In each issue of our catalog, the Wisteria family features a different non-profit organization. We donate a portion of the income from the sales of some of our products, and provide a page for their stories.

The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship's mission is to reduce disparities in healthcare by developing service-oriented leaders who are skilled and dedicated in helping underserved communities and who influence and inspire others by example. The Fellowship achieves this through an interdisciplinary, service-learning model that fosters moral and professional development.

Albert Schweitzer spent his life in service. At the age of 30, aware of the desperate medical needs of Africans, he decided to become a doctor and devote the rest of his life to service in Africa. Dr. Schweitzer and his wife opened a hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon. After years of bringing aid to a vast number of his patients, he authorized the formation of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship to support his medical work in Africa. In 1979, the Fellowship began sending senior medical students to work at the Schweitzer Hospital, which has provided care through over 35,000 outpatient visits and more than 6,000 hospitalizations annually for patients from Gabon.

In 1992, the Fellowship launched its United States Schweitzer Fellows Programs. Students in health professions and related fields carry out service projects in underserved communities in the US. To date, more than 1,500 US Fellows have contributed over 300,000 hours of service and worked with more than 400 community-based agencies across the United States. Since Dr. Schweitzer's death in 1965, the Fellowship has continued to support Albert Schweitzer's humanitarian efforts across the world.

About 2.3 million children in America have parents who are in prison. Over the past 7 years, at least 1000 of these children have been given holiday joy through the organization known as Clayton's Backyard Crew.

In 2000, 10 year old Clayton Lillard found two discarded bicycles in his neighborhood and came up with an idea. He decided to repair those bikes in order to give them to less fortunate children so they could share in the joy he got from his own bike. Clayton set a goal of repairing 25 bikes. Each bike would be distributed to a deserving child through the Prison Fellowship Angel Tree. Word of Clayton's work began to spread quickly. Soon old bicycles began showing up at his door, and he quickly realized he would need some help to work on all these bikes. Thus his crew was formed: a collection of Clayton's classmates and neighborhood friends who pitched in to help complete all of the bikes in time for Christmas. The team worked tirelessly and Clayton spent almost 350 hours with his crew and still more bikes came.

Today, seven years later, Clayton continues his efforts. Each year the bicycles are collected and repaired and then each bicycle is paired with a helmet and a lock and given to a child. Through significant support from his own community and across the country, Clayton's efforts continue to impact the lives of children who otherwise would not have a Christmas gift.

The Happy Factory named because of the happiness it brings to the volunteers and the children who receive their sturdy wooden toys is a charitable service center. They create toys to reach children in need throughout the world. Volunteers, ranging from senior citizens to troubled teenagers, handcraft toys from scrap hardwood donated by local cabinet companies. So far over 733,000 toys have been made and delivered to 120 countries. The Happy Factory's motto is "We may not be able to make a toy for every child in the world that needs one - but we're going to try!"

The Happy Factory founders Donna and Charles Cooley have learned that toys are not simply playthings, but tools to unlock a child's imagination and to help him cope with the world around him. Children who experience trauma often learn to suppress their pain and fear by turning off their minds to escape. A toy triggers the imagination and creates feelings of ownership, hope, and love.

From its tiny roots in Cedar City, Utah, in 1995, The Happy Factory has grown to include over 30 satellite branches, most of which are mom-and-pop garage wood shops. Toys are donated locally to hospitals and crisis centers, and internationally to orphanages, schools, and churches. Our hobby has turned into a full-time labor of love!

The Walnut Hills Fellowship is a small group of inner-city neighbors learning to love each other and the rest of the world. In January of 2007, founder Bart Campolo decided to move his family from the comforts of suburban Cincinnati to an inner-city neighborhood. Prior to the move, Bart worked as a pastor, and realized other pastors just did not have the time needed to devote to these neighborhoods. Bart decided that he and his family would live as servants to better their community under the motto: "Love God, Love Others, Nothing Else Matters".

Their primary program is a large weekly dinner that provides both physical nourishment and spiritual encouragement to their neighborhoods. They also help clean or fix up their neighbors' homes and put together fun, educational activities for kids in the community. As important as these programs are, the real goal of the fellowship is to build strong, personal relationships with and among their poor neighbors, and to leverage those relationships to positively transform both individuals' lives and the overall community.

