charity – Page 4 – ~*LunaSea*~

American Association Society

2007/01/172007/01/25 gr4c52 Comments

c ACS

My Middle street received two nonprofit pleas yesterday. Only one was addressed to me, so that is the one I will write about…and it wasn’t actually a plea, per se.

I donated to the American Cancer Society during the last days of 2006. So, it was more of a thank you. If you have been reading me from before you will know what the C word means to me. I have nightmares about it, personal conversations with it. In the form of inky black smoke that curls around the organs, cancer invades limb and life and love. That chimney sweep commercial used to send shivers down my spine for that exact reason- black smoke puffing out from the actors as if the disease had overflowed their bodies into the air. Dead men talking.

The interesting thing about ACS is that they included a little blurb about leaving a lasting legacy: I can order a free copy of Dear Loved Ones and learn how to die. In my will I can include the statement, “I give, devise, and bequeath to the American Cancer Society. Inc., Tax ID —, for its general purposes all…of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate…” What an interesting concept, to include a charity in a will. I’m already an organ donor, but there’s a way to do more.

Special recognition:
The American Heart Association asked for a donation yesterday. They sent along the Red ACA Dress sticker and for the first time, ever I’m paying attention to what it means, even though it wasn’t addressed to me. On February 2nd (my birthday- how appropriate!) I should wear red to show my support and help raise awareness about women and cardiovascular disease. Right on.

MS Walk

2007/01/16 gr4c54 Comments

A good friend is doing a walk for multiple sclerosis. I *think* this is her second year doing this six mile walk. Last year she asked me donate, and I think I did…I know it took me a while to get the check to her. One of the first things they tell you in fund-raising is that your friends and family will be the last to donate. Well, not this year. I got my act together and went the internet way. No check is in the mail from me!

The MS Society uses the walk(s) as their biggest means of fundraising. In addition, the walk fosters education, support, advocacy and research (like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, American Cancer Association…you get the picture).

To learn more about multiple sclerosis, go here.

To help my friend, Sarah, go here (with thanks).

Carpenter’s Boat Shop

2007/01/132008/09/16 gr4c5Leave a comment

Sometimes I think I walk through parts of my life with my eyes closed. I really didn’t consider all that the Carpenter’s Boat Shop does until the loss of Ruth. I guess it’s fair to say I take for granted that which has been in my life forever. Forever and a day. A constant presence is never questioned. Such is the case with the Carpenter’s Boat Shop in Pemaquid, Maine. I’ve known “the Boat Shop” every minute of my existence whether I was aware of it or not. Skiffs on the beach came from there. People from the island went there. An exchange as subtle as clouds in the sky. Taken as truth and never thought more about.

Imagine a life on the rocks, for whatever reason. Hopes dashed. Dreams in ruins. Desperate for a break. Hungry for a fresh start. Not knowing where to turn. The Carpenter’s Boat shop is that safe haven. No. Harbor. They use the metaphor of a harbor on their website. That’s a better way to describe what they do. The Boat Shop is a place where someone can go for guidance, security and redemption on many, many levels. Physically. Mentally. Spiritually. Especially the spiritual. In the process of healing, they teach a trade: woodworking. Boats, furniture. Repair on all levels.

Amnesty International

2007/01/122007/01/12 gr4c5Leave a comment

Amnesty

What are we up to? Four? I think Amnesty International is the fourth nonprofit to contact me. Like Sierra Club they gave me a pretty decal and offered me a subscription to their magazine. Free stuff to make me feel like I owe them something. Like Sierra Club they started their plea with a drastic introduction, “I regret to inform you…” I have to groan when someone approaches me with the negative. “I have bad news,” “I have disturbing news, ” I regret to inform you,” like they are in dire need of telling me and me only. Like I’m responsible or worse, I’m the only one who can help them. It feels me with a sense of obligation I don’t want or need. Don’t get me wrong. I think their cause is admirable. They advocate for human rights around the world; they are the voice and hope of prisoners of conscience. They are the strong-arm for the underdog, so to speak.
They are also against the death penalty.
I don’t know how to feel about that. I’m on the fence with this one. Ever see Dead Man Walking? You know what I mean.
Of course they asked me for money, instead I signed a card. It’s the least and most I could do.

Go, James, Go!

2007/01/10 gr4c5Leave a comment

James Blunt I contemplated adding this to my MSF blog, but decided against it. Mr. “Beautiful Blunt” (as they are calling him) deserves his own shout out. From the Warner Music Group:

“Perhaps Blunt’s proudest accomplishment, however, has been his work throughout the year raising funds for Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the international medical humanitarian organization. As of this writing, Blunt has raised an extraordinary $205,000 for DWB/MSF, whose life-saving work he first encountered while stationed with the British army in Kosovo, where he served as a reconnaissance officer with the NATO peacekeeping force. One of his most powerful songs, “No Bravery,” was written in response to the genocide he had witnessed while in Kosovo.

