3 posts tagged “charity”

For this quarter I decided to concentrate on the world at large.  The three organizations I chose focus on either improving the third world or helping the environment, or both.  My contributions, like always, were small, but I hope they helped the recipients.

One Laptop Per Child

I have been interested in the One Laptop Per Child project since I first heard about it a couple of years ago.  In short, researchers from MIT have been working on an ultra-cheap, portable, durable laptop suitable for aiding and enhancing childrens’ education, especially in developing nations.
Further, the reasoning behind the project is something I believe in wholeheartedly - that children can benefit enormously from new technology if it is easily accessible and presented in the right way; technology is secondary to the idea that education is what is necessary to pull developing nations into the first world, and it is the responsibility of developed nations to help do so.

And, on a lesser note, the new technology being developed for this project is just cool.  The computers form mesh networks, are based on linux, and can be used for several different functions from e-mail to e-book reading and sharing.

The project is nearing its finishing stages, with some countries having already placed orders and the first units ready for sale this fall.

Kiva

Kiva.org has gotten a lot of press as one of the cooler ways to donate recently.  Actually, they are not technically a donation recipient as they pass on the money, in the form of a microloan to those who need it.  They boast of a very high success rate, based on the number of people who receive loans, use them to do what they need, and then repay the loan provider.

For example, I signed into the site and looked for people who were requesting loans.  I found Chung Por Yip, a woman in Samoa, who was looking for about $300 USD in order to expand her vegetable garden, and I decided to help.  I made the donation in late August and I have not had much feedback yet, to know whether or not she met her goal and how well she is progressing on her project, but I’m not worried about it.  The amount I lent was small enough that I am willing to write it off as a donation should she be unable to repay it.

Having said that, I hope she does repay the money, not because I need it, but because I would see it as proof-of-concept.  Having her repay me would mean that there are alternatives to massive loans and burdens of debt for the third world.

Worldchanging

Worldchanging is an organization dedicated to raising awareness and activism for environmental issues through education about green lifestyles and technologies.  Their book is on my list of ones I should get, just as soon as I have enough money and some room on the to-be-read shelf; their book, like the website, has a strong focus on things you and I can do to help protect and / or restore the environment.

So, the third donation for this quarter has been made and it is time for a review.  This quarter has been all about me, as opposed to last quarter's focus on free speech.

Joe Murphy Memorial Fund
Celebrity deaths, needless to say, affect everyone differently, depending on who the celeb in question was and how they related to us.  Whether through a t.v. show, a book, a movie, or even a podcast.

I have been a fan of podcasts since the term was coined and, in particular, a fan of the Farpoint Media family of 'casts.  I listen regularaly to Wingin' It and Slice of Sci-Fi.  Joe Murphy was a contributor and book reviewer for both; Joe was stricken with a rare and malevolent form of cancer last fall and passed away on April 1st of this year.  A fund had been set up in his name in the days that preceeded his death, with all benefits to go towards fighting the form of cancer that killed him, as well as a sizeable donation to Hospice, who had provided for Joe in his last days.

I never met Joe personally, but I loved to listen to him on the FPM shows.  He, and the others who host the shows, are one of the ways I stay grounded.  I spend most of my day speaking Japanese or teaching English and being able to listen to shows firmly grounded in a community of geekdom really means a lot to me - it is both an escape and an anchor to my home culture and language.  Joe was part of that and his death, and the subsequent outpouring of emotion and support for those who knew him in person, hit me harder than I had expected.

In response, I decided to make a donation to the fund that had been set up as a way of showing, however feebly, how much I appreciated being able to listen to Joe every week.  The fund has recently been turned into a podcast of its own, discussing cancer and treatments and how to help those afflicted.  I plan to listen and to continue to support this cause.

Modest Needs
Modest Needs is the kind of organization I like to believe in.  They take the essential goodness of people and that people want to better themselves as a given in their work.  That work, in its most basic form is accepting donations from people who have a bit of money to spare and then giving it to people who just need a bit to help them get back on their feet or to get to the next step in their life.

The example being the person who needs to borrow $100 dollars to acquire a license of some sort so that he or she can get a better job.  A hundred dollars is not much, unless you don't have it and you need it.

I hope I don't ever have to ask Modest Needs for money.  I hope I don't ever have to ask anyone for money.  But I like knowing that there is an organization out there that would look at me as an individual with a real-life request or desire and not as a collection of numbers before making a decision.  The website has a status page letting people keep track of how much they have donated and if they qualify to ask for a loan.  I don't like the idea of it being a public display of karma but I like knowing that the organization is aware of the propensity for people to give back more than they have borrowed and to make the tools for keeping track of the data available.

This is another organization I plan to keep supporting whenever I can.

Script Frenzy
June's donation was, truly, just for me.  I have been a huge, and somewhat vocal, fan of Nanowrimo and when I learned that they were going to begin holding a second yearly event, this time for script writing, I couldn't wait to sign up.

Both events are run by the Office of Letters and Light.  The OLL has been very responsible with the donations of previous years, supporting their own Young Writers Program and Borrow a Laptop programs.

As a gleeful participant I wanted to give something back to the organization that has provided me with so much fun and a much needed boot to the ass as I work on becoming a real grown-up.

This is one of the few donations I had planned on making back at the start of the year when I first decided to keep track of the money I give throughout the year and it is one I can see making again this time next year.  

(For the record, anyone who would like to track my progress with my script should go here.)

That's it for Q2.  Q3 starts in a few weeks and is looking like it may be focused on the expanding meme of art for charity, but I'll keep you posted.

As always, thanks for reading. 

Last February, I posted a short essay about donations and the act of giving.  Since then, I have kept to my aim of doing at least some research on various charities before donating and of selecting a new organization (roughly) every month.  The organizations listed below represent a few of my political ideologies and are all groups to whom I feel comfortable entrusting my money and effort.  I have attempted to provide a brief overview; I make no claims that everyone should follow suit, I only recommend these as organizations one may wish to examine if you are inclined to donate.  Here is my recap:

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
The CBLDF is an organization that provides money and legal support to comic book creators and retailers who run afoul of obscenity laws and censorship efforts.  As an example, the CBLDF are currently involved in a legal battle to protect a comic book retailer who has been charged with exhibition of harmful materials to minors during a free comic book day in 2004.  Membership in the CBLDF can be cheap or expensive depending on the individual, but year-long membership results in gifts of various quality and number that have been donated by well known comic book authors and artists.  (One note - the website is often a month or two behind, but inquiries are usually answered quite promptly.)

The Electronic Frontier Foundation
The EFF is dedicated to preserving and furthering electronic freedoms, such as net neutrality and anti-DRM reforms.  Their website is quite up to date and provides an action center for members as well as useful documents, like the Legal Guide for Bloggers.  Currently, the EFF is engaged in several campaigns, including support of the Fair Use Act, calling for Congressional investigation of NSA spying, and reformation of the Patriot Act.  Membership in the EFF is either by a one-time donation or repeating monthly donations; the amount donated is directly proportional to the swag received by the new member.

The American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU exists to protect the Bill of Rights of the United States and the citizens thereof.  They also provide an Action Center on their website.  At the moment, they are actively engaged in calling for reformation of the Patriot Act, calling for the close of Guantanamo, and supporting Prevention First.   Membership in the ACLU is much the same as it is for both the CBLDF and the EFF. 

For the second quarter, I believe, due to some unexpected circumstances, that my donations will be of a more personal nature, rather than the political organizations listed here.  I will, however, still endeavor to post an update on Q2 in late June or early July.  Thank you for reading.