Dollar Philanthropy

A little more than $1 but still some good ideas!

I was cruising through my feeds and found this inspiring post on $100 Kindness Ideas at CharityFocus.

Having a softspot in my heart for homeless people, I liked the idea:

I want to take a $100 and using a paper clip, attatch $1 to a smile card with one of my own RAK cards. I want to stand on the street next to the panhandlers, and every person who stops to smile, give or just say hello to us, will get my small Gift. Just because. And hopefully it will inspire them to pay it forward.

There are many reasons that people want to avoid panhandlers.  The sight of someone begging on the streets conjures many uncomfortable emotions.  Being brave enough to offer a smile Edit HTMLcan be a huge thing.  Imagine how emboldened and awakened people would be by the kindness of this person offering dollars.  Just an AWESOME idea.

Drop by CharityFocus and read the other good idea.

Taking the "Remembering Gratitute" Challenge

If there is one thing that life has taught me, it is that taking time to be grateful is a great stress reducer.  I am pretty good about being thankful when I am sad or very happy. At times, I think I have avoided some significant doldrums by just reminding myself (daily or more often if needed) of all the things for which I am thankful.  However, I am not so good at being thankful when things are not special one way or the other.

In catching up with my feeds--- I see that Lorna over at Something Good has written a post about returning to her Gratitude Journal, a practice where she writes down each day the things for which she is thankful.  The end of her post, she challenges readers to make their own gratitude list. So today--- when things are ok-- I want to take a minute to write down some things for which I am grateful.

1. A wonderful hubby and my much loved daughter
2. A healthy family
3. Enough money for all of my needs, some of my wants, and a little bit to share with others in need.
4. My Nikon D80 camera that was given to me by a hubby who understands all the reasons, obvious and subtle, why I really wanted it.
5. Making it to my 40th birthday where I have reached all my 'by the time I'm 40 I want to have...' goals. Not to mention the good memories that many of those achievements have left me with.
6. Gigi, Marie, Lynn, Tiff, Mark, Andy, Trippe, and my other though-thick-and-thin friends.
7. For having too many through-thick-and-thin friends to mention.
8. Being able to work from home
9. For having an uncle and a set of grandparents who loves me thought I was the bee's knees know matter what I did.
10. For my new laptop that is on the way.
11. For Mayfield's Mini ice cream sandwiches
12. The love of cooking because good food makes the others around me happy too.
13. My kitty cat-- Marlowe
14. For the courage to blog my thoughts and the subsequent new people I have met online who have taught me things, challenged my preconceived notions, and made me think more deeply.

Now--- lets take this exercise up a notch----  Taking Lorna's good idea, I'd like to challenge Roger, Ellen, Elisa, Nedra, and Michele to take Lorna's Gratitude challenge.

Test your Vocabulary and Donate Rice to the World's Hungry

Indigence... hmmmm....  poverty????  Correct!  20 Grains are Donated
Remonstrate.....  protest or reproach?  I think protest... correct!  20 grains are donated.
Sheepshank.... uh oh... I'll have to guess....

Responsible Blogger Warning:  If you love words....only go to this site if you have a lot of time to burn.  I just had to step away....

Free Rice is a sister site to Poverty.com.  Basically it provides you a chance to test your vocabulary, learn some new words, and donate 20 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program for each word you get right. Thus far over 23,202,482,290 grains of rice have been donated.

Don't worry-- this won't be dull. This smart vocabulary quiz gets harder as you get words right. Then every once in a while it will throw you a curve ball... a word you probably never heard of or an alternate meaning.

The advertisers on the site pay for the rice.  But be not alarmed... the ads are at the very bottom of the page and are not obtrusive.  However, if you see something of interest--- be sure to click on the ad--- that way this little fun game will stay up. 

Stay tuned to DP--- the support group for FreeRice addicts will meet here in a couple of weeks : )

Hint:  If you spend any time at all on here... be sure to go to the options tab where you can save your vocabulary level and rice donations for future visits. 

Get Some Personal Coaching and Help a Kiva Client Too

  I've been reading Lisa Gates blog, Design your Writing Life, for a good while now.  Recently, she moved her practice to 360 Alliance, a network of personal coaches with the common goal of "creating learning opportunities that strengthen individual and group effectiveness".  I'm impressed that as a group, they are motivated and committed to participating in their community in ways that match their collective vision and values.

It was with some excitement that Lisa told me that the 360 group had decided to "walk the talk"  and offer individuals a 45 minute coaching session in exchange for a good deed donation (any size) to an organization that matches their corporate values.  They call this "Pay It Forward Friday."  Last month 360 Alliance selected the southern tornado victims as their beneficiary.  However, imagine my delight when I learned that the group had selected Kiva (one of my favorites) to be this month's recipient of the good deed. 

If you have questions about coaching or have been considering coaching, this is a good opportunity to try it and do some good at the same time.  If you would like to pose a direct question to the 360 folks, they have a form on their website:  click here

Thanks to Noel Zia Lee for the photo.

Hope Matters (A Lot!): Be A Part of the Hope Revolution

Hopelessness is probably one of the most crippling emotions.  It eats away at the the tiny sparks of the soul that propel us through the sorrows of the day.  Unfortunately, there are many people in this world who have lost their sparks and spend their lives in the dark. 

