#volunteering – Page 6 – Anitha Rao-Robinson

Episode 71: Kindness Is Loving A Pig Named Esther

Published on May 9, 2024 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Derek Walter’s life took a dramatic turn when his then partner, Steve Jenkins brought home a tiny little pig named Esther. Derek talks to Anitha about how this small being created huge and wonderful changes in his life.

Derek quickly fell in love with Esther, became one of her two dads, moved from a suburb to the country so Esther could have all the space a pig needed, welcomed even more farm animals, and eventually co-founded Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary (HEEFS)

This is an incredible conversation about love, family, community, grief, and an unbelievable legacy.

To learn more about Derek and HEEFS, please check out these links:

Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary

http://www.happilyeveresther.ca

Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/happilyeveresther?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Derek’s personal website

www.derekwalter.ca

Derek’s personal Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/EsthersDadDerek?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Esther the Wonder Pig Website

www.estherthewonderpig.com

As a thank you to Derek for sharing his story, Anitha donated to HEEFS. Having volunteered at HEEFS and seeing firsthand the beautiful and healing place it is for both the residents and the folks who spend time there, Anitha was thrilled to support this organization.

To listen to this heartwarming episode, click on the link below.

Episode 70:Kindness Is The Original Surfers

Published on May 6, 2024 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Kaila and Waian, the incredible sisters who created The Original Surfers, join Anitha to talk about their initiative to reach out to teens and raise awareness to protect oceans and the marine animals who live there.

These amazing young women also share what it’s like working with a sibling and much more!

To learn more about The Original Surfers, please click on the following links: https://www.theoriginalsurfers.com/

As a thank you to Kaila and Waian for sharing their story, Anitha donated to the Dolphin Project, a non-profit charitable organization, dedicated to the welfare and protection of dolphins worldwide. It was founded by Richard O’Barry on Earth Day, April 22, 1970. The goal of this organization is to educate the public about captivity and, where feasible, retire and/or release captive dolphins.

To learn more about Dolphin Project, please check out their website:

Homepage

To listen to this episode- please click on the ‘play’ button above. Thank you!!

Episode 69: Kindness Is Justin’s Frog Projects

Published on April 16, 2024 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Thirteen-year-old Justin Sather joins Anitha to talk about his love for one of Earth’s smallest beings—frogs.

Justin shares how a children’s book and a childhood blanket inspired Justin to clean up his community’s wetland, and how that project has grown to cleaning up rivers and oceans, protecting acres of rainforest and collaborating with other young people from all over the world.

A truly incredible episode about how one person can create a movement to bring about great change.

To learn more about Justin, check out these links:

WEBSITES:

www.JustinsFrogProject.com

Parallel Projects www.TheParallelProjects.com

And his newest website going live on Earth day: www.recreate.world

SOCIAL MEDIA:

@justinsfrogproject – instagram

Justin Sather – facebook

To support Justin’s projects, please click on the following links:

MILLION LETTERS CAMPAIGN:

Join the Million Letters Campaign

DONATIONS:

Justin’s main Go Fund Me Campaign: Go Fund Me Kid Hero Campaign

(Funds collected through this campaign are sent directly to projects Justin is working on to protect the rainforest and waterways. Projects such as, Parallel Projects and Team Trees)

Or you can donate Directly to Reserva Rainforest in Colombia- Justin

Links to the books that started Justin on his journey to help frogs:

What Do You Do with an Idea?

What Do You Do with a Chance?

As a thank you to Justin for sharing his story, Anitha donated to the Reserva Rainforest Project.

Listen to the episode here:

Episode 66: Kindness Is Helping The Homeless Community

Published on March 16, 2024 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Many of us see and walk past folks who live in parks, street alcoves and under bridges, but rarely do we stop. Anitha’s guest, Lorraine Lam, not only stopped, she wanted to help. Lorraine chats with Anitha about the homeless crisis and her involvement in finding a solution.

Here are some action points for listeners who want to get involved in trying to solve the housing crisis.

· Follow social media accounts of people and organizations that are directly engaged in this work

· Look for local groups in your city that are engaged in direct outreach and systems advocacy and look for ways to dive in!

· Host a conversation with your friends about things you have learned and questions you may have

· Look for your local councillor, MP, MPPs voting history on issues related to housing and homelessness, and contact them with your concerns. Develop this relationship; have ongoing dialogue

To learn more about Lorraine and/or support her endeavors to help the homeless community, check out her website: https://lorrainelam.me/about

As a thank you to Lorraine for being a guest on the podcast, Anitha donated to All Saints Toronto. This organization supports folks by providing a space of belonging and hope. They offer services such as counselling, advocacy, and nursing care. To learn more about All Saints, click here: https://allsaintstoronto.com/

Episode 61: Kindness is Eco Evie

Published on December 30, 2023 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Thirteen-year-old Evie Mutsch, joins Anitha to talk about her very cool clothing line called Eco Evie.

Made from recycled water bottles, Evie’s clothes have stopped over 30,000 water bottles from going into landfills.

In addition to creating beautiful clothes, Evie donates a portion of all sales to charities supporting animals, the environment and people.

To learn more about Eco Evie, check out the following links:

https://www.instagram.com/ecoevie/

https://ecoevie.com/

As a thank you to Evie for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Save Animals Facing Extinction.

