Today we’d like to introduce you to ACT Foundation USA.
Hello ACT Foundation USA, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
ACT Foundation USA is a 501 (c) (3) registered not-for-profit organization.
We are a global charity community, with presence in all 6 continents and 25 countries.
We are completely volunteer-run, which means that all of the donations directly reach the cause intended. – We deliver aid directly to the needy.
– Uniting the world through kindness and compassion for all, our causes and projects are wide and varied, encompassing small initiatives led by an individual or small group, to larger projects carried out in partnership with other organizations.
We have two unique projects that we would like to talk about at this time:
1. Fruit Tree Plantation Drive, which is both national as well as global.
2. Empowerment through Education in Lima, Peru
Through our partnership with English Helper and Nexos Communitarios, a registered non-profit in Peru, we are providing free English language learning to 80 underprivileged children in Lima, Peru. The program is integrated with the curriculum and is complete with assessments! We are glad to note that these children and their teachers are enjoying this learning experience.
The Fruit Tree Plantation Drive is a global sustenance movement, started by our founder, Mohanji. We have planted close to 500 trees in 2022 of which 129 trees were planted just in the month of October 2022!
These 129 fruit and nut-bearing trees in Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee, and California. We worked with the Michigan State Department of Natural Resources, the City of Memphis, TN, Lake County Forest Preserve District, Illinois, and Canopy, a not-for-profit in the Bay Area, California. More drives are coming soon as well.
Planting fruit and nut trees connects us to nature and addresses environmental concerns along with food security issues. It provides green cover to Mother Earth, and feeds all beings, humans, animals, birds, and insects!
We have planted over 75000 fruit trees worldwide and our goal is to reach 100,000 in the next few months.
“Fruit tree plantation is not just an act of kindness; it is a social responsibility. This is giving the fruits of kindness to the coming generations beyond species. Fill the forests with fruit trees. Plant more fruit trees in and around your city. It brings sweet grace to our lives beyond time.” – Mohanji
– We believe in the principle of Ahimsa or non-violence and hence all our donations of food are vegan.
–We support various homeless shelters through donation of freshly cooked nutritious meals, dry nonperishable food, and other items such as hygiene products, paper goods, cleaning supplies, and other necessities.
– We support many farmed animal sanctuaries through donation of fresh vegetables and vegan animal food.
– ACT USA currently supports initiatives in South America – Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil.
– From Jan to September 2022, ACT USA served 3046 meals, and donated 3401 kilos of dry food to people and animals!
Worldwide we served 478,659 meals and donated 254,842 kilos of dry food to people and animals!
– We support the Yawanawa Tribe in the Amazon forests of Brazil through food and medical supplies.
– We deliver aid to the most needy in the rural sections of Colombia and also some poor sections in Bogota. We have five fingers or pillars that define our work – food, clothing, shelter, education, and environment.
– In 2021, we built Greenhouses for the indigenous community in Cuncani, near the famous Machu Picchu in Peru.
We partnered with Nexos Communitarios, Peru in their project called SomosAyllu – Community Development in an Interdependent World. Through this sustenance project, we helped the community grow its own vegetables.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Like any other organization, we too have gone through some challenges; finances were tight at times and skilling for some roles could have been better. We are completely volunteer run and although some may look at that as a challenge, we believe that is our strength. Our volunteers believe in our purpose, that of alleviating poverty and adding value to the society we live in. Hence, in time, we have expanded our member base, which brought in more people with the requisite skills such as video editing, social media marketing, etc. As we kept up the good work, more people decided to support and donations have improved; in fact, we recently were able to secure a grant, exclusively for our fruit tree planting initiative.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We’d love to learn more about your work. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
We believe in a comprehensive holistic approach, and believe in Ahimsa or non-violence.
Our food donations are vegan. We donate to various homeless shelters and safe houses, nationwide. We also support multiple countries in South America through food donations.
We support animal sanctuaries that rescue and care for farmed animals.
We have identified many such sanctuaries and involve children in the visits. Thus, the message of love and compassion for all is also passed on to the future generations!
Being vegan is a good way to exhibit our love for Mother Earth, and the beings that live on it.
With the same goal in mind, we recently started the Fruit Tree Plantation Drive. We plant fruit trees in public spaces, and this helps the environment, and also reduces food insecurity.
An Audubon Society member explained this interconnection of nature beautifully – when we plant native varieties of say, maple in an area, that tree variety, as compared to the ones that have come from elsewhere, has knots on its trunk which allows caterpillars to breed. Birds from the South fly up north to reproduce and the young birds feed on these insects. Thus, restoring native fruit and nut trees helps to complete the ecological cycle that has unfortunately been broken due to various reasons.
We are extremely proud of our volunteers and our work! This platform called ACT Foundation was set up by our Founder, Mohanji, with the intent to unite the world with kindness and compassion for all! We are marching towards that grand goal and hope to take many more with us along the way! Join us!!!
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
What role has luck (good luck or bad luck) played in your life and business?
We believe that unconditional love is our true nature. While there are those who need help because of circumstances, respect for all is important and we take great care to ensure that. We deliver aid to the needy as directly as possible and with dignity.
We believe that the act of giving is a privilege since it has the power to transform both the giver and the receiver.
We would like to look at luck as the strength we derive from our purpose, and that is to serve with passion.
Our motto is, ‘Passion for Compassion’, and that we believe says it all!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://actfoundation.org/home/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/actfoundationusa/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ACTFoundationUSA/
- Youtube: http://youtube.com/@actfoundationusa
- Other: https://fruittreeplantation.org/
