10 NEED-TO-KNOW NONPROFITS HELPING WOMEN THRIVE

This month, we’ve highlighted nonprofit partners that recognize and support the role women play in solving our planet’s most pressing environmental issues. From eliminating toxic chemicals to eradicating energy poverty, we think you’ll be inspired by the terrific work of these organizations.

Feature #1 – Wells Bring Hope
Where? Niger, West Africa

Focus: Wells Bring Hope is committed to saving lives with safe water through the drilling of wells in the poorest country in the world: Niger, West Africa. When a well is drilled, life is transformed for generations to come; girls no longer need to walk miles to find water, allowing them to attend school and delay marriage to pursue their dreams.

Check out: Wells Bring Hope has learned that it takes a comprehensive effort to end the downward spiral of poverty. That’s why, in every village where a well is drilled, Wells Bring Hope also develops a microfinance training program to support women in learning the essential skills needed to launch their own small businesses. Click here to meet some of the women they have worked with and explore stories from the field.

Feature #2 – Solar Sister
Where? Sub-Saharan Africa—(Nigeria and Tanzania)

Focus: Solar Sister believes everyone should have access to clean energy, and that women in Africa play a pivotal role in bringing light to where it’s needed most. From Nigeria to Tanzania, Solar Sister trains, supports, and invests in local women launching sustainable clean energy businesses and working to make sure no one is left behind.

Check out: To date, Solar Sisters like Nanbet, a formidable single mom farming and raising five children on her own, have reached over one million people in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda—providing solar lighting systems, phone chargers, and clean cookstoves. With over 600 million Africans living without electricity, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

Thanks to a handful of generous donors, Solar Sister’s latest fundraising campaign is being matched dollar for dollar. Join this effort to support Solar Sisters like Nanbet!

Need more inspiration? Check out Solar Sister’s We Shine video portraits featuring a handful of their amazing women entrepreneurs.

(Photo: Solar Sister)

Feature #3 – Little Bellas
Where? U.S.—(National organization with chapters in 15 states and growing)

Focus: For 11 years, Little Bellas has used mountain biking as a vehicle to teach girls grit in the face of challenges, and to appreciate the strength of a supportive sisterhood in reaching goals. Now more than ever, Little Bellas believes in the importance of giving girls unplugged time in nature, instilling both bravery and a lifelong love of healthy outdoor pursuits.

Check out: In 2018, Little Bellas brought together over 1,000 girls and 380 female volunteer mentors to ride mountains bikes. Follow Little Bellas to stay up to date on events, equipment scholarships, and their four new chapters launching in 2019!

Feature #4 – TreeSisters
Where? International—(U.K., U.S., Canada, Australia, South America, India, Africa, Asia)

Focus: TreeSisters is a grassroots network of women from many cultures and backgrounds planting over two million trees a year in the tropics. With a unique feminine approach, TreeSisters offers personal growth tools and programs designed to support women in unleashing their unique leadership and generosity in service to global reforestation efforts.

Check out: In August, TreeSisters co-hosted their first international women’s festival, bringing together committed treesisters and partners to celebrate their love for empowering the feminine and living world. To date, TreeSisters and their network have planted 2,300,000 trees across eight regions—restoring forest corridors in Brazil, replenishing the watershed of Mount Kenya, rescuing agricultural lands in India, and reforesting cleared and burnt lands in Nepal. Click here to learn more about their tree-planting locations and partners!

(Photo: TreeSisters)

Feature #5 – Women’s Voices for the Earth
Where? U.S.—(National organization based in Montana)

Focus: Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE) amplifies women’s voices to eliminate the toxic chemicals that harm our health and communities. Leading advocacy campaigns across the country, WVE works to rid products of chemicals that are linked to breast cancer, infertility and other health problems, with a focus on the industries that predominantly market to women.

Check Out: Cleaning doesn’t have to be toxic. Ammonium quaternary compounds or ‘quats’ are a class of disinfectant chemicals widely found in cleaning wipes and sprays, and they’ve been linked to asthma and reproductive harm. WVE is telling cleaning product makers to “quit the quats,” and you can help!

Be sure to check out WVE’s Summer’s Deceive campaign, which aims to detoxify feminine cleansing products and take on body-shaming messaging.

Supporters listen to speakers during a #ComeClean Rally in favor of AB 708 at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016. The bill would require manufacturers of cleaning products to disclose their ingredients, some of which could be harmful on their label and websites.(Steve Yeater/AP Images for Seventh Generation)

Feature #6 – Kula Project
Where? Rwanda, Africa

Focus: Kula Project works to develop entrepreneurs. Beginning with a job, Kula empowers women and girls to change the narrative of what their futures could be—women’s lives should reflect the decisions they make, not the circumstances in which they were born.

Check out: Kula currently runs two centers in Rwanda that provide opportunities for women and girls in the community to receive training and education through the Kula Fellowship, their entrepreneurial development program. In addition to skills training, these incredible women and girls participate in household visioning, family nutrition, female health classes, financial literacy coaching, and business training. Visit here to learn about sponsoring a fellow and supporting Kula in their goal of graduating 1,000 fellows by 2020.

(Photo: Kula Project)

Feature #7 – Artemis: Natural Wildlife Federation
Where? U.S.—(Interior West: Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota)

Focus: Artemis engages women hunters and anglers in conservation advocacy to protect sporting traditions, support women as leaders, foster the next generation of conservationists, and ensure the vitality of our outdoor heritage.

Check out: Artemis is rallying for the permanent reauthorization and full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and you can help. Visit here to learn more about how your hunting and fishing stories can have an impact. New to conservation or itching to know more? Check out Artemis’s quick and dirty conservation tips and stayed tuned for Advocacy 101 trainings in your neck of the woods.

(Photo: Artemis)

Feature #8 – Women’s Environmental Network Trust
Where? U.K.—(National organization based in England)

Focus: Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) was founded in 1988 to provide a platform for women’s voices that were marginalized from the mainstream environmental movement, as well as to address environmental issues that particularly affect women. Thirty years later, they continue to inspire and empower women to take action for a healthier planet, tackle environmental concerns that are closely tied to women’s health, and diversify the environmental sector.

Check out: WEN’s #PeriodsWithoutPlastic campaign is aiming to lead a U.K. revolution for healthy, eco-friendly menstrual products, calling on manufacturers to phase out single use plastic in pads and tampons. Click here to learn more about the WEN’s Environmenstrual Coalition of organizations, businesses, and activists taking part in a Week of Action from October 13 -20, 2018.

Feature #9 – Breast Cancer Prevention Partners
Where? U.S.—(National organization based in California)

Focus: Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (formerly the Breast Cancer Fund) is a science-based advocacy organization that works to prevent breast cancer by eliminating exposure to toxic chemicals and radiation.

Check out: Chemicals and radiation linked to breast cancer can be found in everyday products that we use on our bodies, in our homes, workplaces, the food we consume, and the air we breathe. Breast Cancer Prevention Partner’s prevention tips can help redefine your daily routine and reduce your risk.

In the Bay Area? Register for Peak Hike for Prevention on Sunday, October 14 to help prevent breast cancer one step at a time.

Feature #10 – Surf Like A Girl
Where? California, U.S.

Focus: Surf Like A Girl is working to create a global community of female surfers that are stewards of their communities and the environment. By breaking down barriers preventing females from surfing, Surf Like a Girl helps to encourage women to challenge themselves, feel strong in the water, and realize that there is nothing they cannot do!

Check out: Surf Like a Girl believes that everyone deserves the chance to surf. Click here to learn more about program assistance for their surf camp and after-school programs!