Contributed by Kitten Rescue

Unwanted, abandoned, lost, and feral cats are too often taken to or picked up by shelters. While a few are adopted or retrieved by their owners, the vast majority are euthanized. In Los Angeles County the number of animals killed per year is over 100,000! These are not just sick and injured animals, this figure also includes adoptable kittens and healthy cats -- all that could have been given another chance at a life. This is where Kitten Rescue and other like-minded humane organizations come in to help.

NEW HOMES AND LOVING CARE
Kitten Rescue is one of the largest and most respected animal welfare groups in Los Angeles. Our mission is to rescue and find new loving homes for unwanted cats and kittens. Kitten Rescue showcases adoptable kittens and cats on their website, at permanent adoption installations (PETCOand PetSmart), at Sanctuary open houses, and during adoption events. For those less adoptable cats, Kitten Rescue provides them with the necessary care and love -- allowing them to live out their lives comfortably and safely.

Founded in 1997, Kitten Rescue is a non-profit, volunteer run organization that places over 1000 cats and kittens into new homes each year! In 2006, Kitten Rescue acquired a private, no-kill shelter that has become the Kitten Rescue Sanctuary. The Sanctuary can house approximately 150 cats at a time. Our other cats are either housed throughout Los Angeles County with Kitten Rescue foster parents or at permanent adoption installations at several PETCO and PetSmart stores across Los Angeles and surrounding areas. At these stores, Kitten Rescue cats are housed in enclosures allowing them to be viewed by shoppers and considered for adoption during all open store hours. Kitten Rescue provides all the care for these animals through the help of our volunteers with the stores providing us the space and opportunity. These cats are generally rotated once a month.

Kitten Rescue also has a boarding facility that offers quality care for your cat(s) while you are away. Our caring staff and volunteers provide our cat clients with all the love, attention, care, and service they could ever need along with roomy accommodations. Equally important, the proceeds from Kitten Rescue Boarding go to support the care of Kitten Rescue cats.

Kitten Rescue takes cat care very seriously. Cats rescued by Kitten Rescue have all of their medical needs addressed, and prior to adoption, every cat is spayed/neutered, tested for leukemia and FIV, vaccinated, dewormed, treated for fleas, and microchipped. We do not shy away from those that require special needs: mom cats with litters, kittens that need to be bottle fed, cats that need socialization, and sick/injured animals -- all are welcome at Kitten Rescue! We also rescue dogs in special circumstances and provide them the same level of service and love that we do to our kittens and cats.

As you can imagine, it takes quite a budget -- well over $300,000 a year -- to keep Kitten Rescue running and able to provide all that we do for the kittens and cats of Los Angeles. We are fortunate to have a number of regular donors (with new donors every day), generous sponsors, successful donation events, and the funding we receive through our boarding facility. However, this all isn't enough nor does it allow us to expand. Therefore we also have an annual fundraising event, Kitten Rescue's Fur Ball at the Skirball. This annual event started in 2008 and has continued to be a great success -- thanks in part to the event's host, longtime Kitten Rescue supporter and former volunteer, Jenna Fischer (of "The Office"). The event regularly features fantastic entertainment, a silent auction with amazing items, fun themed cocktails, and a delicious vegetarian dinner. To see pictures from past events, please click here.

These tough economic times have been hard on so many, and a number of families have had to turn over their pets when times turned bad. Kitten Rescue has taken in a record number of pets from families who could no longer support their pet or when living arrangements became uncertain. This has only added to the already large problem of abandoned kittens and cats. So, now more than ever, Kitten Rescue needs donations, support, volunteers, etc. Please visit our site or look below to see how you can help today!

Adopt from Kitten Rescue
If you have a suitable home for a kitten or cat and want to welcome in a wonderful new companion, please consider adopting from Kitten Rescue. View available kittens and cats via the Kitten Rescue website, by visiting any of the regular Kitten Rescue adoption events (upcoming events can be found here), or arrange a visit to the Kitten Rescue Sanctuary.

And don't be fooled by the name, Kitten Rescue also rescues and finds homes for dogs. If the companion you desire is of the canine variety, please visit Kitten Rescue's dog adoption page by clicking here.

