Westlake Village, California-based outsourced face-to-face sales teams provider Cydcor announced its expansion of its community outreach endeavors through the “Cydcor Cares” program. The program allows company members to be in direct contact with low or no-cost charitable opportunities that they can perform individually, or as a team, by quarter.

The Cydcor program provides opportunities for the members to contribute their time to local aid groups, getting involved in literacy programs at public libraries, food kitchens and elementary school programs that offer reading, tutoring and drama coaching. Members can likewise share their skills to business building initiatives in the community, including career coaching, interviewing and resumé building.

Through the activities that the company members have been involved with, it earned the Best Places to Work award for 2009 and 2008 in the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.

Apart from this, business members have also taken on these efforts:

• They helped over 500 Sylmar homes that lost their properties due to the fire in Sayre.
• Contributed hygiene products and relief goods to a food drive sponsored by Manna.
• Conducted a toy drive for the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital.
• Partook in Heal the Bay, collecting 50 pounds of garbage and other trash in a beach clean-up.

The international aid group Red Cross announced on Tuesday, April 13, that an armed group kidnapped eight of their staff members in the eastern region of Congo.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the kidnap victims – one Swiss national and seven Congolese – were captured by the Mai Mai Yakutumba rebels near the town of Fizi in the province of South Kivu.

“The ICRC has been able to get in touch with some of our colleagues after the incident,” said spokesperson Marcal Izard, who refused to say if they have made contact with the kidnappers.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry stated that it has full knowledge of the situation and that it is working with the Red Cross, as well as with the Congolese authorities.

South Kivu is home to several Red Cross offices. This region, as with much of eastern Congo, is a place that has been ravaged by violence ever since the genocide incident in 1994 that happened in neighboring Rwanda.

The leader of ICRC’s mission in Congo, Franz Rauchenstein, said that their activities are carried out as a means of protection and assistance for the victims of armed conflict.

He further added that they will continue to impart their strictly neutral and humanitarian work, and hope that the kidnap victims will be able to return to their homes soon.

Many Red Cross staff members have become kidnap targets in other conflict areas in the past.

On Tuesday, March 9th 2010, Jolanta Gadek, speaker for Poland’s Podlasie province, revealed that Prince Charles and his wife will be visiting a rare European bison herd in their distinctive natural habitat. A unique herd of some 800 European bison subsisted in the Bialowieza forest, a wooded area that extends as part of Poland’s boundary with Belarus. The European prehistoric forest is said to be rare and is a protected national park. The European Bison herd is categorized as endangered.

The bison is a relative of the North American Buffalo and has existed in the forest since before the First World War. However as the years passed, the European bison was all but wiped out by German troops and local poachers. The existing herd found recently was bred from seven present animals.

The royal couple will also stop at a nearby mosque in the eastern Polish community of Kruszyniany on the Polish-Belarussian boundary occupied by descendents of Tatars who, at the closing stages of the 17th century, were given land by Poland’s King Jan III Sobieski as compensation for their service in the military. The country’s tiny Tatar community is also comprised of the predominantly Roman Catholic country’s native Muslim inhabitants.

According to a statement released by the British Embassy in Warsaw, the visit will center on mutual aid in the area of defense and matters concerning ethnic and religious minorities, and environment protection.

Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales was born on the 14th of November 1948. He is the eldest son of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and Queen Elizabeth II. Since 1958, his major designation has been HRH The Prince of Wales. Prince Charles is known as The Duke of Cornwall in Cornwall and as The Duke of Rothesay in Cornwall.

Alice Walton, daughter of Wal-Mart founder, Sam Walton, is best known for her contributions to art in the Midwest. The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas is probably known as one of her most grand initiatives. While the museum lives on and continues to grow, it can be easy to forget some of Alice’s more influential contributions in the Midwest. Despite the fact that she now lives in Texas, her work in Arkansas is unforgotten and still thriving.

