The National MS Society

Good Evening!! Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially debilitating disease in which your body's immune system eats away at the protective sheath that covers your nerves. This interferes with the communication between your brain and the rest of your body. Ultimately, this may result in deterioration of the nerves themselves, a process which is irreversible. The National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society is the largest, most productive organization in the world taking an active lead in researching multiple sclerosis. Taken from their official site, please observe their purpose and mission:

The National MS Society is a collective of passionate individuals who want to do something about MS NOW—to move together toward a world free of multiple sclerosis. MS stops people from moving. We exist to make sure it doesn't.

We help each person address the challenges of living with MS through our 50-state network of chapters. The Society helps people affected by MS by funding cutting-edge research, driving change through advocacy, facilitating professional education, and providing programs and services that help people with MS and their families move their lives forward.

If you are interested in learning more about multiple sclerosis and how you can help in the fight, please visit The National MS Society at:  http://www.nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx

God Bless you all! Take care of one another and remember LOVE heals all! <3

American Diabetes Association

Good Evening Gents!! November is Diabetes Awareness Month, but the fight against diabetes is never-ending, and the American Diabetes Association needs your assistance. If you are or know anyone dealing with any type of diabetes know how much the disease takes a devastating toll on people’s lives physically, emotionally, and financially. Thus, if you are or know anyone who is interested in taking an active role in helping finding a cure for Type I and Type II Diabetes:

1.     Attend an American Diabetes Month event in your area (see link Option 2)

2.     Visit www.stopdiabetes.com 

3.     Call 1-800-DIABETES

4.     Text JOIN to 69866 (standard data and message rates apply)

5.     Pledge on the ADA’s Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/AmericanDiabetesAssociation)

Thank you, God Bless!

http://www.diabetes.org/

The United Negro College Fund

Greetings!!

In support and recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday and kicking off the New Year to encourage more blacks acquire higher education, the SecOps Angels hosted a charity drive for the UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND for the month of January!! Founded on April 25, 1944, the UNCF awards more than 10,000 scholarships through more than 400 scholarship, internship, fellowship and institutional grants that support students at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels. Those programs include the:

-Gates Millennium Scholars Program, which supports students from undergraduate through to doctoral studies and whose students have graduation rates of 80-90 percent

-UNCF/Merck Science Initiative, which offers students bioscience and biotechnology research fellowships, cultivating their potential with financial support, hands-on training, close mentoring relationships and institutional support

-Corporate Scholars Program supports hundreds of students with scholarships and internships at major Fortune 500 corporations

Amongst prominent UNCF alumni are Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. David Satcher (U.S. Surgeon General, CDC), Spike Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, and General Chappie James (USAF first black 4-star General). For the entire month of January, S.O.A. will be hosted a donation drive for the UNCF and raised $445.00!!!!

Please visit their site listed below and find out how YOU can aid in helping young Black men and women in their educational needs!! GOD BLESS!!!!

http://www.uncf.org/

Local Disaster Relief

In the unfortunate event of natural disasters occur in your area and you’re interested in contributing to any immediate relief funds, the charities listed below are amongst the most highly regarded. The urgent dangers of natural disasters (to include tornadoes, tropical storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.)  have resulted in multiple deaths, thousands injured, millions of dollars in property loss, and severe damage across the affected areas. If you’re ever interested in aiding with this disaster relief, please visit any of the sites listed below. God Bless!

(The American Red Cross)

 https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?idb=1492705467&df_id=4993&4993.donation=form1&gclid=CIviqKKR560CFULe4AodRiUJtQ

(M25 [Matthew 25] Ministries)

http://www.m25m.org/page.aspx?x=a80d38ae-4f90-443b-9124-93b6dec4d934&gclid=CM-C4-aO560CFSgRNAodUAx36A

(Ten Doves Charity)

http://www.disasterfunding.org/tornadorelief.html?gclid=CNWgr7uQ560CFYPc4AodaWPltA

(The Salvation Army)

http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf/0/0EBF0C6F970E1E2585257880001488AA?Opendocument



World Vision (Child Sponsor)

Greetings!!! I don’t talk about this very often, but a few agents approached me about the topic so I felt compelled to share this with everyone.

In October 2011, I began sponsoring an Ethiopian child named Glenzuzu through the World Vision program. I donate a certain amount of money per month, and it goes directly to her through a non-profit agency that ensures she is getting food & clean water, medical treatment for disease (she’s currently battling 4 in addition to malnutrition) and prepping her to start school. My dream is to one day adopt her (praying for early 2014) since she is an orphan and World Vision also works to assist U.S. sponsors in adopting children from around the world.