Donate to Kitten Rescue
Whether you call Los Angeles home or you're from across the country or the world, you still have the power to touch the lives of the many deserving, wonderful animals in our care. There are many ways you can help, and every dollar means so much. The kitties thank you! To make a donation, click here.

Also, if you have goods or services that you think would make for a fantastic silent auction item for Kitten Rescue's annual Fur Ball at the Skirball, please contact our auction committee at Auction@KittenRescue.org

Sponsor a Kitten or Cat at Kitten Rescue
Kitten Rescue's Sponsorship Program raises money for Kitten Rescue by connecting cats housed in our sanctuary with cat lovers like you! The best part is you can be a sponsor from anywhere across the globe. The Kitten Rescue sanctuary is home to approximately 150 cats at any given time. Many of these cats require special medical attention, are not socialized, or are unlikely to be adopted for a number of other reasons. These cats live out their lives at the sanctuary, if necessary, and we are dedicated to providing them necessary and loving care. In the Kitten Rescue Sponsorship Program, donors sponsor a sanctuary cat to help cover the costs of caring for these cats and the sanctuary they live in. If you are interested in sponsoring a Kitten Rescue cat, please click here.

Volunteer with Kitten Rescue
While Kitten Rescue is fortunate to have a number of fabulous volunteers, we are always looking for more. If you are interested, there are many ways you can get involved! Even if you only have an hour a week to help out, that's okay, we always are happy to have the help. If you are interested in volunteering, please click here.

Foster a Kitten or Cat from Kitten Rescue
Since we only have space for about 150 cats at the Sanctuary, Kitten Rescue always has an urgent need for foster parents. Fostering is a richly rewarding experience because when you take in one or more foster cats, you are personally responsible for saving their lives. Whether you can care for one cat or many, once or frequently, we would love for you to become a Foster Parent at whatever level of commitment you choose. Plus we offer training, guidance, and lots of moral support. To complete a foster application, click here.

Board Your Cat at KR
Kitten Rescue offers boarding services and uses the proceeds from its boarding facility to help support the rescue and care for the Kitten Rescue kittens and cats. We provide roomy accommodations and outstanding care and attention delivered by our knowledgeable and compassionate staff and volunteers. To learn more about Kitten Rescue Boarding, please click here. By boarding your cats with us, even your cats can help homeless cats!

You're seven. You're on the playground, playing tag.

"Tag! You're out!!"

"You didn't touch me, I'm not out!"

"Yes I did too! You're out."

You know how the rest goes. There is an argument, perhaps a push or a shove, perhaps tears, teacher mediation, teacher frustration, finally a visit to the one-and-only Principal's Office.

This situation is not uncommon on playgrounds across America. Recess has been referred to as "horror time" by some teachers, a half hour of complete chaos characterized by fighting, wrestling, punching, screaming, and madness. In fact, this allotted time has become so unmanageable and inefficient that many schools have either had to drastically decrease recess or eliminate it all together. In a Gallup survey, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that 89% of discipline-related problems happen during recess and lunch; 77% of principals report using taking away recess as a punishment for kids. As a result of these issues and poor academic performance, one fifth of those surveyed have had to reduce or do away with the recess time altogether.

However, poor academic performance, behavioral problems, and health issues are all related. Recess and play in general have been proven to be critical to a child's social and academic development during those elementary years. Most principals have said that students are more focused and more attentive after having recess.

Jill Vialet knows play: Play is her (it) Factor. Since she graduated from Harvard University, she has been engaged with different aspects of play and physical activity in the context of public service. Before founding Playworks, Jill spent her time running a collegiate public service program, coaching soccer in Cambridge, being a camp counselor, and teaching Eskimo children how to swim in Alaska. For Jill, play is a precious commodity, one which she has spent the last 45 years trying to share with others.

Jill's vision is simple, and her execution is brilliant. Through her organization Playworks, Jill believes that one day, every child in America will have access to safe, healthy play,every day. Playworks creates a structured recess experience for elementary school-aged children by establishing trained, full-time young adults as coaches on campuses. Through basic sports and cooperative games, these coaches create an environment which fosters sportsmanship, health and fitness awareness, focus, and fun.