The “Back To Bedlam World Tour” allowed Blunt the unique opportunity to both increase awareness and generate much-needed monies for Doctors Without Borders/MSF. Beginning with this past spring’s headline tour, a personal, one-on-one aftershow meet-and-greet with James was auctioned after each and every show – one recent auction earned $8600 in a single night. In November, Blunt played a sold-out DWB/MSF benefit concert at Los Angeles’ House of Blues, a high point of a seven-week, 35-city itinerary.”

To read the full article, go here.

Mr. Blunt also received five, count ’em, five Grammy nominations for his album Back to Bedlam. I’d like to thank my sister for getting me into Mr. Beautiful. Even though he’s a little whiney, I like his message. Back to good.

~ps~ For another melancholy type of guy, check out Gary Jules. I’m addicted to Mad World, thanks to Gears of War.

Sierra Scare Me Club

2007/01/062007/01/08 gr4c52 Comments

Sierra The third looking-for-money organization to contact me of the year is the Sierra Club. They started their spiel with, “Dear friend, I write to you today with a disturbing update.” Update? I’ve never belonged to the Sierra Club in my life. Does that make me AntiTreeHugger? Since when do I qualify for an “update”? In my packet of disturbance I was sent an info sheet on the giant sequoia, a bookmark of said sequoia, a bright yellow slip of paper announcing, “Sierra Club named America’s most effective environmental organization”, a two sided sheet of paper boasting the gifts of SC (backpack and subscription), a piece of paper announcing a battle won with a conservation-friendly Congress, two sticker calendars, an 8×14 card stock quality “sign me up form”, a two page hear-our-plea letter, and let us not forget the standard SC decal, the “act now” piece of paper and the envelope to send it all back in. Oh, and the oversized envelope this all arrived in. These people may care about the sequoia but they seem to have forgotten the trees from where their 14 pages of “update” came. Oh well.

Take Another Piece

2007/01/052008/12/29 gr4c52 Comments

The second charity of the year to contact me was my very own Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I say “my very own” because I ran a half marathon for them last May. I know this organization all too well. To be more precise, I ran, walked, limped, hobbled and probably most importantly, raised funds for them. Some of you might remember the journal I kept. I documented all 60+ runs that brought me to the final moments of the end: 13.1 miles. See, LLs takes ordinary plain janes like myself (and joes) and turns them into athletes, however temporary. The Society doesn’t just ask for a handout, they ask you to give everything you’ve got – blood, sweat and tears – and thensome. In return, they turn one of your greatest challenges into your greatest adventure. They take your energy (or lack thereof) and add to it more pride and accomplishment than you’ve ever seen. With the help of trainers, coaches and 24 hour support they train you to not only to raise the funds, but to finish the endurance challenge of your choice. You start the challenge worrying about how to ask people for money and you end it with the understanding that there are extremely kind and generous people in the world. You start the journey thinking you can’t run a single mile and end it knowing you can run 13.1 or even 26.2 miles. In short you go from being a doubter to a believer in the one thing that matters – yourself. They may ask you to raise a ridiculous amount, they may ask you to run a ridiculous amount, they may ask you to give a ridiculous amount, but they give you back something far more precious – a huge sense of accomplishment. Believe me, I kick my own ass all the time, but I was never more proud of myself than on 5/13/06.

So, here the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society contacted me again…wanting another piece of me. They are relentless! And why shouldn’t they be? Cancer is just as relentless. The day after my race I lamented that cancer just doesn’t quit.

I didn’t sign up for another challenge. I wrote a check instead. Actually, what I should say is, “I didn’t sign up for another challenge…yet.” See you in the gym.

Medecins Sans Frontieres

2006/12/28 gr4c5Leave a comment

Kiefer MSF

A while back ago I thought it would be interesting to write about all the different charities that call, write or email me looking for a donation of time or money. It’s only appropriate that I start with Medecins Sans Frontieres. They contacted me first, hoping to start their 2007 campaign early.
Doctors Without Borders is by far my favorite charity out there. Here are the quick stats:

Formed in 1971 by a group of French doctors, the organization seeks to aid those in need worldwide (hence, the “sans frontieres”).
They are open about where the money goes: in 2005 most of the funds went to program activities (which is the the norm). The rest went towards management and fundraising.
DWB’s goal is to direct 85% or more of spending to relief progams and have done so since 1995.
DWB goes where the conditions are the worst, the most dangerous – Rwanda, Chad, Darfur, the Ivory Coast…
In 1999 DWB was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 2004 The Discovery channel exposed the world to the work of DWB through the voice of Kiefer Sutherland and the visuals of Crisis Zone

I have been donating to DWB for eight years now. I was introduced to their work after reading a bio on a volunteer doctor from Australia who traveled to a dark jungle country. That’s what grabbed me: the without borders part. This Australian went to a country where he was instantly an outsider just by the color of his skin. The conditions were incomfortable at best, consistantly dangerous at worst. A country in a state of civil unrest. Hundreds of such giving people travel to foreign parts of the world, leaving behind comforts both psychological and physical. It’s hard to ignore people doing such good things.

For further reading:
Hope in Hell