50 for 50 Day 23: Team Rubicon
Photo from United Nations Development Programme
Thanks for stopping by my 50th Birthday Celebration, Day 23. Twenty-three is a magic number, and not just because it was worn by Michael Jordan.
Here’s the background story: because I feel so blessed and have pretty much everything I could ever need, I am asking people to get involved with charities, if they are so inspired, in lieu of any fabulous birthday presents you were planning on sending me (or not).
I am featuring a different charity every day for 50 days leading up to my 50th birthday to give you plenty of chances to get involved. I started on May 18. I wanted to give a voice to different good works around the globe. If you ARE inspired to take action, please leave me a comment and let me know that you did. This is all I want for my birthday – to spread some love and kindness. Thank you, my dear friends.
I was floored when I heard about Team Rubicon. They began when two Marines, back from active duty in Iraw and Afghanistan, went to Haiti after the earthquake to help out. They found that their skills from battle served them well in the chaos of an emergency situation and realized that if they could do it, other military people could do it too. These are people who have put their lives on the line for their country, and now they are doing it again for strangers in need.
They say:
We are a new way of thinking in disaster response. We bridge the gap between catastrophe and large-scale response, uniting military veterans with medical professionals. We utilize flat command structures, social networking technology, and simple decision making processes. We don’t wait for ideal situations to develop, we make dysfunctional situations ideal.
We are volunteers not satisfied with standing on the sidelines. We believe that inaction is not an option; that our skills are needed, and that Team Rubicon is a model for delivering them. We are 21st century “Medical Minutemen.”
We are capable of doing MORE with LESS. We are self-sustaining, self-reliant and self-deploying. We bring only what we need, deploying rapidly to where we are needed. We arrive on-site, identify problems, create solutions and GET THE JOB DONE.
We are doctors, firefighters, medics, nurses, physician assistants and military veterans.
We are Team Rubicon.
Donate here. Volunteer application for military medics and corpsmen and others with medical/paramedic experience.
Previously featured organizations:
Kiva
The Carter Center
Bikes Not Bombs
Friends of Maddie
ProPublica
Surfrider Foundation
Livestrong
United Through Reading
Operation Shower
The Liz Logelin Foundation
KidSave
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Kids Vs Global Warming
Help a Mother Out
Direct Relief International
WriteGirl
Accelerated Cure for Multiple Sclerosis
Women for Women
Epic Change
Amnesty International
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Suebob's Red Stapler 
This one is new to me. I love this concept!
Thanks for highlighting them!.
It seems like a great fit – kind of the “moral equivalent of war” theory.