I'm not a big fan of charity. I think many charities spend too much on overhead. I'm a big fan of putting money in the Salvation Army's kettles, and giving them the clothing the kids have outgrown, to immediately help people near me. I did see two things recently, however, that I'm going to do.
The first is a "microloan" organization called Kiva. They allow you to make small loans, in $25 increments, to people around the world trying to improve their businesses. For example, one lady in Central America wants to improve her seamstress business with a $350 loan. This seems to me to be a very worthwhile organization, and we plan to put a few hundred dollars into this after Christmas.
There is another group called Heifer International. They were started after WWII, and they give livestock and/or seeds to people here and abroad. The animals are given to a person in need, who then agrees to pass one or more of its offspring to another family in need. This organization gives out everything from beehives to cows or oxen. I'd like to give them an ark next year, after we finally finish the business transaction that's now been dragging on for 6 months and will "supposedly" be finished by March (argh - lawyers...).
Hooray for anyone else who can help. And I promise I'll not be on my soapbox again about this subject.
1 comment:
I've heard of these two organizations but never looked them up. Thanks for the reminder!
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