I have always believed that it is not really considered charity if you do not do good out of your own volition. If you are forced into doing something OR if you do good works because you feel that you have to do it, then that is defeating the purpose of charity. However, I am also a pragmatist and realize that if people do good even if they were only urged to do it, then that is better than nothing.
And I think this is what is happening (in some cases) with a UK organization called Do Good For Debt. The idea behind this group is brilliant, really. What they do is provide the opportunity for those with students loans (which are usually immense) to pay back their debt and at the same time, do good work. Inventor Spot has this feature on them:
The non-profit UK based organization was started by Ian Wallace, who found himself so constricted under the weight of his 14,000 GBP student loans that he took a job in a factory while looking for a job in his chosen field; law. With his life decisions completely surrounding making his debt payments and keeping a roof over his head, this innovative entrepreneur decided there had to be a way to look after his best interests, and give back to his community at the same time.
Do Good for Debt was created, with a main goal of working with charities to encourage recent college graduates to give back, while taking a little something for themselves in the process; complete student debt repayment. Perhaps monetary compensation for charity work, defeats the purpose and takes away from the philanthropist mentality, but hey, recent grads have a better chance at making a contribution to society if they don’t have the burden of student loans hanging over their heads.
As I said, this is better than nothing. More so, I am sure that many of the people who participate in the program would willingly help out in other circumstances anyway. Call it providing an opportunity. By the way, Do Good For Debt has a MySpace account – add them!
Categories: Charities, Programs, Volunteering
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
Charities have not been known to provide the better side of life as far as taking care of the people under their wing. While it cannot be declared as also being too generous, the fact remains that if charities are to survive in these times of crisis, saving also has to be done.
This does not only include expenses. It goes as far as trying to limit food needs for the meantime that the world is in crisis. It is not something that they have much to decide on. Today, if you don’t do the right measures, chances are you may find yourself worse than the beggars we see sleeping in the dark alleys today.
No one is exempted from the economic disaster we are experiencing today. Everyone is included and surely we are all adjusting to it. Even charity groups need to do their adjustments as well and most of them can be perhaps tagged as basic measures to get through this debacle besetting us.
So can they do it? Of course they can. We are all in this together. While some people can still provide some sort of help, it is best to measure that they are not as bulky as before. Unless something comes up to improve the problems we are facing, then we just have to wait and see if things look up, charities included.
Categories: Analysis, News, Programs | Tags: Charities, economy, saving
When you organize a charity, even medical science may need a hand. The gift of medicine and helping out people who may have some deficiencies on their health is pretty much a growing concern and considering that many people today are suffering in terms of seeking medication and assistance for various health issues, good causes such as charities are a great way to help them out.
One of these medical problems deals with hearing. The number of people who suffer from deafness is apparent and while there are medical solutions to it, they do not come cheap. Some have to console themselves with the fact that money talks and unless some good soul or program is raised, the inevitable task of enjoying the sense of hearing will only remain a goal for them.
In a move not to really help cure deafness immediately, worthy causes such as the ones being undertaken by the charity Deafness Research UK can do their small part by distributing pamphlets and guiding people suffering from deafness. In the pamphlets, guides and practical advice will be given to help concerned people, something that can really count a lot if people would read on it.
Vivienne Michael, chief executive of Deafness Research UK, commented: “Through the ‘Trouble With your Ears?’ leaflet, we aim to raise awareness of ear problems and give them more prominence on the public health agenda.”
She suggested that the provision of good-quality information could both improve people’s health while at the same time lower the burden placed on doctors by reducing the number of avoidable ear problems.
Source
Categories: Campaigns, Charities, Disabled, Ideas, Inspiration, News, Organizations, Programs | Tags: awareness, deafness, health, pamphlets, uk
June 8 is designated to be the World Oceans Day and the event started in 2007 with over 50 countries spread over 5 continents participating. Various marine conservation groups have been part of the celebrations which aims to heighten the awareness of the problems our seas are facing as well as the creatures big and small who live in them. We humans are the most destructive beings to ever walk this earth due to the huge amount of destruction we have brought about in our short history as the dominant species on the face of the earth. There are millions of animal and plant species the world over but none has been so to blame for the extinction of the most animals and plants. Deforestation, dumping garbage into the land and sea are just some of the destructive acts we have committed against mother earth and the event aims to educate more and more people as to what we can do to lessen the impact we have on our environment.
This planet of ours has 70% of its total area as bodies of waters and of that 70% not much is known of vast oceans of the world. To this day, scientists are still finding formerly unknown species of plant and animal life from the seas, many of which hold unique and interesting properties that can prove solutions to some of our most pressing problems. The WorldOceanNetwork.org is one of the many organizing bodies which coordinates and provides materials of the scheduled events with organizations such as the Marine Conservation Society of the UK, UNESCO, TheOceanProject.Org, Nature Conservancy and many others taking part in helping our seas get the respect they deserve for theirs and our survival.
Categories: Activities, Campaigns, Environmental, News, Programs, Wildlife | Tags: conservation, Creatures_of_the_Sea, Preserving_our_seas, Sea
