Ginny

Plan Your Own Event

July 14, 2011 By Ginny

If you are trying to raise funds for your favorite charity there are many ways that you can do it. You can go door to door and ask for help which is tiring and may not bring in a lot of money. You can have cans for donations on every counter of every store that you can convince to support your cause, but that brings in very small change.

The key to fund raising is to create events that people will want to take part of. Create an event that people will be willing to pay to be part. This means that they have to feel that it is worth their time as well as their money because as you know, we want people to give not just once, but as often as their generous hearts and pockets can allow.

A favorite event for fund raising is a golf tournament. Many people play golf. They will play no matter what the weather, no matter what the season, no matter the time of day. They will play if you put them on a good green at a reasonable price. They will play if they have decent competition. They may even play if they are competing against celebrities or masters just to test their own performance. They will pay to participate, you just need to make sure they have fun and don’t forget lunch.

You won’t be able to pull it off alone. You will be able to raise more if you have sponsors. Your sponsors can include the company that owns the golf course, the catering company and some companies to give prizes, giveaways or just cash donations.

Cancer Warriors

June 18, 2010 By Ginny

It is hard to be sick. We all hate it when we have to stay in bed whether it is just with a fever or with a worse bug. The feeling of lethargy dampens our spirits. Having your body let you down is really annoying especially when there is much that you want to do. It is even worse when it is cancer.
Just imagine how much worse it is when you’re a kid. Very few people see you as normal. You regularly need chemotherapy, you may undergo surgery, not to mention losing your hair. It can be difficult to keep your spirits up when you are undergoing so much treatment.

It isn’t only the child who suffers. The whole family shares the difficulty, not physically but in the finances, in their schedule, in their lifestyle. Their whole lives tend to be rearranged to work around the needs of their family member with the disease. When the times are rough, the whole family tend to be down.

They need people to help them. Financial assistance is a great help but that isn’t all they need. They are looking for angels. That doesn’t mean they are looking for miracle workers in spite of the title.

The simplest way you can support the cancer warrior (child fighting the disease) is to send a card. You can be a birthday, christmas or a card angel. This means sending a card on those special occasions just to wish them well.

If you are willing to give a more long term commitment, why not be an angel. Angels are people who commit to a year (or more) of supporting a family through the difficult years of treatment. These angels are asked to send a card or little gift once a month to the cancer warrior and one member of the child’s family. Angels do this without expecting any response from the family. They may be too busy trying to cope with the situation to respond. They need people who will consistently send every month without fail.

If you want to know more, please visit the Cancer Warriors website.

Chefs for Humanity

December 6, 2006 By Ginny

Everybody needs to eat. It is a necessity in order for us to continue our existence on this earth. It is our body’s fuel.

In fact we don’t just eat because we need to. We love to eat! We enjoy having great food. We willingly pay large amounts in order to have the best possible food. Wouldn’t it be great if at least a portion of the money we spend actually makes a difference in the lives of those who have gone through calamities or truly have great need of help?

If you believe that this is so, then you’ll be glad to discover Chefs for Humanity (CFH). This is an organization of chefs and culinary professionals who work together to raise money and provide necessary resources for important emergencies. They strive to give humanitarian aid and educate about proper nutrition. Of course being involved with food, they have a special interest in providing this basic need to those who have gone through major upheavals such as the tsunami and hurricane Katrina.

There are many ways to take part in Chefs for Humanity’s activities. You can assist at the events, provide graphic design skills, post an entry in your blog maybe even become part of a food service crew. You can help teach good nutrition to schools and communites, maybe even help make some of the food. Why not attend one of the charity dinners that they organize? You get a great dinner guaranteed and you add to the funds the organization raises.

There is always the option for you to donate some funds to their worthy causes. Every amount helps to provide food for more people. Working with organizations like UNICEF, CFH extends their culinary gift all over the world.

There are many more ways to take part. To know more or to volunteer, please visit their website by clicking here.

