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November 2005
Volume 2, Issue 11

Grassroots.org - Make Change!
Providing free services to charities and promoting social action

in this issue

--The National Hunger Clearinghouse
--Featured Client: South Suburban Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse
--Save Our Landfills Recycling Campaign
--Free Online Medical Journals
--The World Disasters Report 2005
--Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE)
--Help Grassroots.org By Selling on EBay
--Previous Newsletters
--Volunteers
--Grassroots.org Shirts, Mugs and More
--Donation Exchange
--Free Services
--News and Views
--Discussion Forums
--Your Feedback
--Administration
--About Grassroots.org

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Welcome to Grassroots News!

This monthly newsletter offers information and tools that can help you to make a difference in the world. Daily updates of news and tips are available on the Grassroots.org blog. We also publish a newsletter for our clients called Grassroots Client News with information for nonprofit organizations. You can sign up for Grassroots Client News here.

The National Hunger Clearinghouse
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The National Hunger Clearinghouse (NHC) believes solutions to hunger and poverty can be found at the grassroots level. It recognizes both the importance and potential of community-based organizations working to end hunger and poverty, and it seeks to broaden their impact by facilitating the exchange of information, resources, and ideas. Organizations that join NHC benefit from three main services. The NHC Database is the nation’s only centralized database of organizations working on food, nutrition, agriculture, and poverty issues. The Database makes it easy to learn about and connect with other agencies, programs, coalitions, etc. The National Hunger Hotline (1-866-3-HUNGRY) receives thousands of calls from organizations and individuals in need of information and resources. Many of the calls they receive are from those in need of emergency food assistance, government assistance programs, and various social services. Based on the particular need(s) of the caller, they provide referrals to organizations in the NHC Database. Finally, the Clearinghouse Connection monthly newsletter provides information on upcoming conferences, policy initiatives, and funding opportunities. Organizations doing innovative work are also highlighted each month. The NHC continually strives to expand their network of organizations working to end hunger and poverty. To learn more about NHC, visit their web site. To get your organization listed in the National Hunger Clearinghouse Database, register online or call 1-866-3-HUNGRY.

Featured Client: South Suburban Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse
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Since 1967, The South Suburban Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse has provided affordable and effective chemical dependency treatment to residents of the Greater Chicago Southland community. The Council strives to provide its patients and their families with quality chemical dependency treatment services. The Council believes that quality treatment includes the acceptance of the disease model of chemical dependency and embraces the 12-step philosophy of Alcoholics Anonymous as an important element of sustained recovery. Their goal is to equip each patient with the skills necessary to successfully maintain sobriety. In this manner, The South Suburban Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse is able to deliver a continuum of substance abuse treatment services to chemically dependent individuals, their families and the communities in which they live.

Prospective patients and referral agencies with admittance inquiries contact Central Intake. Thorough diagnostic assessments are provided to ascertain the nature and extent of the addiction and appropriate placement is recommended. Through gender specific, variable length of stay residential programs, clients are offered a safe, supportive and structured environment in which to learn and practice the principles of recovery. Outpatient programming allows patients to receive treatment in the least restrictive environment possible. Treatment plans are structured to meet the needs of each patient by identifying the consequences of chemical dependency and assisting in changing behaviors to coincide with a commitment to recovery. The Council also offers comprehensive alcohol and chemical dependency treatment programs for adolescents ages12-17, who have become involved with alcohol and drug use at various levels. All programs offered by The Council are on a sliding scale fee and based on each individuals financial status.

Grassroots.org is proud to host the Council's web site at http://www.sscouncil.org.

