Last week I had the pleasure of getting acquainted with Jena Meredith, Director of The Conservation Fund's Go Zero program, and informed me how individuals can offset their carbon dioxide emissions by planting trees.

In fact, a donation of only $10.00 purchases one tree for the Go Zero program and offsets approximately one ton of CO2 emissions over a 100-year lifespan. Being "green" doesn't have to be overwhelming when you have effective nonprofits like The Conservation Fund that make it easy to make a difference.

But how can I start making a difference starting as early as tomorrow?

Well, I've got a long-haul flight tomorrow evening from Dallas to Los Angeles that produces +/- 0.22 metric tons of CO2 emissions (one-way). A donation of $6.85 could will offset my carbon footprint from this trip.

There's no green-washing here. One small action will make all the difference without demanding that I drastically change my lifestyle.

Baby steps are key and it took me less than a minute to purchase a tree through The Conservation Fund's charity page at YourCause-- ultimately putting me back at zero for tomorrow's trip.

Want to go zero too? Calculate your carbon footprint here and learn how you can reduce your emissions while offsetting the rest.

- Amy Chait

While attending the Cystic Fibrosis Concert Series at the Granada Theatre in Dallas, I couldn't help but notice a table that hosted an awesome array of T-shirts donning some guitar-shaped typography.  Things of this nature naturally attract me due to my compounded love for anything music, design and fashion related.  Besides, who doesn't just love a good T-shirt?  As a result, I started noticing charities were actually quite talented at creating some design-worthy threads.  In addition, we have a rule here at YourCause -  T-shirts are welcomed any day of the week as long as they are charity themed.  Besides, buying a charity's merchandise often means a certain percentage goes to their initiatives.  So, it's a win-win.  Here are a few of my favorite T's and charities that make it their due diligence to create fanciful threads for a good cause. Enjoy!

Common Threadz - Helps orphans & vulnerable children in developing nations to reach their full potential through the empowerment of the children, their caretakers & the local grass roots community organizations that support them.  A huge part of their fundraising initiative is through their T-shirt campaigns that provide seamstress jobs in Africa, raise money for children's school uniforms and give donations to artists around the world. 

Yellow Bird Project - Sells t-shirt designs created and designed by indie rock musicians to benefit charities of their choice. 

TWLOHA - always updates their tshirt designs (I am a proud owner of one too).  The non-profit dedicates itself to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. 

Ellen & The Trevor Project The Ellen DeGeneres Show will donate a portion of the net proceeds it receives from the sale of this product to The Trevor Project, an organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. 

Movember - Since it's Movember, the month where men grow gnarly mustaches to show their support for men's health I thought I'd add their nifty t-shirt to the list.

Hard Rock Cafe & Why Hunger - Join together for a John Lennon inspired t-shirt that supports partners in Haiti, Kenya, Thailand and India fight to end childhood hunger and poverty.

- Lizette Romero 

About two weeks ago, our team participated at AT&T's National Employee Resource Group Conference to encourage employees to learn more about the online AT&T Cares Community and then pledge to sign up. We had our iPads readily available so employees could sign up right there and then!

Moreover, we kept it fun by creating a basketball hoop that rewarded a $1.00 donation per shot made and $5.00 donation per three shots made by an individual.

We'd had a great time engaging with the AT&T employees and loved the enthusiasm to make a difference!

(download)

Click here to download:

the-yourcause-team-engages-with-at-t-employees-tBCzsEimedrsgsegJHyF.zip (2.53 MB)

-Amy Chait

Instead of a silk ribbon this month, men around the world are growing a mustache to raise awareness around cancer affecting men. Despite some of the marketed silliness, Movember is passionate about supporting the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG.

Here at YourCause we understand the importance of promoting cancer that affects men and encourage all men to be screened for prostate cancer. The Prostate Cancer Foundation mentioned the benefits of screening may not occur for 10 or more years after screening-- adding that many men will need to be screened over 1,000 times and treated nearly 50 times to save one life from prostate cancer. Prevention is key.

Join our Movember group on YourCause today! Go here.

-Amy Chait