierra Kulas took the best road they knew how: instead of dwelling on their prognoses, give Kalen and Kyan the most amazing life experiences possible and spend each day cherishing their sons. And on top of it all, find a cure.

Through it all, the brothers have grown incredibly close. No matter their adventure, they do it together and with smiles on their faces. They even do their physical therapy sessions together and can often be found whispering into the night from their beds. They are each other’s best friend.

Unfortunately, there was one thing holding them back: transportation. Jared works three jobs to support the family, but between medical bills, the boys’ activities and therapy, the Kulas family did not have any spare money to throw around. That’s when they found Chive Charities, a group of strangers that want nothing more than to give back to the community. The Kulas family knew their application to raise money for a new wheelchair-accessible van might be the answer they were looking for.

SEE ALSO: Chive Charities Helps Boy with ALD

With the van, the boys could comfortably drive with their wheelchairs to water therapy, horseback riding lessons and clinical trials all the way in New York. They would no longer have to leave their wheelchairs behind and transfer into another car, only to transfer into strollers when they arrive at the hospital. A van would give the brothers more comfort in getting from point A to point B while simultaneously keeping them safe.

Chive Charities knew they could help. They set up a fund for the family and raised $55,000 to buy the family a new van. The boys are ecstatic with their new car and often go outside early in the mornings just to get in and go for a ride—even if it’s just in circles around the neighborhood.

“From the bottom of our five little hearts, thank you thank you thank you so much. Every minute of every day, this will change our lives,” Sierra told Chive Charities.

To help raise awareness and find a cure for SMA Type 2, visit the Kulas’ Facebook page at facebook.com/KureForKalen.

About Chive Charities
Chive Charities stems from the members of the website theCHIVE.com, a photo-entertainment website. Each month, Chive Charities picks a few cases that are in need of public awareness and set up funds to which their members can donate. Chive Charities are different because they help the specific “grantee” raise awareness for the cause in their lives rather than just raise awareness to the specific grantee.

To sign up to be a member of Chive Charities, visit members.chivecharities.org/.

The post Chive Charities Buys New Van for Brothers Kyan and Kalen appeared first on Positive Celebrity News, Good Celebrity Gossip, Positive Entertainment News | Good Celebrity.

Take the inspiring story of Alex O. for example. At one point, he was an extremely happy and active young boy who loved nothing more than playing all types of sports. Football was his favorite, though. He also had a strong faith, always taking time to pray before meals and bedtime.

SEE ALSO: Chive Charities – Giving a Megaphone To The Underdog

During his kindergarten year, Alex began having trouble concentrating and often became agitated. At first, it seemed harmless and his teacher recommended he be tested for ADHD. He was taking medications for this diagnosis, but then started having very adverse reactions and his parents knew something wasn’t right. A CAT scan was finally taken to reveal swelling in the white matter of Alex’s brain. Ultimately, the diagnosis revealed he had ALD (adrenomyeloneuropathy is the clinical name), which affects 1 out of 17,000 boys.

When his parents learned that Alex had only 1-2 years left to live, it was crushing. However, Alex kept remarkably positive spirits by holding strong in his faith. A radical decision was made to conduct a bone marrow stem cell transplant. The first attempt failed, but they tried again and the second transplant was a success. It should extend Alex’s life by an additional 5-10 years, which is hopefully long enough to find a cure. Alex is now blind, deaf and confined to a wheelchair after the disease and severe treatments took their toll.

As Alex said before the transplants, he knew there “was a chance I might not walk, I might not talk, but at least I’ll be alive.”

Chive Charities heard about Alex’s story and started a Chive Fund to raise money for a grant that would help his family. Over $66,000 was granted and they were able to purchase a new Dodge Caravan that is ADA accessible and has an in-floor conversion. It allows him to travel comfortably wherever the family goes. His mom, Clarissa is ever grateful for Chive Charities involvement and is using her family’s experience as an opportunity to help other boys diagnose and fight ALD before it is too late.

Learn More About Chive Charities

Only two states (New York and Tennessee) currently require ALD tests to be performed at birth, even though the test costs just $1.50 to administer and the disease can be identified immediately. Clarissa and her family are fighting for these tests to be administered in all 50 states, so that treatments can be done earlier and other families don’t have to go through what Alex’s has.

Click here to read more about Alex’s story or visit the Chive Fund to donate to other Chive Charites. Also, write your congressman or congresswoman to request ALD testing become standard in your state.

The post Chive Charities Helps Boy with ALD appeared first on Positive Celebrity News, Good Celebrity Gossip, Positive Entertainment News | Good Celebrity.

According to Chive Charities Executive Director Brian Mercedes, the organization was made for people like Makayla, those that are seen as the underdog.

Read Makayla’s story here.

Good Celebrity’s Alex Ribble recently sat down with Mercedes to learn more about his heart for Chive Charities and the purpose that drives their fundraising. “These are the causes no one has ever heard of. Insurance companies don’t recognize them as causes that could be treated under insurance. Other charities aren’t helping out their diseases. That’s why Chive Charities’ exists: to help the causes that are unseen,” said Mercedes.

