GlobalGiving is pleased to announce that Professor Sakena Yacoobi, a 2005 Marketplace winner and Executive Director of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), will be awarded the National Endowment for Democracy's 2005 Democracy Award. She will receive the award at an event at the United States Congress on July 13, 2005.

Since founding AIL in 1992, Professor Yacoobi has distinguished herself in educating average citizens and local leaders about basic values and principles of democracy, rights of women and ethnic minorities, strategies for peace-building, and the importance of broad political participation.

Professor Yacoobi emphasizes the need for education to promote democracy in Afghanistan, saying, "With education and literacy, people in Afghanistan - especially women - will be able to understand what democracy means. Through education, women will be able to obtain their rights, understand how they already act as leaders in their everyday lives, and contribute their leadership to help rebuild Afghanistan."

Support Professor Yacoobi's mission to empower and educate Afghan women. Project funds will benefit AIL's Women's Learning Centers, which provide Afghan families with medical and reproductive healthcare, job skills, and secondary and post-secondary education.

Bring family and friends together to watch The New Heroes, an upcoming PBS series (airing June 28 and July 5, 8-10 pm) that highlights the achievements of 14 innovative social entrepreneurs from around the world. Watch the show and donate to a featured project.

Below are some of The New Heroes projects you can support:

Computer Classroom for Education for DEPDC To give poor, ethnic hill tribe minorities education and computer skills, thereby teaching self-sufficiency. Theme: Education | Location: Thailand | Need: $28,900

Rugmark Centre for Former Carpet Slaves Rescuing bonded child laborers working in India's carpet industry; offering rehabilitation and comprehensive care including education, health care, and social services. Theme: Human Rights | Location: India | Need: $67,500

• Browse through all New Heroes projects on GlobalGiving.

The Telluride Foundation, nestled in the mountains of Colorado, is a community foundation committed to preserving and enriching the quality of life of the residents, visitors, and workforce of the Telluride region. When the tsunami struck South Asia last year, the Foundation decided to make an exception to its locally-focused mission to help the survivors of this unprecedented global catastrophe rebuild their lives.

The Foundation offered a $50,000 matching grant for every dollar the community raised. It then mobilized local residents, retailers, and the schools, raising a total of $187,000, for tsunami rebuilding efforts in Sri Lankan communities. GlobalGiving worked closely with the Telluride Foundation to identify and vet recipient projects, which included:

• Room to Read: Rebuilding pre-schools in the Ampara region and all along the east coast of Sri Lanka
   
• Bruce French: Helping to rebuild Perlya

The Telluride community chose Sri Lanka because of local resident and chef Bruce French. Shortly after the tsunami struck, Bruce travelled to Sri Lanka to volunteer for relief and rebuilding efforts. He discovered Perlya, a village that had not yet received any assistance when he arrived, and spearheaded a project to help the locals recover and rebuild. The Telluride Foundation asked if GlobalGiving could certify Bruce and the people working with him as a 501(c)3-equivalent organization, which enabled the Foundation to financially support him under its charter, and also would provide Bruce with additional exposure on the globalgiving.com website. GlobalGiving worked with Bruce and the Foundation to define and scope Bruce's work, funding needs, and expected project outcomes. GlobalGiving also conducted due diligence to ensure compliance with anti-terrorist guidelines. Within a few weeks, Bruce's project was able to receive funds.

Bruce's work has played a key role in rebuilding the village. Beyond immediate humanitarian relief, villagers were able to:

• repair two brick-making machines, which have been used to rebuild homes and businesses in the local village and beyond.
   
• purchase equipment for a sawmill that had been destroyed
   
• replace several fishing boats to help local fishermen get back to work
   
• plant 1,500 trees to re-vegetate the area

GlobalGiving and the Telluride Foundation are working together to provide regular updates to the Telluride community on project progress so that they can stay connected to the villages they are helping throughout Sri Lanka. GlobalGiving is proud to work with the Telluride Foundation, and support the efforts of dedicated Project Leaders such as Bruce French. Their generosity exemplifies how the notion of "community" extends beyond borders, making the world a smaller, more interconnected place.

With wedding season upon us, couples may be considering if they really need to ask for a fondue set. Instead, they can help send a girl in an Indian slum to school - or provide clean water to a rural Ethiopian village. A GlobalGiving registry allows you to do just that - for a wedding, birthday, or just as a way to mobilize your friends to support shared interests. Change the world with a GlobalGiving registry!

These non-traditional gift registries allow philanthropically-minded couples - as well as individuals or other groups - to support projects around the world, in thematic areas ranging from education, to health, to the environment. Registrants simply select the projects they'd like to support, and promote their registries to friends and family, who make gifts in the recipients' names. Registrants receive a personalized card for each gift made in their honor.

"My fiancé and I have both tried to stay involved in international development issues through our work and our philanthropy. It's part of who we are and something we wanted to share with our community. The professionalism of the GlobalGiving site and inspiring local projects were both things we felt that we could share with our friends and family. Whether people decide to give or not, we think they will appreciate learning about the amazing work that is going on in developing countries, led by local people, despite the tragic news that we all see on TV."

- Yasmina Zaidman, recent bride and GlobalGiving registry user

Thanks to the generosity of wedding guests of Yasmina and her husband Marlowe, Ghanaian villagers will be trained to provide care for homebound HIV patients; 150 disadvantaged girls in Zimbabwe will have their school fees paid and a uniform and shoes purchased; and three new schools will be built in remote Indian villages, benefitting over 500 children of mineworkers.

• Establish a GlobalGiving registry
   
• Give a project as a gift