All parents want what’s best for their children. Sadly, those living in poverty often lack the resources necessary to help their kids thrive. Enter Room to Grow, which provides financially strapped parents with one-on-one support from social workers and essential baby items (books, clothing, bedding) during the critical first three years of their child’s life. This early support makes kids more likely to escape poverty as adults.

Playwright Eve Ensler established V-Day with a simple mission: End violence against women and girls. To do this, Ensler allows groups around the world to produce performances of her play “The Vagina Monologues,” as well as other V-Day works, to raise funds for anti-violence groups within their own communities. V-Day also produces large-scale benefits, films and campaigns to educate and change social attitudes toward violence against women. On its 15th anniversary on February 14, 2013 the group is asking 1 billion people to “rise and dance” in recognition of the 1 billion women who will be raped or beaten in their lifetime.

In the U.S. alone, more than 1 million people are diagnosed with cancer each year, according to the American Cancer Society. The Cancer Research Institute hopes to curb those numbers through its cancer immunology research. Though many charities raise funds for cancer, CRI is the only one that focuses exclusively on immune-based approaches for treating, controlling and preventing the disease. One of its more recent triumphs: funding the scientist who developed the HPV vaccine that protects against cervical cancer.

Human trafficking is considered one of the fastest growing crimes; according to Polaris Project, an organization that fights modern slavery, there are currently hundreds of thousands of trafficking victims in the United States alone. Polaris is combating human trafficking through public outreach and policy advocacy. The organization runs the national human trafficking hotline and provides emergency responses, transitional housing programs, counseling and jobs to victims.  Last year, Polaris helped pass 18 anti-trafficking bills and provided services for nearly 3,000 victims.

Heifer International doesn’t just give food to people who can’t afford it; the organization enables them to feed themselves. Through its live gifts—animals, seeds and trees—Heifer provides impoverished families with sources of both food and income. Each participant passes on the gift of their animal’s first female offspring, training in its care and in sustainable agriculture to another family in need, multiplying the benefit. The Heifer model has improved nutrition, agriculture, income and opportunity for participants.