Charities Blog

Giving Something Back

Texas Calls for Baby Supplies Donations

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When it comes to aids for people hit by disasters such as Hurricane Ike, you would think that food and clothing would be enough. But for the people down in Texas, it has gone as far as seeking aid for the little ones, babies who need proper needs to live alongside other victims of these freaks of nature.

Diapers, baby clothes and food would normally not be in the list of supplies that most organizations have as donations. Hence in this light, it seems that they are needs for infants who have unfortunately been caught with these rampant hurricanes hitting various regions.

For people who can spare some diapers or baby formula, perhaps you can lend a helping hand. This is something that they did not ask for and it is quite a pity why innocent children have to bear the problems at such an untimely age.

There is a known shortage of supplies and food for adults, but children are being overlooked in this crisis. Charities such as Red Cross and Catholic Charities are advising donors to donate money so that officials can purchase diapers that are the right size.

More children and babies are becoming lactose intolerant and they require soy based formulas. This is becoming a large problem for parents of children with food allergies who cannot eat milk products or products with nuts and various other food allergies. Families of these children are feeling the stress.

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Originally posted on September 17, 2008 @ 2:22 pm

The International Committee of the Red Cross – On the front lines

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Unbeknownst to all, the International Committee of the Red Cross has been in existence as early as the laying down of the foundations of Humanitarian Law well before the First World War. From then till now, the organization has provided millions upon millions of people, assistance in terms of food, medical supplies and services from its current base in Geneva (where the convention of Humanitarian law was drafted and signed by most nations).

Anywhere there is conflict such as the current Darfur Humanitarian crisis, the Iraqi refugee crisis that has resulted from the American Invasion of the said country and many more similar incidents, the Red Cross is in the forefront for all these relief efforts. With local offices in its many member nations and along with its several arms such as the Red Crescent which handles crisis management in Muslim countries (which is necessary due to the many cultural differences in these nations) they have always provided the swiftest if not some of the first relief resources in cases of natural disasters. They conduct training of their personnel and country representatives through experts from Switzerland making them some of the most reliable and skilled response teams capable of responding to most disasters and crisis. Funds come from private and public sources mainly through contributions which can be aimed for specific crisis relief or the Red Cross organization as a whole. Switzerland has always been a neutral country ever since the First World War so it is the ideal place to have the headquarters for one of the world’s largest charitable organization.

Originally posted on February 7, 2008 @ 1:38 pm

Disaster Relief Groups: The First Respondents to Disaster

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For the last couple of years, the natural disasters as we have heard such as the famous Tsunami, earthquakes, and super typhoons have added to the already miserable lives of the unfortunate people of today. There have been a number of people who have perished while the ones who did not would need to claw their way back to get back on their feet.

The Less Fortunate People of the World Photos Courtesy of Parc Cruz

Disaster relief missions provide a temporary assistance, especially to stricken regions and countries. This is the beauty of what allied nations have today. Despite political indifferences, in times of need, this doesn�t matter. The Red Cross is usually the first one to respond to such needs and this has been their trademark for some years now.

Scenery Photos Courtesy of Parc Cruz

While there are people who do not think twice, the joint efforts for such disaster stricken countries is highly commendable. Without such efforts, who knows how many people may have suffered a worst fate today.

[tags]red cross, disaster relief, natural disasters, tsunami[/tags]

Originally posted on January 18, 2007 @ 6:33 pm

Impromptu Acts of Charity

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With the almost predictable regularity of the occurence of natural disasters in all parts of the world,  there is a need to establish help centers that can be activated within individual communities which form the core of every country in this world.  It is no longer enough to rely and depend solely on government or international aid since there are just too much to do  for one person, one organization, or one country to handle.  It is time to do what we can to help ourselves and the people around us so we can all be part of the solution rather than the problem.

We have all been witnesses to the great resiliency of man in repeatedly rising up from difficulty.  We have seen how this had been made possible by small impromptu acts of charity provided willingly and without motive by nameless people who will probably remain nameless forever in relation to claiming the credit for such noble tasks.  These acts of charity start from a mere desire to be of help to others who are temporarily unable to help themselves. 

We have seen how one small flame from a single individual is able to gather enough strength to become a blazing fire reperesented by an organization.  Every notable charitable organization started from something small and from recognizing a need that has not been acted upon by others.  Most of the time, people are called upon to work together not by some law or threat but by the genuine feeling of concern such as those that happens in disaster relief. 

Fundraising activities usually form part of unplanned acts of charity because of the need to have funding that will support the cause.  It is not uncommon for people who start an informal group for helping others to provide the seed money or at least be actively involved in finding the required funding.  Anyone of us can give our own impromptu acts of charity at our own level and capacity.

 

Originally posted on July 31, 2012 @ 4:18 am