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Welcome to Charity Begins, a non-profit organization that helps socially-conscious travelers benefit the communities they’re visiting.
Started in November 2006, Charity Begins has delivered school supplies, shoes, and clothing to orphanages, schools, refugee camps, and women’s shelters throughout the world. By making these deliveries via vacationers, business travelers, backpackers, and other independent travelers, the cost of shipping is eliminated and 100% of every dollar goes to helping people living in poverty.
How it Works
You tell us when you’re traveling to a developing country, and we’ll do the rest.
We’ll research your destination, identify a local non-profit, collect the needed supplies, deliver them to your door, and arrange for you to meet the non-profit upon arrival so you can deliver the supplies. If you run out of extra luggage space, we’ll even give you an extra, disposable, piece of luggage. It’s that easy and it's FREE! There is no extra charge for checked baggage on most international flights.
Shortcuts To volunteer as a traveller, click here.
To donate supplies, click here.
To add a non-profit to our data-base, click here.
A list of developing countries can be found here.
Charity Begins can be contacted at CharityBeginsInfo@Gmail.com.
Recent Accomplishments
October 2008
Two travelers are taking a bag of necessities with them as they begin their around-the-world trip in Nicaragua. The donations will be delivered to Si A La Vida, a non-profit which rescues children from the dangers and hopelessness of life on the streets of Managua.
May 2008 Charity Begins made a second delivery of children's clothes and babies clothes to Foundacion Diarq in Mexico City. The Foundation is dedicated to protecting women and children from domestic violence.
March 2008
Bruce Ecuador, a non-profit based in Quito, Ecuador received children's clothes and shoes in early March. Bruce Ecuador helps "at risk" children receive an education.
February 2008
Two heroic travelers traveled to Kenya and delivered children's clothes and shoes to a non-profit based in the Kibera slums. If you've been watching the news you know that Kenya has been wracked with violence since the disputed December presidential poll and many of the slums have been set on fire in the unrest.
February 2008
Charity Begins kicked-off the New Year with a special delivery to Shelter Don Bosco in Mumbai, India. The shelter has been rescuing children from the streets of Mumbai since 1987.
December 2007 Children's clothes, women's clothes, and shoes were delivered to the Thailand/Myanmar border to assist the thousands of people seeking the relative safety of refugee camps.
November 2007 Charity Begins delivered children's clothes and babies clothes to Foundacion Diarq in Mexico City.
August 2007
Delivery of two cases of shoes to several charities in Brazil.
May 2007
Delivery of school supplies to Amani Children's Home, a residence for orphans and street children in Tanzania.
April 2007
Delivery of assorted supplies to Kibera Community Youth Program in Nairobi. KCYP is a community based program aimed at empowering young people with a sense of social responsibility.
April 2007
Delivery of school supplies to BrucePeru.org in Lima, Peru.
March 2007
Coordinated the delivery of 100 pairs of boots to a porter's union in Nepal.
November 2006
Delivery of 50 pairs of new children's shoes to a non-profit in Lima, Peru.
Thanks to Soles4Souls.org, CharityBegins was able to deliver shoes to
children in Peru (top row photos), and porters and guides in Nepal (bottom row photos).