I am all about giving back.
Here is a ton of easy ways to do that, both nationally and in Columbus.
(Many of the items on here come from Glamour magazine).
It's awesome because all you have to do is click the button in the middle of the page and that instantly donates 1.1 cups of food to starving people in the world. No money, no signing up...just click. That's it! I try to go to this site every day. And from this site you can go to the other tabs which lead you to several other sites that are similar but with different causes...but the same thing...all you gotta do is click. There's
Breast Cancer Research Site (one click provides free mammograms to women in need),
the Rainforest Site (where one click saves a certain amount of acres of rainforest), there's
the Literacy Site (one click provides books to kids all over the world who can't read), there's the
Children's Health Site (one click provides health care to sick children all over the world), and there's the
Animal Rescue Site (where one click allows for pet food to go towards rescued animals). Sponsors are the ones who pay for the various causes, but clicks are what get the necessary help to each org. And 100% of the sponsor money goes to charity!!!!
Drink a lot of water? Well think about all the people in the world who don't have clean water to drink...and here we complain about tap water tasting bad. Just $20 donated to
www.charitywater.org gives one person clean drinking water for 20 years!!!
As I spoke of in my other blog post, human trafficking is getting to be a baaaaad problem. Why not buy jewelry made by survivors of sex slavery instead of heading to Polaris for some earrings next time? Just go to
www.madebysurvivors.com and shop away.
Ever thought about donating a cow or a goat to a rural family in need? Villages full of people who's main source of income is from their animals like cows, goats, sheep, water buffalo etc. can be found throughout the world. Some families could really benefit from having a beehive to make honey they can sell, chickens for their eggs and meat or a llama for it's fur...
www.heifer.org is the genius organization that gives third-world families gifts they can really use!
Entertaining? Go to
www.womensbeanproject.org and buy dips from there to serve at your next holiday party. The org employs and teaches homeless women life skills.
In the market for a new dress for that black tie event? Or are you searching around for celebrity collectibles such as guitars or clothing signed by your favorite tinsletown star? Go to
www.clothesoffourback.org and bid on celebrity-worn or -donated items, where the money goes to charity. I've always wanted to wear a gown that Jessica Alba has worn to the Golden Globes or some fancy place like that or get get that signed Dwayne Wade basketball for my dad!
(This Pamella Roland cocktail dress that Eva Longoria Parker wore to a recent event was auctioned off for the winning bid of $900)
You just spent $35 eating out at your favorite restaurant. But for that exact amount, you could be providing bedding, clothing, school supplies, and other necessities to a child in need! You'd basically be making their day! Go to
www.scaw.org instead of eating out next time.
Do you know how to garden or farm? Has anyone ever taught you? Probably not. And it's not something people are born knowing how to do. It's a skill, and sometimes, depending on where you live and the climate etc. it can be a daunting task, but one that's necessary for your life and the life of your family. $70 provides seeds, farming tools, and training for two impoverished families in Uganda. Just go to
www.mercycorps.org and check it out. This will make a difference that will last for generations. (There's other locations to donate to as well such as Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Iraq etc.)
For just $10...that's about the cost of two movie rentals at someplace like Blockbuster, you can give an insecticide treated mosquito net to a child in a malaria-stricken country to protect them from malaria for up to five years!
www.malarianomore.org is the site.
Think about those commercials urging people to donate money so that people with horrible illnesses around the world can get medical help they desperately need...well how do you suppose the volunteer medics and nurses get to the remote locations where some of the sickest people must sit and suffer? They can get to those people using bikes! It's as simple as that. Just $35 (the price of one or two nice neck-ties from Macy's) buys a bike for a health aid worker at
inspiredgifts.unicefusa.org.
If you're thinking about getting someone you love a pet this holiday season...say a kitten or a puppy, ADOPT! Adopt, adopt, adopt. Rescue one (or more) of the hundred-thousands of homeless and abandoned animals today and give a furry friend another chance at life! Check out
iams.com (Home 4 the Holidays campaign) or
petfinder.com to find your perfect pet companion. How can you resist?!
And who knew giving back could be as easy as helping a fellow Central-Ohian family who's struggling to make ends meet right now (we all know 2008 hasn't been too kind) by paying something like their heating bill. Go to
www.modestneeds.org to make a simple thing like a heating bill really warm up the holidays for a local family. (Listed by zip codes)
I shouldn't have thrown that old printer of mine away. I didn't know there was a way to donate it. A website called
www.dogoodchannel.com has listing of non-profit orgs that are in need of all kinds of items like TVs, phones, furniture and such.
Donate to Mother Earth! She could use some extra money to help her combat our human damage and global warming.
Terrapass.com allows you to put your money towards offsetting the carbon produced by vehicles, planes etc. this holiday season. Reduce your carbon footprint!
Next time you buy a bottle of wine, don't go to the store! Buy from
www.hopewine.com. Hope Wine proceeds help right Autism and AIDS. Similarly, gals, when you go to buy makeup next...head over to the Mac counter at Nordstrom or Macy's and buy from the Viva Glam line.
Viva Glam helps combat AIDS by funding research to help cure it!
Whether you know a teacher her in Columbus or not, go to
www.adoptaclassroom.org and sponsor a classroom where you can buy needed supplies for the teacher/students. Sadly, too many schools go without the proper tools, books, supplies, and more that are needed to successfully teach kids, while other schools, particularly those in the suburban, ritzy areas get all the resources they need and then some. It's quite unfair, especially when you hear of teachers using their own money to buy things for their classrooms. Last week there was a story in the news about a teacher who was selling advertising space on his homework and tests to fund things in his classroom, such as supplies. Why? Because the school/district was cutting funding. Can you imagine? Seeing ads on your kids' homework assignments. There's enough of that on TV already! But desperate times call for desperate measures. It shouldn't be that way. YOU can change that!
And lastly, donate your un-used frequent-flier miles! 2009 is right around the corner so just give those sky miles away to someone who really needs to get somewhere...a mom who just found out her child is sick and needs to fly cross-country to the hospital, or American soldiers who want to come home from Iraq or Afghanistan and could use a free ride at
Operation Hero Miles.
More organizations to Google...
One Acre At A Time
Yellow Ribbon Fund
Room To Read
Caring Bridge
In 2 Books
Save The Children
Care
Critical Exposure
iGive
We-Care
Music Maker
Puppies Behind Bars
Rainn
bogolight.com
Chapter One Organics
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