The 2012 Art Van Million Dollar
Charity Challenge is dedicated in honor of Eleanor M. Josaitis, co-founder of Focus: HOPE.
“I voted for my favorite charity!”
I just voted and so should you. Help your favorite charity WIN $25,000 this month! Join Art Van by voting on Art Van Million Dollar Charity Challenge. >
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- ArtVanFurniture: Our Hope Awards last night honored 150 great Michigan charities, and kicked off a $50,000 contest! http://t.co/e17yLKOh
- ArtVanFurniture: @suckahpunch @p2wy should be! We take your request seriously-but if it doesn't stick, there is a # to press during the message to stop it.
- ArtVanFurniture: Our 4th annual Charity Challenge starts Friday morning- vote for your favorite Michigan charity to win $25,000! Go to http://t.co/gL7nzMQy
VOTE UNTIL May 31, 2012
All you have to do is VOTE – and you can help your favorite charity win an ADDITIONAL $25,000, $15,000 or $10,000 bonus grant!
In this, our 4th year of Art Van Million Dollar Charity Challenge. we’re supporting the 150 great Michigan charities we’ve selected over the past 3 years. All we ask is your vote, and to spread the word to your friends!
Just FIND YOUR FAVORITE CHARITY, register to vote and make a difference. You can vote only once, and then encourage your friends and family to vote for your charity. The voting leaders will be posted on the website ArtVanCharityChallenge.com, so check back and see who’s in the lead!
We encourage you to tell your friends, share on facebook and tweet away. HURRY, voting ends May 31, 2012. Feel free to comment on your charity’s page, ralley for them and show your support. You can also DONATE to their cause through Crowdrise.
Good luck Charities!
May 13, 2012 10:56 AM
This week our featured charity is Common Ground.
“I came into this program with no hope and thought I’d never fix my relationship with my family, or feel stable with my depression. Now walking out, I know there is hope for me and my future.” Jonni F., age 16 Today’s teens experience feelings of stress, confusion, self-doubt, pressure to succeed, financial uncertainty and other fears while growing up. Fortunately, there is a safe place for teens to turn. Common Ground’s Sanctuary is a three week voluntary residential counseling program for youths ages 10-17, with a focus on family reunification. With teen suicide considered to be the third most common cause of death among adolescents, it’s critical that there are places like the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary offers three meals a day, medical support, 24-hour supervision, case management, educational support, life skills development, substance use disorder education and prevention classes and on-going crisis intervention for the entire family during the youth’s stay. Common Ground is a non-profit agency that provides a lifeline to individuals and families in crisis and offers many programs to empower people to move from crisis to hope. Helping people for 40 years, most services are free and 91% of every dollar received goes to direct service.
May 6, 2012 5:37 PM
This week our featured charity is Cass Community Social Services.
Cass Community Social Services seeks to improve the quality of life for poor people. This mission is achieved through food, employment, health and housing services. Each has the goal of self-reliance and community redevelopment.
April 29, 2012 10:50 AM
This week our featured charity is Gabby’s Ladder, Inc.
Gabby’s Ladder, Inc. provides guiding steps and loving support in a safe place to grieving children, teens, adults and families as they move through grief and find their way to healing. Our programs are open to anyone grieving from the death of a loved one, but we place emphasis on those who have suffered an unexpected death. Gabby’s Ladder offers grief education, suicide/depression prevention programs and support services to schools and the community. Our counseling and educational services are provided at NO COST to those we serve. Gabby’s Ladder leases space consisting of three small rooms. We offer individual/family counseling, monthly support groups, 8-week family workshops, and Special Needs counseling. We hold four annual events: Memorial Service, Family Picnic, Holiday Gathering and Suicide Vigil. A barrier for us is that our building is not handicap accessible. We would like a place which is convenient and accessible to ALL people who come to us for support. Our dream is to own a humble, yet cozy “house,” that would hold everything we do, and provide an environment where people can come to feel safe, loved and receive the help needed to move through their grief.
April 22, 2012 5:36 PM
This week our featured charity is Boys Hope Girls Hope of Michigan.
Boys Hope Girls Hope Detroit is a 501(c)(3) organization committed to the academic success of at at-risk youth in Metropolitan Detroit. Our Core Model Our residential, scholarship program for youth provides the structure and support our scholars need to be successful. We provide children with wrap-around care, safe homes and environments, a first-class education and opportunities to learn more about themselves and the world. The result? 100% of our scholars graduate from high school and attend college. What We Believe Boys Hope Girls Hope believes in children. We believe in their ability to overcome their circumstances. We believe in the ability to become more than they ever dreamed of becoming and we believe that they can then go on to give hope to countless others. We empower children to realize the potential that is within them. We set high standards and give scholars everything they will need to meet those standards. In doing so, we make our communities, and our world, a better place.
April 18, 2012 4:39 PM
This week, our featured charity is The Detroit Institute for Children.