The charity originated from theCHIVE.com, an online entertainment platform. In December of 2012, after hearing about 2 year-old Zoe Lush who was diagnosed with a rare illness leaving her with 30-40 broken bones, the website wanted to do more.

“We threw this information about Zoe’s condition out to theCHIVE community and with their help, we were able to raise over $100,000 to pay for much-needed surgeries. That’s what inspired and created the model for Chive Charities,” Mercedes describes.

Read Zoe’s story, here.

While Chive Charities is a component of theCHIVE’s website, they are in fact separate entities.

Mercedes explains further, “The two are very symbiotic, but they are definitely their own thing. Chive Charities wouldn’t be here without theCHIVE, and theCHIVE wouldn’t be who they are without Chive Charities.”

Founded on the belief that humankind is inherently good, Chive Charities relies on the Chive community, otherwise known as “Chivers” to help those in need.

“We believe in strength in numbers. It’s not a few people giving $1,000 or $10,000, but rather, it’s lots of people giving $1, $5, or $10 that end up making such a huge difference,” said Mercedes.

So who are the Chivers exactly? According to Mercedes, they are a new generation of millennials who care for others, but potentially a bit jaded from supporting other causes and want to know that their money is actually going to have an impact. To meet their needs, Chive Charities focuses on providing transparency and giving updates as to where their money is going. But what makes this group of people so special is their compassion.

Mercedes is sincerely proud when he describes the response he sees from the Chive community. “It’s amazing when you see Chivers embrace each one of our recipients and become part of the family. We look at our comments section and there are people saying that they just lost their job and only have $20 in their bank account, but they have to give at least $5 to one of our recipients. That is the kind of love the Chivers have for helping others. They are the power behind Chive Charities.”

This kind of compassion is what has helped make Makayla’s life a little easier. A Chive grant paid for Makayla’s service dog, Bailey, who wasn’t covered by insurance. The dog helps by supporting her balance and keeping her safe if she ever falls.

Makayla isn’t the only individual who has been helped through Chive Charities. Another individual who received help from the organization is a 5 year-old girl named Audrina, who has a genetic disorder called Maffucci syndrome.

Audrina’s disease affects both the bones and skin, leaving her with hundreds of benign tumors that carry a high risk of turning cancerous later in life. There are less than 200 cases of Maffucci Syndrome worldwide. Since the age of one, she has endured seven surgeries and now relies on a wheelchair to get around.

Chive Charities realized that she not only needed an accessible minivan that would allow for her to ride comfortably in her chair, but the family’s home was also not wheel-chair friendly. It became a struggle for Audrina to even get in her own room. Chive Charities found a way to help. A grant for $57,000 paid for the much-needed wheelchair accessible minivan and almost $200,000 was raised by Chivers to help renovate the home.

Read Audrina’s story, here.

Along with raising funds and awareness for rare diseases like Makayla and Audrina’s, Chive Charities also helps veterans and first responders receive the care that they deserve, as their needs are oftentimes left unnoticed as well.

The 14 World War II Pearl Harbor survivors are an example of this.

Earlier this year, Chive Charities received a call from The Greatest Generations Foundation, a charity dedicated to bring World War II veterans back to their battlefields. The organization notified Chive Charities that there were 14 Pearl Harbor veterans who wanted to return to the battlefield, but needed the financial support to go. That’s when Chive Charities offered to sponsor their trip.

When the veterans returned to Pearl Harbor, they were filled with the enthusiasm of “wide-eyed children on Christmas Day.” They were so thankful to be able to return to a spot that changed their lives so many years ago.

These are just a few examples of the impact that Chive Charities has made on people seen as the underdog. Since its start date, the organization has helped close to 100 people who have been left unnoticed. With almost $4 million in direct grants and $2.4 million in additional flash charity funding from the Chivers community, Mercedes believes that the reason they have been so successful comes down to something very simple: the power of story.

“People are inherently good and they love to connect to a great story. Fortunately, that’s where Chive Charities excels the most: connecting the stories to our audience. As you read it, you may not know what the condition is, but you will empathize with the themes. Whether it’s losing your mother to cancer or finding out your uncle has exceeded a doctor’s expectations, our audience has been through similar situations, which makes someone else’s story their story,” explains Mercedes.

Today, Mercedes works with a brilliant staff, including Program Director Angela Cone; Development Director Josh Miller; Development Assistant Haley Gieselmann; and Copywriter Caitlin St. Pierre. Their efforts have made a huge impact on people and causes that otherwise would remain unknown.

The charity’s goals for the future include growth in development and concentrating on more veteran causes. But at the end of the day, Chive Charities hopes to make the world ten percent happier.

“Whenever we release a story, there are people that tell us the story they read has put their problems into perspective and has motivated them to be a better person. If we can make people better people, then I believe we are going to make this world a better place,” said Mercedes.

Visit ChiveCharities.org to support.

The post Giving a Megaphone to the Underdog: Chive Charities Mission to Do Good appeared first on Positive Celebrity News, Good Celebrity Gossip, Positive Entertainment News | Good Celebrity.