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Neil S. Siskind, Esq.

 

Don’t Forget! March 29th is “National Fatherhood Day”! Read more below.

 

 

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Caring is Free®

 

Difference

 

The Mission:

More and more, people are associating charities with national campaigns, mass-media commercials and professional sports team sponsorships. But this is not what charity is about. You don’t have to run a marathon to be doing charity. You don’t have to have any money or a federal tax filing, and you don’t have to be accepted as a volunteer to a big organization. You only need the desire to give to someone who is truly in need. It is a giving of your time, compassion and/or resources. You can help seniors or impoverished children in your community, or you can form a group to create strategies for improving the world. All you need is a strategy and a goal in order to do worthwhile charity. Also, keep smaller organizations in your thoughts. It is these smaller non-profits that really need the volunteers and donations, as opposed to the national not-for-profit corporations you see in the media. These smaller organizations are, often, made up of 2 or 3 people who are sacrificing their time to try to do some good and who make little or no salary from their work. Please donate to any of the below charities if you can; if not your money- then your time. Caring is Free®.

Below are non-profit organizations and charities that are doing their parts to give-back to their communities in socially responsible and important ways, and which are important services to promote as a way to do our part for our community. Non-profits and charities are under tight financial constraints these days and any help and awareness that we or that you can provide to support and promote these causes is vital. NeilSiskindSupports.com and Caring is Free® were set up by Neil Siskind to raise awareness of and promote these organizations’ noteworthy efforts.

Neil Siskind

 

Please email New York lawyer Neil Siskind at nsiskind@siskindlawfirm.com to describe why your favorite charity or nonprofit is a cause worth promoting here for clients and visitors to learn about. I like to focus on smaller charities that lack national notoriety so that I can help get the word out for the more challenged organizations. I am particularly interested in learning about charities that protect or help abused or needy children. Philanthropy is not a spectator sport! Get involved! Help me promote a worthy cause!

Neil Siskind’s linkedin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/

 

 

Neil Siskind’s Favorite Charities, Nonprofits and Pro Bono Services:

DonorsChoose.org- not-for-profit organization

School budgets are under attack. Public schools around the country are constrained by public budgets and often lack the necessary tools to educate our children. Teachers themselves very often come out-of-pocket with money they do not have to supply their classrooms with much needed supplies because the schools and districts fail to provide necessities towards proper educations. DonorsChoose.org is a place for teachers to advertise their vital classroom needs and raise money for equipment and supplies for students. Neil Siskind has given to this organization and hopes you will too.  http://www.donorschoose.org/NeilSiskindGiving/?id=20532208&active=true

“Dear Neil,

Thank you so much for the generous gift to our classroom. My class and I are very excited about the overhead projector. We have been using it everyday and learning so much. Thank you so much for giving us the gift to learn.”

-3rd Grade Teacher PS 22, recipient of donation of overhead projector from Neil Siskind to a classroom lacking enough text books for all students.

Give to Public Schools in Need! - Go to DonorsChoose.org


Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer, the world’s oldest and largest private cancer center — has devoted more than 130 years to exceptional patient care, innovative research, and outstanding educational programs. Today, MSK is one of 41 National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, with state-of-the-art science flourishing side by side with clinical studies and treatment.

Neil Siskind devotes time every week to working with MSK cancer patients, and asks that you too work with your local hospital to provide assistance to children and adults in need of emotional support during their challenging times. http://mskcc.convio.net/site/TR?px=3182108&fr_id=2632&pg=personal

Siskind Charity

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Saving Senior Citizens™ – Pro Bono (2012-2015)

Saving Senior citizens is a pro bono legal service set-up by Neil Siskind for senior citizens who are being harassed by bill collectors or who are not being treated with the attention and respect they deserve from a person or business they’ve engaged. Seniors lack the physical and mental strength to stand-up for themselves and often fall victim to strong-arm tactics over the telephone, by mail and especially online. Neil Siskind organized SavingSeniorCitizens.com to provide these seniors with free legal help to fight-back against predatory people and businesses that seek to take financial advantage of the elderly.

