Charitable Giving

sparrow13

sparrow13

Cathlete
So what charities or causes do you guys give to, if you don't mind my asking? DH and I contribute time and money to two local conservation/environmental groups, and also to the library. I'm looking to do something else though, something more person to person would be great, or anything to do with kids. I'd prefer non-religious. If anyone has any good ideas, please pass them along!

THANKS!

Sparrow
 
I give to the ASPCA. If you're looking for a kid's charity, your local children's hospital or child abuse center might be a good idea.

A little OT & a bit of a rant--is anyone else bothered by the kids who stand outside the grocery store on the weekends? I always feel SO uncomfortable when I have a 10 YO shoving a can in my face while I'm trying to get my frozen stuff home! I guess I'm partly bugged by this b/c none of my grocery stores are in the town in which I live, & if I'm gonna make any donations it's gonna be to a local kid. No offense to any parents out there, but it makes me a little nutso. :p

Sorry if I hijacked your thread Sparrow. :)
 
Our church first and foremost. It supports a school of around 500 kids Pre-8th. In addition they have several offshoots of the church (Lutheran) - Bethesda (which provides for group homes for mentally challenged), Lutheran Homes of Michigan (homes for the elderly), Lutheran Church World Relief/LCWR - for which there is an array of programs to chose from.

On the non-religious side: Disabled Vets of America (my brother is one), Muth Youth Football/Cheer (we are founding board members), WW 2 Memorial Fund and Museum (Dad - Vet), On Wings of Angels (private pilots who fly people to get medical help and because I am a retired flight attendant) and anytime there is a local charity drive such as helping a local kid in her fight against cancer or a high school kid going to Australia to play a sport. Things like that.

I also drop money in the Salvation Army pot during the given season.

It's not a great deal but I figure that something is better than nothing and it all adds up!
 
Sparrow, have you checked out your local children's hospital? They might need volunteers for any number of things, or they might have ideas for ways to help kids outside of the hospital. I've been thinking about volunteering my time at a local hospital. They often need people to rock and feed babies in the nursery.

Since the war on terror started, most of my charitable donations go to military personnel. My two favorite organizations are The Wounded Warrior Project and Operation Uplink -- a VFW charity that donates phone cards to the military.
 
LauraMax said:
I give to the ASPCA. If you're looking for a kid's charity, your local children's hospital or child abuse center might be a good idea.

A little OT & a bit of a rant--is anyone else bothered by the kids who stand outside the grocery store on the weekends? I always feel SO uncomfortable when I have a 10 YO shoving a can in my face while I'm trying to get my frozen stuff home! I guess I'm partly bugged by this b/c none of my grocery stores are in the town in which I live, & if I'm gonna make any donations it's gonna be to a local kid. No offense to any parents out there, but it makes me a little nutso. :p

Sorry if I hijacked your thread Sparrow. :)
Click to expand...

No apology necessary, I actually agree! I am one of those people who always buys lemonade and cookies from the kids with stands, and I will participate in buying Girl Scout cookies etc., but I don't like it when kids, or anyone really, accosts me as I go in and out of places!
 
We support various animal rescue groups, The Make a Wish Foundation, and The Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army is very dear to my heart because of my mother. My mother grew up very poor during the depression. The SA would bring her a doll for Christmas every year. It's just a wonderful organization!
 
baylian said:
Our church first and foremost. It supports a school of around 500 kids Pre-8th. In addition they have several offshoots of the church (Lutheran) - Bethesda (which provides for group homes for mentally challenged), Lutheran Homes of Michigan (homes for the elderly), Lutheran Church World Relief/LCWR - for which there is an array of programs to chose from.

On the non-religious side: Disabled Vets of America (my brother is one), Muth Youth Football/Cheer (we are founding board members), WW 2 Memorial Fund and Museum (Dad - Vet), On Wings of Angels (private pilots who fly people to get medical help and because I am a retired flight attendant) and anytime there is a local charity drive such as helping a local kid in her fight against cancer or a high school kid going to Australia to play a sport. Things like that.

I also drop money in the Salvation Army pot during the given season.

It's not a great deal but I figure that something is better than nothing and it all adds up!
Click to expand...

Baylian, thanks for the suggestions! I really like the Wings of Angels concept, and will check them out!!

Sparrow
 
LauraMax said:
A little OT & a bit of a rant--is anyone else bothered by the kids who stand outside the grocery store on the weekends? I always feel SO uncomfortable when I have a 10 YO shoving a can in my face while I'm trying to get my frozen stuff home! I guess I'm partly bugged by this b/c none of my grocery stores are in the town in which I live, & if I'm gonna make any donations it's gonna be to a local kid. No offense to any parents out there, but it makes me a little nutso. :p

Sorry if I hijacked your thread Sparrow. :)
Click to expand...

I hate that too!
The products are so overpriced. I make a small donation to their group. I would never allow my boys to sell for the school. I rather make a cash donation.
 
