I come from a family of teachers: my grandparents were teachers, my parents were teachers and while only one of my siblings went on to be a teacher, we all married teachers. So I have witnessed first-hand my whole life how hard they work and I know how frustrating it can be when you are trying to do such a difficult job and you don't have access to the resources and tools you need to do that job properly. I have also witnessed how much petty bureaucracy and red-tape and paperwork most teachers have to battle in order to get what they really need in the classroom, rather than what some administrator thinks they actually need.
This is why I am so drawn to this week's charity: Donors Choose. This organization lets teachers request funds for specific programs and then lets donors choose which program to fund. You know exactly where your donation is going and what that teacher is going to do with it. You can browse all the various requests by geographic location or by subject type and you can refine your search by student age, school type and lots of other criteria. If you really want to fund a set of left-handed scissors for a class in West Virginia, I bet you can find a teacher who needs those.
For me, the only difficulty was narrowing down my selection to a manageable list. There were so many exciting projects I wish I could support. It's great to feel like I am helping out in the classroom without having to actually BE in the classroom.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
Week 5: Pacific Wildlife Care
Ask anyone who knows me and you will learn I am not exactly a fan of getting back to nature. I have never gone backpacking. Car camping or day hiking are activities I care to do once a year. Maybe. If I have to. I prefer to observe nature through the window of a moving vehicle (car, train, boat, whatever, I'm not picky). Nonetheless, I really like knowing that there are wild birds and animals out there doing their thing (however messy and disgusting that thing might be to witness).
Unfortunately, when wild animals come into contact with humans or human detritus, the animals usually come out worse for the encounter. It's a dangerous world out there for birds, seabirds in particular If they aren't being impaled by barbed wire or loose fishhooks, they are being hit by moving cars or entangled in fishing lines. Worst of all is when they get caught in an oil spill and find themselves soaked in deadly petrochemicals.
Which is why I'm really glad there are organizations like Pacific Wildlife Care. Their mission is to rescue and rehabilitate wildlife that is injured due to human interference. They are situated near a bird sanctuary (in an absolutely beautiful part of coastal California) and so they unfortunately have no shortage of patients.
I think of it like a little bit of karmic balance for the human race. It may take many man-hours and a hefty chunk of change to save one bird, but that bird wouldn't have been in distress if it hadn't been for human interference in the first place. Every endangered bird facing a life threatening injury that they save and return to the wild is just one more out there doing that messy, disgusting thing that they live to do.
Unfortunately, when wild animals come into contact with humans or human detritus, the animals usually come out worse for the encounter. It's a dangerous world out there for birds, seabirds in particular If they aren't being impaled by barbed wire or loose fishhooks, they are being hit by moving cars or entangled in fishing lines. Worst of all is when they get caught in an oil spill and find themselves soaked in deadly petrochemicals.
Which is why I'm really glad there are organizations like Pacific Wildlife Care. Their mission is to rescue and rehabilitate wildlife that is injured due to human interference. They are situated near a bird sanctuary (in an absolutely beautiful part of coastal California) and so they unfortunately have no shortage of patients.
I think of it like a little bit of karmic balance for the human race. It may take many man-hours and a hefty chunk of change to save one bird, but that bird wouldn't have been in distress if it hadn't been for human interference in the first place. Every endangered bird facing a life threatening injury that they save and return to the wild is just one more out there doing that messy, disgusting thing that they live to do.
Week 4: Water.org
There are many factors that keep far too much of the world in poverty. And lack of access to clean water is may be the most important one. Disease and parasites spread more easily without clean water. When families have to spend an inordinate amount of time obtaining food and water, children don't have the luxury of attending school and adults don't have any time to spend on anything more than basic survival.
But there is more to providing clean water than just digging a well and walking away. Families need a safe way to transport that water from the well to the household or else it becomes contaminated en route. Sewage systems need to be established lest the groundwater become contaminated from wastewater borne diseases. And all these systems need to be serviced and maintained.
This is one of the things I really like about the organization that is my choice for this week's charity: water.org. They are looking at questions more complicated than "how do we dig a well?" but rather trying to answer "how do we provide clean water to people for the rest of their lives?" Not only are they asking these questions, but they are answering them. With $25 they do exactly that: bring clean water to a single person for the rest of his life.
So today I positively changed a few people's lives forever. Pretty cool accomplishment considering I'm still in my pajamas.
But there is more to providing clean water than just digging a well and walking away. Families need a safe way to transport that water from the well to the household or else it becomes contaminated en route. Sewage systems need to be established lest the groundwater become contaminated from wastewater borne diseases. And all these systems need to be serviced and maintained.
This is one of the things I really like about the organization that is my choice for this week's charity: water.org. They are looking at questions more complicated than "how do we dig a well?" but rather trying to answer "how do we provide clean water to people for the rest of their lives?" Not only are they asking these questions, but they are answering them. With $25 they do exactly that: bring clean water to a single person for the rest of his life.
