Charities Blog

Giving Something Back

The Road To Charity Isn’t Always Paved With Ease

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Have you ever been in a position where you had done everything you knew to do and you still needed help? Many people live everyday life in that situation. Hope is a scarce thing for them. There are moms and dads that don’t know where the next meal is coming from, people without a home that just need a hand up, and businesses that just can’t reach out like they need to without that extra help.

Usually, when we think of donating to a charity, we think of how much money we can give and for those that can do that, you definitely should. It’s always needed. However, what about the help that comes from the more unlikely places? From people who have been in these situations and worse or who have caused these situations? Below are three places you might not expect charity from. [Read more…]

How Can You Identify the Homeless from Syndicates?

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Children of Hope

One thing about the Philippines is that you will find a lot of beggars in the streets. You will also see acts of charity which is heartwarming. But one thing most people fail to realize is on whether these acts of kindness are indeed going into their pockets or to the people who organize and deploy them in different parts of the metropolis.

Sad to say, begging in the Philippines has been made into a business. Despicable as it may seem, it is a reality to which some wiser Filipinos have been advised not to give to the poor or if ever, just give something in kind like food, canned goods, or clothes. That way, you are giving them something that they can use rather than money which is obviously holding true to its word as a source of all evil.

Through this, true acts of charity are being made. You are helping unfortunate people through the actual needs based on the hierarchy of John Maslow. These are acts that syndicates hate since it deprives them of profiting through using people. Addressing the needs of the actual people may at times be the best way and good blessings. But for people who are handling them, they are given ultimatums and punished if they do not meet quotas. Yes, they are given quotas making begging more of a profession rather than something to which any person can provide any form of help.

Pathetic as it may seem, if you find yourself coming across such people in the Philippines, try not to give any form of cash to them. You can either say NO or give something that a person would really need outside that of money.

Got Old Mobile Phones? Don’t Chuck Them!

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Mature Man Using Cell Phone

Have you gone through your old stuff lately? I have not, really, but after reading this a short announcement on The Belfast Telegraph, I realized that I might be hoarding a treasure trove without really knowing it.

The announcement was about donating your mobile phone and helping certain charities. If you are like some people, you might have several old mobile phones just sitting around at home. This is especially true for those who have a penchant for getting a new gadget every so often.

Think about it, what do you do with your old mobiles when you buy new ones? Personally, I usually give the old ones away. In spite of this, however, I found that I have at least 3 more mobile phones that are unused in my house. Check – you might have the same situation.

In any case, how can you help while getting rid of the technological clutter at home? I did some simple searching on Google and actually found many organizations which accept mobile phone donations. The Charity Guide provides an extensive list of groups which accept mobile phone donations.

In case you are wondering, old cell phones that are donated are used for a variety of reasons. Some of them go to victims of domestic violence so that they can call 911 in emergencies. Some go to senior citizens so that they can also reach help easily when they need it.

So if you have a cell phone or two that you do not use anymore, check out Charity Guide and other resources – you can help in this simple way.

Non-Profit Groups – the backbone of charitable institutions

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Volunteer work.jpgThe several charities around all rely on manpower in the form of volunteers may they be aimed at people or towards nature. The many charities survive because of people who are dedicated to provide the proper care and help to those who may need it wherever they may be. Volunteer nurses and doctors go to distant lands to help people such as those who are currently suffering in Darfur helping the sick and injured as they live day by day in uncertainty.

Donations flow to those who suffer in the far reaches of the earth, delivered by volunteers who choose to do a little for their fellow man such as pilots, military men and others who just want to help. Financing is not the only aspect one can help with in terms of wanting to help. Habitat for Humanity has projects that construct free housing for the homeless relying on volunteer masons, electricians and the regular Joe to do the building. Thousands of houses have been built by these volunteers some of whom come back, time after time for the unseen reward of gratitude one gets from those who benefit from their hard work.

The people who need help are endless in this world and at any one time, a person dies in misery, his life becoming worthless and insignificant just because they are nobody’s. That is what we aim to change, everybody is somebody and all should know that. The children of Africa who have survived drought and famine now face AIDS and a life without parents due to the disease. Much can be done if everybody pitches in including businesses for they are the main source of funding besides governments and donations. Helping all those who need it is the goal, volunteering is the soul.

Working for Charities, a life changing experience

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Volunteers.jpgAsk anyone who has done charity work and they would all give you the same answer, it’s worth the risk and effort. Humans have long since accepted the fact that there are those who have and those who don’t. This can be in terms of food, health care, housing and so on and so forth. Many people even in the United States suffer and go on living everyday without some of life’s basics. Healthcare is one of the most problematic areas for as prices rise due to cost of implementation, more and more people are finding it difficult to afford the amount of protection they need. That’s where charities step in and augment the system by providing services and skills that would otherwise have to be paid for by the government which is currently feeling the strain of a pending recession.

May it be in curb-side health checks to neighborhood kitchens, these help Americans feed the homeless and other people in need without a need for the tons of forms and other requirements of government services. The elderly and foreign immigrants, many of whom are illegal are the ones who suffer most. Even with recent drives to overhaul and re-work the health care system, there is still much to be done in terms of getting the job done and getting the services and resources to those who need them most.

Volunteers know that the simple task of treating a person with dignity and recognizing them for who they are is worth a thousand words to these people who repay your generosity with unspoken words. Volunteer work is still one of the most rewarding experiences for and individual for it has rewards that are without bounds. Call it heart-warming but getting gratitude from someone who does not have anything is more than enough to make your day a happy and self-fulfilled one that no one can take away from you.