Because most of their members are poor, the Walnut Hills Fellowship relies on financial contributions from their extended family of supporters. Plans for the coming year include local service projects, life-skills training, academic support, personal counseling, group-building exercises, field trips, and other activities which will improve the lives of needy families and individuals and help them grow together into a genuine faith community. They are currently focused on raising support to finance the creation of a ministry space.

Many summers ago, I worked at a non-profit service community in rural northeast Georgia called Jubilee Partners. Located on 260 acres two hours east of Atlanta, Jubilee is actively involved in housing and educating refugees from around the world. If you have ever wondered where refugees go when they first arrive in America, Jubilee is one of those places.

Since 1980 over 3,000 refugees from nearly 30 countries have made Jubilee their temporary home. A major part of the staff's time and energy goes into welcoming, hosting, and teaching these refugees, who often come from Sudan, Afghanistan, Burundi, and other war-torn countries. These folks are exhausted by their ordeals, anxious about how they will survive in this new culture, and unable to speak much, if any, English. Jubilee becomes a safe place for them to learn a new language, get acquainted with our country, rest from years of hardship, and begin their new lives in an environment of love and support.

The Himalayan Youth Foundation (HYF), is an organization dedicated to supporting education based initiatives in the Himalayan region. The Himalayas have an extraordinary landscape. Though beautiful, daily life for its people is harsh, and typically without the benefits that a modern city offers, including basic health care and education. This affects the children in particular, who often live in extreme poverty with a low life expectancy and high rates of illiteracy.

By helping to provide basic health care, proper nutrition, and an education to the underprivileged children of the Himalayas, HYF hopes to bring additional stability and prosperity to the region. Donations are invested directly by an experienced board of professional men and women that are committed to wise use of monetary gifts and direct monitoring to insure that the programs are provided for as needed.

Presently, supported projects include the Kailash Hostel in Kathmandu, Nepal, operated by the Himalayan Children's Foundation. The Kailash Hostel offers a chance at formal education, basic necessities, psychological welfare, and shelter through individual sponsorship. Additionally, the Choki Traditional Arts School in Bhutan offers free housing and education in Bhutanese arts, math, and language to impoverished children in the area. We're happy to be reminded that a little kindness can make all the difference in the future of a child most anywhere in the world.

We want to share with you a story about a special woman who came to work with us several years ago who recently succumbed to cancer. Sybil Todd was our Vice President of Customer Service. She had spent her entire career in higher education, mostly at the University of Virginia, where she was Dean of Students. During her time at UVA, Sybil focused on turning budding college students into leaders that could someday be forces for change in their own communities. She focused on expanding education, both academic and real world, using leadership and mentoring programs that she started and headed up during her time at the university.

After her retirement, she came to work with us at Wisteria. She helped us move from a crazy start up to a crazy professional company, all without losing the values, determination, and laughter that marked those early days. Sybil used to say "God help us in spite of ourselves." God surely did by sending Sybil our way.

We are proud to tell you that Sybil's friends and family have established an endowment at the University of Virginia to benefit young leaders in the UVA community. If you knew Sybil or just want to celebrate the power of mentors and educators in our lives, please consider making a contribution. A positive future so often begins with a strong education. Sybil knew the value of that and we will never be the same because of it.

The Dream Tree Project is a community-based organization that strives to "provide a respectful, loving and safe place for growth and potential" for the homeless, abused, and neglected youth of Taos, New Mexico and the surrounding regions.

Taos County is a unique environment that, though, comprised mainly of a semi-rural population, is considered a resort. As a result, the cost of living in Taos is higher than any other county in New Mexico, placing an additional strain on the local population. Seasonal low-wage jobs are the norm in Taos due to the tourist economy and over one fourth of county residents live in poverty. One third of babies in Taos are born to single mothers, roughly 25% of whom are born to teenaged mothers, and the teen violent death rate is among the highest in the state.

The Dream Tree Project is a very special program that uses a "holistic approach" to combat homelessness among young people. They do not simply provide a place for the disaffected youth to seek brief respite, but rather a community in which they feel safe to identify their individual needs and weaknesses, as well as strengths, in order to work toward personal goals. Their Transitional Living Program encourages participants to pursue education and employment, and are given individualized training and support in order to do so. By becoming more independent, the youths can reestablish family ties or form some of their own and create a stronger community around them.

"At the Dream Tree Project, we believe in youth and their potential; with this support our youth and families are making changes for their future they never knew they would make. Dreams are possible!" Cami Hartman, Dream Tree Co-Director.

