Charities Blog

Giving Something Back

Putting Excess Food And Clothing To Good Use

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donating food

With the economy treating so many people roughly these days, there are a lot of families who could use a helping hand. Food, clothing, and other general use items are at the top of the list of things impoverished families tend to need. Also, by cleaning out your closet of unwanted wears, you will be making additional room for those designer furs you always wanted. As you take a look through your pantry, canned and boxed food items are generally the most useful items to donate. these items generally have a longer storage life than the food in your refrigerator. They are often the easiest for poor and homeless people to store — especially if a person does not have a refrigerator of their own. Although that is hard for some to imagine in our modern age, it is a situation that is more common than people might expect.

Giving to Churches and Food Banks

A lot of people would like to get involved, providing food items to the poor and needy, but are not sure where to begin. Generally, the poor and homeless obtain their food from shelters, food banks, and churches. In some cases, food that makes it into these centers is derived from the USDA surplus and other food redistribution projects. Though the redistribution of food from such sources is helpful, it generally does not satisfy the great need that exists. Most food pantries and food bank services still rely on other community members to donate to their cause, which helps to support the many efforts made to keep economically challenged people fed. If you have ever wondered how great the hunger problem in America truly is, according to the Feeding America website, approximately 49-million Americans struggle to obtain adequate food each day. [Read more…]

3 Surprising Items You Can Donate

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You can donate your time, money and of course certain products in good condition that you no longer use. However, it’s the products that seem to be so puzzling for many people. If the item is relatively costly, you may want to write it off as a tax deduction. While a 501(c)3 charity will give you a receipt, it’s your job to prove to the IRS at the end of the tax year that the item was worth a certain amount of money. This will require research and documenting like items/years/conditions and preferably taking photos before making a donation.

However, many people are also surprised to find out just what variety of items are eligible for donations. In certain instances, you might be able to donate healthcare items such as CPAP accessories or other monitoring devices. Check with your local hospital or care facility; they’ll likely have leads and recommendations. [Read more…]

Common Fraud Involving Charity Organizations

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Charity organizations do a valuable job for underprivileged people and communities. They find ways and go the extra mile to raise funds to launch campaigns that are aimed at helping the poor and underprivileged and improving their lives even if only for a temporary basis.

Unfortunately, there are people who are using these charities for their personal gain. There have been numerous cases around the world involving individuals swindling other people to support their own personal causes.

charity fraud

On the other hand, there are also organizations that are not true to their mission. In the U.S., for instance, the worst charities have been discovered after a year-long investigation done by CNN in collaboration with the Center for Investigative Reporting. [Read more…]

Stamping Out Sex Trafficking through Blogging

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When one of the most popular bloggers in the world writes about sex trafficking, the world pays more attention. In what is perhaps the best use of blogging celebrity we’ve seen, Heather Armstrong of Dooce.com has made known the work of The Exodus Road, an organization that,

“…exists to empower the deliverance of sex slaves. Operating primarily in Southeast Asia, India, and the United States of America, we find teams already on the ground doing the vital work of finding and freeing victims with local police and we fuel their work by providing covert gear, operational funding, training, and networking support.” (Source)

The problem of prostitution- especially forced prostitution- in Asia has been around for many, many years. Stories of Korean comfort women are only recently coming to light, with the latter slapping their own government with a lawsuit that claims that the government forced them into the sex slavery; the ultimate betrayal for sure.

The Exodus Road, while a small organization, is doing great work, as you can see in the video below:

Besides sharing her personal experiences in Asia, Heather also features Thrive Rescue Home, which offers safe refuge to the younger victims of sex trafficking. A short video of some of the work Thrive is doing is below:

How to Encourage Teens to Donate to Charity

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It’s a fact that children learn from example. As such, they get to imitate the things they see their parents, teachers and older siblings are doing.

Yes, role modeling is still an effective way of teaching children the right way to do things. This is despite the modern techniques people and psychologists now use to raise kids. Even the teens can still be influenced by what they see their mom or dad are doing inside and outside their homes.

donating to charity

This being the case, parents need to instill in their children the value of giving to charities while they are growing up. Not only should this be done in their early years but even in their teens. [Read more…]

Women Victims of WWII Get Strong Support

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During the Second World War, tens or even hundreds of thousands of women in Asia were made as sex slaves by the Japanese soldiers. Not many people knew about this until in the early 1990s when, one by one, these so-called comfort women gradually came out in the open to reveal their tragic stories.

Specifically, it was the women’s movement in South Korean that first raised the issue of forced recruitment of Korean women back in 1990. The movement’s sole purpose is to obtain recognition and compensation for surviving comfort women. A year after in 1991, a former Korean comfort woman testified in public and revealed her suffering during the war.

By 1992, women leaders in Korea and Japan including surviving comfort women and legal experts have called on international organizations to include the United Nations to investigate the matter and conduct hearings.
[Read more…]

Should Charities Issue Receipts for Donations?

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Giving to charity is an admirable act and one that should be taught even to small children. Some kids exposed to charitable giving at an early age find it worthwhile to donate part of the monetary gifts they receive when they reach the age of 16 or 18. Some adults, however, start out in this endeavor at a later age.

There’s no age limit to the act of giving to charities and regardless of when you start donating, what matters is you are sincere in what you do. It’s a different kind of personal fulfillment if one is able to share his or her blessings, particularly hard-earned money.

dollar and Donation Box

But the question is, “Do you need to ask for an official receipt every time you donate money to a non-profit charitable organization?”

Ideally, a charity should issue receipts to donors. It is a legal obligation of a non-profit group to do so. Also, people who have donated money will need official receipts in order to make a claim on their annual income tax returns. [Read more…]

Fashion Events Guaranteed to Raise Funds for Charity

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A growing number of people are now becoming more aware of their responsibility towards charitable giving. Developing this attitude is a good example especially to children and young adults.

There are a variety of ways a group or startup can raise money for charitable giving. One sure way is to organize a fashion event. But what particular types of events would it be? We share some of the most popular you can choose from.

Designer Auctions

designer auction

Fashion designers often come together to do auctions that can help non-profit organizations such as charities. Luxury items that command a price are normally put up for auction. [Read more…]

How to Register Your Nonprofit

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Nonprofits are a lot of work to get up and running. But the hours are a small price to pay to become part of the important role these organizations play in society.

Before you consider registration and obtaining a Basic Business License, you need to make a few key decisions. What is the organization’s mission? Who will serve on the board of directors? What are the long-term goals and how will they be reached? Where will the funding come from?

Once the structure of your nonprofit has been decided on, you can take the first steps toward registration. [Read more…]

Three Charity Work Jobs You Can Take

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Charity Tuesday banner, Tintagel

A career in doing charity work is a very fulfilling job choice. This is one job where everything you do contributes to the betterment of humanity. If you think charity work is only about volunteerism, then you’re very wrong. Charity work is a real job and people can build careers around it.

Here are some career choices you can make if you want to do charity work: [Read more…]