So today I positively changed a few people's lives forever. Pretty cool accomplishment considering I'm still in my pajamas.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Week 3: National Education for Assistance Dog Services (NEADS)
I've been fascinated by working dogs since I was a tween. I don't have that much personal experience with them, but I have read countless autobiographies of people who have used assistance dogs for various disabilities and I know they can literally transform a person's life. For a disabled person, having the ability to perform daily tasks without having to depend on another human can be empowering and liberating.
I wanted to give to an assistance dog training group, but I didn't have any idea where to start. I saw a mention of NEADS (also known as Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans) on some blog and liked what I saw when I checked out their web page. They also got a great rating on Charity Navigator so that was enough to bump them to the top of my donations list.
One of the things I most like about this organization is that they are not only providing assistance dogs that change the lives of their caregivers, but they are also changing the lives of their trainers. Most of these dogs are trained by inmates at correctional facilities. These programs improve the life skills of the inmates and allow them an opportunity to give back to the community. The dogs get the benefit of intensive training that ensures they can graduate to working status as quickly as possible. In addition, some of their dogs are rescued from shelters and so may be saved from euthanasia. The disabled client gets a new loving companion and well-trained assistant. It's a win-win-win situation.
I wanted to give to an assistance dog training group, but I didn't have any idea where to start. I saw a mention of NEADS (also known as Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans) on some blog and liked what I saw when I checked out their web page. They also got a great rating on Charity Navigator so that was enough to bump them to the top of my donations list.
One of the things I most like about this organization is that they are not only providing assistance dogs that change the lives of their caregivers, but they are also changing the lives of their trainers. Most of these dogs are trained by inmates at correctional facilities. These programs improve the life skills of the inmates and allow them an opportunity to give back to the community. The dogs get the benefit of intensive training that ensures they can graduate to working status as quickly as possible. In addition, some of their dogs are rescued from shelters and so may be saved from euthanasia. The disabled client gets a new loving companion and well-trained assistant. It's a win-win-win situation.
Week 2: South Dakota Rancher Relief Fund
In the first week of October 2013, an unseasonable blizzard struck the Black Hills of South Dakota. This storm brought 24 inches of snowfall, winds up to 70 mph, and snow drifts up to 10 ft deep. This area is littered with cattle ranches and most of those animals were still held in pastures. Those pastures became slaughter yards as the cattle were buried in the snow and died of exposure or suffocation.
Many ranchers lost most or even all of their cattle or sheep herds. It was a devastating blow to many small ranchers who couldn't afford insurance on their stock. Stock that they were just days or weeks away from selling for the season. Instead of reaping the rewards of an entire year's work, they were left with devastation.
I've never been a farmer or a rancher or have even lived in South Dakota, but I do like to eat. In particular I like to eat beef and I have nothing but the utmost respect for the people who work long hard hours through all sorts of weather (including freak blizzards) and all so that I can pick up a neatly wrapped, tasty, and safe piece of meat in my local grocery store.
So for all those reasons, my second donation of the year has gone to the South Dakota Rancher Relief Fund.
Many ranchers lost most or even all of their cattle or sheep herds. It was a devastating blow to many small ranchers who couldn't afford insurance on their stock. Stock that they were just days or weeks away from selling for the season. Instead of reaping the rewards of an entire year's work, they were left with devastation.
I've never been a farmer or a rancher or have even lived in South Dakota, but I do like to eat. In particular I like to eat beef and I have nothing but the utmost respect for the people who work long hard hours through all sorts of weather (including freak blizzards) and all so that I can pick up a neatly wrapped, tasty, and safe piece of meat in my local grocery store.
So for all those reasons, my second donation of the year has gone to the South Dakota Rancher Relief Fund.
Week 1: Local Library
For the first charity of the year, I picked one that I really should have had on our recurring donations list, but I had never actually made a donation to before (unless you count all the money I've paid in overdue fines over the years): our local library. I'm not including a link to our specific library association, because I'd like to encourage everyone out there to donate locally. You can find your local library here.
I still remember how proud I was when I got my very first library card at the tender age of five (you had to be old enough to print your entire name by yourself). I even remember one of the very first books I checked out Although we soon moved away from that town, over the years, whenever I would move to a new place, one of the first things I would do was go down and get a new card at the local library.
Libraries provide so much more than books. At most public libraries, you can check out music, audio books, and movies. Some even have other items available for lending such as artworks, toys, cameras and tools. Just pop in and ask and you'll be surprised at the resources available. While you are there, you can sign up for a free class or seminar, hop on to a computer and surf the web, or go old school and read a print newspaper or magazine. Look around and you will see kids working on their homework, seniors catching up on local news and people of all ages curled up with a book or engrossed in some esoteric research project.
Libraries truly are the heart of a community and the important services they provide can't be supported enough.
I still remember how proud I was when I got my very first library card at the tender age of five (you had to be old enough to print your entire name by yourself). I even remember one of the very first books I checked out Although we soon moved away from that town, over the years, whenever I would move to a new place, one of the first things I would do was go down and get a new card at the local library.
Libraries provide so much more than books. At most public libraries, you can check out music, audio books, and movies. Some even have other items available for lending such as artworks, toys, cameras and tools. Just pop in and ask and you'll be surprised at the resources available. While you are there, you can sign up for a free class or seminar, hop on to a computer and surf the web, or go old school and read a print newspaper or magazine. Look around and you will see kids working on their homework, seniors catching up on local news and people of all ages curled up with a book or engrossed in some esoteric research project.