WorldCamps is a US based organization started by Philip Lilienthal, who owned and operated Camp Winnebago in Maine for almost 30 years. After retiring, Phil decided to start a new camp in South Africa for children affected by HIV and AIDS. However, this camp isn't your typical tennis-playing, craft-making, camp song-singing experience. Don't get us wrong, they have all those activities and many others to boot, but this is a camp that includes an education on what they call "Life Skills". Classes include proper nutrition and hygiene, HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness, gender stereotypes, and a healthy view of sexuality.

These might seem like pretty heavy topics for a youth camp, but in a country where children are too often forced to deal with adult issues, it's important to properly educate people. A large part of the AIDS epidemic in Africa is due to prevailing attitudes and behaviors toward sexuality and AIDS. Trying to change a country-wide attitude is difficult, but WorldCamps has found a unique environment in which to do so. The camp provides a place for children to play and relax while meeting others who either have family that are HIV+ or are HIV+ themselves.

Presently WorldCamps is located outside of Johannesburg in South Africa, but they will soon open a second camp in Pietermaritzburg. The camps bring together 30 trained counselors and over 100 children aged 10 -15 years. However, due to demand it is impossible for all the children to return. Other programs, such as Saturday Kids Clubs, allow the campers to reconnect with each other during the year and meet new children. They intend to branch out in the future to other countries with a unique, fun, and crucial learning experience for kids. The motto of WorldCamps is "Nation Building, Community, Good Health, and Fun." Something every child deserves.

More than ever, a successful career is based on a strong educational foundation - intellectual, spiritual, moral, and social. In a community that regularly deals with issues such as illiteracy, drugs, crime, teen pregnancy, and violence, the West Dallas Community School creates a foundation on which to build a better future.

Poverty is one of the most significant factors affecting a child's education. The average household income surrounding WDCS is $10,784 with 78% living below the poverty line. Luckily, WDCS recognizes how important a good school environment can be to a child. The focus is on small classes so each student receives individual attention and opportunities to lead - critical steps in helping students realize their highest potential. Only 8% of the school's annual budget comes from tuition with the other 92% comprised of donations. Nationally, WDCS students score in the 90th percentile in mathematics and the 75th percentile in language arts. Better than many schools found in affluent communities.

The mission of WDCS is to "provide its students with a challenging educational experience designed to help them know, love and practice that which is true, good and excellent …". Through offering community programs, as well as a competitive classical education, WDCS makes a difference in their community. Maybe through the school's example we can see their vision realized all over the country.

There are several landmarks in New Orleans-Bourbon Street, Preservation Hall, and of course, Aunt Sally's Praline Shop, located in Jackson Square right next to Café du Monde. Pierre and Diane Bagur opened the first Aunt Sally's shop in the 1930's filled with merchandise selected to remind visitors of the history of New Orleans. The Bagurs developed and perfected their own version of the traditional French Creole candy, the infamous praline, cooked over a gas stove in a copper pot and then hand-poured to cool on a marble countertop.

We are proud to offer you a gift basket filled with New Orleans produced fare that our friends at Aunt Sally's put together for us, all made by small businesses in New Orleans and the sales of these items will help these businesses get back on solid ground. A portion of the sales will also go to the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity's Musicians' Village.

Conceived by Harry Connick, Jr. and Branford Marsalis, the Musicians' Village will be the rebirth of the musical center of New Orleans. If blues is the soul of New Orleans, then jazz is the heartbeat. Reestablishing the music base of the many artist whose homes were destroyed during Hurricane Katrina is an integral step in rebuilding this historic city.

Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1976 and is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing and homelessness worldwide. The New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity was started in 1983 and remains critical through rebuilding effort in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's destruction.

Heroes for Children is an organization that works to provide financial and social assistance within the state of Texas to families with children (0-22 years of age) battling cancer. Founded in memory of Taylor Anne Brewton and Allison Leigh Scott, Heroes for Children was formed when the parents of Taylor and Allie met in December 2004. Larissa Brewton founded Taylor's Angels in 2001 to assist families at Medical City Children's Hospital in Dallas, Texas. In October 2004, Larissa Linton met Jenny Scott, who recently lost her daughter Allie to the same disease that had overcome Taylor, Acute Myeloid Leukemia. The two mothers formed Heroes for Children, a nonprofit larger and better able to help families in need.