According to Forbes’ latest tally, Alice Walton is the 16th richest person in the world with a net worth of $20.6 billion. Walton has used her wealth and influence by enriching Arkansas, not only with American art, but with the creation of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport at Highfill. The airport opened for business in 1998 with President Bill Clinton performing the dedicating honors.

Scott Van Laningham, the executive director and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Authority, has described Walton’s role in the development of the airport as “critical”. She was the first chairman of the Northwest Arkansas Council. It was this particular group that went to cities and counties throughout Arkansas encouraging them to create an Airport Authority as a separate entity in charge of surveying and searching for a site where the airport could live.

In 1990, when the airport work began, Walton family members came together to raise money to start building the airport. Llama Co. of Fayetteville, an investment firm headed by Alice Walton, underwrote an almost $80 million bond to finance the airport’s construction. The bonds were sold prior to the airport even having a contract with an airline, a car rental company, or food vendors.

In 1999, Alice Walton was honored when the Airport Authority named the terminal building after her. In 2001, Walton was inducted into the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame.

Born as Warren Edward Buffett on August 30, 1930, Warren Buffett is an American corporate investor and philanthropist. Buffett is among the most accomplished investors throughout history, the biggest shareholder and is best known for being the chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway. Just last year, he was listed as one of the wealthiest persons in the world by Forbes magazine, with an approximate net worth of $62 billion.

Warren Buffett has been labeled as the “Sage of Omaha” or the “Oracle of Omaha” and is renowned for his commitment to the value investing principle and for his penny-pinching character in spite of all his earned fortune.

Outside business matters, Warren Buffett is also a famous philanthropist who has vowed to offer 85% of his wealth to the Gates Foundation. The Grinnell College Board Trustee was honored as the leading money manager of the 20th century, according to a survey by the Carson Group, way ahead of figures like John Templeton and Peter Lynch. He was also considered among the 100 Most Influential People in the world by Time magazine.

In 2006, Warren Buffett raised money for Girls, Inc. by auctioning his 2001 Lincoln Town Car on the online marketing site eBay.com. That same year, he pronounced his proposal to give away his large fortune to charity, with 83% of his riches going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where he would soon be one of the organization’s Board of directors. In June of that same year, he donated about 10 million worth of Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares to the organizations, which was worth an estimated 30.7 billion US dollars as of the 23rd of that month. That was by far the largest charitable contribution in history. It also made Warren Buffett one of the prominent leaders in the philanthrocapitalism reform.

Hope continues to grow for the Haitian people as more and more individuals and groups continue to provide aid and donations to the people of Haiti. People from all over the world, from ordinary citizens to some of the most influential people, have chipped in and done their part in raising the hopes of the victims amidst all of the rubble and destruction surrounding them.

Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, a telethon aimed to raise funds for Haiti and its people, was held recently and was participated in by many of Hollywood’s best and brightest celebrities. Filled with performances and appearances by some of today’s most popular stars, the telethon was one of the avenues where people came to show their support for the Haiti relief operations. Stars like George Clooney, Wyclef Jean, Jay-Z, Rihanna and U2 spearheaded the event and lent their talents to the show.

Some of the world’s biggest corporations also sent aid to the country. These include Cable News Network (CNN), Procter & Gamble, and some others who pledged generous amounts of money and sent their own teams of medical staff to reinforce the efforts in Haiti.

US President Barack Obama expressed his support and help to their neighboring country and deployed thousands of US Army personnel to provide stability in the earthquake-ravaged country.

Ben Stiller, founder of stillerstrong.org and Haitian Schools Initiative, and also a participant in the Hope for Haiti telethon, said that it is crucial for the world to help the victims in Haiti. He says that the more money people will raise, the more money there will be for building schools for the children of Haiti.

Since almost every infrastructure in the country was brought down by the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit the country early in January 2010, food and shelter, among other things, are needed now more than ever by the thousands of victims left homeless by the devastating disaster.

For about 10 years, students at the Bethune Academy in Haines City have been learning in a rather unconventional way. These students regularly visit property owned by cement and concrete manufacturer, CEMEX, in order to study the wildlife, vegetation, and fishing found in abundance on the property.

