When we talk of charity most of us begin thinking of how much we can spare in terms of cash. We start analyzing what of the things we plan to discard can still be donated. Most of the time we think in terms of material things. These are good ideas. People always need money or goods. Things we no longer need can be useful to someone else.
There are other ways though to be charitable. It can be as simple as doing any of the following:
- Smile at everyone. You never know who may just be in need of the ray of sunshine that your smile brings.
- Skip dessert today and donate the amount you would have spent to a charity that feeds the poor.
- Promote peace and harmony. Don’t squabble with your kids or argue with your spouse. Teach by example what harmony is.
- Be even more loving than you already are. Love does the greatest good. It changes people when they are treated with love. They walk taller, become gentler and strive to be their best. Isn’t that a great gift to give them.
Categories: Activities, Ideas, Tips | Tags: Activities, charity ideas, habits
I 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
Charity need not be all serious. Ask the people behind Red Nose Day and they will agree with you wholeheartedly. This event is part of BBC’s programming and happens biennially, on a Friday. From their web site, we have a lighthearted (and yet meaningful) description:
Red Nose Day is, quite simply, a day like no other! We take some fantastic fundraising in schools, offices and homes across the land, mix it with the nation’s favourite celebrities getting up to all kinds of mischief, sprinkle a new Red Nose (or three!) across the entire UK and add a cracking night of comedy on BBC One to make Red Nose Day the phenomenon it is.
All this funny business unites the nation in trying to make a difference to the lives of thousands of people – and the best thing is – it works!
The idea is to “do something funny for money.” This year, Red Nose Day was held on the 13 March and they were able to raise a whopping $79.6 million! Among the notable names that participated in the event are Tom Jones, and England’s football squad. The good news is that despite the economic crisis that the country (and the rest of the world) is facing, the turnout for the charity was still very impressive. This only goes to show that people who are willing to give will give no matter what the economic situation is. That is encouraging news, isn’t it?
Categories: Activities, Campaigns, Charities, Fundraising, Inspiration, Organizations
Where do you go when you want to find things to buy online? We all have our special favorites but I would be willing to bet that a lot of people have eBay at the top of their lists of web sites. And why not? You can find most anything on eBay.
Auctioning off things for a profit is not the only thing that eBay is busy with these days though. One of their projects is to hold a sale – not an auction, mind you – of fashion items for charity. Auction Bytes has this report:
eBay announced a collaboration with fashion designer Yigal Azrouel for Mercedes-Benz Fall Fashion Week. eBay is an online sponsor for Azrouel’s men’s and women’s Fall/Winter 2009 runway shows and will host a charity sale – not auction – from the designer’s Spring/Summer 2009 collection.
eBay said the collaboration represents its continued commitment to support the fashion world. In 2005 and 2007, eBay partnered with the CFDA and Vogue to present 7th on Sale, the largest sample sale on the Internet. eBay has also partnered with leading designers for past charity auctions.
So where does the charity part come in? Read on:
As part of the collaboration, eBay will sell a variety of looks from Azrouel’s Spring/Summer 2009 collection in a sale to benefit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The charity sale, launching on June 4, is unusual in that typically such charity fund-raising events are offered in an auction format. eBay said all pieces would be offered at fixed-prices that are below retail in order to make high-end fashion accessible to eBay’s users while raising money for a charity benefiting environmental causes.
High end fashion pieces for lower prices and the environment benefitting – not such a bad deal, don’t you think?
Categories: Activities, Campaigns, Charities, Children, Environmental, Fundraising, Ideas, News, Organizations, Programs, Shopping
At any given day, there is always a good cause which could use help. These days, though, Gaza is at the forefront of things. The longstanding conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has once again materialized and is affecting the lives of many civilians. I wrote something about the United Nations and the United Arab Emirates encouraging the international community to do something about the plight of the people in Gaza just a few days back. It seems that the call has not gone unheeded as the Al Mourjan Restaurant has already organized a charity dinner to benefit Gaza.
The charity dinner will be held on the 20th of this month and roundabouts 200 business leaders of Qatar are expected to attend the function. The dinner is dubbed Reach Out To Gaza Charity Dinner and is being organized by the restaurant, in partnership with Reach Out To Asia. The latter is a non-governmental organization which works to provide assistance to those in need.
The proceeds of the charity dinner will be sent to Gaza with the aim of using the money to address the most immediate of needs. These include humanitarian issues such as first aid kits, ambulances, and food. Looking into the future, the organizers also hope to use the money to help with the rebuilding of schools once the situation in Gaza stabilizes.
If you are in the area or you know someone who is, here are the ticket prices.
WIP table for 10 – QR15,000
VIP table for 10 – QR10,000
VIP table for 8 – QR8,000
VIP table for 4 – QR4,000
Standard table for 4 – QR2,000
Regular tickers – QR500 (SOLD OUT)
To find out more about the restaurant and to get in touch with them, click here.
Categories: Activities, Charities, Events, Fundraising, International Aid
