Give It Away

The check is in the mail...

Or in the bank, as the case may be.  In an unusual turn of events, the federal government is getting the tax rebates out early.  Apparently some folks already have the money in their grubby little hands! This post will stay at the top from here on out, so be sure to scroll down for more recent posts.

If you have already received your rebate and given it away, please blog about it.  Then you can add your link to the Mr. Linky so Give It Away readers can go read about how you've given your money.  Be inspiring, because you never know, your story may inspire someone else to give their rebate to your charity, too.

If you don't have a blog, no worries, just post your story in the comments, or email it to me and I'll share it here on the blog.

So go ahead and add your link.  I'll leave this here until a reasonable amount of time after the last rebate checks have been mailed, so keep checking back for more stories.

And the winner is...

Let me just say thank you to everyone who played along and listed their favorite charities. I especially appreciated those of you who shared how certain organizations have touched you personally.  If you haven't had a chance to read through the comments, please do - you will be touched and you will learn about a lot of truly wonderful charities.

And now without any further ado, here are the winners, chosen by by the random number generator!

The first winner is comment number 108 by Robin at Pensieve.  Robin, along with many others, named Compassion International as her charity of choice, and I will be donating $100 to them this evening.  Go check out what they do for children around the world.  And also, take a look at this program sponsored by Compassion.  It doesn't take much to make a huge difference, and Compassion's work makes that very clear.

Our second winner is comment number 23 by Annabeth at Life from the Toaster.  She has chosen Shaohannah's Hope, which helps make adoption possible for many families.  What a great organization, and I appreciate Annabeth and the rest of you who brought it up in the comments. They'll be receiving $100 from me tonight.

Finally, our third winner is comment number 96 by Worker Mommy at Because I Must Blog.  Her charity is Doctors without Borders, which has a very special place in my heart.  A great choice that will also be receiving $100 before I go to bed tonight.

Thanks everyone, for playing along.  And if you haven't already done so, please consider spreading the word about Give It Away.  I sure would appreciate it!

How do you eat an elephant?

Today my husband is at our family doctor's office picking up his prescription for malaria prophylaxis, because tomorrow he leaves for an 8 day mission trip to Honduras.   He'll be out in the jungle for much of the time, so we felt it was a good idea to get the meds. 

But if he didn't take the meds, went on the trip and came home with malaria, he'd be okay.  He'd go to a very high tech hospital where he would receive the latest and best treatment which would be (mostly) paid for by our health insurance.

But for one million people each year, preventative medications or treatment for malaria aren't viable options.  So they die.  Most of these folks are not in Honduras, of course, but in Africa.  And they are, for the most part, young children.

The other handy thing Bud will have on his trip is a  mosquito net.  Another luxury that those who are destined to die from malaria cannot afford and do not have access to.

But, Compassion International has provided you and me with a great opportunity to change this, with their Bite Back program.  Watch this for more information

So go, donate a net for just $10 right now!  Then come back here and tell me and everyone else about it.  We can eat that elephant one bite at a time.

Give away comes to Give It Away!

Hey y'all.

Things are quiet here while we wait for the rebate checks to arrive.  But things will start cranking up next week, on May 2, when the first direct deposits are scheduled to hit the banks.

Anyway, since there is a big Bloggy Giveaway Carnival going on right now, it only seemed appropriate that Give It Away should participate in it.  However, it seems a bit contrary to the point of this blog to give away stuff, so instead I have a better idea.

I'm giving away money to YOUR favorite charity.  I will give $100 to the charity* of choice of three lucky winners. 

All you have to do to enter in the Give It Away Giveaway is leave a comment here telling us all what your favorite charity is.  You can leave comments until Friday at midnight and I will select three winners at random on the weekend. 

So, go, comment, and tell your friends - I'm giving money to YOUR favorite charities*!

And, if you like the concept of the Give It Away blog, please help spread the word by:

1. Clicking the Stumble Upon button in my sidebar, or sharing it on any other social media outlet you like.
2. Linking to Give It Away on your blog
3. Blog about Give It Away.

*Restrictions to the type of charity are the same as those listed on the FAQ page of this blog.

Who says money can't buy you happiness?

Let's say you get a $600 rebate.  This study suggests that you could buy 120 days of happiness with it.

"These findings suggest that very minor alterations in spending allocations - as little as $5 (£2.50) - may be enough to produce real gains in happiness on a given day," says Dr Dunn.

It seems like a pretty good investment to me.

Giving couldn't be more timely...

According to this AP article, food costs are rising faster than any time in the past 17 years.

The U.S. is wrestling with the worst food inflation in 17 years, and analysts expect new data due on Wednesday to show it's getting worse. That's putting the squeeze on poor families and forcing bakeries, bagel shops and delis to explain price increases to their customers.

U.S. food prices rose 4 percent in 2007, compared with an average 2.5 percent annual rise for the last 15 years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And the agency says 2008 could be worse, with a rise of as much as 4.5 percent.

If you don't need your rebate to buy your own food, maybe you can help someone who does.

Modest

Sorry I missed some blogging last week, but I'll be making it up to you this week.  I want to share another giving opportunity with you today.

If you are really concerned about the economy, and want to use your rebate in a way that will improve it, I think this particular charity will appeal to you. 

