Category: Charities

Giving money to charities is not the only way or the best way to support a nonprofit. A survey of 1,000 American adults, carried about by the national Thrivent Financial for Lutherans revealed that nearly twice as many people say it is more important to volunteer rather than simply give money to a charity. The survey also stated the most Americans donated based on their belief in an organization’s work and mission.

More than 50% of Americans also believe that volunteering is more important than giving money, while 22% of them stated that giving money was more important. 23% of the surveyed population said that volunteering time and giving money to a nonprofit were both equally important.

Brad Hewitt, Senior Vice President of Charitable Programs and Volunteerism for Thrivent Financial said, “Volunteering engages people emotionally and experientially. Americans are looking for opportunities to gain new experiences and develop relationships while doing good for others. Volunteering fulfills that need in a way that simply writing a check cannot.”

Thrivent Financial is an organization that boasts more than 14million hours of volunteer service clocked in last year by its members. The organization also sponsored more than 63,000 community service activities last year. Hewitt further said that they are looking for volunteers in almost every strata of community life and said that people should not limit their choices to only schools, nursing homes and sports programs. He says, “The key is for people to find their passion and then commit their energy to serving others.”

When it gets to the height of harvesting time, most gardeners have one common problem – what do you do with the excess crop?
A few suggestions would be that you share your collection with friends, family and neighbours. If you have already exhausted this entire list – then you might want to share with the needy persons in your community.

If you do not know where to look, worry not – there are several resources to look into. First, check with your local church or place of worship, as they might have an active social ministry program that in turn works with agencies who would welcome a donation of food. There are several charities that will gladly accept fresh fruit or vegetables. Apart from these charities, look at local food banks, shelters and perhaps even half-way houses.

The phone book is also an extremely useful resource in this situation. It often lists the community section separately, which then makes your task that much easier.

The internet is another resource you can use to look for ways to share a part of your harvest. Do a quick search under food banks + the name of your town – this should then give you a list of places situated close to you. You could also look at several national agencies which have regional offices. A few examples are America’s Second Harvest Food Bank, Food Research and Action Gropu – these two also
have links to food banks nationwide.

Now, with this information, you have yet another way to share your bountiful harvest with the less fortunate – thus not wasting your efforts and giving you chance to reach out.

There are quite a number of families around the world who suffer everyday from hunger and poverty and can barely imagine where their next meal is coming from. A donation of livestock might help them sustain themselves, and through Heifer International, you can do just this. For the last sixty years or so, Heifer International has provided farm animals and training in sustainable agriculture practices to poor families. You too can help fund all or part of this cost.

Goat $120
Llama $150
Water Buffalo $250
Heifers $500
Chicken, duck, geese $20
Hive of honeybees $30

Here is how the program works:

1. Instead of shopping for meaningless gifts, donate any farm animal, be it a sheep, cow or anything else in honour of someone close to your heart. It could be your mother, father – anyone! This is the opportunity for you to start a special family tradition.
2. Once you make the donation, that beneficiary family gets a gift card which describes the generous contribution you have made for them.
3. Your donation has put one more family in self-sustaining position. Once they complete the training and have prepared the necessary facilities, they receive the animal you helped provide.
4. The animal you helped provide will help the family with wool or milk or transportation or eggs. Surplus products will be sold by the family to provide them with an extra income which can then go on to fund school supplies, medicine and other expenses.
5. Every animal received via Heifer International’s program comes with promise – which is that the family will pass on the gift by giving the animal’s first female offspring to another family. This way, your gift has a rippling effect for many years.

The holiday season is a fabulous time to choose to give to the less fortunate. This does not mean that you do not practice the habit of charity during the other times of the year. However, tying it up with the festive season creates a sense of goodwill and also provides the perfect opportunity to teach children the same. Giving to the poor does not mean you only donate money to worthy causes. You can volunteer your time or even shop for special gifts to be placed at a local ‘giving’ tree.

Lenox, The Gift Company, in this same spirit, offers an ornament annually to benefit a children’s charity. Continued for five successful years, Lenox’s Holiday Spirit Ornament programme donates proceeds from the programme to a specially designed ornament like for example, to the Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric AIDS Foundation. “Public-private partnerships are critical in the fight for the health of our children, and we are delighted to be partnering with Lenox,” said Kate Carr, president and chief executive officer of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is a leading worldwide non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating paediatric AIDS. The foundation also provides care and treatment to people suffering from HIV and AIDS. They also fund the discovery of new treatments for other serious, life-threatening paediatric illnesses. Peter Cobuzzi, Vice President of Brand Development at Lenox says, “For more than 100 years, Lenox has believed that the act of giving is an integral part of celebrating life and family. That is why we are thrilled to work with a foundation that gives hope to so many.”

Teaching children the value of giving, even during holidays is not the easiest of tasks, especially taking into consideration today’s materialistic culture. Values such as generosity and ‘love thy neighbour’ to be imparted on children can be challenging, also because of the pressure attached to holiday expectations. However, remember, nothing is impossible. Heifer International is one great idea for parents to choose when teaching their children the value of giving and feeling a sense of accomplishment and goodwill from bringing someone else happiness.

For over half a century, Heifer International has, through donations, provided farm animals and training in sustainable agriculture practices to poor families.
Giving by means of money is not something that can easily be grasped by children. However, by gifting an animal – be it a goat, flock of chickens or even honeybees, they might catch on to this good habit.

Charles A. Smith, Professor of child development at the School of Family Studies and Human Services at Kansas State University says, “Kids get pleasure from seeing someone else happy. The act of giving unleashes the idea that a child can touch someone’s life. Heifer International believes that experience empowers children and shows them that they can make a difference in the world.”
Heifer International also lets children help to raise money to buy animals. These options include fun activities like ‘Carol for Cows’ or make and sell cookies or even animal ornaments. Kids can also decorate cans with the Heifer International catalogue pictures which can then be placed at local stores and restaurants to collect money for such causes.