We here at the Indie Fixx believe that those who are fortunate enough to have a comfortable and secure life have a duty to share with those who are less fortunate and in need. We also believe that there are causes in the world that are of the utmost importance and that which we should help further their goals.

That said, each month we will be donating a portion of our proceeds from Indie Fixx and the Indie Fixx Shop to a different charitable organization. These organizations will provide humanitarian support, focus on the arts, provide for environmental stewardship, be concerned with animal welfare and more. Whatever the case may be, they will be organizations that we want to not only donate to, but which we wish to help publicize and promote.

Each month, we will share with you the organization that we have chosen to highlight.

2008
January

Kiva - Provides micro-loans to individuals in developing countries. You can lend money to specific individuals and choose to reinvest your donation when it is repaid. We have donated several times in the past and have even reinvested our original donation.

February

Playpumps International- Their aim is to provide a source of clean drinking water in Africa where a major source of illness is contaminated drinking water. They have an ingenious approach to this problem-merry-go-rounds! Installed near schools, the PlayPump system doubles as a water pump and a merry-go-round for children. Inexpensive and easy to install, over 950 have been installed in South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, and Zambia.

March

One Laptop per Child - The mission of One Laptop per Child is to provide children in the developing world with new opportunities to learn, experiment and express themselves. It is at its core an educational project with the goal of empowering children with the greatest educational lesson…the ability to learn how to learn. To reach that goal, a powerful, durable and fun $100 laptop was developed by the MIT Media Lab. A long-time project in the making the mass production of the $100 laptops finally began in November 2007. You can read more about One Laptop per Child here, here and here.

April

Rainforest Action Network’s Protect-An-Acre Fund I chose this group mostly after reading and hearing how biofuels may actually be contributing to global warming rather than helping to alleviate it. Founded in 1993, Protect-An-Acre’s goal is to protect the world’s rainforests and the rights of their inhabitants by providing financial aid to traditionally under-funded organizations and communities in temperate, tropical and boreal forest regions. Protect-an-Acre works to protect threatened areas and to empower the indigenous inhabitants of the targeted areas by helping them gain legal recognition of their territory, establishing protected reserves that recognize the rights of local communities, developing locally-based alternative economic initiatives, assisting in community organization, promoting environmental education and practicing resistance to destructive practices such as logging, fossil fuel development and large-scale infrastructure projects in forest areas. Read more here.