Do you donate to any charities on a regular basis, or have you made a substantial donation to one in the past? My wife and I just recently made a substantial (keep in mind that this term is relative) donation to a charity which treats children in less-fortunate countries for cleft lip.
Now before I convey myself as a completely selfless person who thinks of everyone before himself, let me just say that this was completely my wife’s idea and I had nothing to do with the decision, other than telling her that it was ok with me if we donated. That being said I should also note that I am a huge proponent of charitable donations and I personally think it would be irresponsible and selfish of me not to share my good fortune with those who are less-fortunate than myself. Of course this is my opinion and maybe there are some out there who do not believe in donating to charities. That is your opinion and you are entitled to it, of course.
The charity that my wife and I donated to is Operation Smile. They are a children’s medical charity that was founded in 1982 by Dr. William P. Magee Jr., a plastic surgeon, and his wife Kathleen S. Magee. Operation Smile provides children in poorer countries with surgery to fix cleft lip.
This is a picture of a little girl before and then after the cleft lip surgery, so you can see how emotionally traumatizing this “disease” could be to someone, and then the results of this miracle surgery.
I am not, of course, trying to tell you where to donate your money. I am letting you know one of the charities I have chosen to donate to and hoping to get an active discussion going on the topic at hand.
The question is then as follows:
What charities do you donate to, and if you choose not to donate to any charities what is your reasoning behind not wanting to donate? I’d love to get some responses and opinions from those on both sides of the fence. In fact to make things interesting if I get at least 15 valid comments on the topic within a week from now I’ll make another donation, this time to a charity of your choice, or if you can not think of one I will donate again to Operation Smile.
6 responses to “A Charity I Recently Donated To”
Every year my company has a big campaign encouraging all employees to donate to the charity of their choice. They set it up so there is options for everyone. From one time donations to recurring payroll deductions. I do the payroll deduction and the company matches me dollar for dollar. I’m not able to donate as much as I wish I were able to but I feel better knowing my money is doubling just because I’ve set it up through my company.
Some of my favorite charities are St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Alex’s Lemonade Stand and any charity that supports research for a cure to Autism.
I do not donate to any particular charity regularly, but I am quite involved with a Malaysian charity, Eden Handicap Service Centre.
I figured if I wanted to donate to any charity, I might as well donate to a local charity.
Besides donating, I am also kind of volunteering my services. I help them write letters to raise funds, help them with their newsletter, and w=in whatever other ways I can.
i’m dead set on starting a charitable foundation at some point, but until then, i’ll be donating to Rood to Read, started by an ex-microsoft exec and dedicated to putting books and education in the hands of third-world children. their focus has always been on education, which i’ve always felt is a ‘plant a seed’ type of charitable cause…and they’ve proven that the seed grows immediately. they focus on young girls in impoverished areas and offer them scholarships, putting the education smack in the middle of family units.
i also like that they can show you exactly where your money went…you are welcome to go to the school you’ve helped build.
all in all…i think it’s just important to leave a positive mark on history, however you plan to do it.
Busy, busy, busy……
This is what happens when I am too absorbed in my writing. I get up in the morning, make a mental note to update my blog so that mushrooms don’t grow all over it, then I go to the library and engage in a writing frenzy until lunch time. When I go…
I donate regularly to both Oxfam and Amnesty International. I think that it’s not fair that some people have more opportunities and this is my way of trying to redress the balance.
I am a dad of two boys with autism, I look to your blog for current info! Thank You!