Neil Siskind stands-up for the elderly.

www.savingseniorcitizens.com

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The Fresh Air Fund- not-for-profit organization

In 1877, The Fresh Air Fund, an independent not-for-profit organization, was created with one simple mission – to allow children living in low-income communities to get away from hot, noisy city streets and enjoy free summer experiences in the country. The Fund began with a small group of youngsters heading for the country and went on to benefit more than 1.7 million needy children. It is very important for children to see for themselves and learn about opportunities to live and work in environments beyond crowded and violent inner-city communities. Being in rural environments engenders an appreciation for nature and society at large and relieves stress.

http://www.freshair.org

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Senior Entrepreneurship Works- a not-for-profit organization

Senior Entrepreneurship Works is designed to engage, empower, connect and celebrate seniors who choose to become entrepreneurs. It is an entrepreneurial ecosystem in which seniors can learn first, if they have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. If they decide they do and want to make the leap, the education and training programs provide prospective and newly practicing entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge they need to validate their ideas and make opportunities happen. Not all seniors want to retire- and some can not afford to. This organization helps seniors to compete in business and in technology. Neil Siskind supports helping seniors to find the motivation and knowledge to continue to succeed and have purpose in their lives and obtain the skills needed to compete in our economy.

http://seniorentrepreneurshipworks.org

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Catching the Dream- Nonprofit

In Neil Siskind’s judgment, Native Americans are the original and real environmentalists. 100 plus years of U.S. policy has divided and stressed Native American cultures and families across the country. As the country and world emphasize environmental soundness and protection of the environment, it is ironic that the people who lived for and from the land were displaced by a culture that is now espousing these values. The mission of Catching the Dream (CTD) is to help improve the quality of life in Indian communities through the higher education of Indian people. CTD provides scholarship assistance for students who demonstrate academic achievement, clearly defined goals, leadership, the determination to succeed, and the desire to return to their communities and help others to realize their dreams. Students must be 1/4 or more degree American Indian, and be an enrolled member of a U. S. tribe. “U. S. tribe” is defined as federally recognized, state recognized, or terminated. From 1986 to 2006 CTD have maintained a success rate of 83% graduation for their students. Neil Siskind supports any legitimate charities and services that help Native Americans thrive in today’s society but without having to sacrifice their own tribal cultures and Native American values. http://www.catchingthedream.org/About%20Us.htm.

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Wounded Warrior Project- a nonprofit organization

Mission:

  • To raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members.
  • To help injured service members aid and assist each other.
  • To provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members.  http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org

 

Make-A-Wish Foundation of America- a non-profit organization

What can be more rewarding than making a sick or dying child happy? Make-A-Wish is a catalyst for making fantasies a reality for sick children. In some cases, these wishes coming true provide a much-needed lifting of spirits. In other cases, they could, unfortunately, be the last wishes of sick children with terminal illnesses or conditions. Neil Siskind asks that you check out the Make-A-Wish website to see how you can help  http://wish.org.

Please donate to Neil Siskind’s Make-A-Wish drive to make a sick child smile.

The Siskind Law Firm Stands Against Online Bullying

We reject using the Internet to embarrass, harass and attack people. Teenagers harassing other teens on the Internet is a shameful activity that has led to teen suicide. Adults who write online attacks upon other adults as a way to exact revenge or try to embarrass people exhibit the lowest form of social behavior, especially when they have their own children to whom they have the responsibility of setting an example. The unprecedented publishing ability offered by the Internet provides an outlet for angry, vindictive and simply mean people who lack impulse control and respect for others or for themselves. Monitor your children and control your own behavior online so that the fabric of society and basic social order in our communities is maintained. As readers, always remember, the mean posts that you are reading were written by the kind of person who would even do such a thing. That should tell you a lot about a person’s character, veracity and treatment of others. Teen bullying is unacceptable. Bullying and embarrassing people at any age, in any medium is outrageous and there is no room in society for Internet bullies- or bullies of any sort. When a person posts attacks on a business on the Internet, they hurt the employees of those companies too and put jobs, and thus, families, at financial risk. Such lashing-out without regard for anyone probably shows why the business had difficulty dealing with the person in the first place. Try to be nice out there.