World Vision is the largest children’s humanitarian support organization in the world. They have been featured on Oprah Winfrey 27 times, in over 200 magazines, and heavily advertised on every major network across the globe! They’ve done some amazing work, especially with their World Aids Campaign, Feeding Hungry Families in the U.S., and its Rural Ministry group.

If you, or anyone you know, is interested in sponsoring a child (they host sponsorships in Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Lebanon just to name a FEW), please visit the website below. Inbox me if you have any questions, I’ve only been sponsoring for 3 months now but it’s been a truly humbling, gratifying experience. Thanks and Be Blessed! ^_^

http://www.worldvision.org/?lpos=top_img_wvLogo

Big Brother/Big Sister Program

GREETINGS!!! As we all know, children are the future, and many of them are challenged through lack of leadership and inspiration in their lives. There are some very goal-oriented, influential brothers in the group whose time and effort will mean the world to a young person who lacks it in his/her life. EVERYTHING you do as a leader impacts our youth, both positively and negatively. If you’re looking to volunteer by providing some mentorship, this might be a program for you. By volunteering to be a Big Brother, here is the measurable impact it has on the children in the program:

·         more confident in their schoolwork performance

·         able to get along better with their families

·         46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs

·         27% less likely to begin using alcohol

·         52% less likely to skip school.

To find a local Big Brothers/Big Sisters agency in your area:

http://www.bbbs.org/site/c.9iILI3NGKhK6F/b.5961093/k.EC87/Find_a_Local_Agency.htm 

Autism Speaks

GREETINGS AGENTS!! Do you know someone living w/ autism? Want to do your part to help fund research, fundraising, and advocacy efforts? Autism appears to have its roots in very early brain development. However, the most obvious signs of autism and symptoms of autism tend to emerge between 2 and 3 years of age. Autism Speaks continues to fund research on effective methods for earlier diagnosis, as early intervention with proven behavioral therapies can improve outcomes. If you are interested in participating in a charity walk for Autism Speaks, here are a few upcoming events:

2012 Walk Now for Autism Speaks: Miami
Doral, FL - Sunday, March 4, 2012 >

2012 Walk Now for Autism Speaks: Palm Beach
West Palm Beach, FL - Sunday, March 4, 2012 >

2012 Walk Now for Autism Speaks: Broward County
Davie, FL - Saturday, April 14, 2012 >

2012 Walk Now for Autism Speaks: North Bay
Windsor, CA - Saturday, April 14, 2012 >

2012 Walk Now for Autism Speaks: West Texas - Abilene
Abilene, TX - Saturday, April 14, 2012 >

2012 Walk Now for Autism Speaks: Hawaii
Honolulu, HI - Saturday, April 21, 2012 >

2012 Walk Now for Autism Speaks: Lehigh Valley
Allentown, PA - Saturday, April 21, 2012 >

To find out more on how YOU can participate in a walk or other contributions to AUTISM SPEAKS, visit this link:

http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/site/c.igIRL6PIJrH/b.4356939/k.BF85/Home.htm

God Bless! :)

Angel Tree

Greetings! Do you know a child w/ one or more incarcerated parents? Angel Tree is a ministry which reaches out to the children of inmates and their families with the love of Christ. This unique program gives your church an opportunity to share Christ’s love by helping to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the families of prisoners. The program also works by connecting parents in prison with their children through the delivery of gifts. Every year (especially around Christmas time), thousands of churches help brighten the lives of countless children by purchasing, wrapping and delivering gifts on behalf of their incarcerated parent—not only delivering a message of love from parent to child, but also the true meaning of Christmas—the good news of Jesus Christ.

Many of my Soldiers know children who have a parent(s) in prison, and our Brigade Commander approved this charity for Soldiers who were willing to participate this past Christmas. Personally, coming from a city where crime is rampant and most of my friends were affected by not having their parents around, it’s tough seeing children w/ an incarcerated parent during Christmas-time and their birthdays. You don’t have to support prisoners nor do you need to “feel sorry” for anyone, THIS PROGRAM IS FOR THE CHILDREN!

To find out more about Angel Tree and/or contribute to the cause, please visit the site below. God Bless you all!!!

http://www.angeltree.org/angeltreehome

St. Jude's Children's Hospital

Good Afternoon!! To those who don’t already know, the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital is the largest pediatric treatment, research and support focusing on children’s catastrophic diseases. Many of their researchers have received multiple accolades (including the Nobel Peace Prize) for their outstanding research achievements. To all the Kappa brothers in the room, in early 2005, Kappa Alpha Psi announced St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as its national philanthropic partner.

The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of their founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family's ability to pay. <3

Please visit the following link to the learn more about St. Jude’s and how you can support their mission: http://www.stjude.org/