Libraries truly are the heart of a community and the important services they provide can't be supported enough.
New Week, New Charity FAQ
What is this blog about?
So I had this idea. Starting with the new year, I would find a new charity to donate to each week. There are so many worthy causes out there and frankly we wanted to step up our annual donation level so this will force us to expand our horizons and discover new worthy causes.
Wow, what a brilliant idea!
I thought so. So did some other random guy I've never met before. Check out his blog. He has done a much better job of starting and maintaining his than I have with mine (so far) but I do hope to give him a run for the money (no pun intended) throughout the year.
But didn't the New Year start weeks ago?
Yes. Yes it did. Anyone who knows me in real life, knows that I am not great with deadlines. So before I knew it, we were three weeks into the year and although I actually had been making donations, I hadn't even started this blog. Rather than beat myself up about that and just abandon the whole project, I've decided to make sure I'm really donating every week and post about each donation when I get the motivation and the time. So don't expect posts to appear on a regular schedule, but there should be an average of one post a week (at least) by the end of the year.
How much are you donating each week?
It's possible that will change from week to week, but the idea was to have a minimum donation level for each week. What that specific dollar amount is, I'd rather not say, but it's more than $25 and less than $500. $25 per week adds up to $1300 by the end of the year and that is an amount that can make a big difference in the world.
How are you finding and vetting these charities?
What about charities you've supported in the past?
The whole idea was to find 52 new charities to support, so any charity that we've given to in the past doesn't count. But since some of them are really worthy causes that we continue to support, I plan to post about those too, whenever we donate to them.
Are you taking suggestions for new charities?
Sure! Leave a comment in a recent post if you have a suggestion.
Any limitations on what kinds of charities you are considering?
How helpful are one-time donations to a charity?
This question doesn't have an obvious answer. On the one hand, more money coming in is always a good thing. On the other, it's better for charities to have a consistent source of revenue year in and year out rather than one-time donations from donors who they never hear from again. I really don't want these charities spending their resources trying to get follow-up donations from us in the future, because in many cases that is unlikely to happen. These are causes I'm interested in supporting once, not long term. As a result, I'm going to try to ask charities to remove my name and info from their donor lists whenever possible and I may just resort to making some of these donations anonymously.
So I had this idea. Starting with the new year, I would find a new charity to donate to each week. There are so many worthy causes out there and frankly we wanted to step up our annual donation level so this will force us to expand our horizons and discover new worthy causes.
Wow, what a brilliant idea!
I thought so. So did some other random guy I've never met before. Check out his blog. He has done a much better job of starting and maintaining his than I have with mine (so far) but I do hope to give him a run for the money (no pun intended) throughout the year.
But didn't the New Year start weeks ago?
Yes. Yes it did. Anyone who knows me in real life, knows that I am not great with deadlines. So before I knew it, we were three weeks into the year and although I actually had been making donations, I hadn't even started this blog. Rather than beat myself up about that and just abandon the whole project, I've decided to make sure I'm really donating every week and post about each donation when I get the motivation and the time. So don't expect posts to appear on a regular schedule, but there should be an average of one post a week (at least) by the end of the year.
How much are you donating each week?
It's possible that will change from week to week, but the idea was to have a minimum donation level for each week. What that specific dollar amount is, I'd rather not say, but it's more than $25 and less than $500. $25 per week adds up to $1300 by the end of the year and that is an amount that can make a big difference in the world.
How are you finding and vetting these charities?
I am trying to tap lots of different resources. I have gotten suggestions from friends, family, news stories, and blogs. In addition Give Well is a great resource for finding worthy causes I've never even heard of. Before giving to any charity, I do check out their rating on Charity Navigator, GuideStar and Charity Watch. Keep in mind that some (usually smaller) charities may not be listed in these databases, but that doesn't mean they aren't doing worthy work and making good use of the donations. You just may have to dig a little more to find out about their operation.
What about charities you've supported in the past?
The whole idea was to find 52 new charities to support, so any charity that we've given to in the past doesn't count. But since some of them are really worthy causes that we continue to support, I plan to post about those too, whenever we donate to them.
Are you taking suggestions for new charities?
Sure! Leave a comment in a recent post if you have a suggestion.
Any limitations on what kinds of charities you are considering?
For the purpose of this endeavor, I'm only donating to groups registered as 501c(3) organizations. This means that some international, and all political causes will be left out. I'm not making a value judgement. Some of those organizations do great work that I support. However, it does mean that donations are tax deductible, which can be handy if you itemize your US income tax return.
This question doesn't have an obvious answer. On the one hand, more money coming in is always a good thing. On the other, it's better for charities to have a consistent source of revenue year in and year out rather than one-time donations from donors who they never hear from again. I really don't want these charities spending their resources trying to get follow-up donations from us in the future, because in many cases that is unlikely to happen. These are causes I'm interested in supporting once, not long term. As a result, I'm going to try to ask charities to remove my name and info from their donor lists whenever possible and I may just resort to making some of these donations anonymously.
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