 National Fatherhood Initiative- a nonprofit organization

National Fatherhood Initiative’s mission is to improve the well-being of children by increasing the proportion of children with involved, responsible, and committed fathers in their lives. Children from father-absent homes are two to five times more likely to use drugs, live in poverty, fail in school, and suffer from a host of other risks. No other single factor hurts children more than father absence. Therefore, NFI is committed to addressing the second question by connecting fathers to their children heart to heart.

Most people are focused on intervention, which is good and noble and must happen. But NFI is also committed to prevention. NFI seek to create a world in which fewer and fewer children need NFI’s help because they have great dads who have been given the skills and encouragement they need, via NFI’s efforts, to be the kinds of dads their children need them to be. Neil Siskind supports the NFI and agrees that without a father or at least a positive father-figure in the home, a child is at a great disadvantage in life. Hopefully, you will also be inspired to support the NFI mission.

ASPCA- a not-for-profit-organization

Animals are abused everyday and can’t speak up for themselves. The ASPCA saves these helpless victims and works to find them the homes they deserve. Please support the ASPCA in its goal of defending those which are completely defenseless. It costs only pennies a day.

http://www.aspca.org

Ronald McDonald House- a not-for-profit-organization

Many families travel far from home and spend several weeks or months to get treatment for their seriously ill or injured children – a long time to be away or to divide a family. And, for children facing a serious medical crisis, nothing seems scarier than not having mom and dad close by for love and support. A Ronald McDonald House is that “home-away-from-home” for families so they can stay close by their hospitalized child at little or no cost.

http://www.rmhc.org/home

The Fatherhood Assignment- Think Tank & Advocacy Organization

The Fatherhood Assignment is a community-driven think tank & advocacy organization founded by Neil Siskind. The Fatherhood Assignment focuses on helping children with absent fathers to live normal and stable lives. The mission of The Fatherhood Assignment is to encourage the contributions of knowledge and data by mental health professional in the areas of childhood development and youth issues, and the stories of people with personal experiences living in homes with absent fathers. The goal of The Fatherhood Assignment is to educate stable men in every community on how a void in the father role affects a child, and to encourage them to reach out and play a role in the life of a child with an absent father in order to prevent or stop antisocial behavior that results from feelings of hopelessness, purposelessness, insecurity, sadness, and anger of a child without a father due to death, abandonment, or imprisonment. Please contribute your relevant professional insight or personal experience to help us help children http://www.neil-siskind-the-fatherhood-assignment.org/
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My Brother’s Keeper- Presidential Initiative

The “My Brothers Keeper” initiative to help young black and Hispanic men that President Obama unveiled is a project he will continue even after he leaves office. The initiative has two parts. The first is Obama ordering all federal agencies to look at what ways they can help support men of color. Black students in particular are disproportionately expelled from school, and the Obama administration believes that providing school districts and states some of the best practices to avoid suspensions will keep black boys and men in school and therefore improve their learning. The second part of the initiative is a partnership with foundations and businesses, who the administration says have already pledged $200 million over the next five years and could give even more. Neil Siskind supports this important Presidential task force designed to give strength and guidance to African-American and Latino youths who lack the home-life structure necessary for success in school and in life.