Approximately two years ago, administrators from the Karen M. Siegel Academy, a public school for special needs children, contacted a Bethune science teacher, Alicia Hughes, for some tips and advice for their science programs. Hughes was quick to share their experiences in the outdoor classroom on the CEMEX Environment property. In no time, students from the Siegel Academy were tagging along with the Bethune students in an effort to dig deeper and get a hands-on experience with science.

Both schools are ecstatic about the partnership. Hughes expressed the importance of exposing the students to new experiences that they may not otherwise have. Donna Swindle, principal of the Siegel Academy echoes Hughes’ sentiments and further emphasized the significance this experience has on her students’ social skills.

While on the CEMEX property, the students attend four different stations: fishing (or species counting), owl pellet investigation, bird house building, and studying pond water. The most popular station is fishing, where students catch a fish, indentify it, kiss it (optional), and throw it back into the pond.

CEMEX created this property approximately 10 years ago out of an area of shoreline was no longer being mined. Since then, the land has grown with thousands of plants being added to the ecosystem, enhancing the wetlands that were there originally.

CEMEX decided they didn’t want to simply write a check. Instead, they wanted to do something that would really make a difference in the lives of these students. They have continued to live by this initiative by paying for transportation for the students, substitute teachers required, and lunch and refreshments for the students.

CEMEX California recognizes the negative effects the economy has had on programs such as this, and they are committed to maintaining the program. Employees have volunteered 1,500 hours and provided about $30,000 for various school projects.

The Haiti earthquake last January 12, 2010 provided the world with various pictures of human tragedy, devastation and death. Hit by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, the people of the little island country of Haiti have been set up in temporary relocation camps outside of Port-au-Prince. The Haitian government is also focusing its efforts on finishing the building of temporary schools where the earthquake survivors and their families will eventually settle.

The tragedy has shown how people can join together to help their fellow humans. Several governments and powerful individuals, including Hollywood celebrities, have pledged wealth and utilities to the island nation to aid and somehow help Haitians recover from the traumatic tragedy.

Ben Stiller, one of the most recognizable Hollywood stars around the world, has launched the Haitian Schools Initiative that is aimed at providing Haitian children with temporary schools and places to learn while they clean up the rubble and repair everything that has been damaged by the earthquake.

“Our goal is to help kids get back in school as quickly as possible,” Stiller says of his initiative.

He adds that schools, for him, represent a safe haven for kids, especially in these times of crisis. Schools provide not only a place where children can learn but also a place where healthcare, nutrition and other important services can be conducted and given.

Through his start-up organization, stillerstrong.org, Stiller is partnering with the organization Architecture for Humanity in making sure that the constructions of these schools will not be delayed and will be done as soon as the Haitian government finalizes all of its relocation plans.

Already working in Haiti, even before the earthquake struck, Ben Stiller and Architecture for Humanity estimated that a temporary school would cost somewhere around $45,000-$75,000. Launching stillerstrong as a fun campaign in 2009, Ben Stiller has continued on his mission to rebuild hope for the children of Haiti.

For several weeks now, headlines from all over the world have mentioned, in one way or another, the devastation and tragedy that struck the country of Haiti. With thousands of people feared dead, buried in the rubble and thousands more literally left homeless by the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake, people from all over the world have pledged help for the victims in Haiti.

Procter & Gamble, one of the world’s most recognized companies, has given the people of Haiti various contributions amounting to over $1 million dollars and counting. Several P&G executives, employees and even retirees have pledged to help and support Haitians in any way they can.

P&G products and cash have been donated to help aid not only the victims themselves, but also the other volunteers who are helping in Haiti.

In addition to all these, P&G has also provided 6 million packets of PUR, a technology the company offers to help purify water. This quantity is said to be enough to provide the victims with clean water for three months, a supply worth 60 million liters. PUR packets disinfect and purify water through a cloth filter. It removes dirt and other harmful substances in the water, making it safe to drink. P&G has been constantly supplying PUR packets to disaster-stricken countries, like the countries devastated during the Asian Tsunami in December 2004.