EFFORT
As of this fall, Playworks will be operating in 250 low-income schools across 15 cities in the United States, with a goal of increasing those numbers to 650 schools across 27 cities by 2012. The road to this success and scale, however, was not always a "walk in the playground," so-to-speak, and has been a journey that has required enormous passion and drive on behalf of its founder and her staff. "There was a point where I really didn't know which way I was going to go. And it was super hard...But I really do believe that you have to maintain a sense of humor and be humble and recognize that this is your one chance to make a difference."

STRENGTH
Jill believes that change in the world depends on unreasonable people, and she identifies her 120 AmeriCorps staff coaches as being the most unreasonable of all. She says, "Playworks has grown over the years not because of my unreasonableness, but because the young adults who come to work for us go out into the playgrounds and they, through the power of play, discover themselves as changemakers."

Jill's "Changemaker" mindset has allowed Playworks to expand nationwide and led her to be elected as an Ashoka Fellow. Her social entrepreneur was present long before Ashoka, however. She recalls being told by her high school basketball coach to always bend her knees. Since high school, she has continued to live life with "bent knees" because it means she will have to lead with her legs, which are the strongest parts of the human body. "Creating the preconditions that compel you to lead with your strength is a huge part of the battle. It's setting yourself up to do what you do best and remain super focused."

ENDORPHINS
The reason Playworks does indeed work is because it utilizes a bottom-up approach. Jamila Hornesby, a Playworks coach, commented that the kids "don't need someone saying 'Don't do this, and don't do that.' They need someone saying, 'This is how we're going to play the game today.'" Playworks gives kids this structure and gives them the opportunity to play in a fun and functional way. Recess, when managed effectively, puts children into what Jill Vialet calls "The Play State." Because they are doing something different and exciting during a physical activity, their heart rate will go up, releasing endorphins into their body, resulting in happy and energetic children who are more likely to engage and participate in the classroom. However, when an educator revokes a child's right to recess, she only limits that child's ability to focus and succeed academically and socially. Indeed, in the Play State, kids are more aware and more engaged, both on the playground and in the classroom. This flexibility, spontaneity, creativity and improvisation that recess can include is where brilliance really comes from, claims Jill.

FAIR PLAY
Remember that seven-year-old playground spat during a game of Tag? Imagine if you had thought about solving that through a simple game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Playworks has ingeniously utilized this super problem solver, which gives kids the ability to learn leadership skills, conflict resolution, and social skills with students of different age groups.

TEAMWORK
Playworks is designed to foster positive relationships between classmates on the playground. Not only are Playworks staff engaged with the kids in cooperative experiences, but the Junior Coaches Program has been created to give older students, 4th and 5th graders, the opportunity to design and lead recess activities.

Playworks could not exist without the team of AmeriCorps members which make up the majority of the staff. AmeriCorps, which is, essentially, a domestic Peace Corps, allows graduating college students the opportunity to give 1700 hours of service to an organization for one year in exchange for a living wage stipend and an education award to be used towards tuition or other academic expenses.

Thanks to the success of the Playworks recess programs and the hard work of the AmeriCorps volunteers and other staff, Jill Vialet and her team are now collaborating with the White House Office of Social Innovation, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services to increase the scale of impact on the climate of schools throughout the nation.

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1GOAL is a campaign seizing the power of football to ensure that education for all is a lasting impact of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Raising our voices all over the world we believe that, together, we can make education a reality for the millions of boys and girls who remain out of school.

"This is our chance to show not just out-of-school children, but our own children, that when we make a promise, we keep it. With your help, we could have billions of fans cheering not just for their teams, but for one team: 1GOAL. This is our moment to shine; we can bring millions of children in from the shadows of ignorance, and light up their lives with the legacy of education." ~ Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah, Co-Founder and Global Co-Chair, 1GOAL

You can help make education for all a reality.

1GOAL is bringing together footballers, fans, charities, corporations and individuals to lobby and achieve our ambitious aim of education for everyone. By joining the 1GOAL team, you can strengthen the campaign's voice and give us the best possible chance of success. Take action and learn more!