The Detroit Institute for Children’s (DIC’s) mission is to care for children with physical, developmental, neurological or behavioral disabilities in a way that is positive, passionate, integrated and family-centered. We help children to maximize their potential within their families and the community. For over 90 years we have cared for the disabled and underprivileged children of Detroit, therapeutically treating the effects of difficulties such as cerebral palsy, paralysis, polio, spinal and other deformities, dystrophies, and autism. We serve approximately 1,850 patients and their families annually, acting as a safety net by subsidizing the cost of care that they otherwise may not be able to afford. Individually designed treatment plans for each patient are monitored throughout the child’s treatment in order to achieve the greatest outcome. As a result, more than 90% of our children make progress toward or achieve their goals and improve their quality of life. Our specialty services include physical, occupational and speech therapy, our Activities of Daily Living Center and Multi-Sensory Gym. In addition, DIC partners with other area agencies, such as the Judson Center, and works within many school settings as a critical partner in the treatment of children with special needs or other constraining conditions.
April 10, 2012 6:12 PM
This week our featured charity is The Monroe County Child advocacy Center.
The Monroe County Child advocacy Center (CAC) mission is to minimize trauma and increase the safety of sexually and physically abused children and their family in a child-friendly environment through a coordinated team of experts functioning with a dual purpose of seeking justice and providing care and treatment under a standardized protocol. The Center was established with due consideration given to the best practices identified by President George W. Bush’s 2003 Family Justice Center Initiative and the State of Michigan Governor’s Task Force on Children’s Justice. Research has shown that consolidating services for abused children and their families decrease the trauma experienced therefore, all forensic interviews are performed at the CAC by a trained forensic interviewer. Moreover, a Master’s prepared Board certified pediatric forensic nurse examiner, conducts chronic and acute medical forensic exams. Additionally, counseling services are available through referral within the local hospital campus. Consequently, travel by the children and their families are not required for these services, thereby ensuring retention throughout the evidence collection, medical treatment, investigation, and healing process. Annually, over 200 children are seen at the Center for various forms of abuse and neglect.
April 3, 2012 10:16 PM
This week our featured charity is Midland County Child Protection Council.
Keeping children safe is an adult’s responsibility. The Board of Directors, staff and volunteers of the Safe & Sound Child Advocacy Center believe that child abuse is a community problem with a need for a community solution. Safe & Sound CAC is dedicated to working with our community to protect children through awareness, education and intervention. We understand that families are best served when agencies work together. By collaborating with other agencies we can better meet the needs of our children. The CAC is committed to providing a coordinated, multidisciplinary team approach to preventing child abuse that includes Child Protective Services, Law Enforcement, The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, mental health professionals and medical professionals through its Forensic Interviewing Program. The central goal of this program is to decrease duplication of services and multiple interviews, minimizing or eliminating the added trauma of a child abuse investigation. Critical components in this process are to Increase awareness of preventing child abuse and neglect, identify child abuse and neglect, report suspected child abuse and or neglect, and observe the protocol to follow when abuse is suspected. Families will know that in our community, children are valued and a system is in place that effectively deals with child abuse and or neglect. We ask that Art Van be a strong and supportive collaborating partner in our journey to protect our children.
March 25, 2012 7:14 PM
This week our featured charity is Hannah’s House.
We have a mission to be a Christ-centered haven offering hope and help to homeless, indigent women who are in crisis pregnancies and/or are caring for infants. We go far beyond providing homeless expectant mothers with food and shelter. We serve the entire Lansing area and are one of the few homeless shelters for pregnant women in the state. We are available to women 18 and older. The women may stay for the duration of their pregnancy, and up to nine months afterward. Hannah’s House residents are given instruction and encouragement in parenting skills, budgeting skills, and healthy living in body and spirit. The love we teach at Hannah’s House will last for generations.
March 20, 2012 11:58 AM
This week our featured charity is Girls on the Run.
Girls on the Run is a non-profit organization that envisions a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams. The Southeastern Michigan council was founded in 2001 to serve Washtenaw, Jackson, Lenawee, Monroe and Livingston counties. We host two ten-week seasons, one in the spring and one in the fall. Volunteer role models lead participants through a well-researched and scientifically evaluated life skill’s curriculum designed to support all aspects of girls’ development – their physical, emotional, mental and social well-being. Lessons include fun running games and experiential activities that help girls learn to create healthy habits, make positive choices, stand up for themselves and serve as leaders in our community. The program culminates in a non-competitive 5K event which gives the girls a chance to shine and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. Girls complete the program with a stronger sense of identity, a greater acceptance of themselves, a healthier body image and an understanding of what it means to be part of a team.
March 11, 2012 10:11 PM
This week, our featured charity is Every Woman’s Place, Inc.
Every Woman’s Place/Webster House Youth Services is a crisis agency serving victims and survivors of domestic and sexual assault as well as homeless and runaway youth and youth at risk of becoming homeless. Services include counseling, therapy, case- management, legal advocacy, housing support and shelter services. The agency also works in the streets to connect to homeless teens in Muskegon, North Ottawa, Newaygo and Oceana counties. Domestic and Sexual Assault services support Muskegon County. Couch surfers describes teens and young adults who sleep from one house to another for safe shelter. The Couch Surfing Campaign to End Homelessness is designed to raise funds and awareness of homelessness and to show how individuals can become homeless as a result of family violence, running away, family dynamics, and much more. The Mission of Every Woman’s Place & Webster House Youth Services is to improve and enhance the lives of women, youth and families in crisis in our community by providing and advocating for services which lead to their safety, their emotional and economic self-sufficiency, their productivity, and their ability to participate fully in our society.