'09 - '10 Beneficiaries

As I Want to Walk the Talk gets ready to kick off our next 10-week program on September 17th, we are eager to benefit with two new beneficiaries.
 
Those of you who are veteran I Want to Walk the Talk supporters know that through our member participation in I Want to Walk the Talk classes and events, we spent our inaugural year benefiting the National MS Society and After School Matters and are very proud to have donated $12,000!
 
For 2009 - 2010, we are excited to announce that I Want to Walk the Talk will benefit regional beneficiary, Common Threads, a nonprofit dedicated to educating children on the importance of nutrition and physical well-being as well as fostering an appreciation of cultural diversity through cooking. However, we still need to determine our next national beneficiary and we need your help! 
 
From Monday, August 24, 2009 - Tuesday, September 8, 2009, we need you to vote and help us choose which national beneficiary I Want to Walk the Talk will benefit this year.  Once you've determined your pick of one of the three beneficiaries listed below, cast your vote via I Want to Walk the Talk's Facebook page, I Want to Walk the Talk's Newsletter or by emailing us.  Polls will officially close at 11:59pm September 8, 2009 and the winner will be announced.

 
We are excited to announce the following three national beneficiary nominees:

The All Stars Project has been aiding inner-city young people by providing development programs outside of school for close to 30 years. The All Stars Project currently reaches 10,000 children and youth per ear in NYC, Chicago, Newark and Oakland/San Francisco. Programs under the All Stars Project umbrella are designed to address and reverse the ways in which povert stunts development and aid young people in making use of play and performance to help build their lives. Here's a message from All Stars Project President and CEO, Gabrielle L. Kurlander to I Want to Walk the Talk-ers: "The All Stars Project is all about playing and performing, because we've discovered that this is how individuals and communities develop. I am thrilled that you are considering including us as part of your commitment to healthy living, having fun and making a difference."
 
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich their lives with hope, strength and joy. Since being founded locally in 1985, the Foundation has granted more than 8,000 wishes, and allocates 76% of its funds to program services – a percentage that exceeds the standard upheld by charity monitoring organizations.

Founded in 1996, Project HEALTH organizes, trains and mentors college students to staff Family Help Desks in urban health centers in Baltimore, Boston, NYC, Providence, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. Students connect low-income families to critical community and government resources - such as housing vouchers, supplemental nutrition assistance, job training and health insurance - that promote child health and put families on the path to stability and self-sufficiency. This year, 600 college volunteers will dedicate 100,000 hours to connect over 15,000 low-income children and adults to the resources they need to be healthy.