Give A Book

Isn’t it wonderful to lose yourself in a book for a little while?

Back in 2009 I posted links to some veterans and armed forces charities. I recently learned of another one called “Books For Soldiers” which is just as simple as the name implies: you send books to soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines.

For more information go to Books For Soldiers.

Sea Change

There was a wonderful article about Alzheimer’s in the New York Times yesterday. The focus was not on accurate diagnosis nor on possible cures. It was about providing excellent, appropriate care to patients with Alzheimer’s. My Dad died of Alzheimer’s in 1988, at the age of 68. Chuck’s Mom died of the same disease in 1999, at the age of 82. While we contribute to the Alzheimer’s Association, truthfully, I can hardly stand to read any articles about the disease. Over the years there have been precious few breakthroughs, which has left me dispirited. It ravaged our parents and robbed them, and all of us, of the extraordinary people they were. To revisit the topic is exceptionally painful.

But the title of the article in the Times by Pam Belluck captured my attention: “Giving Alzheimer’s Patients Their Way, Even Chocolate”. I clicked over to it with some apprehension, but I read it all the way through. In the end, I felt encouraged, almost optimistic. Should Alzheimer’s strike our family again, I now know that the care of patients has advanced dramatically. Humane, compassionate, responsive, intuitive. creative, high quality and individualized care is possible. Such care is not a fluke nor practiced on a hunch. There is a great deal of research to back it up. Compared to what my Dad experienced, it is a sea change; compared to Chuck’s Mom, it is a significant improvement.

Whether or not Alzheimer’s has touched your life, I urge you to read the article. It can only serve to make us better informed and able to advocate for those we love - no matter what illness is being wrestled with.

ShelterBox

ShelterBox strikes me as a brilliant idea! Vital supplies are bundled into a large, reusable 40 gallon storage box and shipped off to aid victims of natural disasters. The location and circumstances of each crisis helps determine what will be in the ShelterBoxes, but at least one ten-person tent is always included. The charity was created by Tom Henderson in 2000 in Cornwall, England. It began with Mr. Henderson’s Rotary Club in Helston-Lizard, but is now supported by Rotary Clubs and individuals around the world. You can read more about the contents of the boxes and see one in detail here.

I’ve been unable to find a rating and review of ShelterBox on Charity Navigator, but it is registered with the Charity Commission which regulates charities in England and Wales. Based on a few Google searches, fundraisers for ShelterBox are taking place all over the U.S. right now. More than 1700 boxes have already been sent to and are being deployed in Haiti.

Here’s a brief CNN video about ShelterBox.

Here’s the ShelterBox Flickr Photostream.

And you can find ShelterBox on Twitter.

L'Union Fait La Force

One thing we know is that the need in Haiti is enormous now and will continue to be so into the foreseeable future. Haiti was the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere when the earthquake struck just before 5:00 p.m. Tuesday. Now it is in desperately worse straits.

There are many ways to contribute; many honorable, effective and efficient organizations are directing resources to Haiti. The Center for International Disaster Information, CIDI says “Americans Should Send Cash Donations to Best Aid Victims of Devastating Earthquake”. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI however, is warning folks to be cautious of scams. I’d suggest using Charity Navigator which provides very good ways to evaluate a charity. Their top rating is “4 Stars”, but each listing contains a wealth of information beyond that brief headline.

Here are some organizations which are accepting contributions to specifically help the people of Haiti:

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (4 Stars)



Partners In Health (4 Stars)



Habitat for Humanity International (4 Stars)



American Jewish World Service (4 Stars)


American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (4 Stars)

I am unable to find an on-line reference, but on the radio today, we heard a statistic that the majority of donations will come in within the first six days following a disaster. Haiti will be in need for months, most likely years. So you may wish to consider periodic or ongoing donations to a favorite charity which will be in Haiti for the long haul.

Haiti’s motto is “L'Union Fait La Force”, which translates into “Strength Through Unity” - a phrase we can take inspiration from.

Moving Along

“Out with the old; in with the new” is the way the saying goes. Spurred on by this recent blog post from Dr. Wayne Dyer and the turning of the year, we rummaged through our closets this afternoon. The result was two bags of clothes destined for donation to charity. The phrase that helps me is: “moving things along in the world”. Of course there’s always more to move along! And I both envy and fear the mantra the uber-organized have adopted of “one thing in, one thing out”. But progress in any degree is good.

May 2010 hold peace, happiness, success, laughter, contentment and good health for us all...

Australia

The bushfires in Southeastern Australia have been devastating.
The death toll has now climbed above 170.
To be of assistance you can donate to The Australian Red Cross.