Volunteer Work instead of Cash makes sense

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Volunteers.jpgMany of us have heard of charities and some might have even supported one in the many non-profit groups that are out there. Whichever purpose a charity may serve which is the foundation of an organization being categorized as a charity Charities are grouped into four major categories which are; for the alleviation of poverty, the advancement of education, the advancement of religion and for purposes that is beneficial to the community. The first groups are those who work to improve the quality of life for those who are considered to be well below the poverty line. This has these organizations like Habitat for Humanity provide housing, clothing, food and other life necessities that the people they aim to help have none of. For education, there are organizations that subsidize or provide facilities such as schools, books and other aids to help promote better education allowing the people they help to help themselves in the future. Religious charities are often declared or treated separate from most other forms of charities for they have more bearing on the religious aspect of lives to which the constituents of a particular area they aim to serve may belong to several groups. The last form of charitable organizations, Community Charities, aim to help the community as a whole providing necessities tot heir constituents such as proper facilities that allow access to potable water, respectable habitat and more.

All these forms of charities rely on their armies of volunteers who provide the bulk of their manpower needs. Some are full time volunteers who regularly give time and effort for others who may need assistance in the many activities the charity they belong to conducts. Others are more on a per need basis which has them called to provide services such as doctors and nurses who give time and skills for a particular mission or activity such as a medical missions to a remote jungle towns. There are even casual volunteers who express their aim to help as they get to know of the aforementioned activities.Whichever form or type of service one commits; there is no better reward than to see a community that prospers with healthy constituents that have benefited the many activities you have partaken in.

Charities… For Real!!!!! ( Part 2 )

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Giving.jpgJust want to give and not want to know the turns and climbs of the system, just be sure to give to a reputable organization, who gets your donation to those who needs it. Some don’t even need and want the recognition as a donor and give anonymously which may be true to many celebrities to avoid backlashes of the other kind (those who have creative minds and make different sense of their actions rather than the true aim of the act). That’s what all charitable acts should ideally be, selfless and uncompromised without question. Sad, that there are people and organizations of the criminal type who prey on the many charities using their names for unspeakable acts victimizing both donor and recipient and benefiting only themselves.

Want to make sizeable donations of cash or kind? Use the above recommended online tools that helps you get the resources to those who need them. Say, you have a materials manufacturing firm who specializes in tents and other temporary housing facilities and furnishings and it just happens to be that Katrina just passed by leaving many homeless or the Tsunami’s that did the same, you can contact the federal aid agencies or the more recognized groups like the Red Cross who can get your surplus inventory to the areas that need them most. Even the air force can get your supplies there for you provided you make the right calls to the right people. Getting it there all by yourself might not be always possible and you may even put yourself at risk so leave most of the initial disaster recovery work to the experts if it is dangerous.

“A helping hand is always needed somewhere by somebody in need, we just have to work together for a better world where we see humans in each and every one of us, regardless of our differences.”

Would You Surrender Your Folks to a Retirement Home?

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Retirement homes usually house the old timers that would not be given the same amount of attention and understanding that people would give in their lives. Parents, grandparents and older relatives who have reached the prime of their age will usually be susceptible to changes in their moods and usual routine. Thus, the need to invest more on their needs as far as attention is concerned is something that people would not be able to give since in most cases, they are already hung up with having to raise their own families to date.

Retirement Homes for the Aged

So the recourse of some groups is to endorse them to retirement homes where they would get the necessary care. However, if scenarios are to be adjudged, people tend to forget about them.

It is in these cases where people who aim to do volunteer work and take care of these people set in. In most cases, they are not related to such people yet they would do the necessary stuff, like attention and comfort, something that these elderly people would normally want to experience. Unfortunately, it takes strangers with a good heart to do this, to the delight of people who have been left astray.

[tags]Retirement homes, elderly, old age, parents, grandparents[/tags]

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

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The best way to fight disease and illnesses is to be actually experiencing them and trying to find ways to combat them. Such was the motivation that popular celebrity actor Michael J. Fox that brought him to put up this foundation in May, 2000. Fox was diagnosed in 1998 as having a young-onset Parkinson’s disease. Instead of looking for a cure on his own, he turned to making it a foundation to be able to help and make research on how to cure or fight the dreaded disease that has accumulated over $90,000.00 to date.

michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

While there has still been no clear cure for Parkinson’s, Fox still believes that there is hope and that people suffering from it will eventually triumph against it. Donations are continuously racking in and such funds are the basis for making the aggressive research of the foundation advanced and possible to finally discover proper therapies and cures for Parkinson’s disease.

[tags]parkinsons, disease, charity, foundations[/tags]

Taking Time Out to Spend Quality Time with Charity Institutions

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Time is gold and money for most. But time and attention is important as well to people who are left in institutions that house most of the abandoned children and elders today. The attention that they seek is the attention that they lost from the day that they were left out in the cold for people who simply cannot face responsibility in the way that it should be.

Unconditional Love and Affection

Attention and time for these people do not need to be in the form of cash and goods. It is more on providing care and a crying shoulder for most since all their problems and woes are totally kept within them. Storing all of these and not being able to let out emotions is as hard as it gets. But people just don’t seem to care much for others since they obviously have not matured enough to take on responsibilities that people should be always aware of.

[tags]charity, institutions, foundations, attention[/tags]