After diagnosis of cancer, families must find a way to cope financially with high medical costs. Cancer treatments typically include chemotherapy, radiation, surgeries, and frequent clinical visits, all of which can last anywhere from six months to three years. Additionally, a parent must take on increased care responsibilities for the child, at times giving up a full-time job to do so. Care costing $600,000 and up usually exceeds the lifetime maximum benefits. With the already intense emotional burden, having to worry about financial matters is more than any family should have to bear.

The financial relief Heroes for Children can provide to a family is an immeasurable benefit. What makes this organization so unique is the versatility it allows in how the funds are used. Donations can be used for anything from medical bills to gas payments for frequent trips to the hospital. Currently in the US there are an estimated 12,400 children diagnosed with cancer. It is difficult to measure the relief and hope the Heroes for Children gives the families they help, but it's impossible not to see it.

Tennis champ Arthur Ashe once said, "True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others, at whatever cost." It is with this in mind that we introduce you to a personal hero of ours, the indomitable Vi Ellis. A plucky 79 years old, Vi has more energy than most people a third her age. Shannon first met Vi about 10 years ago, when they both worked at the Christian Appalachian Project in Kentucky. Vi acted as a den mother of sorts to all of the younger volunteers. Vi became known as the "go to" person if you had a problem or just needed some help. Everything from driving people to doctor's appointments to touting the virtues of vitamins to baking cakes and delivering them to families, Vi was often the only contact many of the poor and isolated families had with their communities.

Most of the time, we try to profile established lesser known charities. It is true that every little bit helps, but as a small company, we have a special affinity for those people who, no matter their race or creed, work together toward a common cause. It's a feeling we can empathize with pretty easily. Not only that, but we know from observing Vi how just one or two people can truly change the course of a small organization and its impact on the world.

We wanted to help a start-up nonprofit, and we knew just the organization. We know how hard it is to build something practically from scratch and so does Vi. In fact, she's already done it once with the Mount Vernon Community House and she plans to do it all over again, this time with a new space and a focus on the troubled youth in her community. Let's face it, growing up is pretty hard these days. Vi has decided to give up her retirement to help these youth find the guidance and encouragement they so desperately need at such an important time in their lives. We hope that you find her can-do attitude and desire to serve others as inspirational as we do. See? We told you she's a hero.

Historically, up to 90% of Tibetan women deliver in the home, even when government facilities are available, and Tibetan society is one of the few in the world in which there is no tradition of birth attendants or midwives. Many newborns are delivered with the help of a female family member, however, a significant proportion of Tibetan women deliver their babies completely alone. Poor roads, long travel distances, limited access to emergency health care, and poor nutrition create a potentially deadly environment for pregnant women and their infants. The majority of Tibetans are either farmers or nomads, many of whom reside in extreme poverty in rugged mountainous terrain.

This is where One H.E.A.R.T. (Health Education and Research Tibet) comes in. Founded in 1998, this amazing nonprofit integrates Western medicine within the context of Tibetan beliefs and medical practices. They have initiated programs to train skilled birth attendants, physicians, and even pregnant women and their families through PAVOT (Pregnancy and Village Outreach Tibet), a program that sends trained locals to the furthest reaches of Tibet to educate and care for the most isolated women and newborns.

With one of the highest newborn and infant mortality rates in the world, One H.E.A.R.T. has their work cut out for them in this beautifully severe region. But we know you'll agree that protecting the amazing Tibetan people and their lush culture is worth it.

Purchase a delivery kit for $65 online that provides essential nutritional supplements, medication, and life-saving tools necessary for a clean and safe delivery.

Nonprofits are born out of a need that is identified in the community. Though there are relatively few groups to help the older communities to achieve their goals, older adults comprise one of our fastest growing populations. That¹s where the Fairhill Center enters.

The innovation of this unique nonprofit lies not just in its focus, but also in its method. It is a "community" of nonprofits that share the same campus and provide support and resources for each other which might be more difficult to obtain otherwise. It is a place where older adults and families can find and give assistance.

The mission statement of Fairhill is "to connect people and organizations with successful aging opportunities." Though there is only a small 25 person staff, they have more than 150 volunteers in the Cleveland area. Kinship Care is a program that supports grandparents raising grandchildren. The Senior Guest House supplies housing for older adults that are temporarily homeless and unable to provide for themselves. Over the next two years they intend to further expand the Kinship Care programs with a campaign to renovate on-site historic buildings for a unique mixed-income family apartment complex.