BUILDING FOR THE COMMUNITY

In collaboration with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles, Music for Relief is helping to fund and build a house in Lynwood for a deserving family in need. The home will be built to LEED specifications and will encompass a number of environmentally savvy features and green building techniques. While green building practices can add to the initial cost of construction, these costs are not passed on to the new homeowner, so there is no extra financial burden for them now, but does provide energy savings for them in the future! This very noble and conscientious project requires your help. What can you do? MFR has a special site set up and is asking every individual to donate just $5 to this cause. Check out the site, you can learn what your donation goes towards -- buy a box of nails, a light fixture or the kitchen sink! As of this writing, they have raised $36,551 of the $150,000 needed for the project, or 24%. This is an excellent project that will not only help a family in need but also help forward sustainable building practices for this type of housing.

[MF_150] On January 14th, (it) Magazine was there for MFR and Habitat's Green Home Build Day. It was a fantastic experience for our staff and we were able to work with a number of amazing individuals who gave up a day to help a family in need. Members of Linkin Park took time from their busy schedule to come out as well, and were swinging hammers with the rest of us! We were able to put up a large amount of siding on the houses and help finish off framework on the second story. During the build, we were blessed to meet Betty Monroy, a mother of three who recently worked with Habitat volunteers to build her own new home. Mrs. Monroy was on site at the new green home to tell us about the impact that her home had on her family and quality of life. It was amazing to meet someone who had their life directly changed by the efforts of organizations like Habitat for Humanity. Needless to say, this was a very moving and overall extraordinary day. Thank you to everyone who made it out for the build! Just remember, the work there is not complete -- MFR and Habitat need your help. Donate or volunteer today!

To make your $5 contribution go to www.musicforrelief.org/habitat or text HOUSE to 90999.

P.S. No one said you have to donate JUST $5 :)

Founded by the band Linkin Park, Music for Relief is a non-profit organization dedicated to help with disaster relief and mitigation, and we all know there are many areas in need and much work to be done.

The oil leak in the Gulf Coast that began following a deep water oil rig explosion on April 20th is still occurring. As the oil slick reaches the coastal wetlands, fragile ecosystems and the animals that inhabit them are in danger. In partnership with Voice of the Wetland and For the Bayou, Music for Relief is supporting the important humanitarian and environmental assistance that is needed in coastal Louisiana now and for the years to come to restore and protect our critical wetlands. Visit the Voice of the Wetlands (VOW) or For the Bayou websites to make a donation, or support Music for Relief and VOW's Send Dirt campaign by texting DIRT to 90999 and make a $5 contribution via your mobile phone. Or if you would like to volunteer with the oil spill cleanup, find opportunities to do so here.

Following the Southern CA wildfires in 2007 Music For Relief made a donation of $50,000 to Direct Relief International that was matched by SanDisk to help victims of the wildfires. Major League Baseball donated $25,000 to the organization last year. MFR also sponsors numerous tree planting projects all over the world and organizes environmental campaigns that help individuals recycle, conserve energy, and lower their carbon footprint. $1 per ticket from Linkin Park's China concerts in 2009 were donated to the Million Tree Project to help reforest the Inner Mongolian Desert. This is a fantastic organization that has done wonderful things for the world and around the world -- get involved!

WHY IS MUSIC FOR RELIEF IMPORTANT?

Take a look at their list of accomplishments over the past five years:
> They have raised over $3,500,000 in donations for their causes;
> In 2008, over 95% of the funds raised went directly to disaster relief and environmental programs; only 4.7% of those funds were used for administrative and fundraising purposes;
> Music for Relief has planted over 810,000 trees worldwide to sequester more than 270,000 tons of CO2;
> Not only do they do their part to help the environment, they have created environmental programs that educate people in reducing their carbon footprint.

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Founders Dave and Grace Deppner served as volunteers in the Philippines in the 1970s, where they witnessed the human tragedy brought on by illegal logging and unsustainable land management systems. Inspired to make a change and offer hope, they revitalized lands by informally providing farmers with tree seed, technical training, and on-site planning assistance.

Now, more than 20 years later, TFTF is a full-fledged, 501c3 agroforestry resource center, working with people to improve livelihoods and restore degraded lands to sustainable productivity through planting beneficial trees, seed distribution, agroforestry training, and in-country programs that also educate students and communities about global issues, our role in the environment, and energy efficiency. Click here for a list of current projects and to learn how you can get involved.

