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Protect lemurs. Empower women. Further science. Lemur Love is a US-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation that conducts scientific research and partners with Malagasy women to build capacity and promote conservation. Lemur Love was founded in 2012 with a focus to support conservation around the Tsminanampesote National Park (southwest Madagascar). In the years since, the organization has mobilised more than USD$150,000 in funding from small grants, donations and merchandise sales, to support a range of work both in the southwestern part of the Madagascar, and for national issues like increasing the visibility of Malagasy women in science, and to combat the illegal wildlife trade of pet lemurs.

WE CARE Solar promotes safe motherhood and reduces maternal mortality in developing regions by providing health workers with reliable lighting, mobile communication, and blood bank refrigeration using solar electricity. The Problem Maternal mortality worldwide accounts for more than half a million deaths a year; 99 percent of these occur in underdeveloped countries. For every maternal death, at least 20 women suffer severe complications from childbirth. Major causes of maternal death include obstetric hemorrhage, obstructive labor, eclampsia, and sepsis. These emergencies cannot always be predicted, nor are they always preventable. However, with prompt, appropriate and reliable medical care, they are unlikely to result in loss of life. Sporadic electricity impairs the operation of surgical wards, delivery wards, essential hospital equipment, and hospital communication devices. This compromises the ability of health workers to provide safe, appropriate and timely medical care. Labor and delivery nurses cannot quickly notify on-call physicians of emergencies. Midwives and physicians are forced to make treatment decisions without the benefit of necessary diagnostic tests. Obstetric procedures and emergency surgeries are conducted under grossly suboptimal conditions, and can have tragic consequences. Our Background Co-founder Dr. Laura Stachel went to Northern Nigeria in 2008 to study ways to lower maternal mortality in state hospitals. She witnessed deplorable conditions in state facilities including sporadic electricity that impaired maternity and surgical care. Without a reliable source of electricity, nighttime deliveries were attended in near darkness, cesarean sections were cancelled or conducted by flashlight, and critically ill patients waited hours or days for life-saving procedures. The outcomes were often tragic. Laura wrote to her husband, Hal Aronson, a solar energy educator back in Berkeley, California. Together, Laura and Hal co-founded WE CARE Solar to improve maternal health outcomes in regions without reliable electricity. Hal designed an off-grid solar electric system for the hospital Laura was studying, targeting the maternity ward, labor room, laboratory and operating theatre. A Portable Solution Hal created a suitcase-sized prototype of the hospital solar electric system so Laura could show Nigerian hospital workers the LED lights, headlamps and walkie-talkies planned for deployment. When Laura returned to Nigeria toting the "solar suitcase," her Nigerian colleagues immediately grasped its significance and began using this kit to charge headlamps and walkie-talkies while they awaited the larger solar installation. In addition, hospital employees introduced Laura to clinicians in outlying health facilities who begged her to bring solar lighting to their own clinics, too. Our five-year goal is to serve 5 million mothers in remote areas by deploying 10,000 Solar Suitcases to health care facilities around the globe.

MOTE MARINE FOUNDATION, INC. IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION OPERATING AS A FUND-RAISING ARM TO PROVIDE FUNDING FOR SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS AT MOTE MARINE LABORATORY, INC

The Northwest Straits Foundation, a Salish Sea conservation organization raises funds to support the locally-driven marine restoration, stewardship and education programs.

THE FOUNDATION PROVIDES MAINTENANCE AND HABITAT IMPROVEMENTS TO THE SEA PINES FOREST PRESERVE WHICH ARE FUNDED BY DONATIONS RECEIVED FROM VISITORS AND RESIDENTS OF SEA PINES.

WE HAVE VARIOUS ACTIVITIES INCLUDING PODCASTING TO PROMOTE SCIENTIFIC THOUGHT LEADERS, HELPING TO FUND RESEARCH INTO COVID-19 AND AUTHORING INTEVIEWS OF EXPERTS IN THEIR FIELDS.