Tuesday, December 15, 2009

31 Days of Giving

Even the poorest of the poor can afford to partake in at least one of these selfless acts.

1. Help get PJs to kids in shelters so they won't have to sleep in their clothes by giving just $10 at pajamaprogram.org.
2. Mentor a struggling student online at icouldbe.org. Studies suggest that a little boost can double a kid's chance of going to college.
3. Donate books you've already read to your library. Most public libraries accept them.
4. End homelessness through soccer. $10 to streetsoccerusa.org helps a homeless person meet challenges on and off the field.
5. Fight malnutrition. A $1 gift to vitaminangels.org will provide much-needed vitamin supplements to children in places like Honduras, Haiti, and even poor areas in the U.S.
6. Tend a garden. $5 to dinnergarden.org buys seeds for enough veggies to feed a struggling family of seven.
7. Do some pro bono work. Whether you're in marketing or IT, taprootfoundation.org can match you with a non-profit in your community that needs your skills.
8. Get lifesaving malaria medication to 10 children by donating $25 to savethechildren.org.
9. Click and give... At care2.org, every click you make prompts a sponsor to make a donation that will fight breast cancer, global warming, and more.
10. ....or surf and give. Use GoodSearch to find what you're looking for online, and every search will send money to a cause of your choice.
11. Regift. Turn gift cards you'll never use into donations to your favorite charity at plasticjungle.com.
12. Provide solar power. $50 to goodgifts.org will send an African village a solar lamp, stove and water heater.
13. Prevent disease. A $50 donation will allow doctorswithoutborders.org to vaccinate 50 people against meningitis, polio and other life-threatening diseases.
14. Send a free holiday card to a soldier abroad via redcross.org/email/saf.
15. Have a potluck with your friends instead of going out for dinner - give the $35 you save to strength.org to feed a child for a month.
16. Keep someone's lights on. Even $5 at smallcanbebig.org makes a difference to a family who needs help with bills due to illness, domestic violence or other tragedies.
17. Inspire a leader. A donation to the Binti Pamoja Center (their name means "daughters united" in Swahili) helps a girl in a Kenyan slum pay for school and learn how to be a community leader.
18. Keep girls on the team. Giving to Robin Roberts' GoGirlGo! Fund (at womenssportsfoundation.org) will help girls displaced by Hurricane Katrina stay in sports.
19. Help those helping others. $150 to homebasedcarealliance.org will supply medicine plus sterile gloves and a bicycle to a caregiver for people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.
20. Reach out to the new kid. $35 buys a winter coat for a resettled refugee in the U.S. at theirc.org.
21. Feed four children in Tanzania a healthy breakfast for just $1 at gocampaign.org, a nonprofit run with the help of kids from the U.S.
22. Warm toes. $5 to hannahssocks.org buys seven pairs for a homeless person.
23. Play trivia. At freekibble.com, every answer - right or wrong - sends 10 pieces of dog food to an animal shelter in need.
24. Help women recover after childbirth. Fistulafoundation.org helps train doctors to care for the 2 to 3 million women who have injuries from prolonged or obstructed labor.
25. Stock a refrigerator. Just $1 to feedingamerica.org will provide nine pounds of groceries to a hungry family in the U.S.
26. Knit. Send squares to warmupamerica.org; they'll be made into afghans and given to battered women's shelters.
27. Give peace to survivors of sexual trauma. $47 to the International Medical Corps (imcworldwide.org) delivers medical and mental health care to refugees who have suffered sexual violence.
28. Turn your wedding into a charitable event. At idofoundation.org, you can link your registry to your favorite cause. Each purchase triggers a donation from the retailer.
29. Starve a landfill. Make this a "no wrapping paper" year - use newspapers, even the pages of this magazine, instead.
30. Keep a woman safe. At madre.org, $30 buys a cell phone for a rural Afghan woman; if threatened with violence, she can make a lifesaving call.
31. Give the gift of opportunity. At worldvisionmicro.org, you can make a microloan to help a woman in a developing country get her own small business up and running.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Where My Heart Lies


"This is the land of the Big Deal, of pay or play, of millions one year and bankruptcy the next, of meetings, meetings, meetings (interrupted by an occasional movie), of much talk and very little action, of hustle and hassle, greed and guile."

And this is the land where my heart lies.
Find me here, and speak to me
I want to feel you, I need to hear you
You are the light that's leading me to the place
Where I find peace again.