The Cincinnati-based company, known for its products such as Tide detergents, Pampers Diapers and Crest Toothpaste, said that their donations are ready whenever relief agencies need them.

P&G has partnered with several organizations in aiding the relief operations in Haiti. These include AmeriCares, Global Medic, CARE, PSI, Samaritan’s Purse, Pure Compassion Ministries and World Vision. It has also sent medical teams to Haiti to help care for the Haitians who got sick and injured in the January 2010 quake.

Bacardi has a long standing commitment to social responsibility and a long heritage of incorporating responsible consumption messages into its advertising. They have taken on several activities and events emphasizing the responsible consumption of alcohol. They continue to take a strong stance on underage drinking today through their 2009 “We Don’t Serve Teens” campaign. Bacardi has secured more than $1.3 million in television, radio, print, online and outdoor media placements from its partners in order to support the campaign. The purpose and aim of the campaign is to curb illegal and underage drinking.

Bacardi, a leading spirits and wine producer, takes its commitment to safe drinking practices seriously. This powerful campaign is a joint public-private partnership between the federal and state governments, the spirits industry, various consumer organizations, The Century Council and The Distilled Spirits Council. Bacardi is a member of both The Century Council and The Distilled Spirits Council. The former works to fight drunk driving and underage drinking whereas the latter works to maintain responsible practices for alcohol advertising and marketing.

The “We Don’t Serve Teens” campaign, established by the Federal Trade Commission to fight underage drinking, espouses that serving alcohol to teens is unsafe, irresponsible and illegal. The campaign has learned that most teens who drink obtain alcohol from older friends, family members, at parties, or at home without parental consent. The campaign provides useful information for talking to teens about underage drinking. They also indicate that parents and other adults have a strong influence on a teens’ decision to say “no” to alcohol.

Bacardi, working with its media partners, has acquired national exposure for the program using ad placements with six print and 22 online media partners. Bacardi has also released several public service announcements that appear on television in 49 different markets as well as billboard advertisements in 17 different markets. All media partners have signed-on to feature the campaign through December of 2009.

Rick Wilson, the senior vice president, external affairs for Bacardi U.S.A. has stated that, “Bacardi U.S.A. is dedicated to keeping our products away from those who are not of legal drinking age and we want teens and parents to know underage drinking is unacceptable, harmful and illegal. Most alcohol consumed by minors is found at the home and we’re confident educating parents on this and speaking to teens about making the right choices will help address underage drinking”.
For more information, visit www.dontserveteens.gov.

Last week, Bacardi U.S.A. spirits company made a gift of $51,000 to Tangelo Park Elementary School in Orange County, Fla.

Bacardi also donated art supplies to all the students

The funds came from Bacardi’s campaign Bacardi Cares and were accepted by the school’s principal Tashanda Brown-Cannon.

Brown-Cannon said the school will use the gift to upgrade technology in classrooms and replace cafeteria and classroom furniture.

The checks, one for $30,000 and another for about $21,000 were presented separately.

The school’s community partner in education, Harris Rosen, president of Rosen Hotels and Resort, was influential in contacting the Bacardi Corporation to help Tangelo Park Elementary in support of its motto “Excellence is the Only Option.”

Tangelo Park Elementary is located at 5115 Anzio St., Orlando, FL 32819 in Orange County.

Sheffield-based designer clothing Web site Sa-kis.co.uk has announced it will pledge at least £5 for every order received throughout the weekend, until midnight on Monday, as well as starting the fund off with a £20 donation to support for the BBC Children in Need campaign.

“We’re absolutely delighted to support such a worthwhile and heart-warming cause,” Web Manager Tom Ford said. “The BBC run this campaign wonderfully every year, and we are really proud to help out in whatever way we can.’

