The mission of Mercy Corps is to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. Mercy Corps works amid disasters (i.e. Hurricane Katrina), conflicts (i.e. Darfur), chronic poverty and instability to unleash the potential of people who can win against nearly impossible odds. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided $1.5 billion in assistance to people in 106 nations. Supported by headquarters offices in North America and Europe, the agency's unified global programs employ 3,500 staff worldwide and reach nearly 16.4 million people in more than 35 countries. It is considered one of the most ethical and helpful charities in the world.
The Saint Francis Wolf Sanctuary (located in Montgomery, Texas) was created to provide a permanent home where captive born wolves and wolf-dogs may live out the rest of their natural lives safely and comfortably with loving care and attention. These are non-releasable animals that have suffered much and deserve a stable home. The Wolf is officially extinct in the state of Texas. The chances of them staying alive outside a sanctuary are remote.
Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary
The Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary (located in Ramah, New Mexico) provides captive bred wolves & wolf-dogs with a permanent, safe sanctuary. It also exists to educate the public on wild wolves, wolf-dogs, wolves and captivity and the humane treatment of all animals domestic or wild.
Big Cat Rescue is a non profit educational sanctuary that was founded in 1992 (located in Tampa, Florida). The organization...."is devoted to rescuing and providing a permanent home for exotic (i.e. wild, not domestic) cats who have been abused, abandoned, bred to be pets, retired from performing acts, or saved from being slaughtered for fur coats, and to educating the public about these animals and the issues facing them in captivity and in the wild.
The sanctuary houses the most diverse population of exotic cats in the world, with 14 of the 35 species of wild cat represented among more than 100 residents. These include tigers, lions, leopards, cougars, bobcats, lynx, ocelots, servals, caracals and others, many of whom are threatened, endangered, or now extinct in the wild."
Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary (located in St. Pauls, North Carolina) was started to answer the need for a safe place for blind cats that were deemed unadoptable by regular shelters and were going to be killed just because they are blind. I am donating proceeds to this shelter in memory of my beloved Aunt Helen, who was a cat lover and had adopted a family of siblings (cats) that would have surely been euthanized without her help.
The Mercy Corps website has a tag to...."Be the change", taken from a Mahatma Gandhi quote..."You must be the change you wish to see in the world." With fear and uncertainty and the political machines on both sides paralyzing people into a state of inertia, focusing on the many things that are still right in this life should be the priority. I know it is easier said than done but there will always be that feel-good story printed in tiny font on the bottom of page 12 of our local newspaper if we just search for it.
