Category: New Nominees

When a girl gets her period in the U.S., she may miss a class.
When a girl gets her period in a developing country, she may never go to school again.

A period should end a sentence, not a girl's education.

But, unfortunately, that's exactly what's happening all over the world.
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Too many girls cannot afford or access sanitary pads, which means that when they get their period, they have to turn to unhealthy alternatives like dirty rags, leaves, or ashes. On top of their high risk of infection every time their period comes, they also have to miss school--and the more school they miss, the more likely it becomes that they will fall too far behind and have to drop out entirely.
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But there is a new invention that solves this problem.
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A man named Muruganantham created a machine that makes affordable, biodegradable pads from locally sourced materials.
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Better still, the machine does more than just supply girls with pads: it supplies a steady income to the women in the area who want to work on it.

In other words, this machine helps both girls and women gain independence.

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Our job is to aid that independence, and here is how we do so:

1. Connect with activists on the ground who have communicated that they need the machine.
2. Learn about the area's specific needs from the local experts and make sure that we can supply enough funds to cover each one (for example, we always check if an area has sufficient power, and if they don't, we will supply solar panels).
3. Raise enough money for one machine, a years' worth of supplies (after which the machine and its profits will become a self-sufficient microeconomy for the women in the area), and a team of local women who can educate other women how to use the machine and also how to destigmatize periods.

Help us spread the word about our award winning documentary, raise more awareness and launch a monumental movement through our newly created non-profit, The Pad Project, LLC, a California non-profit corporation.
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When so much of the world's narrative around the period revolves around shame and secrecy, this project transforms it into a source of enlightenment and pride.
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Our biggest hope is to get as many people as involved as possible, so that no girl will ever have to miss school because of her period again (which happens in low-income areas in the United States as well, which we also raise money for).
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We started out as students, and at the end of the day, all we want to do is help other students.
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If you have read this far, it would mean the world if you would donate and get involved.

As the inventor of the machine, Murugananthem, says: "The strongest creature on earth is not the elephant, not the tiger, but the girl."

When we look back on our childhood, many of us have fond memories of being read to, of snuggling up and enjoying a favorite story with the people who love us. And it's not so much the story that we remember, but the feeling of love and security that it gave us. It turns out that reading aloud, a time-honored tradition in so many families, is actually a wonderful way of helping children to reach their full potential.

Reading aloud is a great way of engaging with young children

What happens during the first few years sets the stage for the rest of a child's life. It is a time when a child's experiences irreversibly affect how the brain develops - for better or worse.

Nurturing from a loving parent or caregiver in the early years supports healthy brain development that forms the foundation for success later at school and in life - and one of the best ways of engaging with young children is through looking at books together. Even the youngest baby loves to be held close and hear the voice of Mom or Dad as they read a book aloud.

Reading aloud promotes language development and early literacy skills

It is widely accepted that reading aloud is the single most important researched activity leading to language development and promotes early literacy skills, such as:

• Book handling and naming
• Understanding how stories work
• Recognition of sounds and letters
• Knowledge of a wide range of vocabulary
• Ability to listen

Even young babies can benefit from read aloud practices!

Reading aloud:

• Builds motivation, curiosity and memory
• Helps children cope during times of stress or anxiety
• Takes children to places and times they have never been - enlarging and enhancing their worlds
• Creates a positive association with books and reading

Despite all of the benefits of reading aloud, surveys show that only a half of parents read to their young children daily and less than 10 percent read to their children from infancy. Families living in poverty are significantly less likely to read aloud to their infants and toddlers.

This is where Reach Out and Read comes in!

At Reach Out and Read, we believe that ALL families should have the tools and information needed to make reading aloud a daily routine, that ALL children should be given a foundation for success at school and beyond.

Reach Out and Read doctors and nurse practitioners deliver the program at routine pediatric checkups, so that we have repeated and unparalleled access to families with children from birth through five years. More than 91% of children under the age of six attend well child checkups each year.

Even handling books develops school readiness in infants!

Many of the families that Reach Out and Read serves do not have any books at home. We give each child a new developmentally-appropriate book to take home with them - and for those parents, whose first language is not English, we offer books in 12 different languages. Books can even be useful for parents who don't read - we encourage them to talk about the story that the pictures tell. We also encourage partnerships between Reach Out and Read sites and their local libraries, to expand the selection of books available for families to read aloud.

When a trusted doctor or nurse offers guidance about reading aloud to infants, toddlers and preschoolers, and provides a book to read, parents have an opportunity to give their children the best start in life.

José Andrés founded World Central Kitchen after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti with the belief that food can be an agent of change. We have expanded globally and have developed into a group of chefs creating smart solutions to hunger and poverty.

Today, World Central Kitchen uses the expertise of its Chef Network to empower people to be part of the solution, with a focus on health, education, jobs, and social enterprise.

• Health: Cleaner cooking with clean cook stoves and food safety/sanitation training.
• Education: School kitchens to support feeding programs that encourage school attendance and provide a source of sustainable revenue for the school.
• Jobs: Culinary training to elevate the hospitality workforce, increase earnings, enhance quality of life, and strengthen Haiti’s economy.
• Social Enterprise: Food ventures that increase income, create jobs, and provide transferable vocational skills to low-income communities.

Since our inception, our work has affected communities in Brazil, Cambodia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nicaragua, Zambia, and the United States.

Join us as we use the power of food to empower communities and strengthen economies.