You can click on the banner to learn  more about this organization, but in a nutshell, Modest Needs compiles "grant applications" from people who are on the verge of entering the poverty cycle.  Through this organization you can give to help a specific individual with a specific need - provide auto repair payment so the family provider can get to work,  cover rent for a single mom with a new job until her first paycheck arrives, help an uninsured person receive necessary surgery. 

By giving in this way, you are helping people in need, keeping them from entering the povery cycle AND giving in a way that your dollars will go right into "jump-starting" the economy.  It's  a win-win-win situation!

Friday's Focus - Samaritan's Purse

One of my favorite charities going is Samaritan's Purse.   From their website:

The story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) gives a clear picture of God's desire for us to help those in desperate need wherever we find them. After describing how the Samaritan rescued a hurting man whom others had passed by, Jesus told His hearers, "Go and do likewise."

For over 35 years, Samaritan's Purse has done our utmost to follow Christ's command by going to the aid of the world's poor, sick, and suffering. We are an effective means of reaching hurting people in countries around the world with food, medicine, and other assistance in the Name of Jesus Christ. This, in turn, earns us a hearing for the Gospel, the Good News of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

By providing disaster relief, medical care, educational need, vocational training; through providing community development and vocational training programs; and by feeding, clothing and sheltering vulnerable children, Samaritan's purse has been following Christ's charge for 35 years.

One of my very favorite things about Samaritan's Purse is their gift catalog. I love to sit down with my kids and this catalog and choose Christmas presents for aunts and uncles, or coach and teacher gifts at any time of year.  Luke and Peyton have given soccer balls to children in poverty, provided a brood of chicks so a family will have eggs to eat and sell, and bought start-up supplies for a garden so a family can grow some of their own food.

On the tails of our discussion on teaching our children to give, I wanted to share this with you, because it's one thing to tell your children that you are giving money so hungry people can eat, but it's another to explain that by the goat you are purchasing for a family will provide them with milk and cheese, because there is no grocery store nearby for them.  What a great lesson for a child (and for an adult for that matter)!

Now, let's look at some numbers.  If you have a family of four making $150,000 or less net income per year, you should be receiving $1800 for your tax rebate.  Look what you can do with that:

Buy 5 oxen or other livestock to help rural farm families who are too poor to afford farm equipment.

Train and equip 15 people in sewing, shoe repair or another vocation.

Provide and infant incubator in a hospital in the third world.

Build 9 sturdy shelters with metal roofs for families hit by disastrous storms.

Build a playground for hurting children.

I hope you will take a few minutes to look at Samaritan's Purse and all that they do. It is a worthy organization that truly helps people around the world.

Teach your children well

Befoer I get started, I hope you will all come out of lurking and comment both on our topic for today, as well as leaving a note about your favorite charities.  I'd like to know where your hearts are when you think of giving, and I bet others would, too.

So, on to today's topic. How do we teach our children to give?  I'll share what Bud and I do well, and what I think we could do better.  Then I hope you'll jump in with your own experience and idea.

Our children, Luke, 9 and Peyton, 7,  receive allowance each week. Romy doesn't get allowance yet, she's only 9 months old and we frown on eating money around here.  Of the allowance they receive, 15% is earmarked for giving.  We discuss giving opportunities with them, and guide them toward appropriate ways to give the money from their allowance.  We try to find ideas that will resonate with them as children, so that they can relate to the issue and understand the impact their giving can have.  Some areas that our children have given have been to our church, to Samaritan's Purse's Operation Christmas Child, and to sponsor a child through Compassion International.

We talk about the importance of giving, and we teach about it from the Bible, as we are Christians.  We also constantly talk about how wealthy we are - not in U.S. terms, necessarily, but certainly in terms of the world.  Bud and I have both done mission work overseas, and share stories with our kids about the huge discrepancy between the way they live and the children we've seen in other countries live. This is not to create guilt, but to engender a sense of responsibility that comes with our many blessings.

What we don't do is show them our example of giving.  Our kids see the time we give to various volunteer situations, but they don't see us give our money.  That is typically done quietly with a check in the mail and not really discussed with the children.  I think that is something that probably ought to change, as we all know our kids are more likely to do what they see us doing, rather than what we tell them to do.  Don't believe it?  Check this out.

So, what do you do to teach your children about giving?  What would you like to do that you don't?  What have you done that has totally bombed?  I hope you'll comment, and remember to share your favorite charity!

Big Word Saturday

Today's word is sophrosyne.

I read this and it made me a little sad:

Instead of splurging on a big-screen TV or other indulgence, many say they plan to use the money to pay off debt, pay other tax bills or budget for higher expenses like food or gasoline. Others say they’d rather stash the money away in case things go from bad to worse.

That’s a gloomy scenario for those who are hoping a burst of consumer spending will help stave off a sharp economic downturn.  But some economists believe that, despite their good intentions, many will change their minds once they actually have that check in their hands.

“Americans have an amazing ability for self-deception, and I have full confidence that they’re going to end up spending the money regardless of what they say they’re going to do with it,” said David Wyss, chief economist with Standard and Poor’s.  Emphasis mine, full article here.

Then I was trying to come up with a clever comment about how we Americans are models of self-restraint.  I looked up the word sophrosyne to make sure I knew how to use it correctly, and just above the definition was an ad for "10 ways to lose belly fat."   

Thank you, Dictionary.com, for doing my work for me.