I ask you to learn about Boikarabelo, the amazing community featured in our film, Angels in the Dust, today, World AIDS Day. Located in a rural area close to Johannesburg, Boikarabelo is a community founded by Marion and Con Cloete, two bold individuals who were anti-apartheid activists and are now HIV/AIDS activists. They’ve taken in hundreds of individuals from nearby towns who are victims of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

One cannot live in South Africa today and not be affected by this horrible disease which has ravaged the country. Approximately 4 million people died from AIDS between 1997 and 2006. Nearly one third of all pregnant South African women are HIV positive. Until recently, the South African government wouldn’t acknowledge the crisis and its interventions were limited and overwhelmingly ineffectual.  Things have finally changed and infection rates have started to stabilize and perhaps even come down slightly.

What does the South African HIV/AIDS epidemic mean to you on World AIDS Day? takepart to learn more about the Cloetes and Boikarabelo. They need your support to continue their tireless work of providing education, housing, meals and most importantly a stable, loving community and support network.  Boikarabelo is a bold, defiant community that enables children and adults to live with HIV/AIDS and to carry on the daily fight to stop this disease from spreading.

I love making presents for the holidays, but sometimes I run short on time (read: lazy) to make something for everyone. So, if I’m going to buy a gift I like to know it’s helping the world in some way, which is why Tom’s Project Holiday is such a great idea for the holidays. When you purchase a pair of Tom’s shoes, the company will donate one pair of shoes to a child in need. This season Tom’s is asking you to help them give 30,000 pairs to children in Ethiopia to protect them from podoconiosis, a soil transmitted disease that can be prevented simply by wearing shoes.

takepart by giving a gift make a huge difference in a child’s life.

A group of over 20 female singers, including Anya Donelly, Britta Phillips, Lori McKenna, Jill Sobule with John Doe, Veruca Salt, Kristin Hersh, Josie Cotton, and The Watson Twins are joining musical forces to record new versions of Neil Young’s most popular, pre-1980 acoustic ballads. Proceeds from the collection, titled Cinnamon Girl, will benefit Casting for Recovery, a cancer charity.

As explained on their site Casting For Recovery (CFR) is a national non-profit support and educational program for women who have or have had breast cancer. They provide an opportunity for women whose lives have been profoundly affected by the disease to gather in a beautiful, natural setting and learn fly-fishing, “a sport for life.” Just as importantly, they offer an opportunity to meet new friends and have fun. Their weekend retreats incorporate counseling, educational services and the sport of fly-fishing to promote mental and physical healing. Founded in 1996, Casting for Recovery has been offering free retreats across the country.

CFR relies heavily on volunteers and donations to offer it’s free retreats, so and visit castingforrecovery.org to get give or get involved.