Fairhill Center truly does amazing things. With dozens of other projects that offer as much hope and inspiration as these few we highlighted, it's easy to imagine Fairhill living up to their promise. Many people have seen the good that they do, and we hope you will too.

"Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them ­ a desire, a dream, a vision."

Muhammad Ali may have said this, but no one understands his message better than RETRAK. RETRAK is an organization formed in 2005 that works with a team of social work organizations that aim to get homeless children back on course in their lives. Their primary project has empowered street youths since 1994 through the internationally worshipped sport of soccer. This project focuses on the 2000 to 5000 homeless in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. Through RETRAK, though, they are conducting a feasibility study in Ethiopia and hope to reach out to the 10,000 to 15,000 street children there in Addis Ababa, the capital.

Well, you might ask, what exactly is it that makes RETRAK and it's programs so unique? Well, for one, they work only with boys ages 5 to 20. This may seem exclusive, but according to RETRAK there is a scarcity of programs aimed at male youths. They wish to complement the work of their sister foundations, not overshadow it. Secondly, too often we forget that not everyone can be helped immediately. In a country where civil war and diseases such as HIV and AIDS have ripped families apart, often times the soul needs as much healing as the body. Soccer provides an activity that the boys can take pride in and excel at. Its challenges and successes produce the Champions that Muhammad Ali saw latent in everyone.

To date, up to 400 homeless boys have found a permanent alternative to life on the streets, whether it be receiving job training, reuniting with their families, or moving on to higher education. Yeah, it sounds like a knockout to us too.

About twelve years ago, San Antonio banker Alexis Hefley asked, “What on earth am I here for?” Within two weeks, she had quit her job and was on the path that ultimately led her to create the Uganda Children’s Charity Foundation (UCCF), an organization dedicated to helping Ugandan AIDS orphans. Out of a population in Uganda of 20 million, 1.7 million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS or HIV.

Today, UCCF supports two orphanages and a school, where 850 children receive food, shelter, and an education. We know it’s impossible to picture 850 children. So, think about 14-year-old Ben Mugerwa.He loves to play basketball, and his favorite animal is a lion. Rose Namuli, 11, intends to be a doctor. We think she’ll make it. Michael Okwai loves soccer, music, and macaroni and chicken. There are 847 singular and engaging others. Loveable, all. One of the ways UCCF raises money is through the Tour of Light, a critically acclaimed troupe of world-class musicians and dancers – who just happen to be Ugandan orphans. We saw them in 2004, and we were blown away by the children’s infectious joy in life. And by a savory sampling of African culture. I left the concert believing, against all previous evidence, that I could absolutely dance. They’ll be back in the U.S. in 2006. See them if you possibly can. Until then, you can buy the Children of Uganda CD, available at www.uccf.org. It’s great music. And it will help. A dollar doesn’t buy much in America today, but in Uganda it can be stretched a very long way. That’s something Ms. Hefley and the good people at UCCF have learned to do exceptionally well.

Café 458 “A few blocks from the Carter Center in Atlanta is a place known as Café 458. There, homeless people can get a hug, a warm welcome, sit down at a table, select a meal they prefer, and order it from an attentive waiter. More than 1,600 people have passed through Café 458, in the process regaining some of their dignity as human beings, and many of them now help as volunteers.” – Jimmy Carter

Before we started Wisteria, before moving to Texas, I was a volunteer at Café 458. Working there, I learned so much – that everyone has an amazing story to tell and a wonderful spark of life. And that homeless people can be some of the most humorous people in town. Maybe the most important lesson was that there are many forms of hunger. A soup line satisfies one kind for a few hours. But the relationships built between volunteer waiters and displaced people at Café 458 can satisfy a hunger we all share – to be seen as real, worthy people. I think of the work that happens there as part of the true meaning of communion.

Oh, and the food is really tasty because it is donated from the top restaurants in Atlanta. The time I spent at Café 458 was a particularly significant experience for me, and I will always remember it fondly.

El Dustberry is a unique ranch in a southern California canyon where cancer patients, their families, and other people with special needs can go for respite and renewal from the rigors of medical treatment and the difficulties of disabilities. Robin Rapoport, the guiding light of the facility, is one of those individuals who saw a need in the world and was inspired to find a way to fill it.

