September 2014

The Ebola crisis has evoked sympathy - and perhaps fear - in all of us. Which of us could stand by sanguinely as white-hooded and helmeted persons invaded our homes - even if it was "for our own good"?

And what can we do?

Drs Paul Farmer of Partners in Health and Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank, wrote recently:

"But the reality is this: The Ebola crisis today is a reflection of long-standing and growing inequalities of access to basic health care. Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone do not have the staff, stuff and systems required to halt the outbreak on their own." Click here to read the full Washington Post op-ed.

YESTERDAY, Partners in Health announced that it will work alongside two longstanding friends, Wellbody Alliance in Sierra Leone and Last Mile Health in Liberia, to set up TWO new Ebola treatment units. Click here to support PIH with your gift.

Your regular linked giving allows outstanding charities like Partners in Health to offer such a response, and over time, to build more equitable health care systems world-wide.

Or as one of our new board members said, as Global Grandmothers we can turn compassion into action!

Thank you for joining us.

Diana McDonough

President

PS Important giving tidbits.

1. If you haven't already heard, Amazon will give .5% of each purchase you make to a designated charity if you log onto smile.amazon.com. Our
recommended charities are among the many you can designate and the same Amazon selections are available on smile as on the regular site.

2. Don't forget UNICEF's Change for Good Program. If you went traveling recently and have foreign coin or currency sitting around, put it to good use by mailing it to:

U.S. Fund for UNICEF

Attn: Change for Good Program

125 Maiden Lane

New York, NY 10038

GG logo

"The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that's wrong with the world."



- Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder, Partners in Health

New Board Members

Pamela Blatt

Pamela with Owen

"I became a Global Grandmother because I loved the idea of linked giving to children in need."

Pamela, a long time school administrator now retired, lives in Napa, California

Leni von Blanckensee

"Global Grandmothers has turned compassion into action.

Leni with Luca

The idea of Linked Giving especially speaks to me, and I hope it will be a model for my grandchildren to grow into world citizens."

Leni recently retired after 37 years as a teacher, school-reform coach, and administrator. She lives in Berkeley, California.

Newest Member

Amy Novoa

"Thank you for sharing Global Grandmothers.

Amy & Harper on her 50th birthday

I have visited the site, taken the pledge and made a donation. I think this is a great cause!"

Young grandma Amy lives in Portland, Oregon and is an executive with American Express.

Let us hear from you.

Email globalgrandmothers@gmail.com

Annual Charity Update

Charities you trust. As you know we annually review the charities we recommend to make sure they continue to hold a 4 star rating from Charity Navigator and meet certain other standards. Sarah Pruden, our charity chair, oversees this for us.

camfed logo This year Camfed USA lost it 4 star rating, to our great consternation, due to lack of funds raised in the US (not in Europe where they continue to prosper). Camfed focuses on girls' education in Africa and was started in the UK.

We believe this will change and that Camfed continues to be worthy of your support. However, we want to apply our criteria consistently, to include and to exclude, so you know our charity recommendations are completely reliable.

Making Linked Giving Easier

Here's help for making a gift and letting your grandchild or other loved one know about it.

1. Give Now button. As a new feature this month, you can click on a "Give Now" button here or on our website, and make a gift through PayPal. You select the recommended charity you want to receive your donation and we forward it, less service fees. If you don't select one, we will choose one for you.

What this means is you don't need to go to another site to give - you can pick from GG's recommended charities right here.

Try it...

If you prefer giving directly on a charity site, wonderful. Our goal is to facilitate your giving intention in the way most comfortable for you.

2. Printable gift card. You can now print a gift card for your grandchild or other loved one letting them know about your linked charitable gift. Take a look. Click here.

3. Linked giving reminder. We all need a little giving nudge now and then. Our newest aid for that purpose will be the Linked Giving Reminder.

You will receive one of these the beginning of each month - with a Give Now button - just to make it easy to follow through on any linked gifts you plan to make that month.

Happy fall giving!