Yesterday my friend Julie Roads wrote about conquering fears, and jumping and ladders and stairs and elevators:
I wish I could send an ‘elevator’ of help to Haiti. I know times are hard for people all over the world right now, but if you have anything to spare, please text “haiti” to 90999 and make a donation to the Red Cross’s relief efforts. You can also make a donation via their website. May the pain and suffering of these people somehow be eased by the care and support of people everywhere…
Three other charities that are working to help Haiti:
And I thought about that all day. I thought: how can I help? I’ve got next to no cash to spare.
And so I thought: I’ve got something to offer. I’ve got a skill. I can convert that skill to cash to a donation. That’s a contribution. It is not a lot, but it is something.
And then when I was thinking, it is not a lot, I started thinking about how a whole lot of little things add up into something significant.
I know, it is not rocket science.
So that is the impulse behind the Help Haiti Blog Challenge: give of yourself. Find a way to raise a little money. Have a garage sale and donate the proceeds. Donate the next sale. Give whatever you’ve got to share. Encourage others to do the same. Do something.
As my friend Mike said in the comments to my first post:
You could check your bank balance right now. Work out what you need to last until the end of the month, then send whatever is spare to The Red Cross, RIGHT NOW.
And you could do it without publicity or a link to your product, and without posting a badge on your blog to tell the world about it.
It would be giving without receiving, and it will feel good.
Both you and Julie = Awesome and beautiful.
Do something and don’t advertise.
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Sometimes the best that you can do is to put up posts like this one because you don’t know what will happen.
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Also Partners in Health http://pih.org/home.html And another thing would be to grab up all those containers of change, take them to the bank and send THAT money, surprising how much cash- in change – lies around!
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I think you might have missed the point Mike was making in his comment. It looks to me that he was suggesting the people should give for Haiti without seeking cheap publicity for their books and consultancy. And without plastering a badge on their websites with your name and link all over it.
I commend him for that. As Sean says “Do something and don’t advertise.”
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kellydiels
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on January 15th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
I totally got the point that Mike was making. I’m making a slightly different one.
It is absolutely noble to do something selfless, quietly, privately. I hope lots of people are doing just that.
But tell me something: how does a private act that no one else knows about encourage others to do the same thing?
There are no social movements that flourish in a private room or within the confines of one’s head.
If we want to work together, to make things better, then we have to put ourselves out there. That’s what community is about. We have to say, here’s what I’m doing. Here’s what I’m trying to do. Won’t you join me, too?
Yesterday, this is what I had, in cash to give: not much. Today, someone agreed to buy some copy and instead of paying me, make a donation instead. That feels pretty good to me.
And it seems – from what I see here and other places – that this is happening with other people, too.
Have you ever worn a poppy for Remembrance day? Or a ribbon for a cause? Symbols have meaning. We like to belong and show our allegiances and our passions.
The badge, the sign up, the talking amongst ourselves – that’s the packaging. That’s human. That’s community and a way to rally people. To be visible. To show up. To care. To encourage others to do the same.
So I absolutely understand what you’re saying. I understand how this might look. I’m pretty anguished about that, in fact. But more important than that and the little hits my heart is taking is the outcome. I believe in people and I believe that they will make the donations they are pledging. And that will make a difference.
And that is more than I could have done on my own, quietly, privately.
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i just want to thank you, sugar, for all you’ve done to motivate people to action. what you’ve done it put together a veritable smorgasbord of ways people can help. you have rallied the troops and gotten people thinking of how they can help. and, as we say around here: bless you heart, your precious little ole’ heart.
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Why can’t we do both, public and private?
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kellydiels
replied:
on January 15th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
Yes! What Dave just said!
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Thank you Kelly for starting this, and Danielle for bringing it to my attention.
I’m in.
http://bit.ly/5EvcSu
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One reliable place to donate whatever you can is through AARP. They will match however much or little you donate dollar for dollar, so I chose to go with them. Their website is http://www.aarp.com
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Like the discussion here. How about some creative solutions that visual artists can come up with?
- : http://wp.me/pvtzn-3T
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kellydiels
replied:
on January 16th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
It really IS a great discussion. I’m so glad that people are getting passionate and getting involved. It makes me feel like we are pulling together. It makes me feel vastly less helpless to help.
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Great discussion. Doing anything is better than doing nothing — and well done to everyone for doing “anything” so creatively.
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