After experiencing the loss of her father Elliot, her friend Dusty, and her cousin Barry to cancer (whose names combine to make El Dustberry), Robin knew first hand how difficult it is to deal with serious illness. She decided to share her ranch with those most in need of healing of a different sort. “A woman facing the challenges of cancer and her family can feel frightened, overwhelmed, and anxious,” she says. “Every day at the ranch we help people release tension and stress in a loving and nurturing environment while connecting with nature.”

Now known as Share the Ranch at El Dustberry, it is an equineassisted therapeutic activity center. Therapy begins with the “ground work” of building mutual trust with the animal through petting and extensive grooming. Only later does one begin to ride. Clients at the ranch learn natural horsemanship, never using bits and seldom saddles on the gentle and patient horses. The unique program creates an intuitive partnership between human and horse which becomes a powerful tool to enhance other treatments and therapies.

Tamara, a cancer patient, and her 9-year-old son Noah are enthusiastic clients. “Cancer disrupted our lives in so many ways, and El Dustberry has given us a comforting and safe place to weather the storm and begin to put the pieces back together,” she says. Noah, who had a whole lot more to say than we can fit in here, says, “I learned how important it is to take the time to get to know the horses and understand their feelings. Athena, the horse I usually ride, makes me feel better because I can talk to her or any of the horses and they help me feel calm. Grooming and riding the horses is one of the best things in my life right now.”

Riding therapy does wonders for people facing any number of physical and emotional challenges – bringing about improvement in balance and strength as well as a sense of control and well-being in lives that may otherwise feel out of control.

There are a lot of explanations about why that is so. Here at Wisteria, we think it may have to do with a confluence of true spirits and open hearts – the client’s, those of the therapist and handler, and, of course, those of the horse.

It costs money from somewhere to offer this service to these people who are facing so many challenges right now. We are glad to help with a portion of the profits from selected items. You may want to help, too. Check them out at the link above, or give Robin a call at 818-789-7824.

Organic Seed Alliance is all about seeds: sharing seeds; researching seeds; talking with farmers, gardeners, kids, legislators, and anyone else who’s interested. And it’s about preserving heirloom seed stock –a vital and increasingly important alternative to genetically engineered seeds –in support of agricultural self-sufficiency and sustainability, especially on small, family-owned farms.

Open-pollinated seeds, the heirlooms our grandparents grew, can be grown to seed and replanted, year after year, with some assurance of the same yields and crops. Hybrid seeds, genetically engineered and protected by international patents, have to be purchased every year because they will not grow true-totype. Sending open-pollinated seeds and seedsaving information to farmers and other groups helps create affordable local seed sources, better crops, and healthier food at lower costs. Makes good sense to us.

Through World Seed Fund, OSA distributes heirloom seed stock and planting information to schools, prison gardens, worldwide development and reconciliation projects, and communityand urban-garden projects in the United States and Canada. Matthew Dillon, OSA’s executive director, says,“The genetic wealth of our agricultural heritage must be shared by all people, not owned and controlled by a few. We feel that educated and experienced farmers are fundamental for stewarding seed and preserving that heritage. These men and women are as rare as any seed and are equally endangered by the economic forces of modern biotech/ chemical agriculture.”

It is particularly timely that OSA is this issue’s featured nonprofit because of a recent devastating fire that destroyed much of their facility, research materials, and seed bank. Attesting to the power of seeds, Native American heirloomcorn grows through the rubble after the fire. It’s good to play a part of the rebuilding of OSA. Join us, won’t you?

The Guatemala Stove Project is one of those small organizations that does big things. Indigenous families in remote Guatemalan villages have only indoor fire pits, called three-stone fires, on which to cook their food. The fires burn throughout each day, and smoke (and its toxic by-products) coat the walls of their small huts with soot. Interior pollution from cooking fires is so bad that many houses have stalactites of creosote hanging from their ceilings.

It became clear to Tom Clarke of Perth, Ontario, that a simple enclosed fire with a chimney to draw the smoke outside – a stove, something he knew how to build – could eliminate a lot of needless suffering in Guatemala. A basic cinder block stove can add as much as fifteen years to the life expectancy of women and children, who spend most of their days inside, tending the house and its fire. Since many families in Guatemala subsist on as little as $2 a day, such a stove is an undreamed-of luxury for most of them.