Good News!!!  Krystyn Heide has started a Hope Revolution!  Great Idea Krystyn!!!!

The Hope Revolution is a challenge for people to write down "a stackful" of hope messages and leave them in public places.  Krystyn has also created easy-to-use templates for you.

Krystyn, being a talented shutterbug, has developed a flickr group for pictures of hope notes that others have left.  If you need a message of hope drop by this "public place" and pick up your note. After seeing the news story this morning, this note gave me hope.

Giving Tree Give Card: Great Gift for the Person Who Has Everything

Friends and family tell me that I'm a good gift giver.  I often take a lot of time thinking about and selecting the 'perfect' gift for each person on my list.  However, as the holidays approach and I'm realizing that my growing girth is making me not so fond of tromping about the malls in search of proper gifts.  Thus  I've been looking for easy gift alternatives that can be purchased online. 

Having a lot of hard to buy for teenagers and parents, I've been pondering giving gift cards.  However, they seem so impersonal.  I know that being super pregnant at the holiday time will give me a pass this year.  I still want to give something meaningful.

While cruising around the internet this morning, I found a great option for gift cards that is meaningful because it allows the gift receiver to give a gift him or herself.  It is the Giving Tree Card, a Mastercard gift card where 10% of the value is given to the charity of the gift receiver's choice and 90% can be spent on a gift for them.  The come in $25, $50 and $100 denominations.  Another cool thing is that they come embossed with the receiver's name --- kids and teens will really feel special.

I especially like the idea because it makes it really easy for me to give the kids I know the extra funds for them to give away to a cause that means something to them.  I am always surprised to see what they choose to support.  Plus it makes them feel really good to do their part.

The card becomes available on November 1, 2007--- just in time for my holiday purchasing.  Drop by the Giving Tree website at www.givingtreelife.com to find out more.

 

Click and Feed a Homeless Animal

I know the Animal Rescue Site has has been around for a long time.  In fact, I have it on my browser bookmarks but have forgotten about it (it had migrated to the bottom).

Here's the gig... just go to the site and click on the button to have sponsors donate money to feed homeless animals. 

While you are there you can check out the tabs to help out other causes.

• Hunger
• Breast Cancer
• Literacy
• Child Health
• Rainforest protection

Since I had forgotten about it, I decided to put up a gentle reminder of a really easy way that helps out homeless animals

Yummy Snacks Help Make the World A Little More Beautiful

I just love it when you can do something that is both decadent and good for you.  Its even a bigger bonus if you can do good for another good cause.

Bear Naked makes all natural granola, cereals and trail mixes.  They are really yummy, but I must admit they are a little more expensive than the store brands.  Of course-- you can certainly taste the difference too.  Nonetheless, when one is on a budget--such items can sometimes seem like a splurge. 

I suppose that is the beauty of rationalization-- at least it is for me.  One great thing about Bear Naked products is that they are all natural (you can pronounce everything on the ingredients lists)-- so you can feel certain that you are giving yourself and your families healthy foods. Another great thing-- here's where the rationalization comes in-- is that Bear Naked helps organizations that protect, preserve and restore outdoor spaces.

Being from the South and having spent some quality time in the mountains of Tennessee, I was delighted to learn about Bear Naked's Triple Crown Project that takes some of the proceeds from their Trail Mix products and gives it to organizations that work hard to maintain and restore the best long distance hiking trails in the US. Interesting enough... the Appalachian Mix is my favorite-- the only one of the trails I've actually spent time on.

So -- drop by their website and find out where you can purchase their products.

Hey Everyone-- Come Check out Our New Look!

This is mostly a message for the few of you that read Dollar Philanthropy via subscribing to my feed.  I have just installed a new banner for the site and I'm quite proud of the job Josh did.  I know I had put up my logo thoughts a while back... but after working with Josh for a little bit, he helped me to realize that I needed to start with a banner and then perhaps move to a logo at a later time. 

So please drop by to see the new look and please feel free to leave me come comments/feedback.

Share your Sharing Story and A Meal is Donated to Second Harvest

Want an easy way to make a difference today.  Drop by Spread the Sharing, a website sponsored by Unilever---the makers of Country Crock, and submit your story of how you share with others.  In turn, Country Crock will donate a "meal" to America's Second Harvest.

Just for clarification the program uses "meal"  for illustrative purposes only. Basically, Country Crock is going to donate a few cents to America's Second Harvest.  However for every dollar donated, America's Second Harvest can purchase and distributes 20 pounds of food and grocery products, such as cereal, fruit, bath soap and diapers. According to the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, an average meal is 1.28 pounds of food. Country Crock® will match donations to provide up to one million meals.

So once again--- this is a perfect to promote here at Dollar Philanthropy because I am all how if everyone (corporations, nonprofits, and people like you and me) makes a small effort for good that all of these actions can come together to make a HUGE difference.  In this case-- one small action on each of our parts is going to fund 1 Million meals. 

While I usually highlight smaller organizations, the ease of helping out here makes this a no-brainer. 

Justs so you know...America's Second Harvest is the a food bank network  and is the nation's largest charitable hunger-relief organization:

•    A Network of more than 200 Member food banks and   food-rescue organizations
• Serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

PS... while at Spread the Sharing-- take a minute to watch one of the videos (Sharing News Network) of how people are sharing within their community.