Affordable Christmas

Giving Tuesday

December 02, 2013

You’ve heard of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday—how about Giving Tuesday? Tomorrow, Dec. 3, marks the second annual Giving Tuesday (#GivingTuesday), a movement to create a national day of giving on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. Families and individuals are encouraged to be generous in whatever ways they see fit, by volunteering or donating to a favorite cause. Last year, there was a marked increase in charitable giving on Giving Tuesday, and organizers hope for an even bigger impact this year. You can read more about Giving Tuesday here.

Every year as part of our holiday tradition, we like to choose one or two charitable organizations to donate to, and this year, we’ll start by participating in Giving Tuesday with a donation to Affordable Christmas, a program that allows lower-income families to purchase new Christmas gifts for their children at 1/10th of the retail price. 

What are your favorite holiday charitable activities?

Books

February is for (Book) Lovers

February 08, 2013


If you’re a book lover, February has some fun and worthwhile bookish events. First, February is Library Lovers’ Month, a celebration of school, public and private libraries. This month is a time for the community to recognize the value of libraries and work to keep them strong. Check your local library(ies) for any events planned.

February 14 is International Book Giving Day, an initiative dedicated to increasing children’s enthusiasm for and access to books. Organizers aim to put books into the hands of as many children as possible. Suggestions for those who want to participate include giving a book to a friend or family member, leave a book in a waiting room where children will be, or donate a book to an organization that provides books to children, such as a library, second-hand store, children’s hospital or shelter. Organizations such as Books for Africa, Books for Kids, or Project Night Night are also good places for book donations intended for children.

I have to admit, though, that my favorite bookish celebration in February is tomorrow: Read in the Bathtub Day! I love to read in the bathtub (another reason an e-reader won’t ever completely replace paper books in my heart) so I will be more than happy to participate.

Books and reading are two of my very favorite simple pleasures—so any excuse to celebrate them is welcome. Do you have any special bookish celebrations planned in February?

Disasters

Helping After Sandy

November 05, 2012

day of giving vs 2 wblog ABCs Day of Giving to Help Hurricane Sandy Victims: Live Blog


I was going to post something today about personal space, and how much my husband and I are enjoying having our offices separated—but it just seemed too frivolous in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. We’ve weathered a few hurricanes since we moved to Florida, but nothing like what the people in the northeast are experiencing with Sandy. More than 100 people have died, and more than one million homes are still without power, with a nor’easter bringing cold, snow and wind predicted for later this week. (Click here for a state-by-state summary of Sandy’s aftermath. Jason Good, who lives in New Jersey and still has no power, blogged about Sandy here.) 

I’ve been thinking about the people affected by Superstorm Sandy—wondering how I could help. I can’t volunteer up there, so I’m looking for ways to help right here. Cash donations may seem less personal, but they are highly useful to relief agencies. Cash doesn’t have to be sorted, packaged or transported, and agencies have more flexibility to provide for the true needs of survivors. Here are a few organizations that are taking donations for those affected by Sandy.

The Red Cross. Visit www.redcross.org, call 800-Red-Cross or text the word “Redcross” to 90999 to make a $10 donation. You can also give blood, since many blood drives had to be canceled because of Sandy.

In conjunction with the Red Cross, ABC is sponsoring a “Day of Giving” today.  All day long, ABC’s shows will offer viewers a chance to donate to those affected by the storm.

The Salvation Army provides food, clean-up kits, shelter and “emotional and spiritual care” to storm victims.

Feeding America operates food banks all over the US, and is distributing emergency food, water and supplies to the storm’s victims.

AmeriCares provides medicine, medical supplies and humanitarian aid.

Save the Children focuses on relief and support for children affected by Sandy. 

The Humane Society is working to help pets affected by the storm, especially those were not able to be evacuated with their families. 

In addition to the above organizations, you can visit the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster website for a list of volunteer organizations in your state.

I’ll get back to the personal space issue in a future post (and include some pictures of my husband’s new office). Today, I’m just grateful to have a roof over my head and electricity to power my household.

Giving

Just One Thing

January 16, 2010

The photos and stories coming out of Haiti are heartbreaking—how can one tiny country suffer so much? And Haiti is not the only place where suffering seems to be the baseline for living. I sometimes have to put a moratorium on newspaper reading because there are so many big, unsolvable problems, I become overwhelmed. Despite our economic woes, the U.S. is so much better off in so many ways than nearly the entire world.

I’m happy to see the pouring out of support and help for Haiti, but I wonder what will happen to it once this crisis is “over”—or if it ever will, truly, be over. The country was still struggling to recover from the effects of the hurricanes in 2008 before the earthquake. Haiti needs more than donations of money. They need more than bottled water, or food or medicine. Even I can see this, and I am not remotely qualified to determine what they really need and/or how to give them lasting help. Sending a donation to a relief agency doesn’t feel like enough—it feels like a cop out. Does this mean I should do nothing? That’s not right, either.

I believe when any one of us reaches out to help another, no matter how small the act, it sends positive energy into the world. Imagine if every day every one of us helped someone else! The world would be a better place.

So today, instead of being frustrated because my efforts seem so puny in the face of the world’s troubles, I’ll do “just one thing.” Today, I’ll send a donation to a relief organization to help Haiti. Tomorrow, I’ll try to find someone else to help, and hope that that’s enough. For me, some days my one thing might be something as small as looking the supermarket cashier in the eye and smiling at her. Some days that will be all I am capable of. Other days, my one thing will be more substantial.

Like everyone, I have limited time and money to give. I don’t have answers for the world’s problems. But I can do just one thing.