In 1999 Tom built six stoves in Guatemala. By last spring, he and his growing group of volunteer masons had built over 1,000 more. “Just think,” he says. "Every morning a thousand families are firing up their stoves. That’s a thousand women not risking blindness or tuberculosis to cook tortillas for their families, and six or seven thousand more not filling their lungs with toxic smoke most of the day every day.”

In addition, since all those families use only half the fuel they once used to maintain open fires, Tom’s stoves, over time, will save thousands of trees from being destroyed for firewood in an area that is already suffering from deforestation.

This time, we honor the Dictionary Project of Charleston, South Carolina, and we will give them part of whatever we receive from the sale of certain products. The original Dictionary Project was started in 1992 by a woman named Annie Plummer from Savannah, Georgia. She was a cleaning lady and a crossing guard who had dropped out of school as a girl (she finished her education in the late ‘70s) and who knew how hard it was to function, much less get a job, in this society without an education. Starting with $50 and a will of iron, she decided to give a free dictionary to every third grader in Savannah and Chatham County. A shrewd businesswoman, Ms. Plummer once persuaded a publisher to sell her several hundred copies of their $5.95 book for just 65 cents.

By 1996 her informal organization had distributed more than 17,000 paperback dictionaries. Annie Plummer died in 1999, and now Mary French of Charleston, South Carolina, manages the project. Ms. French has established a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit, which she runs from her family room with the help of her husband, her children, and a neighbor – none of whom takes a salary.

With the donations she receives this year, she expects to purchase over 700,000 dictionaries. She believes the book must be just the right size for a child to be able to carry it home at night, and be neither too hard nor too easy to understand. She knows firsthand the excitement of ownership and discovery the children experience as they begin looking up words in a book that is all their own. The Dictionary Project has now spread to all but three states and is a testament to the vision of one woman (now two) determined to make a difference in the lives of our children. You might want to make a donation of your own. Or volunteer. Her email address is wordpower@dictionaryproject.org. She welcomes all the help she can get.

Heifer International helps fight hunger and poverty by giving away livestock - cows, chickens, llamas, water buffalo, and more - not to eat, but to share.

Heifer requires that each family complete training in the care of its animal and that they promise to "pass on the gift" of its first female offspring to another family in need - who, in turn, promise to share their animal in the same way. In China, a project begun the 1980's with 105 rabbits has generated hundreds of thousands of offspring that have helped more than 2200 families.

This season is a perfect time to join in the work by donating a sheep, or a cow, or some other farm animal in honor of your mother, father, teacher, client, or someone else close to your heart. When Susanna was born, my sister and her husband gave a chicken in her name. We loved it. New life in honor of new life.

Heifer has a little gift catalog of various animals and what it costs to donate them. One of the best Christmas catalogs we've ever seen. Call for yours at 1-800-696-1918, or visit the website above.

Special Olympics is worldwide organization devoted to the well-being, through sports, of intellectually desabled citizens - boys and girls, men and women - who work hard and train for year-round events. Special Olympics Kansas, a branch of the international organization, serves some 4800 athletes, competing in 22 different official sports. And they make their way without federal, state, United Way, or other funding. All their income comes in, a dollar at a time, from folks who believe in what they are doing.

It's easy to believe in what they do. Special Olympics athletes just plain have fun. Their faces light up wiht the joy of participating and cheering each other on. A friend of ours named Peter plays softball and basketball in the Special Olympics. He trains hard and he's pretty good. He and his teammates each have about a pound and a half of gold medals they all wear around from time to time.

Howie Olson, an administrator of Special Olympics Kansas, tells of his frustration years ago in coaching a softball team shose skills were near the bottom of all the teams playing that year. Enduring relentless summer heat and the loss of game after game, he began to doubt his commitment. In the final game, however, he found his reason to continue. His team was behind 15-0 when one of the players turned to him and asked, "Are we winning, Coach?" She had a beautiful smile on her face, and she was having lots of fun playing the game, in the heat, with little regard for the score. Howie still coaches that team. Ten years later, they won the state championship.

Special Olympics atletes like to win. We all do. But they seem to understand better than many that playing the game is more important than the final result. Indeed, we say.

When the time came for Yewell and Yolanda Cox to quit working, they didn't consider for long the possibility that they would actually quit working. Aware of a number of organizations doing what they could to help out in very poor towns and villages along the Mexico-Texas border, they decided they would like to pitch in. It wasn't long before their garage and then their house - and their station wagon and rented trailers and trucks - were crammed with dental chairs and bunk beds and school supplies and donated pharmaceuticals and wheelchairs and blankets and bandages and toys and books and…well, you get the idea. Now they're a non-profit and have a small warehouse and, once again, are working full time - this time for a different kind of pay - to supply and coordinate the volunteer teams of medical professionals in communities that, otherwise, would have absolutely no access to health care.