Sa-kis.co.uk is the recently-launched web-based version of its sister company store in the U.K

“This is our first year in proper operation, so we’re excited to see how much we can raise for Children in Need,” Tom added. “If it goes as well as we hope we’ll have to think of something even better for our next fundraiser!”

Sa-kis is a British based designer clothing e-tailer. Sa-kis is popular with brands such as Luke 1977, Prps, Elvis Jesus, Edwin and Junk de Luxe.

Last Friday, Nov. 13, a multimillion-dollar renovation of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum Plaza was dedicated to the memory of Lady Bird Johnson, according to an article in the Austin American-Statesman.

Lady Bird Johnson, who was first lady during the 1960s, died two years ago at age 94.

The $53 million project renovated the LBJ School of Public Affairs and Sid Richardson Hall. Former Lt. Gov. of Texas Ben Barnes made a gift of $1 million to the school improvement project earlier this year.

Ben Barnes, who was present at the dedication along with another former lieutenant governor Bill Hobby, helped get the school built by providing initial funding. He serves on the Lyndon Baines Johnson board of directors and the school’s advisory committee.

The design of the renovations is meant to honor the former first lady. The plaza floor has been redone in granite and its planters transformed into planters with wildflowers and native trees.

One is inscribed with a quote from Lady Bird Johnson that reads: “Where flowers bloom so does hope.”

The LJB Library and Museum was originally dedicated in 1971 and run by the LBJ Foundation and is one of 13 presidential libraries operated by the National Archives and Records Administration.

Thanks to a fellowship from the Crystal Bridges Museum of America Art , developed by Alice Walton, daughter of the late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, Minnesota-based architect and author Dale Mulfinger will develop his next book at the Writer’s Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs, Ark.

Mulfinger, who has designed cabins throughout North America, will be the first Architecture and Design Fellow at the Writer’s Colony. He will begin his work on Nov. 12 through Dec. 9.

“Supporting designers and writers in significant fields of inquiry is precisely what this fellowship is designed to do,” said Lynn Berkowitz, director of learning experiences at Crystal Bridges. “We are thrilled to bring Dale Mulfinger to Arkansas.”

Located in Bentonville, Ark, Alice Walton developed Crystal Bridges to be a premier venue for a national art institution dedicated to American art and artists, and a place of learning and community. It houses art galleries, lecture and concert venues, meeting places, educational spaces and library resources.

The Crystal Bridges Museum of Art Architecture and Design Writing Fellowship offers qualified professionals a four-week residency to pursue writing projects with an emphasis on the fields of American architecture, landscape architecture, crafts and furnishings.

Founder of the Ross School in the Hamptons on Long Island, N.Y., Courtney Ross is celebrating some great press as her school has been lauded for innovative curriculum on Toronto’s http://www.thestar.com/.

The article reads: “(This school) offers the best glimpse in the world of how the brain can be the great social democratizer and how education could provide a level playing field for all.”

The school was founded in 1991 to challenge the way traditional schools operate, according to the article. It uses findings specifically about “multiple intelligences,” recognizing links between emotion and learning to shape curriculum.

The Ross School also implements a technique called the “spiral curriculum,” which introduces concepts across grades in the order in which human civilization developed, and in the order in which humans discovered concepts.

“Each grade represents a turning point of cultural history or rapid transformation,” according to the article.

“I like frontiers,” said Courtney Ross. “And the brain is one of the most fascinating frontiers we have.”

Alexander Von Furstenberg, chief investment officer of Arrow Capital Management and director of the of the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation, donated $150,000 to Heal the Bay, a group fighting to clean up the polluted waters of Santa Monica Bay. Alex Von Furstenberg’s donation will go to Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card. The Beach Report Card will be a full analysis of the quality of water along California’s coastline. Each week, Heal the Bay will grade the 500 beaches from A to F, with these grades based on the health risks posed for swimmers or surfers.

Alex Von Furstenburg is also a sponsor of La Soiree, a benefit to raise funds for the Heal the Bay and the ONE DROP Foundation. La Soiree was also sponsored by Swiss watch manufacturer Audemars Piguet, and featured the Santa Monica premier of Cirque du Soleil’s KOOZA performance.