This not-for-profit organization works to protect endangered wildlife by ensuring strong laws are in place and severe penalties are levied against criminals who deal in wildlife trafficking. To learn more about them please check out their website:

Homepage

Episode 60: Kindness is Pawsitive Change

Published on December 12, 2023December 18, 2023 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

After a break that included a not so fun surgery and a very fun trip to Sumatra, Anitha is thrilled to be back podcasting. Here she chats with Zach Skow, the founder of Marley’s Mutts and the Pawsitive Change Program.

Marley- the inspiration behind the name Marley’s Mutts

Zach openly talks about his health struggles and how volunteering at a dog shelter literally saved his life. As a way of giving back to the dogs who helped him when he needed it, Zach created Marley’s Mutts, a rescue dedicated to saving the lives of animals in over-crowded shelters.

Zach also talks about the incredible partnership between Marley’s Mutts and California’s state prisons to create the Pawsitive Change Program. This program, pairs incarcerated individuals with at-risk shelter dogs (at-risk of being euthanized). For 14 weeks, dogs and humans work together building trust and skills that happily result in the dogs being adopted into loving homes and the incarcerated humans acquiring marketable skills, that will increase their chances of success when they are released from the prison system.

To learn more about Zach and Marley’s Mutts and the Pawsitive Change program please check out these sites:

https://www.marleysmutts.org/

https://www.instagram.com/marleysmutts/

https://www.instagram.com/pawsitivechangeprogram/

As a thank you to Zach for sharing his story, Anitha donated to Marley’s Mutts.

Press play to listen to this episode.

Episode 59: Kindness Is Cogs Dogs

Published on July 11, 2023 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Some people have a huge heart. Susie Cogswell is one of those incredible humans who not only has a huge heart, but willingly allows it to be broken over and over again.

Susie joins Anitha to talk about her journey in animal rescue and what it’s like to adopt, foster and love senior dogs.

The incredible senior dogs Susie adopted

Sadly, senior dogs can find themselves in shelters for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately, these dogs are often overlooked when it comes to being adopted. Through no fault of their own, these dogs, who were once part of a family, now must face their final days, months, years alone in a shelter.

The Fabulous Fosters

Layla & Susie- wearing matching outfits from COGS DOGS

Thankfully, there are people like Susie who want to love these dogs for the rest of their days, no matter how long or short that is.

To learn more about Susie and the dogs she’s shared her life with, check out her website. At Cogs Dogs – https://www.cogsdogs.com

As a thank you to Susie for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Harbor of Hope Dog Rescue, a non-profit dog rescue comprised entirely of dedicated and compassionate foster homes ready to provide a safe haven to dogs in need.

Please click on the link to learn more about this organization. https://www.harborofhopedogrescue.org/

Episode 58: Kindness Is Being a Kid Conservationist

Published on April 21, 2023 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Twelve-year old Jack Dalton joins Anitha to talk about the many ways he helps animals, including his favourite animal, the Orangutan.

Through his YouTube Videos, public speaking engagements, fundraising efforts and writing a picture book, Jack has raised funds and awareness for critically endangered orangutans. In fact, as of March 2023, Jack has helped plant over 13,000 trees to reforest habitat for Orangutans and other animals, raised over $13,500 for education and orangutan rehabilitation, presented to over 5000 people worldwide and has had over 217,000 views of his fun and educational YouTube videos.

Jack talks about why palm oil trees are the main reason Orangutans are critically endangered. He shares incredible information about C16 Biosciences, a company that has created a synthetic palm oil from yeast!

Jack also shares his recent experience travelling to Sumatra and Borneo and what it was like to see Orangutans in the wild.

As a thank you to Jack for sharing his story, Anitha donated to the Orang Utan Republik Foundation. This organization is dedicated to saving Orangutans of Indonesia through educating local people about the plight of Orangutans and how working together to find sustainable ways of utilizing the forests will benefit both people and animals.

To learn more about all the amazing initiatives Jack is involved in and buy his book, check out his website: https://www.kidconservationist.com/

To watch some of his fun and educational videos, check out his YouTube videos here: https://www.youtube.com/@kidconservationist

You can follow Jack on his social media accounts: https://www.instagram.com/kidconservationist/

https://www.facebook.com/kidconservationist

To learn about the innovative products available from C16 Biosciences, click here: https://www.c16bio.com/

If you’d like to learn about and support Orang Utan Republik Foundation, please check out their website: https://www.orangutanrepublik.org/

Episode 57: Kindness Is My Beautiful Hair

Published on March 29, 2023 by anitharobinsonLeave a comment

Ten-year old, Normani Hamilton joins Anitha to talk about all the things she is doing to empower other black children.

From writing and publishing her first book to entering pageants, Normani hopes to inspire other children to love themselves just the way they are.

To learn more about Normani’s efforts to help critically ill children, click here: https://give.gktw.org/fundraiser/4520867

To follow Normani on Instagram and order her book, click here: https://www.instagram.com/princess_normi/

As a thank you to Normani for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Give Kids The World Village. This non-profit resort located in Florida, provides cost-free getaways to critically ill children and their families. To learn more about this organization, please check out their website: https://www.gktw.org/