Camp Barnabas- a not-for-profit organization

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Camp Barnabas is a summer camp dedicated to providing summer camp experiences to people with special needs, physical or intellectual challenges, and their siblings from throughout the United States. They respect the diversity of religious beliefs and allow all in need to receive their services. All teachings are purposed toward basic Biblical principles with no denominational emphasis. They respect the difficulties and joys of parenting a child with special needs and strive to bring new experiences into these families. They seek to promote a sense of normalcy in the lives of children living with a disease or disability. They recognize that disease and disability impact the whole family and therefore include the siblings of a child with special needs by inviting them to join in the camp experience. Neil Siskind agrees that there are few causes better than those which provide children with disabilities every opportunity to live life to the fullest and with the same access to fun and laughter as every other child on earth. Check out Camp Barnabas at http://www.campbarnabas.org/#kids.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City- a not-for-profit organization

Every child needs a good example to be set for them and a have person in their home or community to look up to. However, many children come from broken homes or have parents who are living in poverty and/or are busy working multiple jobs for their family’s survival.  The mission of Big Brother Big Sisters is to provide children facing adversity in New York City with strong and enduring, professionally supported 1-to-1 mentoring relationships with adults who change their lives for the better, forever. The organization partners with families, volunteers, organizations and the community to inspire positive change in all. Neil Siskind encourages anyone with the ability and opportunity, to become a mentor to a child in need and help set them and keep them in the right direction.

http://bigsnyc.org


The Neil S. Siskind Nature Preserve-  A Conservation Project

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The Neil S. Siskind Nature Preserve (2010-2020) is over 7 acres of environmentally-pristine waterfront land in a magnificent setting along New York’s majestic Hudson River. The Preserve includes a variety of species of animal and plant life, and is a precious example of the thoughtful maintenance of New York’s priceless open spaces. The land’s uses are limited to outdoor recreation such as hiking and climbing, and the study of ecology, nature and land use.

Paralyzed Veterans of America-  a non-profit organization

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For more than 68 years, Paralyzed Veterans of America has been on a mission to change lives and build brighter futures for our seriously injured heroes—to empower these brave men and women with what they need to achieve the things they fought for: freedom and independence.

The organization was founded by a band of service members who came home from World War II with a spinal cord injury. They returned to a grateful nation, but also to a world with few solutions to the challenges they faced. They made a decision not just to live, but to live with dignity as contributors to society.  They created Paralyzed Veterans of America, an organization dedicated to veterans service, medical research and civil rights for people with disabilities. Neil Siskind asks that we all never forget all of those who contributed and sacrificed to make this great country what it is today- free. Visit http://www.pva.org 

National Fatherhood Day™

Founded by Neil Siskind, this is the day of each coming year that we ask you to think of a youth in your life, in your child’s life or in your community who lacks a stable male figure in his or her life. This is not a day to help a youth who is ill or in poverty. This pain is invisible and affects children’s hearts and minds. Living without a father figure is painful for any child. On National Fatherhood Day™ (March 29th), please reach out to any such youths in your community, through their respective mothers or legal guardians, to offer to spend some time to better a life in need. Read more about National Fatherhood Day and The Fatherhood Assignment here: http://www.neil-siskind-the-fatherhood-assignment.org/

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

With help from corporate partners, NCMEC has circulated billions of photos of missing children, and has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 202,000 missing children. They have trained more than 308,000 law enforcement officers, prosecutors and health care professionals at their Alexandria, Va. headquarters, their branch offices and online.

As the Internet has become a primary tool for sexually exploiting children, NCMEC received Congressional authorization to establish the CyberTipline which provides a centralized mechanism for the public and electronic service providers to report suspected child sexual exploitation which can often involve multiple jurisdictions. Since 1998, the CyberTipline has received more than 2.8 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation, and the Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed more than 122 million child pornography images. Neil Siskind supports any and every organization with the goal and track record of helping prevent or terminate abuse of children, and is helping the NCMEC spread the word and faces of missing children by asking you to use the link below to learn more. Please take a look at these children so that you can remember their faces. We should all play a part, no matter how small, to get these children home and safe.

