Do You Wanna Do Good?
September 3, 2008
Find out how at San Francisco’s Do Good.
Do Good helps you support issues that mean something to you: homelessness, animal rights, the environment, and more.
Go to www.sfgate.com/dogood
New Clothes Needed for Foster Kids
July 8, 2008
Sleep Train is hosting a new clothing drive through July 20th as part of its Sleep Train Foster Kids program.
Please bring new clothes of any size to any Sleep Train mattress store.
For more info, check out www.sleeptrain.com.
Two Ways to Help Iowa Flood Victims
June 24, 2008
Send donations, large or small, to:
The American Red Cross
Grant Wood Area Chapter
P.O. Box 10375
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52410
OR
Donate online to: The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation Flood 2008 Fund.
Be an Action Figure…
June 16, 2008
…for the United Way.
United Way will launch LIVE UNITED this Saturday, June 21, with the first annual United Way Day of Action. United Way will kick off its nationwide efforts to inspire individuals to give, advocate & volunteer.
Help Myanmar Now & Later
May 9, 2008
Help the American Friends Service Committee respond to the flooding in Myanmar with immediate assistance to those affected.
Committed to long-term recovery for Burmese people, the AFSC is supporting: local community groups who provide social services and Buddhist monastic schools that feed & educate children unable to afford state schools.
Go the Untied Way in May
May 8, 2008
“Go to your ATM and take out some money. How much money is entirely your business, but the sum should be sufficient for you to notice its absence. It shouldn’t hurt, but maybe it should pinch a little.
Take your money to an area of town where there are people who seek funds from passing strangers… When someone asks you for money, you give him $20. You repeat this until you are out of $20 bills…
You might expect gratitude from your clients, but you may not get it. Some of your clients may not process the denomination of the contribution, and therefore your special virtue will go unremarked. Sometimes, alas, your clients will say insulting or incomprehensible things to you. Other times, they may be overly grateful, and follow you down the street asking in stentorian tones for God to bless you. The Untied Way is not a particularly comfortable charity.
Sometimes people ask: Won’t the Untied Way clients use their money foolishly? Won’t they buy drugs or cheap booze or unsavory companionship? And the answer is: Yes, they might. Have you ever spent your money foolishly? Have you ever behaved unwisely? Untied Way clients are human beings like you.
Sometimes people ask: Are the Untied Way clients worthy of these donations? What does “worthy” mean? How much suffering would you want them to have? How much virtue do you feel is appropriate? It’s like this: You can spend your time determining the eligibility of clients, asking them to fill out questionnaires and describe what other kinds of financial assistance they are receiving, or you can give them money and move on. The second way is more efficient.
It is the assumption of the Untied Way that people on the streets who ask for money need the money. It is not an occupation that people aspire to. The people on the streets are not middle managers seeking to supplement their incomes. They need money, and you have money. Maybe they are reduced to asking for money because they made foolish choices, but again: There but for the grace of God go you.”
–Jon Carroll, San Francisco Chronicle
Angelina Jolie on Iraq
February 28, 2008
“Today’s humanitarian crisis in Iraq–and the potential consequences for our national security–are great. Can the United States afford to gamble that 4 million or more poor and displaced people, in the heart of the Middle East, won’t explode in violent desperation, sending the whole region into further disorder?”
–Angelina Jolie, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador (excerpt from her “Stay to Help in Iraq” op-ed in the Washington Post)
How to Help Kenya Now
January 25, 2008
An Emergency Fund has been set up for victims of violence in Kenya, where more than 250,000 people have been displaced and more than 800 people killed since post-election uprisings.
Learn what you can do to help now at www.afsc.org.
Banking on Books
November 24, 2007
Find out how to get new books to children who need them at the First Book National Book Bank (FBNBB).
Apply for books. Volunteer. Donate. Become a publishing partner. The First Book National Book Bank gives books to children from low-income families across the country.