Save Our Landfills Recycling Campaign
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Grassroots.org, through Funding Factory, is collecting empty printer cartridges and old used cell phones to be recycled. According to the EPA, by the end of 2005 130 million cell phones will become obsolete during the year as owners replace their existing phones with newer models. The disposal will result in more than 65 tons of waste which, if deposited into landfills, will leak toxics and harmful materials into the environment, eventually finding their way into our drinking water and the air that we breathe. Similarly, each toner cartridge that is thrown away adds about four pounds of plastic, metal and chemicals to a landfill. Through the Funding Factory, cell phones and ink cartridges are recycled and refurbished, protecting our landfills. Let us know if you would like to get involved and we will arrange for a box to be delivered to you, free of charge. Fill up the box and drop it off at the nearest UPS or UPS affiliate merchant store. There is no charge to mail the box and Grassroots.org will receive financial support in exchange for these items. So, get involved, Save Our Landfills, and support Grassroots.org so that we can continue to deliver free services to charities and provide information to concerned citizens around the world.

If you need additional information, please e-mail us at recycle@grassroots.org or visit our websites at http://www.renewableresources.org and http://www.renewableenergy.org.

Free Online Medical Journals
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FreeMedicalJournals.com is a directory of 1450 open access medical journals. Though much of the material is geared towards medical professional, the publications cover a wide variety of specialties. The site was created by Flying Publisher, which also offers several other free medical resource sites. If you wish to be informed about new free journals, you can subscribe to their Journal Alert.

The World Disasters Report 2005
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This new document by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, The World Disasters Report 2005, makes a number of recommendations on how improved communications can save lives and reduce suffering in the wake of natural disasters. The document is available for free online or a printed version can be purchased from the site.

Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE)
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More than 30 Federal agencies formed a working group in 1997 to make hundreds of federally supported teaching and learning resources easier to find. The result of that work is the FREE web site. For an overview of what's available at FREE, please see their site map. New resources are announced here.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Education, on behalf of the FREE Working Group, was selected in 1997 by the Government Information Technology Services Board to support federal agencies that would partner with teachers to develop online learning materials and learning communities around agency resources. The project, known as the "Consortium for Education," would also document the lessons learned from these partnerships. Here are descriptions of the work by 10 teams supported under the Consortium for Education project.

Help Grassroots.org by Selling on EBay
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If you sell items on EBay, you can designate Grassroots.org as a beneficiary of a percentage of the sale. (There is a $10 minimum per item.) For more information, go here. This contribution will help provide funding for our operations. Thank you for your support!

Previous Newsletters
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You can view all previous Grassroots News and Grassroots Client News newsletters in our archives.

Volunteers
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If you are interested in giving back to the world community, consider volunteering your time and skills to Grassroots.org. We especially need web designers to develop and enhance web sites for our free web hosting clients. All Grassroots.org volunteer opportunities are now listed on VolunteerMatch and we were recently profiled on JustVolunteers. Review our listings to see if any of our opportunities match your skills, experience, and interest. (You can submit your information to us through the appropriate "I like this opportunity!" link on the page that describes the particular opportunity.)

Grassroots.org Shirts, Mugs, and More!
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You can now buy Grassroots.org merchandise at our new online store. The store features shirts, mugs, prints, and more. Any purchases you make from our online store are tax deductible

Donation Exchange
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This forum on Grassroots.org was created to facilitate the exchange of donated items. Organizations or individuals looking to donate items or those in search of obtaining donated goods should join in the discussion.

Free Services
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Grassroots.org offers several free services to nonprofit organizations in the US and Canada:
- Free Web Services for nonprofit organizations
- Free Legal Consulting for nonprofit organizations

News and Views
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Keep up to date with the latest information from Grassroots.org on our blog. In addition to reading our blog on the web, you can read posts from ours and other blogs using an RSS Reader.

Discussion Forums
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Exercise your freedom of speech!!!

Our discussion forums are a great way for you to help and encourage others, to allow others to learn more about you and your organization, and to build relationships with others in the same field of interest. You can access all of the Grassroots.org discussion forums here. We encourage you to visit the forums, register, and participate.

Let your voice be heard!

Your Feedback
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Drop us a line and let us know what you want to see in future issues. E-mail your comments to newsletter@grassroots.org.


Administration
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About Grassroots.org
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Grassroots.org provides free Internet, business and legal consulting services for charities in the US and Canada. We also provide information to the general public on various social issues through our network of 40+ topical web sites