'Let them do crafts!' proclaims Craft Castle ruler

"When Cheryl Morris opened the doors of Craft Castle a year ago, she opened a way for families to play together and create together without destroying the family budget.

'I designed the craft store I wish had been there when my children were small,' says Morris, the reigning monarch of the castle."

Read more here.

From the Ashes of Sorrow Come the Seeds of Comfort

"Spend any time with Australian businessman Bruce Hultgren and you're likely to find yourself in possession of a business card-sized piece of poetry with a gold-colored coin attached. The coin holds the raised image of a seated angel holding a dove.

Those cards and the messages they carry evolved from a moment of great sorrow in Hultgren's life. In 1999, his sister died unexpectedly, killed in an airplane crash. He realized that many people wanted to offer comfort but just didn't know what to say and as the bereaved, he might not have been ready to hear it yet. That understanding led to the beginnings of Pocket Angels, a lasting message of comfort to share with a bereaved individual."

Click here to read more.

World Vision applauds new U.S. government counter-trafficking policy

"World Vision applauds the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for its innovative and focused approach to combating modern day slavery with the release of its first Counter-Trafficking in Persons Policy."

Read more here.

U.S. seniors missing out on $20 billion of benefits

"Millions of seniors in the United States are missing out on more than $20 billion in aid that could help pay for food, medicine and heating, simply because they don't know it's there, according to a report released on Tuesday by organizations that advocate for seniors."

Click here to read more.

End of famine in Somalia means more work ahead

"While the decision by the United Nations (UN) to declare an end to the famine in parts of Somalia is good news, World Vision’s Director of Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs (HEA) for East Africa says the humanitarian crisis caused by the drought and ongoing military conflict in the region is far from over."

Click here to read more.

Save the Children Partners with American Girl to Promote Childhood Literacy in the United States

"American Girl's new 2012 Girl of the Year®, McKenna™, will help children across the United States become better readers through the McKenna Online Initiative promoting Save the Children's U.S. Literacy Programs. Introduced this January, McKenna is a skilled gymnast whose confidence tumbles when she starts having difficulty with reading comprehension — an issue affecting many children as they enter fourth grade, particularly the 16 million children living in poverty. Through McKenna, girls will discover the power of believing in themselves and their potential to achieve great things."

Click here to learn more about this new program.

CARE's Response to the Horn of Africa Crisis

"On July 20, 2011, the United Nations declared a state of famine in two areas of southern Somalia: the Bakool agropastoral livelihood zones and all areas of Lower Shabelle. Subsequently, four more Somali areas have been declared as a famine. At that point, the whole region of the Horn of Africa was suffering from the worst drought in more than 60 years, affecting Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya."

To read more, click here.