http://www.missingkids.com/search?action=continueSearch&searchSubject=child

National Wildlife Federation- a non-profit organization

All across America, places for wildlife to live on public and private lands are being squeezed out, leaving many animal species with fewer places to call home. Add to this threats posed by global warming to wildlife habitat, and the problem seems almost insurmountable. National Wildlife Federation is working to protect the ecosystems that are most critical to native wildlife. Thanks to National Wildlife Federation and our partners, generations to come may still get the chance to see a grizzly bear or an elusive Florida panther, feel the tug of a wild salmon on the line, witness a whooping crane migration, or hear the howl of the gray wolf.

NWF works to improve federal and state policies that will improve wildlife conservation on hundreds of millions of acres of public, tribal and private lands, including thousands of miles of streams, rivers, lakes and coastlines across America. The organization encourages Congress to pass legislation that includes adequate funding for natural resources and directs federal agencies to include climate science in their wildlife conservation management plans. Neil Siskind loves the open spaces, ecological wonders and wildlife diversity offered across the United States and supports any and all attempts to preserve and protect our land, natural history and precious wildlife.

 The Osbourne Association- Charity

The Osborne Association offers opportunities for individuals who have been in conflict with the law to transform their lives through innovative, effective, and replicable programs that serve the community by reducing crime and its human and economic costs. The organization offers opportunities for reform and rehabilitation through public education, advocacy, and alternatives to incarceration that respect the dignity of people and honor their capacity to change. Neil Siskind supports the Osbourne Association’s mission of seeking to provide inmates with the skills needed to prevent the revolving door of prison by providing skills and education needed to succeed in society. This saves society money, promotes public safety and gives people the chance to reform themselves and lead straight lives.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital- nonprofit

The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. No child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family’s ability to pay.

  • Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing and food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
  • Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since it opened in 1962.
  • St. Jude is working to drive the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90 percent in the next decade.
  • St. Jude freely shares the breakthroughs they make, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children.
  • Because the majority of St. Jude funding comes from individual contributors, St. Jude has the freedom to focus on what matters most – saving kids regardless of their financial situation.

Neil Siskind asks that you visit the St. Jude website to learn more about the mission of this organization. Below is just one of many wonderful stories of how St. Jude helps.

Noah’s Ark

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Noah’s Ark is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Animal Sanctuary dedicated to bringing children and animals together with the purpose of providing unconditional love, unconditional service and a future full of hope.

Mission:

  • To provide a home for injured, abused and orphaned animals.
  • To provide awareness through  rehab/education programs that emphasize all living things have value no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. When we as a society can recognize this fact, we will begin to win the battles for conservation and preservation.
  • To provide unconditional love and care for animals who have special needs in their lives whether mental, physical or emotional.

Noah’s Ark is a 250 acre sanctuary for abused, unwanted and neglected animals. A beautiful “park like” setting with paved pathways to bring your family and enjoy an afternoon out. They have a beautiful picnic area and playground. Noah’s Ark never charges admission to come and see the animals, however they do accept and appreciate donations to help feed and care for the animals. Neil Siskind asks that you also support this compassionate charity.

http://noahs-ark.org

Caring is Free®

Neil Siskind created and owns exclusive rights to the “Caring is Free®” trademark, used to encourage compassion for human beings, animals and nature, and to encourage donations and philanthropic work throughout the world by promoting charities that support and fight for principles related to these causes. The “Caring is Free®” trademark is available for non-exclusive license by 501(c)(3) organizations for use in their respective fundraising and cause-marketing campaigns.