Money

As the world economy continues to shudder, money is on the minds of many of us. So, tonight I first pose three questions:

What would you do with a million dollars?
What would you do with 10,000 dollars?
What would you do with 100 dollars?

I am fortunate to have regular readers from around the world. So I have re-posed the question in the top three nation’s currencies, at current exchange rates:

What would you do with 1,046,026 Australian Dollars?
What would you do with 10,460 Australian Dollars?
What would you do with 104 Australian Dollars?

What would you do with 503,347 British Pounds?
What would you do with 5,033 British Pounds?
What would you do with 50 British Pounds?

What would you do with 7,937,500 South African Rand?
What would you do with 79,375 South African Rand?
What would you do with 793 South African Rand?

Then, ask yourself, what would you do with those different amounts of money if you couldn’t spend any of it on yourself.

Me? I’d take the million and pay off the mortgage on our home. We’re halfway through the note, with the worst of the interest already paid, but it would be a big relief to own it “free and clear” as the saying goes. Maybe we’d even have a mortgage burning party, the way folks did, once upon a time. Then I’d see what I could do for my family members’ mortgages. (I wonder how far that million dollars would stretch?!) Then I’d put a rush on the new roof, the new windows and the paint job. Oh! And I’d love to get off the grid, so solar and wind power here we come! Hmmm... I fear I’m already way over my million dollar budget!

$10,000? Well, after a million dollars, that’s a serious cut in pay! I’d pay some bills, and set the rest aside for the new roof, but I wouldn’t call to put the same rush on!

$100? This inflation is gobbling up the resources faster than I expected! I’d go to a bookstore with Chuck and then out to dinner. How much we spent at the bookstore would determine where we dined.

Now for the non-me-me-me version:

With a million dollars, I would still want to help out my family. There are mortgages and school loans and weddings and... But I would also look at the charities and organizations we support: like the MSPCA, Mama Maria, the American Civil Liberties Union, Friends of Acadia and the Alzheimer’s Association. Because this is a critical election year here in the United States, we would contribute the maximum allowed by law to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Then, even though I am registered as “unenrolled” here in Massachusetts (small “i” independent), I’d send some money to the Democratic National Committee, because without a majority in Congress we’re in for more gridlock.

$10,000? I hope my family will forgive me, but it’s all going out the door to the charities and Barack Obama’s campaign.

$100? Wow, where would it do the most good? How could I make the greatest impact? Or does even the smallest stone tossed in the pond still send out a worthwhile ripple? O.K. Half would go to the American Red Cross because they help people in the worst moments of crisis and devastation. The other half, no surprise, Barack Obama’s campaign, because I’m looking toward the future.

What would you do?

Is it just me, or does anyone else have the Barenaked Ladies song “If I Had Million Dollars” running through their mind right now?

Charity Navigator

I’ve written here before about feeling overwhelmed and helpless by the news that flows into our home through all the various media. Sometimes we respond by making phone calls to elected officials. Sometimes we write letters to those same folks in power. Sometimes we march or carry signs or stand in the night with flickering candles. Sometimes we write a check.

Before we write a check, we want to be sure that our money is going to be doing what we want it to do. That’s where Charity Navigator comes in. You can go to the website and look up more than 5,000 charities. The site is easy to use and is both broad and deep in the information you can find there. You don’t even have to go to the site knowing the name of a specific charity. You can browse by category or type in a search word.

We all want to help. Time, resources and money are not limitless. Charity Navigator is a useful tool to make the best use of all three.

There's No Place Like Home

So many holiday activities have taken center stage over the past few days. In the days to come, I hope to have a chance to just sit back, take a deep breath and enjoy it all. I’ll probably spend some time in this cozy corner of our living room. That lovely peach light (It's not as bright as it looks in this photo.) is a Himalayan Salt Lamp. We love the soft hearth-like glow it gives off. What we have, what’s captured in this photo, is very different from what many people experience. We know how fortunate we are. We know we can’t wave a magic wand and make it better for everyone. But we can make some small contributions which when combined with other donations and volunteer efforts, can change someone else’s life for the better.

Here is one organization that helps poor and homeless women and their children. The Women’s Lunch Place, in Boston, offers a variety of services from bathing and restroom facilities, to nutritious meals, to simply a safe place to rest that’s not on the streets. They also help with clothing, advocacy, job applications and so much more. Perhaps most important, is that they treat every woman with the utmost respect. I can only begin to imagine what it’s like to be homeless. But I think The Women’s Lunch Place would feel like a safe haven and a lifeline to me, if I were in that situation. :: Thanks for reading.