Chucrh first here also (tithing). Something we do through our church but not really a religious based outreach is that we go to our local assisted living home once a month for what we call "Fancy Fingers". We paint the ladies fingernails. None of us are professional by any means but the ladies don't mind. They love this opportunity to get pampered & talking with us. It it so much fun & very rewarding for us both. Through this time with the elderly my husband & I have also taken our dogs there to visit. They enjoy that very much too. Some of these people don't have regular visitors so they eat up the attention, especially from kids.
 
I give a lot of time and money to the YMCA. They support children and families. Also give to good will, and the local police do food baskets during the holidays for families. We give to that. Also Orange Crush, which is a student athletic organization which raises money for local charities. My niece is a part of that.
 
I love this idea . .

the fingernail spa is so cool. I also have been thinking of taking the beloved beagle down to the Lutheran Home to visit. I have to check out how to do this. I know they have one dog on staff.

Thanks
 
Sparrow,

The Ronald McDonald House!!!! You can either go there and help cook or serve meals, you can donate food or money,etc. It's a wonderful thing.
My youngest son has been on Cardiac floor multiple times and I have stayed at nearby hotels because I could!! I would not take a room away from some of these families that almost live there. Their children are getting chemo or recovering from heart transplant etc, and the family is from North dakota and we are in Philly. They are sometimes there for months and have other children with them. They could never afford to stay in a hotel for months at a time.

The people involved are terrific. And there is no long term commitment. When my son was in the cardiac ICU I really needed COFFEE!! But no caffeine was allowed in case a child accidentally got it. No soda, coffee etc. I would walk down to the RM house and they would have a pot ready for me. Such a simple thing but made a huge difference to me. The coffee from the machine is NASTY!!!!!!

Now,I take my kids once a month and help serve meals. I also donate food, like a large baked lasagna or mac and cheese casserole. They are sooo grateful. :D:D

Sorry for rambling
elliemom :)
 
I'm big on animal welfare so I give to WSPA, IFAW, and ESPCA.

I also sponsor 2 children through World Vision.

And I give money to KIVA for entrepreneurship in third world countries.

During the holiday season our office chooses two charities. For one we collect a financial donation, and the other we collect for item donation.
 
Last edited:
Our (obvious) first and most important charity is the Wounded Warrior Project, but we also donate to the ASPCA, because we adopted a dog from them that we now regard as our "son".

Elliemom,

ITA with the Ronald McDonald House. I have heard wonderful things about that organization, and one of the guys I work with had personal experience with them when his newborn had complications. The family now donates as much time/money as possible!
 
LauraMax said:
I give to the ASPCA. If you're looking for a kid's charity, your local children's hospital or child abuse center might be a good idea.

A little OT & a bit of a rant--is anyone else bothered by the kids who stand outside the grocery store on the weekends? I always feel SO uncomfortable when I have a 10 YO shoving a can in my face while I'm trying to get my frozen stuff home! I guess I'm partly bugged by this b/c none of my grocery stores are in the town in which I live, & if I'm gonna make any donations it's gonna be to a local kid. No offense to any parents out there, but it makes me a little nutso. :p

Sorry if I hijacked your thread Sparrow. :)
Click to expand...


i give to the aspca and defenders of wildlife. i prefer the animal charities personally, but i know there are so many people charities out there to choose from.

lauramax, i totally agree with your comment about the kids or adults outside the grocery store. i dont feel bad telling adults no thanks, but telling the kids is much harder. i also dont like it when the cashier asks if i want to donate to whatever charity of the month they are supporting.


i totally agree with the grocery store thing!!
 
I give to the local Salvation Army, Michael J. Fox for Parkinson's disease, The Special Olympics, Salute Inc. which supports active military personnel and veterans on a regular basis. I also give to a local land conservation organization near my home and various other charities throughout the year.

My family and I also adopt a needy family for Christmas and shower them with presents and food. I love seeing the faces of the kids light up when we walk through the door with presents. It's priceless.
 
We have a local food bank and battered woman's shelter that we donate to. Salvation Army gets a lot of our stuff too.

We give money to the Red Cross, ASPCA, The Fisher House, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, ORBIS, Doctors Without Borders, The Tibet Fund, and a couple of animal rescues. There's a few more, but I can't remember them off the top of my head.

We also donate blood/platelets and have been on the Bone Marrow Registery for over 10 years. All that costs is a little time.

I've stopped giving money to people outside of stores, at intersections, and in the grocery check out line. Charity Navigator says you just don't know where this money ends up. When approached, I will either tell them I already support a charity for the same cause, or I'll ask them for the charity's website so I can check them out.
 
All animal charities: Humane Society, Animal Legal Defense Fund, ASPCA, Humane Association... I do it through the Combined Charitable Campaign because it's easy. Also, my local Humane Society gets a fat check every time I take in yet another stray cat someone has dumped. I love the pusses and the pooches and the bunnies...
 
Sparrow

I just found this ad in a magazine today that may be fun for you & your kids.

www.samaritanspurse.org/occ

Not sure of all the little details but it seems they pack shoeboxes for children overseas for Christmas with school supplies, toys nad candy. May be worth looking into.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top