Alaska Conservation Foundation- a not-for-profit organization

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Founded in 1980, the Alaska Conservation Foundation (ACF) is the only public foundation dedicated to conservation in Alaska, connecting thousands of committed donors and businesses worldwide with more than a hundred grassroots conservation organizations in Alaska. ACF serves as funder and supportive resource for a diverse community of nonprofits working to protect and wisely manage Alaska’s natural resources. Over the last 30 years, ACF has awarded more than $40 million in grants to over 200 Alaskan organizations and individuals.  In fiscal year 2013, ACF issued over $3.6 million in grants, supporting critical work to protect Alaska. Through strategic funding, ACF supports Alaska’s most critical issues, fosters problem solving and innovation, and protects Alaska’s incredible yet vulnerable ecosystems, communities and economies. Neil Siskind believes that the proper use and preservation of our natural resources is vital and Alaska represents the last frontier for the unconditional protection of America’s natural resources.

http://alaskaconservation.org

American Wild Horse Preservation

Neil Siskind supports any group that has the goal of protecting the safety of horses. Horses are beautiful animals that have played an invaluable role in the development of the United States, as well as in the development of civilization, in general. But now we have cars and trucks and should show wild horses our gratitude and compassion for their contributions. Wild horses are an under-appreciated American asset and deserve protection.

http://www.wildhorsepreservation.org/about


The Innocence Project- a nonprofit organization

The Innocence Project is a non-profit legal clinic affiliated with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University and created by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld in 1992. The project is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. As a clinic, law students handle case work while supervised by a team of attorneys and clinic staff. To date, more than 300 people in the United States have been exonerated by DNA testing, including 18 who served time on death row. These people served an average of 13 years in prison before exoneration and release. Neil Siskind believes that while a crime should be punished, to imprison a person who committed no crime is devastating. The United States is a country that must do all it can to ensure this result does not occur. The Innocence Project is a Godsend in this regard. http://www.innocenceproject.org

No Dogs Allowed

Neil Siskind believes that dogs should not be sold in stores in strip malls as if they were shoes and pizza. State and federal laws should prevent this abuse from continuing. This should be completely illegal in a modern and civilized society. How much is that doggy in the window? It does not matter…it’s the dog that is paying the price.

 

 

The sickly; the needy; the abused; the unfortunate; the destitute; the hopeless; the elderly; the helpless; the forgotten; the forlorn: Pick a cause…..any cause….and cause change.
-NEIL SISKIND
Caring is Free®

 

 

Please email New York lawyer Neil Siskind at nsiskind@siskindlawfirm.com to describe why you think that your favorite charity or nonprofit is a cause worth promoting here for clients and visitors to learn about.

 

ABOUT NEIL SISKIND
NEIL SISKIND holds a Juris Doctorate in law and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Mr. Siskind created and owns exclusive rights to the “Caring is Free®” trademark, used to encourage compassion for human beings, animals, and nature, and to raise awareness for related philanthropic work throughout the world.

Feeling that neither society nor communities have the mechanisms to adequately address the voids left in the lives of youths by fathers who are intentionally absent, imprisoned, deceased, or emotionally or physically abusive, Neil Siskind established The Fatherhood Assignment See http://www.neil-siskind-the-fatherhood-assignment.org/. Information about Neil Siskind’s other philanthropic work can be found at http://www.savingseniorcitizens.com, pro bono legal help for senior citizens being harassed by creditors, http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/Neil-Siskind-For-The-Children, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center fundraiser (Neil Siskind is a Memorial Sloan Kettering Partner for Excellence. See https://neilsiskindlawyerline.wordpress.com/2016/02/10/pay-it-forward/), and http://www.donorschoose.org/NeilSiskindGiving, Donorschoose.org public school fundraiser- funding classroom supplies is fun http://www.neil-siskind-the-fatherhood-assignment.org/give-to-give/. Mr. Siskind founded National Fatherhood Day™ (March 29th) to create public awareness about the needs of youths in our communities who do not have fathers and to encourage actions that will positively effect lives  http://www.neil-siskind-the-fatherhood-assignment.org/national-fatherhood-day-tm/.

 

Caring is Free®

 

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The Caring is Free® trademark is a registered trademark of Neil S. Siskind.