Please Be Aware

If you're like us, your mail box is full of requests for donations to various charities, research programs, etc. And, like us, you may want to help many of these worthy organizations. But in this past year, I've noticed that we keep receiving some that look very similar. They are for different groups, but they look exactly the same. They are about 1/2 page...maybe a little larger and they have the tear-off sides with the holes. There are 3 copies -- a white, a yellow and a pink. Some are for cancer research, some for Alzheimer's and some for heart disease. I was curious as to why they all looked the same. And they all say, in big red letters, "Annual Fund Drive Voluntary Reply Form" at the top.

One way Jerry and I have chosen to decide who to send money to is to check and see what percentage of the donations received actually goes to the cause; assistance, research, etc. and how much goes to administration. When I turned these suspicious looking ones over and read the fine print on the back, I was shocked! The Alzheimer's one, for instance, says that of the $4,601,433 they raised last year, 4.70% went to program services. 4.70%!!!! Most of it...$70.80% went to fundraising. They will not be getting a penny from me. Similarly, the one for breast cancer research said that of their $10,369,290 raised, only 4.77% went to research program services -- and the one for Heart Support of America admitted that of their $3,898,479 they spent 12.63% on program services. Theirs was a little better, but by the time I read that I felt I may need the free heart attack first aid kit they were offering to send!

Out of curiosity I started looking around the web and found a very interesting site: http://www.quackwatch.com/ by a Dr. Stephen Barrett, MD. He talks specifically about the organization behind these letters -- Project Cure. They are actually supporting a group of lobbyists in Washington who want the government to fund alternative cures. It's quite interesting if you want to check it out.

Another web site I urge you to check out is www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national . All charities are listed alphabetically, so looking one up is quick and easy. Click on the one you want to know about and there will be lots of information about them. Scroll down and there will be a pie chart that clearly shows how much of their money goes to programs. Alzheimer's' Foundation of American, for instance, spends 85% on programs (compare that to 4.70% as listed above!). One of my favorites is America's Second Harvest. They give 98% of their raised funds to provide food for the needy. Can't beat that. I think they have changed their name to Feeding America...but it's the same organization.

If there is no pie chart, they may not have received all that information yet and sometimes they will direct you to a website and you can find it there. It's amazing the number of charities that are out there and you can give to whatever touches your heart. I'm just on my soapbox today to encourage you to spend your charitable contributions wisely.

HELP!

This is the time of year when it really starts to sink in how blessed we are. It is a time when we also, hopefully, begin to look for ways to help others. This year I encourage you to help your local food pantry...in as big a way as you can. There is more need this year than there has been in a very long time.

Here are a couple of other really cool ways to help. This first one costs you nothing and helps very much. Can't beat that! If you're easily addicted to computer games (like I am), then click on the picture or go to http://www.freerice.com/ It's an on-line vocabulary quiz. They give you a word (where do they get some of these???) and 4 definitions to choose from. If you guess it right, 20 grains of rice are donated to the UN World Food Program. If you get it wrong, they give you the right definition and then a few questions later they ask you that one again. So it's, fun, educational, helpful. I love a "win - win - win"...don't you? There is a warning on the website, though. It says, "This game may make you smarter. It may improve your speaking, writing, thinking, grades, job performance...." If you think 20 grains of rice aren't worth the effort, it adds up. I can't seem to quit playing until I win at least 1,000 grains. If you click on the "totals" tab on the top of the game page, they will show you how much rice has been donated since this started in October of 2007. Are you ready for this? So far...51,690,666,050 grains have been donated by the sponsors who show up on the bottom of the game as you play. Go ahead -- have some fun, and be helpful!

And here's another cool one. This one isn't free...but it costs so little it's almost like being free. I got this one off of Jodi's web page. If you came across a shoe sale where you could get 2 pairs for $5...you would be all over it, right? Well...now you can! Just click on the picture below. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.50000shoes.com/ and help them get 50,000 pairs of shoes in 50 days.


If you know of more fun and easy ways to help in what other people have set up to give aid and comfort to those who really know what "need" means, please let me know. I'm on it and I'd love to pass it along. Thank you for participating!