charity
November is a time to remember to give thanks for everything we have in life- from something huge right down to the tiniest thing.
It’s also a time of giving- showing your thanks and appreciation by giving back to something or somebody that needs it.
The biggest reason people don’t give is because they feel they don’t have anything to offer or can’t afford it. Well, here are 2 ways you can make a difference for less than a dollar.
1. Fill the Cup: World Food Programme
Just 25 cents fills a cup with porridge, rice, or beans for hungry kids in 70 countries around the world in the World Food Programme’s Fill the Cup initiative. $50 can feed a child for a year. A year. That’s a dinner out for a couple in an only semi-nice restaurant around here.
Without food, kids can’t learn. Something as small as being hungry robs them of the ability to develop their full potential. In addition, serving food at school {where the cups are distributed} encourages families to send their children, increasing attendance rates- especially for girls.
It’s something to think about next time the barista fills up your holiday red Starbucks cup with a $4 beverage.
Prefer to keep things local? Check out No Kid Hungry, which does a similar thing at the US level.
Or find a similar program in your community. Around here, Backpack Beginnings is a remarkable program feeding kids in my county over the weekend, a time they would often go hungry before. {Did you know it takes 2 days for your brain to recover from not eating? That meant kids weren’t learning until Wednesday. The cycle starts all over just 2 days later.}
The husband and I support the World Food Programme & No Kid Hungry each year at our Red Cup holiday party.
2. You Are the One: Friends of Maddie
Heather & Mike Spohr’s daughter Maddie should be turning 4 this Friday. Unfortunately due to complications from a premature birth, this will be the third time her parents spend her birthday without her.
Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, the Spohrs turned their tragedy into something positive for other families by creating Friends of Maddie, a not for profit organization that supports families and babies in the NICU with care packages, assistance in finding a place for the family to stay, and helping families connect to other families for support.
To honor her birthday this year, the Spohr’s are selling a song Mike wrote for his wife that has specially meaning for them for Maddie. For 99 cents you can download the song from iTunes and all proceeds go towards supporting and expanding the Friends of Maddie program.
How are you giving back this Thanksgiving?
Other
The results are in!!
We raised $149.47!!!!!
I am absolutely floored by this. I was very nervous about how this event would be received, and I’m just thrilled to say it was great! Before the party I was secretly hoping we’d raise around $50, but wouldn’t be upset if we didn’t get that much. Lesson learned: ALWAYS SET YOUR SIGHTS HIGHER!! 🙂
We had a big mug set up to collect spare changes, and an extra box just in case…boy did that box get heavy!! I even had to cut a bigger slit in the top so people could pour their coins in easier.
The secret to a great party is easy- Good food & Great friends!
We had mini cupcakes, spinach dip with Scoops and whole wheat Ritz, cream cheese veggie nibblers, and cocktail meatballs! There was also some yummy cream cheese pizza dip but it was still in the oven when I was taking pictures and I forgot all about it!
One of my friends brought a delish appetizer with her too: she sliced a whole wheat baguette into one inch slices, then topped them with honey and blue cheese! Yum!
I definitely didn’t take enough pictures of everybody there….I had my camera out so I wouldn’t forget, but I got so distracted by our great company that I barely stopped to snap pictures.
I’m so happy about how this even turned out, and I can’t say thank you enough to all of my friends…you all are so generous, and it warms my heart to have you in my life!
PS This event is definitely on the calendar for next year!!
Other
I’m SO excited for this weekend…Saturday the husband and I are hosting our first Christmas party!! And what makes it really exciting is that we’re doing it with a twist…we’re making it a charity event for the World Food Programme’s Fill the Cup Campaign.
A little about the campaign:
“Fill the Cup” aims, literally, to fill a cup with food for all of the 59 million children who go to school hungry throughout developing countries around the world – boosting their chances for health, education and a more promising future.
“A child dies of hunger every six seconds. WHO has declared hunger and malnutrition the number-one threat to public health,” said Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the World Food Programme.
Hunger is a #1 threat? That absolutely floored me when I first read it, and I couldn’t just ignore it.
I’m well aware that many people aren’t able to donate to charities even if they really want to. However, it only takes 25 cents to fill a cup with food. I have 25 cents on my washing machine and probably under the floor mats in my car too. And I’m willing to bet most of my friends do too. The World Food Programme would probably laugh if I mailed them a quarter, but if we all put our quarters together it could make a pretty big impact.
So that’s what I’m doing Saturday, and I can’t wait for it!!!