We say they're super. And we say they're heroes. We hear a lot about budget deficits and tax cuts, and speculation about how we're going to get along without all those things the government isn't likely to do anymore. Yewell and Yolanda, that's how - and millions of other like them who, when they see something that really needs to be done, just go ahead and do it.

And the rest of us as well, who support the things they do however we can, because we know they're in it for us, too. It's all one heart. The contribution Yewell and Yolanda receive from us and from Wisteria's customers will make a big difference in their work. If you would like to help more directly, call our Customer Service line or drop them an email above. Or, maybe, pitch in on your own, or with your own local heroes. If there was ever a time for all of us to listen to out hearts, this is it.

A friend of ours who works with a non-profit in Guatemala sent Cooper a baby hat. We liked it a lot, so we bought a few as gifts for Wisteria customers. The women who sold them to us plan to use the proceeds to throw a nice party for all the kids in their village. For some it will be their first big party. Last year, Common Hope saw more than 16,800 patients at their Family Development Center, built more than 50 houses for Guatemalan families, and made it possible for over 2,000 children and adults to attend school. They have a website, www.commonhope.org. Look them up. Give them a hand.

"Our work affirms to those artists, many living in abject poverty, that we value the gifts of music and inspiration they have delivered to the world. Our mission is to give back to the roots of American music, through providing basic living necessities and by recording the work of these musicians," say Tim and Denise Duffy, founders of Music Maker Relief Foundation, Inc. "What emerges from the story of our journey searching for these artists and their music down dirt roads, visiting drink houses, back porches, churches, nursing homes is a testament to the importance of their music."

We here at Wisteria believe that music, like bread, is the "stuff of life," nourishing the soul. If, like us, you would like to add them to your annual list of worthy causes, or to purchase their CD's and books here is the contact information: Music Maker Relief Foundation, 4052 Summer Lane, Hillsborough, NC 27278, (919) 643-2456.

We were on our way home from France, Tuesday morning, September 11, when the captain announced that U.S. airspace had been closed and that we would be landing in Canada instead. We rolled to a stop - on that bright fall morning - in a place we'd never heard of called St. John's Bay. Eventually, 27 jumbo jets joined us there, at an airport that normally sees only one plane in a day. St. John's boasts 500 hotel rooms, all told, and there were 8,000 people on those jets.

At midnight, we were finally allowed to leave the aircraft, but with only the clothes on our backs, and at 2:00 am, we were taken by bus to the Salvation Army church at Conception Bay. There, in the dark, in the middle of the night, a line of townspeople had turned out to greet us with hot soup, sandwiches, doughnuts and sleeping bags for everyone. We slept soundly on the church floor.

During the next four days, kids from town came to sing us songs. Townspeople drove us to the community center for showers. Families donated t-shirts and toothbrushes. Church groups cooked enormous homemade meals. And members of the Salvation Army stayed at the church 24 hours a day to be sure we were as comfortable as possible under the circumstances.

We were aching to be home, of course - and so glad when we touched down in Atlanta - but for the rest of our lives we will remember the sweet friendship of the people of Canada and their kindness to us in our hour of desperate need.

We are grateful, every day, for our own encounter with their unhesitating kindness and unselfconscious love for their fellow man.

Thanks.

"Everyone- all of us, every last person on God's Earth - deserves decent shelter. It speaks to the most basic of human needs - our home - the soil from which each of us either blossoms or withers."

Those are the words of Millard Fuller, resident of a tiny town in South Georgia, who set out with his wife, Linda, 26 years ago, to do no less than eliminate poverty housing from the face of the earth. Habitat for Humanity International, the organization that has grown out of their determination, is doing just that, one family at a time all over the world - offering self-help homeownership to people who, otherwise, might never be able to house their families adequately.

More than 125,000 Habitat homes have been built so far by volunteers and sold to partner families, through no-profit, zero-interest mortgages in exchange for several hundred hours of labor-sweat equity - in the building of their own homes and the house of others. By the end of 2005 another 100,000 will have been built.

We like what they're doing.

Send them a check yourself. Or pick up a hammer and help build a house. It's not that hard. They show you how.