Comments on: Making a Difference

By: Santa

Santa — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:25:56 +0000

I remember reading this in a book once, that said the most valuable thing you can give to someone else is your time. I don’t get the chance to always help out huge charities but I try and make it a habit every day to help others in real time situations and keep my eye open for the opportunities. For example I may be at a convenience store and see a lady trying to handle bags of groceries to her car so I’ll offer to carry them for her. Or like today at work I saw this guy looking for change to get something in the snack machine and offered him some snacks I had at my own desk, we talked and I made a new friend…small things like this do make a difference.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:07:04 +0000

I would like to add the group Development In Gardening (D.I.G.). This group focuses on eradicating hunger on the micro scale by teaching sustainable gardening techniques to the world’s poorest. Initially founded as a way to supply nutritional needs for African AIDS patients, D.I.G. has grown rapidly into a multi-national organization. Best of all for me, it was co-founded by a classmate and friend of mine.

The website is http://www.developmentingardening.org

By: Conquistahore

Conquistahore — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:14:42 +0000

I volunteer regularly as part of an organization called the Surfrider Foundation. My local chapter is DC Surfrider. Originally founded by surfers, the mission has expanded. From the website:

The Surfrider Foundation is a grassroots, non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves, and beaches for all people, through conservation, activism, research, and education.

On a recent river cleanup we pulled enough garbage out to reassemble an automobile. More information can be found here: http://www.surfrider.org/capitol/about.html

By: Harry

Harry — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:24:47 +0000

http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/

I am a long time member of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) for my county. This is a nation wide (US) organization part of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for volunteers who want to help out in the event of disasters. If you think you might want to be a fireman or EMT but don’t have the time to make such a commitment, this is the light version. We only get called in when big things happen – think major storms, earthquakes, etc. Each county group is different and focuses on the most likely disasters to fall on that area. In my case, it is hurricane evacuation and sheltering.

Almost anyone can join – fresh out of school to 85 and needs a walker to get around. Able bodies are more than welcome, but if you can only sit at a table and do paperwork that’s one more fireman who doesn’t need to do it and can be out doing the things you can’t. My group meets about once a month, with drills or training events maybe twice a year. They will train you in everything you need to know.

By: A

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:31:01 +0000

First off: Before I donate to any charity, I check out their rating on charitynavigator.org; it’s an invaluable site that lets you see how much of an organization’s income goes to its mission and how much goes to “administration” and such, i.e., how efficiently they use donations.

Donating blood and/or marrow is a great idea, and I give money when I can to the Myeloproliferative Disorders Foundation (http://mpdfoundation.org/). My mother died in 2007 of a myeloproliferative disorder.

I’d also recommend St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, right here in Memphis: http://www.stjude.org/ Any child with cancer or other “catastrophic” disease will be treated without charge at St. Jude.

One other topic that’s worth raising: Most of the charities named here seem to be overtly religious. If someone wants to donate to an atheist organization, the Council for Secular Humanism might be worth checking out: http://www.secularhumanism.org/