Elfenworks Foundation
In Harmony With The Carter Center

"The greatest challenge we face is the growing chasm between the rich and poor." - Jimmy Carter

The Carter Center is committed to advancing human rights and alleviating unnecessary human suffering. They invite you to join them in creating a world in which every man, woman, and child has the opportunity to enjoy good health and live in peace. They are working to erradicate neglected diseases such as guinea worm and two kinds of blindness (and are now set to combat malaria, one of the world's deadliest killers!) And while they're in a country helping out anyway, perhaps that country would like a little democracy with their health care. They're in a unique position to help, not being at all affiliated with the United States government. They've done it in 67 countries so far, including helping with a constitution, election monitoring, and more. Do you think that's all the Carter Center does? Think again! They are also heavily involved in advocating for mental health issues, including reducing the stigma associated with mental illness. Links:

[cartercenter.org] ~ [cartercenter.org feature on TEF] ~ [Carter Center / TEF challenge grant]

Mental Health Fellowship Matching Grant for the Carter Center

    2007 is their 25th Anniversary!
"For more than two decades, The Carter Center
has worked to control and eradicate diseases
that afflict the poorest of the poor. I have seen
first-hand the extraordinary impact of The Carter
Center's health programs. This award is a tribute
not only to the leadership of Jimmy and Rosalynn
Carter, but also to the Center's very competent
and dedicated staff." -- Bill Gates, Sr (2006)
Presenting the Gates Award for Global Health

As Mrs. Carter has told us, poverty is a pathway to depression, and we at The Elfenworks Foundation believe that mental health difficulties can likewise be a pathway to poverty if not addressed. Our Board of Trustees recently approved matching funds to support The Carter Center's innovative mental health journalism Fellows program, and this should assist in their fundraising efforts. Through this program, eight Fellows are mentored by a member of the Center's Journalism Advisory Board - a group of leading experts in the fields of mental health and media who are known for their significant contributions to mental health or journalism. The program also has an international component with Fellows from as far as New Zealand, South Africa and Romania being selected. They each are charged with producing a news piece to promote mental health awareness that works towards the goal of reducing stigma. At the culmination of their project, large-scale public dissemination is achieved through a Fellow's media outlet (e.g. NPR, The Los Angeles Times, PBS etc.) and to a network of mental health professionals and government representatives via live chats on the web, pod-casting and posting in digital archives on The Carter Center website.

Malaria Initiative

The Elfenworks Foundation is proud to be the first supporter of The Carter Center as it begins a pilot program to combat malaria. With support from The Elfenworks Foundation and others, the Carter Center is supplying nets treated with mosquito-killing insecticide to thousands of people in Ethiopia. Malaria remains the number one killer of children on this planet: in Africa, one child dies every 30 minutes from malaria. Research suggests that malaria and AIDS interact so that each disease helps the other spread faster. When people with AIDS contract malaria, there results a surge of HIV virus in their blood which makes them more likely to infect a partner. President Carter recently participated in an online chat about this initiative, and the text of that chat can be found at the Smithsonian website.

Education Program

Offering one of the premier internship programs in the country, The Carter Center provides more than 100 young people with a unique and tangible work experience. The Elfenworks Foundation is helping increase the exposure of this stellar program through supporting the Education Program's recruitment efforts. Strategies to enhance the Education Program's marketing include: advertising in publications on the internet, travel for program staff, and development of recruitment tools, and providing for additional opportunity for intern field travel. We believe that by raising their profile among the students of today, The Carter Center is also increasing these students' awareness of the problems that the Center is working to solve, as well as fostering a sense of involvement and caring among tomorrow's citizen-donors.

Example of Brilliant Communication: Success Defined

On page 28 of of his book Our Endangered Values, President Carter writes of being asked to define success in only fifty words. His response: "I believe that anyone can be successful in life, regardless of natural talent or the environment within which we live. This is not based on measuring success by human competitiveness for wealth, possessions, influence, and fame, but adhering to God's standards of truth, justice, humility, service, compassion, forgiveness and love." President Carter won a 2006 GRAMMY® - Best Spoken Word for Our Endangered Values. Elfenworks is not associated with this book, but we highlight it here as an example of communication at its finest.