The Angel Network

August 28, 2006 By Ginny

In this day and age, everybody knows Oprah Winfrey. She is an amazing woman. She is one of the greatest achievers of our times allowing nothing – not her beginnings, not the color of her skin, not her size, not her sex and no circumstance beyond her control – to stop her from getting to where she wanted to be. She is a phenomenal woman. She is articulate, eloquent, sharp, kind, compassionate and a warrior. She inspires people just by being who she is.

That same thought is the mission of Oprah’s Angel Network. Oprah believes that anyone can inspire others. We can all make a difference each in our own way. We just need to take our energy and find a passion in helping others by doing what we all do best.

The Angel Network aims to get everyone to make a difference by inspiring others. They work with various organizations such as Habitats for Humanity and they operative various projects in communities that are under-served that provide initiatives in education, help people meet their basic human needs and to help them regain their dignity.

How does the Angel Network help? The easiest answer is with money. Every amount donated to the network is much appreciated. No amount is too small especially when it comes from the heart. We all know that can be the difference to some of eating this day or not.

Here is the more difficult yet more rewarding answer of the network. Find out who needs your help in your area. Then find a way to meet their need. Quite a number of times it isn’t about the money. It may need your skill as an educator, as a person who can sew or maybe as a chef. There are infinite ways! You can make a difference just by doing what you do best.

The Good Stuff

August 16, 2006 By Ginny

One of the best ways to give is to give in kind. This usually means that we can look around at the things we have and give to charity the things that we don’t need, don’t use or don’t like. Often this means we are getting rid of our old things.

Now there is nothing wrong with giving away what we don’t need. Better that someone else benefit from it, right? It’s just…why give something that we already know is damaged beyond repair? Why give shirts that are so full of holes they aren’t good for anything but rags?

You will do more good and give less work to the organization’s teams (believe that they are very busy) if you give good items, not trashy pieces. For example, go ahead and give up your old shirts but do make sure that they are still wearable. Maybe you can give the ones that you just outgrew.

Please refrain from giving clothes that are stained with grease, blood or similar stains. Even though many products are coming out in the market that claim to be able to remove any stain, we know that the charity organizations or the recipients usually can’t afford it.� Please be generous enough to give clothes that they can be proud to wear even if it isn’t brand new.

If you want to give an old grill now that you have a new one the children in the orphanages or families will surely appreciate it. It would surely be appreciated if you would take the time to clean it up and give all its parts. It would spare them the expense of having to replace the missing pieces if you still have them.

Your kindness is much appreciated but please give these charities your respect. The recipients may be in need but they do have their dignity and would appreciate� your treating them as people, not just as receptacles for the things you no longer want or need.

Charity Thru Ice Cream

August 14, 2006 By Ginny

The best kind of charity is one where the giver does not feel strained but enjoys their donation. For most people, it can feel like a burden to give. This is especially true when they themselves are in need. Yet we know that others need our help so everyone tries to give what they can.

As we know, little things can have a big effect. A dollar at a time, people are helping kids all over North America and Canada simply by enjoying their favorite treat can mean a miracle. This is the kind of program that the Children’s Miracle Network utilizes.

Last August 10, Dairy Queen held their Miracle Day Treat. Every customer who purchased a blizzard was helping to save the life of a child. All the proceeds from the blizzards goes to a hospital that is part of their network.

Dairy Queen has been working with the Children’s Miracle Network since 1984. They are not alone. Wal-Mart, Marriott, The Walt Disney World Corporation, Ace Hardware and the Coca Cola North America are just a few of the companies that sponsor this foundation. Their current spokesperson is LeAnn Rimes.

If you want to assist the 17 million children that the Children’s Miracle Network supports you can do so by supporting one of the various programs of the sponsors of the organization, such as Dairy Queen. Of course, you can also send in a donation in cash via credit card. It can be a one time gift or a monthly donation. Any amount you give will be appreciated.