Giving back leaves you with a sense of pride, knowing that you've helped another person, animal or cause in need. To celebrate your new car, we'd like to donate to a good cause on your behalf. Please pick one from the ten local charities listed below that's nearest and dearest to your heart and Otto's will make a donation between $50 and $65 to the charitable organization.
Otto's Planet is proud to be driving consumers forward to a greener future.
Ottawa Valley Wild Bird Care Centre
The Wild Bird Care Centre is a local Ottawa initiative which rehabilitates injured birds until the can be successfully re-released into their natural habitat. The Center has been open for over twenty years, and has seen innumerable birds returned to good health and to nature. This organization also encourages education about the challenges the community to be informed and have the ability help any bird in trouble. With over 3,500 birds a year passing through this organization, the Ottawa Wild Bird Care Centre is a welcome addition to Otto’s Causes and to the Greater Ottawa Region at large.
http://www.wildbirdcarecentre.org
Grameen Foundation
The Grameen Foundation is a non-profit group that seeks to enrich the poorest areas of the world through various micro-finance opportunities. By granting people collateral-free loans in the developing world, the Grameen Foundation grants the opportunity for people - particularly women - to create income-generating businesses. When loans are re-paid, this money is then cycled to new loans and so on, making microfinance a sustainable tool to help alleviate poverty. In addition to this, the Grameen Foundation also uses education as tool to enrich people, and places an emphasis on the utility of democracy as tool towards economic development.
http://www.grameenfoundation.org
Doctors Without Borders
Doctors Without Borders has been, since 1971, an organization devoted to providing medical aid to a myriad of the world’s most fiercely violent conflict zones. This non-profit organization was founded in France by doctors such as Bernard Kouchner, who strongly believes in the right to healthcare for every human being, no matter what their location or political situations. With over 26,000 medical professions in 60 countries, Doctors Without Borders is an impressive organization with a commendable track record and a vital mission. This organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999, and continues to provide aid in humanitarian disasters around the globe.
http://doctorswithoutborders.org
FARM-Africa
This laudable organization is determined to make Africa self-sustainable when it comes to growing its own food, in order to eventually relieve Africa from its dependency on Western food aid. FARM-Africa works directly with farmers throughout Africa to increase food security through innovation and technology. Through this organization, African farmers have the opportunity to improve their lot, and to enrich their lives.
David Suzuki Foundation
The David Suzuki Foundation is devoted to environmental sustainability and the preservation - and improvement - of our environment for future generations. By focusing on four program areas Sustainability, Oceans and Sustainable Fishing, Climate Change and Clean Energy, and the Nature Challenge, this foundation educates, inspires, and seeks scientific solutions to some of our biggest environmental challenges. This planet is the legacy that we have to give to our children, and the David Suzuki Foundation is doing its best to make sure that we leave the planet in the best shape possible.
Canadian Centre for Diversity
The Canadian Centre for Diversity is an educational organization with the mandate to promote religious and cultural harmony in Canadian society. Via educational programs, the Canadian Centre for Diversity believes that we can create a Canada that is inclusive and understanding, a Canada that accepts all people and in which all people can live in harmony. This organization sees over 10,000 Canadian youth participating in school-based programs yearly, and hopes that with will lead to a safer and less prejudiced society for all to enjoy.
http://www.centrefordiversity.ca
WWF Canada
With the mandate of advocating responsible action towards the environment through education, the Canadian Wildlife Federation is an integral part of Canada’s effort to preserve our natural habitats. The CWF provides resources to schools and to people across the country designed to inform Canadians as to the importance of environmental conservation. This organization has been around since 1962, and has grown from a few people passionate about the environment to a nation-wide movement that educates, inspires and advocates for environmental issues of all stripes.
Water for People
With 1.1 Billion people worldwide lacking access to safe drinking water and 2 million people dying each year because of it, Water for People is a worthwhile cause that envisages a world where safe water is available to everyone. Using simple technology such as gravity-fed water systems, protected springs, and community hand-pumps, Water for People facilitates delivery of safe water, while at the same time providing hygiene education. At the end of the day, this organization saves lives. Water for People intends to provide 1,000 people per day with sustainable water resources by 2011, and has current operations in Guatemala, Honduras, Malawi, and West Bengal, India.
Trans-Canada Trail Foundation
The Trans-Canada Trail Foundation is dedicated to the construction, preservation, and awareness of the Trans-Canada trail, a 21,000,000 kilometer-long trail for recreation and travel. This trail, which will eventually stretch from Atlantic to Pacific across Canada, is designed to encourage enjoyment and appreciation of nature, as well as to promote active lifestyles and healthy living. In addition, the foundation appeals to Canadians to recognize the need for green space in their communities. The Trans-Canada trail is a meaningful project that all Canadians can be proud of and enjoy.
The Ottawa Food Bank
The Ottawa Food Bank provides over 40,000 people in the National Capital Region with emergency food aid, and forty percent of these people are children. By donating to the Ottawa Food Bank, you are really donating to Ottawa’s needy, with every dollar donated guaranteeing five dollars of food distributed throughout the city. Over 12 tons of food leaves the food bank warehouse, destined for those who need it most. This charity is one of our finest local examples of Ottawa looking out for the most disadvantaged in the community, and it is more than deserving of your support.
http://www.theottawafoodbank.com
Scouts Canada
Scouts Canada provides over 74,000 young Canadians with activities designed to educate and positively influence them so that they can, in turn, become positive influences on others, and society as a whole. This organization is committed to the values of doing one’s best, contributing to the community, respecting and caring for others, and contributing as a family member. Fuelled by over 23,000 volunteers across the country, this organization provides a place where young people can be exposed to positive values and positive influences.
The Ottawa Mission
This charity provides warm beds for Ottawa’s homeless, and has been doing so since 1906. With an average of 208 residents per night, and over 1,000 meals served per day, the Mission is a compassionate and impactful charity serving Ottawa’s least fortunate. The Mission is faith-based, not-for-profit organization and deserves our support and generosity.
Right to Play
This cause uses sport as a way in which to promote health, fitness, and even peace, by granting children the opportunity to play in some of the worlds most impoverished and war-torn places. Right to Play believes that sport can teach conflict resolution skills and peace-building to a younger generation, as well as re-integrate children into normalcy after years of conflict. This organization also promotes health and disease prevention through sport and activity in the developing world. Right to Play takes the positive benefits of play and applies them to those children living in the worst of circumstances. In addition, this organization is supported by forty of the world’s top athletes and operates in 23 countries.
MADD
This organization is committed to stopping impaired driving and supporting the victims of violent crime in Canada. Through education, MADD increases awareness about the dangers of impaired driving, and provides a valuable service to the victims of such crimes. With over 100 chapters and approximately 7,500 volunteers across Canada, MADD delivers presentations to over 600,000 high school students and 150,000 elementary school students each year.
Quickstart
This organization funding an early intervention clinic with the mandate of helping Ottawa parents help children at rick of autism. Quickstart–in partnership with the Ottawa's Children Treatment Centre has addressed a gap that exists from the time before diagnosis is available and the time parents realize their children may need assistance. Through the use of professional screening, one-on-one appointments, and group sessions, Quickstart provides early intervention free of charge to concerned parents from all over the city and beyond.
http://www.quickstartautism.ca
Otto's Planet is proud to be driving consumers forward to a greener future.
