Poverty is scary. Both poverty as an abstract idea and the real state of poverty make me ill. How can a country so great as ours sit by as its citizens suffer?
The purpose of Blog Action Day is to draw attention to a single topic –this year’s topic is poverty.
What am I doing to help those in need? What are my favorite charities or volunteer opportunities?
I’m ashamed to admit that I don’t do a whole lot to help beat poverty. My charities of choice trend toward issues that the more affluent are likely to support. We’ve also lent money through KIVA.org. That being said, I’m evaluating where else we donate money and want to make some changes. I believe the following organizations are worth supporting:
Capital Area Food Bank
Goodwill Industries
So Others Might Eat
I know there are more. Dear readers, what are you doing to help beat poverty?
1 response so far ↓
CorporateMonkey // Thursday, October 16, 2008 at 10:18 am
I personally have not lent through Kiva.org yet, but you’re one of 3 friends I have who do, and my company recently loaned $1 million to Kiva to be distributed as micro-loans, which is one of those things that makes me like my company a little bit more.
I like to volunteer with Miriam’s Kitchen in downtown DC, and I donate clothes and housewares with one of the ‘Goodwill’ type stores in southern Alexandria. I have also purchased a few items there (pots for dyeing) which I believe helps the money go back into the charity. Part of the reason I joined the CSA this summer was because of the idea of helping a family maintain their community funded agricultural business; I remember in the 80’s when farmers were having a lot of trouble keeping their land through tough seasons, and with a lot of farmers in my family (past and present) I like contributing to at least one more local operation staying out of the red.
I guess I don’t really do that much directly, and am always open to new volunteer opportunities. I really like getting out in the community and lending my time and effort towards helping other people. I’m hanging on to my money pretty tightly these days though, and have a much more difficult time writing a check.
Like gas stations in rural Texas after 10 pm, comments are closed.