STRAY ANIMALS
The Challenge: Hundreds of thousands of animals are abused and neglected across the US. They've been dumped on highways, remote country roads and abandoned in public parks, empty houses and dark alleys. They are often times rescued, but are in danger of being put to sleep because no one adopts them.

HOSPITALIZED CHILDREN
The Challenge: 275,000 kids visit the St. Louis Children’s hospital each year with various illnesses. One of the issues that the hospital deals with is children with cancer. Each year 13,000 kids are diagnosed with cancer in the US. Many of them require chemotherapy which leaves them nauseous and with sores in their mouths.

WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The Challenge: 1.5 million children die every year due to unsafe drinking water. That's one child every 8 seconds. The amount of oil used annually to produce single-use water bottles is enough to fuel 1.5 million cars for a year. 80% of those bottles end up in landfills (38 billion) where they take 1,000 years to decompose into toxins. The carbon footprint for this almost incomprehensible. Learn more about this issue here.

HOMELESSNESS
The Challenge: The National Alliance to End Homelessness estimates that the recession will force 1.5 million more people into homelessness over the next two years. Even more alarming it is reported that 1 in every 50 kids in America is homeless or has been homeless.

SUPPORT OUR SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN
The Challenge: Across the country, service men and women from all branches of the military have been called away from home to active duty in difficult and oftentimes dangerous situations. Many of these men and women have left families behind who have special support needs, others return home and struggle to find purpose without the structure, mission and camaraderie of a miltary unit.