Giving Something Back
Road accidents occur in the millions worldwide each year. Many of them take place due to negligence and other mechanical factors.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has noted that in 2013 alone, road mishaps claimed the lives of 1.25 million people around the world and low-income countries had the highest road traffic fatality rates. Nearly half of all deaths involved people with the least protection such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. [Read more…]
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.
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!
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.
The sight of a disabled child or person who pushes himself to earn a living despite having deficiencies in some parts of their bodies or from their manner of thinking is something that should inspire the normal man. Putting aside their current situation and status to give them a reason to live is the most important factor that touches the hearts of people who see them.
There are a lot of foundations that have taken this cue and even gone to the extent of helping them earn their keep and efforts through referrals and sponsorships. Working for a cause is the best term to generalize everything that these disabled people invest. Rarely would you see people putting time for such people who make the best out of what they can.
People who have some deficiencies cannot live normally but in most cases, it is the disabled people who seem to show more promise because they know that in their hearts that there is so much to accomplish if they are given a chance to be side by side with the normal and fortunate people of today.
[tags]disabled, charities, foundations[/tags]
Around the world, it cannot be denied that there are a lot of people who are experiencing poverty and issues regarding their manner of living. A lot would depend on where they are situated, the country and of course the manner of living that majority of the region is experiencing. Not all countries are blessed with a good economy to which people can find a way to survive with the available jobs to choose from. Some are just plain unlucky to be situated in them like Vietnam, Africa and so on.
The good thing about the world is that people from other countries do not hesitate to lend a helping hand to the best of their abilities. Help in any form cannot be measured and people in need do not really have much choice. Hence beggars really cannot be choosers in this case.
Help in the form of food, clothing and other materials essential for living is being sent to most parts of the world. Some would even render volunteer work and services just to reach them. In a sense, they can call themselves lucky that there are people who still care for what the world has to deal with today.
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.
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?
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.
In true fashion of giving, an Israeli Charity has been working for 10 years to save children from various heart diseases that afflict many in the war-torn region. The Hospital, Wolfson in Israel has been operating on Iraqi children who have managed to get there with their parents to seek help for their child’s defective hearts. Children from all over the world have benefited from the work they do there, from Palestinian, Iraqi and all other nationalities, they open their doors to children who would otherwise have died due to heart problems their parents could not afford to pay for treatment. The hospital claims to save a child’s life every 29 hours and that means a lot for the war torn region. This is the true spirit of giving; even long time enemies turn back on their differences for a child whose life is in jeopardy. Pediatric heart surgery is one of the most specialized and expensive types of surgery a child can ever have, many children die from heart problems such as defects and injuries received during conflicts in the region. The hospital works with some of the most sophisticated equipment and some of the best pediatric heart surgeons in Israel and the world over who donate their time and skills to help these children allowing them to live normal adult lives.
The hospital and the Organization also aims to educate doctors in their respective regions and award facilities to develop and cater to their local needs. The full-outreach program does not look at color, race, ethnicity or any other distinguishing factor other than the fact they all share a common goal, to give a child the life they deserve with the best possible treatment the developed world has to offer. Their doctors also conduct outreach programs, going to the far corners of the world to do heart surgery on children who would otherwise have no futures if it were not for their pioneering work. Visit them and get to know the pioneering work and lives they have saved. Be inspired by the stories of survival and hope that have resulted from their actions as they close their eyes to discrimination focusing on the task at hand, saving lives!