To learn more about Trees for the Future, you can read their newsletters, join their mailing list, or view a map of projects on google earth.

Last year the remarkable 5th grade American History Kids from Marquez School presented a performance of their pilgrim musical, PLYMOUTH 2.0 during the festival in Southern California, and this year are performing HELLO LOUISIANA. Check out this amazing way to learn history in middle school in this video, then go to their site and find out what new musical is playing in your area this summer!

For the full (it) magazine story on this organization, click here.

ABC, CBS and NBC are donating one hour of simultaneous commercial-free primetime for the nationally televised September 10th fundraising special, to be telecast from Los Angeles.

Similar to the landmark 2008 broadcast, this year's telecast will feature live performances of legendary recording artists and stars from film, television and sports who will present content providing viewers with insights into cancer. While the broadcast will honor the memory of those taken by the disease, it will focus on surviving cancer and living a full life after being diagnosed with it. In the United States alone this year, 1.4 million people will be diagnosed with cancer.

HBO, Discovery Health, E!, MLB Network and The Style Network will also carry the show this year, and other networks and cable channels are also expected to join the effort. The program will include calls to donate through designated phone lines, as well as to the standup2cancer.org web site. One hundred percent of all public donations will go directly to cancer research.

Two years after an historic fundraising telecast and the start of a ground-breaking grassroots movement, Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) will return to primetime television on September 10, 2010, at 8PM EST & PST / 7PMCT, with a star-studded appeal to build continuing public support and donations for cutting-edge cancer research that translates at a rapid pace from the laboratory to treatments and technologies that benefit patients.

Similar to the landmark 2008 broadcast, this year's telecast will feature live performances of legendary recording artists and stars from film, television and sports who will present content providing viewers with insights into cancer. Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer and Brian Williams announced the upcoming show during individual live appearances on CBS's "The Early Show," ABC's "Good Morning America" and NBC's "TODAY" show, respectively. The three network evening news anchors will co-host the September 10th telecast. HBO, Discovery Health, E!, MLB Network and The Style Network will also carry the show this year, and other networks and cable channels are also expected to join the effort. The program will include calls to donate through designated phone lines, as well as to the standup2cancer.org web site. One hundred percent of all public donations will go directly to cancer research.

While many breakthroughs are occurring, a more concerted effort to share new knowledge and combine research efforts could mean even faster and more effective results, saving the life of a loved one. Find out more about Stand Up 2 Cancer's new model for innovation, interdisciplinary idea-sharing and funding by reading more here and going to www.su2c.org.

Stand Up 2 Cancer's Mission Statement:

Here we stand, on the verge of unlocking the answers that will finally conquer the devastation that is cancer.

We now understand the very biology that drives cancer. With knowledge gained from the mapping of the human genome, we can now target the genes and pathways that are involved in turning normal cells into cancerous ones. We are on the brink of possessing a toolbox full of new, advanced technologies just waiting to be adapted to benefit patients. Right before us, so close we can almost touch them, are scientific breakthroughs in the prevention, detection, treatment and even reversal of this disease.

Cancer takes one person every minute. One life in a moment. They are our brothers, our sisters, our fathers and mothers, our husbands and wives, our best friends, our children, ourselves. Every day in America, 1500 people die and yet the means to save them are literally within our reach. To wait any longer for someone else to save our lives and the lives of those we love is unforgivable.

Inspired to act by our own personal experiences with cancer, we recognize that we can no longer rely on the current system alone to give us the breakthroughs we need. So, we are calling on the public to help take matters into our own hands, investing in a revolution that will change the way scientist and clinicians work to understand and treat these diseases. Stand Up To Cancer is more than a rallying cry. It is a galvanizing force created to urgently move cancer research forward.

This is where the end of cancer begins: when we unite in one unstoppable movement and Stand Up To Cancer.

Working with the top experts in cancer research, Stand Up To Cancer is forging a new way to develop breakthroughs that will end cancer. We're putting together the best and the brightest minds in cancer research those on the edge of accomplishment investing in their projects and taking the bureaucratic obstacles out of their way. We are building interdisciplinary Dream Teams of scientists, clinicians, technicians and other experts, who will focus on a specific cancer problem. We'll track their progress in real time, so that everyone who invests can see how their participation is creating real change.