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I recently returned from my three-day visit to Haiti, where I went to visit several children’s programs, schools and homes, including those of past World of Children Award Honorees Dr. Jane Aronson and Susie Krabacher. Throughout Haiti and Port-au-Prince, the conditions I saw were jarring. Prior to the earthquake the predicament was poor, but now Haiti has been…

Earlier this week, I was walking in Manhattan. It is the height of the holiday shopping season, and masses of people were out smiling and carrying bags of purchases large and small. It was only 24 degrees in New York on this day, and the bitter cold weather inspired me to seek shelter. As I…

At this time of year it is appropriate for us to recall how fortunate we really are. My grandparents, escaping Tsarist pogroms of the early 20th century, walked over 1,300 miles with barely the clothes on their backs to get from Russia to the coast of France so they could come to America. Their struggle…

At the World of Childrens, we try to do a lot of good. We scour the globe for the best child advocates and vet their work to ensure that they are above reproach. We give these advocates grants for their work and public recognition so that they can attract new partners. We give them an…

As Founder, I am often asked when I became interested in philanthropy. The answer is, quite simply, that I was contributing to others long before I can remember. Growing up, my family was very poor. My five family members, spanning three generations, lived in a three room bungalow where 10 families shared a single bathroom. …

We recently received some photos from Susie Krabacher, our 2006 Humanitarian Award Honoree, who founded The Mercy and Sharing Foundation in Haiti. Before the earthquake, Susie had a feeding program that was serving over 800,000 meals a year. Much of this was destroyed by the quake, but the organization is now back up and running in two locations. This…

One of the major points of differentiation for the World of Children is its dedication to thoroughly vetting prospective Honorees before we elevate them to Honoree status and award them with a cash grant at our annual Award ceremony every November. Our vetting process is especially important in today’s world where there is so much…

On January 12, 2010, the Caribbean nation of Haiti was devastated after the earth shook. The damage done by the quake is incomprehensible to most of us. The closest we can come to understanding the horrific repercussions of the quake are statistics (230,000 dead, 300,000 injured, 1,000,000 homeless), but statistics alone cannot properly convey the…

I will ashamedly admit that I have a penchant for bad television, and not long ago I was watching re-runs of “My Super Sweet 16,” a reality program on MTV that documents the birthdays of affluent teenagers (generally a sixteenth birthday, but sometimes a quinceañera or other coming-of-age celebration).  These parties often run upwards of…

In youth-centric Hollywood, birthdays are sometimes met with mixed emotions. But I’ve found the best way that anyone can embrace any birthday is to remember how fortunate they are to be growing another year older and use it as an opportunity to give back. That’s why this year I’m Giving Up My Birthday – happily…

15-year-old Jessica Markowitz was honored by World of Children last year for founding Richard’s Rwanda/Impuhwe. This month, she willl appear on the cover of PARADE magazine alongside American actor Matthew McConaughey (Failure to Launch, We are Marshall, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) and will be honored in Washington, DC alongside 14 other…

Earthquakes are terrifying in any situation, but when they strike third world countries, where construction is primitive and where poverty is rampant, the devastation is magnified. In these circumstances no one suffers more than children. When Haiti was struck with a forceful earthquake on January 12, it left thousands of children dead, injured and at…