How Are You Helping Make This World a Better Place?

[floridaorange]

So since this has become the section for complaints I figured I start a thread discussing how all us stone throwers are doing things to help point our societies, communities, neighborhoods in the right direction. Because after all, if we aren't doing anything, we can't really expect others to do different, can we?

I've been volunteering lately at homeless organizations and just recently at the Salvation Army. I started facebook group and filled it with volunteer opportunities, who to contact, what jobs need to be done, and other useful info. Not looking for pats on the back or kudos, but rather trying to change my perception of the world by helping others who frankly aren't cared for by many. So far it's helping a little.

Can you figure out what these boxes might be for, this time of year?



I'll give you a hint.

[nelinho]

Re: How Are You Helping Make This World a Better Place?

i have been working less than minimum wage for the past 3 years...does that count as charity?

[Illuminate]

Re: How Are You Helping Make This World a Better Place?

i have been working less than minimum wage for the past 3 years...does that count as charity?

Your income tax should be close to nothing. So no.

[nelinho]

Re: How Are You Helping Make This World a Better Place?

not quite actually...i am on abn so I have to declare everything..which equates to shit money per hour end of...so I won't be counting my lucky stars.

it was a bit in jest, I appreciate your concise answer though..I do see your point, but I helped other people get richer through poor wages...you've figured that part.


Used to help immigrants (from all over the place but mostly ex YU) with English...which required a course that took a few weeks.

was hoping to help homeless with a "food van" a while back but a lot of hoops to jump through from what I remember

Donated some money for floods in Bosna etc, dry july - cancer fundraising.

I think sometimes I would like to help in Africa or Bosnia, but next holiday I have, it will be short and I will come up woth some reason just to relax and unwind..a bit selfish I know but how many Westerners go on holidays for the sole purpose of leisure?

[nelinho]

Re: How Are You Helping Make This World a Better Place?

^ tldr

summary. I do a bit, so little it is negligble in the grand scheme of things. Prefer to donate money as I feel that is more help. Would like to help more but laziness outweighs the desire to help.

[KiwiTollway]

Re: How Are You Helping Make This World a Better Place?

I was typing a response with a quote, added some links, started typing again, and somehow lost the screen, it just vanished. how do you get to the auto-saved message or can you? Or should I just type it over again? ugh

[floridaorange]

Re: How Are You Helping Make This World a Better Place?

sometimes I copy my responses before hitting enter if I've had the screen open a while. in the event you get logged out, you have it copied

[nelinho]

Re: How Are You Helping Make This World a Better Place?

I was having a moan the other day...less cynical now. Despite the headache.

Peace.

[Frankiee]

Re: How Are You Helping Make This World a Better Place?

I organize workers to fight for them self. I can't change shit, but people can (when they realize it's all about organizing!)

[Illuminate]

Re: How Are You Helping Make This World a Better Place?

You organise workers to fight for themselves? Like an underground fight club? Are you Tyler Durden?

[floridaorange]

Re: How Are You Helping Make This World a Better Place?

I organize workers to fight for them self. I can't change shit, but people can (when they realize it's all about organizing!)

[Kamal]

Re: How Are You Helping Make This World a Better Place?

I was typing a response with a quote, added some links, started typing again, and somehow lost the screen, it just vanished. how do you get to the auto-saved message or can you? Or should I just type it over again? ugh

How to recover autosaved posts (like when your browser crashes))

[KiwiTollway]

Re: How Are You Helping Make This World a Better Place?

How to recover autosaved posts (like when your browser crashes))

Thank you Kamal!

Saw this there too and liked it...

• Skepticism is the antiseptic of the mind.
• Remember why we debate. We have nothing to lose but the errors we hold. Who but a stubborn fool would hold to errors once they have been exposed?

[KiwiTollway]

Re: How Are You Helping Make This World a Better Place?

First off, with the internet, it's incredibly easy to help others, which is really cool about living in these/our times. A couple of ways I like to help:

Donors Choose, where you choose a low-income classroom project (the teacher posts the need and what the project is about so you can choose something that interests you to help out with) and then you help the teacher fund her classroom project. I helped a teacher recently get 300 sharpies for an art project, for instance. It doesn't cost much and teachers are always so appreciative and often they have the kids write you a thank you note/card/picture to show you how it helped. (But if they don't, that's fine too.) You can help with field trips, help a class buy books, or you can match other offers of help. I like to look for a project that is just about funded and then complete their funding. You can give as little as $10 using any card or pay pal and they are so appreciative.

http://www.donorschoose.org/

Another site I often use and is great if you have time to give, but no money:

http://www.volunteermatch.org/

With this one you can help animals, the environment, the homeless, elderly, hospice, whatever area interests you, and they'll email you opportunities in your area and it can be one morning a week or something, very little time.

But by far, my favorite way to help is helping impoverished children through sponsorship.
https://www.childfund.org/which is rated one of the top charities in the world as far as accountability & such. You sign up to give automatically $28 per month (less than $1 per day) or you can buy a child a goat, a cow, a bike, or a much needed mosquito net to keep them from contracting diseases from mosquitoes, or just a flat donation. Of course, in the U.S. anything you donate is tax deductible.

But the sponsorship is the best thing because it can be interactive if you want. (You can do the minimum and not interact too.) You can also send a birthday gift (like $25-50) to your sponsored child and ours write us and thank us, tell us what they got to buy with it, etc. They use an interpreter and write letters throughout the year, including pictures, and the organization sends you notepads & stickers you can send to your sponsored child. These kids (ours) live in mud huts on dirt beds. Their fathers make $250 per year fishing or farming. You choose which country, you pick a child (boy or girl) you want to help, and it's very personal and interesting. It's also like a penpal friendship to encourage the child. But these families are incredibly sweet (and funny too) when they write. It's very humbling, my gosh, we live like royalty compared to so many. Their letters almost always bring a tear when we read them they're so lovely. I could type one out if you're interested, let me know. I got one recently and they give full names of all involved, it's very official. Sponsorship insures the child gets clean drinking water, can go to school, have school supplies, nutritional needs, etc.
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Right now, in my phase of life, these are easy ways to help and in the major scheme of things, pretty effortless really. I've also helped build homes for Habitat for Humanity and that's fun & worked with other organizations, but I'm not going to list them all, seems silly and self-promoting to me even with just what I'm currently doing. Publicizing what I do or even discussing it with anyone outside of my family doesn't seem right, unless it inspires someone else to see how easy it is so they can help too. Which is why I wrote this post. I'm not affiliated with any of these sites other than I use them.

Contrary to how it must seem lately here, I'm a very private person. I do like the anonymity aspect here so it really doesn't matter who/what I am.

[Illuminate]

Re: How Are You Helping Make This World a Better Place?

As I generate a greater income, and manipulate others for increasing my revenue, that of which I have to now claim within a taxable income, my taxes continually increase.

Thus, I give back by my income tax threshold. Pays for itself,