The Santa Monica Bay is very important to Alex Von Furstenburg. A resident of Malibu and active kite surfer, Alex Von Furstenberg and his family spend a lot of time enjoying the ocean. After meeting with Heal the Bay president Mark Gold about the group’s efforts to clean up Santa Monica Bay, Alex Von Furstenberg immediately wanted to lend a hand.

As the director of the The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation, Alex Von Furstenberg oversees the foundation’s support for universities, community programs, disease research, children’s services, and human rights advocacy. Alex Von Furstenberg also serves on the board of Friends of the High Line, a private, non-profit partner of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

Richard Fields, New York developer and philanthropist, donated $7.1 million to the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). The money will go toward neurological research and car. Richard Fields’ gift will be the largest private donation for a specific disease program the University’s history. The grant will be directed toward a research and clinical center to find a cure for facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD), a form of muscular dystrophy.

The newly established Fields Center for FSHD & Neuromuscular Research, named for Richard Fields, will be a joint project between the URMC Department of Neurology and Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. The funding will greatly facilitate coordination in a greatly fragmented area of research, and will also allow URMC to become a national referral center for patients with the disease.

“I want to express my deep gratitude to Richard Fields for his generous gift and his vision to bring together the people and resources necessary to find new ways to understand, treat and perhaps even cure this disease,” said Dr. Bradford Berk, CEO of URMC. “Our scientists strongly believe that new breakthroughs are within our grasp and Richard Li’s support will help catalyze their efforts.”

Richard Fields is currently the chairman and founder of Coastal Development, which helped develop the Seminole Hard Rock Casino and Hotel resorts in Tampa and Hollywood, Florida. Other philanthropic work by Richard Fields includes serving as a member of the board of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Farm Aid, and financially supporting the New York City Police Foundation and Good Shepherd Service.

Richard Fields is deeply committed to finding a cure for FSHD. “I have a personal family connection to FSHD, so I know the impact it has on families throughout the United States and the world,” said Richard Fields. “The University of Rochester has long been a leader in muscular dystrophy research, so they were a natural fit to establish a center to focus on genetic and clinical research to FSHD patients. I see this gift as a significant step in giving this disease the medical attention it deserves, and hope that the Fields Center will be a center for leadership and innovation in the field for many years to come.”
FSHD is a common form of muscular dystrophy. In most cases, symptoms do not appear until the teen years. FSHD is characterized by a progressive weakness of muscles starting in the face, shoulder blades and upper arms. 30% of its victims eventually become wheelchair bound. Over time, the muscle weakness can also spread to other parts of the body.

“This is a very difficult disease to figure out in terms of what is going on,” said URMC neurologist Dr. Rabi Tawil,, director of the Fields Center. “Research has been hampered by the fact that there are very few centers involved and centers that are don’t have access to patients and patient resources necessary to move research forward.”
The Fields Center will also develop clinical programs that will establish URMC as a national destination for FSHD patients. Currently, the symptoms of the disease are managed through a URMC will develop new standards of care for the diagnosis and management of patients with FSHD.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to move forward a whole area of research and clinical care for an underserved disease,” said URMC neurologist Richard Moxley, M.D., director of the Wellstone Center and the National Registry. “The real key will be our ability to interact with a large population of patients who will be able to guide us toward a more clearly focused understanding of the disease.”

McDonald’s is one of the largest and most popular brands of the 21st century. From children to adults, the name McDonald’s resembles an icon that has made its imprint around the world, from the menu that it offers to the various organizations that it helps.

The Ronald McDonald House of Charities (RMHC) is the philanthropic arm of the McDonald’s Company. For 35 years, it has provided help for the improvement of the lives of many children from all over the world. Its mission is to create and find programs that directly improve the well-being of children. The foundation believes that helping children can help change their families and ultimately, communities everywhere. The RMHC is also a fervent advocate of education. Its commitment to education is best exemplified through its RHMC U.S. Scholarships.

