Colleges Benefit From Anonymous Donor

Written by Merve on April 26, 2009

This is what I was talking about in my last post: people who give away what they have in order to help others who need it more. You have perhaps heard of this anonymous donor who has been giving away humongous sums of money to colleges all over the United States. I just saw it on FOX News last night, and boy, was I pleasantly surprised.

According to the New York Times, this is how the giving goes:

The call typically comes from a banker, bringing word of a fairy godmother. This is followed quickly by a check arriving in the mail — or two checks, the larger earmarked for scholarships for women and minority students, the smaller to be spent at the recipient’s discretion.

Take note of the gender – it is a woman who is giving away this money. While that should not really matter, it provides an interesting topic for conversation. Who could this woman be?

In any case, it does not seem that we are going to find out anytime soon. Even the recipients of the moneys are not allowed to find out who the donor is; not the school board, not the president, no one!

So which schools have been blessed with these donations? Binghamton University in New York, Montclair State University in New Jersey, the University of Southern Mississippi, and Michigan State University to name a few. And just in case you have no idea about the sums involved, reports say that the donor has given away a total of $70 million to date.

Categories: Inspiration, News, Religious, Women

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Colleges Benefit From Anonymous Donor

Written by Merve on April 26, 2009

This is what I was talking about in my last post: people who give away what they have in order to help others who need it more. You have perhaps heard of this anonymous donor who has been giving away humongous sums of money to colleges all over the United States. I just saw it on FOX News last night, and boy, was I pleasantly surprised.

According to the New York Times, this is how the giving goes:

The call typically comes from a banker, bringing word of a fairy godmother. This is followed quickly by a check arriving in the mail — or two checks, the larger earmarked for scholarships for women and minority students, the smaller to be spent at the recipient’s discretion.

Take note of the gender – it is a woman who is giving away this money. While that should not really matter, it provides an interesting topic for conversation. Who could this woman be?

In any case, it does not seem that we are going to find out anytime soon. Even the recipients of the moneys are not allowed to find out who the donor is; not the school board, not the president, no one!

So which schools have been blessed with these donations? Binghamton University in New York, Montclair State University in New Jersey, the University of Southern Mississippi, and Michigan State University to name a few. And just in case you have no idea about the sums involved, reports say that the donor has given away a total of $70 million to date.

Categories: Inspiration, News, Religious, Women

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Colleges Benefit From Anonymous Donor

Written by Merve on April 26, 2009

This is what I was talking about in my last post: people who give away what they have in order to help others who need it more. You have perhaps heard of this anonymous donor who has been giving away humongous sums of money to colleges all over the United States. I just saw it on FOX News last night, and boy, was I pleasantly surprised.

According to the New York Times, this is how the giving goes:

The call typically comes from a banker, bringing word of a fairy godmother. This is followed quickly by a check arriving in the mail — or two checks, the larger earmarked for scholarships for women and minority students, the smaller to be spent at the recipient’s discretion.

Take note of the gender – it is a woman who is giving away this money. While that should not really matter, it provides an interesting topic for conversation. Who could this woman be?

In any case, it does not seem that we are going to find out anytime soon. Even the recipients of the moneys are not allowed to find out who the donor is; not the school board, not the president, no one!

So which schools have been blessed with these donations? Binghamton University in New York, Montclair State University in New Jersey, the University of Southern Mississippi, and Michigan State University to name a few. And just in case you have no idea about the sums involved, reports say that the donor has given away a total of $70 million to date.

Categories: Inspiration, News, Religious, Women

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Hugh Jackman Announces Charity Winners

Written by Merve on April 25, 2009

hugh-jackmanI love it when high profile people take advantage of their status to help others and donate to charity. While I still find it more impressive when celebrities give without announcing it to the rest of the world, I think that taking advantage of technology and their high profile status is just as good.

I am pretty sure that you have heard about Hugh Jackman’s recent stunt – he announced via Twitter that he would be donating $100,000 to charities. The rule of the game was that people should tweet about their favorite charities, and that the best tweets would be used in determining the winners. The world’s sexiest man of 2008 said on his Twitter that people should name their favorite charity and why – all in 140 words. He also encouraged people to show just how passionate they are about their favorite charity:

“The more passion shown for your charity the better! Get the support of your friends and teach them the importance of giving.”

Yesterday was the big day as the actor many associate with the Xmen character Wolverine announced that he and his wife Deb have chosen the two winning charities. They are Charity Water and Operation of Hope. His tweet is below:

“Thank you for all of your passionate responses. I have chosen www.charitywater.com and www.operationofhope.com Keep your generous spirit flowing!”

While I did not have the chance to join the contest – I know, bad tweeter, bad giver, my conscience is punishing me already – I am happy for these two charities and quite proud of everyone who joined in.

Categories: Activities, Charities, News

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Charities Not Getting As Many Goods Donations

Written by Merve on April 12, 2009

donated-clothesWhen you give to charitable causes, what do you normally give? Do you prefer giving cash? Or maybe you would rather give in kind?

I remember that, as a kid, my mother would much rather give in kind. Not only did we not have that much spare money, she would also say that it is much better that the people who need things can get the things they actually need. This would also lessen the temptation to use the money on other things that may not be urgent needs. I have come to adopt this way of thinking most of the time.

That is why, when I read an article on Penn Live about donated items becoming less, I felt a tinge of sadness and worry. It got even worse when I read the reason behind this. Apparently, instead of people giving old or used items to charity, people now tend to make use of eBay and other similar venues to get rid of their stuff.

But you know, you can’t really blame them. The economic times are crazy, and even those who were relatively well off are finding themselves in trouble. Who would blame people when they try to make some extra money in most any way they can? At least they are not doing illegal stuff, right?

Still, this is an eye-opener for me, and I hope that it will be the same for you. Perhaps it is time to re-examine our spending and giving habits. Perhaps there are some things that we can afford to give to those in need.

Photo courtesy of thaths

Categories: Analysis, Inspiration, News

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