In various American states, the RHMC has continuously extended a helping hand and funded the college education of thousands of RHMC scholars. In the District of Columbia, the McDonald’s Employee Scholarship Program is proof of the company’s commitment to employment and recognition. In this tough economic climate, the RHMC has raised $304,000 in scholarship funds for high school seniors in the Southern California area. Since 1990, the RHMC has raised millions of dollars to help students in the Southern California district.

Just recently, the Ronald McDonald House of Charities of Phoenix in Arizona donated a huge sum of $265,000 to assist more than a hundred of scholars in their college education.

Clearly, the company sticks to its commitment of helping those who are in need in pursuing their education and reaching for their goals.

Admittedly, McDonald’s is more known as the company that makes the Big Mac and other delicious burgers and treats. But in truth, the company, through the years, has continuously added to its track record of limitless helping and charity work.

Individuals of color have yet to overrun the private equity industry. Given proper training and mentoring opportunities however, they could comprise a lucrative pool of talent for private equity investors and alternative asset managers.

To those ends, the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) have banded with legendary private equity investor Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR). Together they established the Alternative Investment Fellowship Program, which aims to increase the visibility of minorities in the private equity workforce.

Under the program, four or six aspiring financial executives would get a chance to work for KKR as associates. To be qualified, they must undergo training of 18 months. SEO has gotten a three-year support from KKR for this project.

Founded in 1963, SEO is one of the first nonprofit groups of its kind in New York City. It has rapidly grown over the years to become a full-fledged international nonprofit, with branches in the UK and China.

Renowned in America for its workplace diversity initiatives, SEO helps 1,000 youngsters every year. Its flagship Career Program alone has produced 5,000 graduates, who have secured full-time positions in chief investment banks, law firms, and international corporations.

One exemplary alumnus of the said program is Joseph Bae, who now enjoys a senior position with KKR in Asia. In addition to the program, SEO also offers services through the Alumni and Philanthropy Program, and the Scholars Program.

SEO’s partner in the Alternative Investment Fellowship Program is a pioneer in the private equity industry. KKR runs divisions in New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Menlo Park, Houston, Hong Kong, Sydney, Beijing, and Mumbai. It supports conventional private equity funds, externally managed accounts, capital funds, and credit strategy funds, among others.

Henry Kravis and George Roberts, along with Jerome Kohlberg, founded the company in 1976. The former two orchestrated the phenomenal 1988 buyout of RJR Nabisco.

Forbes.com featured a story on New Jersey-based attorney Marty Shenkman’s volunteer work in aid of persons with chronic illnesses. Shenkman’s wife, Patti Klein, had been diagnosed in 2006 with multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system (CNS) characterized with mild or severe symptoms, from numbness to paralysis or vision loss.

From that time, Shenkman and wife had dedicated their time and energy to raising funds for the National MS Society, a national non-profit that focuses on research work and advocacy on MS.

Aided by their family and a group of friends, the couple has raised over $44,000 out of MS walkathons. Shenkman then thought of a more productive way to help not only MS patients, but all chronically ill individuals. He shifted his mode of giving to something he does best at – lawyering.

Shenkman has, for the past few years, volunteered hundreds of pro bono services to people with chronic illness. An estate planner who charges $500 an hour, he has devoted his time aiding people with chronic illness for free on how to plan their estate and manage their financial affairs.

Shenkman observed how his wife ran her professional life despite being afflicted with a chronic illness. As a result, he realized that people are wrong when they misjudge chronic illness as something that impairs ill patients cognitively, of which they must give up to a certain degree their control over their estate and finances to other people.

To supplement his free legal services, he published self-help estate planning books for the chronically ill, including Estate Planning for People with a Chronic Condition or Disability and Funding the Cure, with royalties on both going to charity. These books give helpful advice ranging from donations of household items, appreciate stock and retirement assets, trusts and bargains. He is currently writing a book for the Michael J. Fox Foundation.