Tony and I have always tried ("tried" being a very accurate description) to remember others in the world who are not as fortunate as we are; whether in financial, health, or educational ways. Last Christmas all the gifts we gave to family included a charitable attribute, from my dad's fancy desk clock, the proceeds of which supported Dress for Success, to the goat we bought in my brother's name -- anyone with a younger brother can understand why a goat is such an appropriate gift for a brother. We're also huge fans (I would say "supporters" but I don't really think we can claim to be "huge supporters") of Kiva, the online site that facilitates the loaning of money to individuals in poorer countries who are looking to better their situation. As the loan is re-paid you can then re-donate it, adding more if you wish, to another individual. A continual cycle of giving and a nod to the all-American, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps philosophy of life. Plus you only have to donate in $25 increments and, especially these days, that's very often all we have to give!
But recently several of our friends have gone further than just donating money, they are truly giving of themselves to raise money. My friend Stephanie is riding 175 MILES on her BICYCLE over the course of two days to help find a cure for MS. You can donate to her here. Another friend, Megan, is participating in a TRIATHLON in Washington, D.C. in honor of a special woman who passed away earlier this year. You can read that story and donate here. And there are several others who NEED TO GET WEBSITES so people can DONATE ONLINE because some of us CANNOT FIND OUR CHECKBOOKS RIGHT NOW. But they're not getting shot-outs. No website, no shout-out. (Incidentally, please do not tell my husband and/or father and/or father-in-law that I cannot find my checkbook. Men always seem to think stuff like that's a "reallybigdeal!" I still haven't told Tony about the time I lost my credit card for FOUR DAYS only to find it under my car seat when I took my car to the car wash. Who knows how long I would have gone without it had we not decided to wash the cars that week? Of course you don't really need it that often since so many things can be purchased from ONLINE WEBSITES using your husband's card.)
All this good-doing among those close to me has made me feel somewhat guilty that I do not do more. So much has been given to me, so many opportunities, experiences, gifts, and support. But no matter which way I look at it, I can't really see a way to be as wholly giving as my friends are without expending a lot of energy on something that sounds exhausting and, to be completely honest, like not a lot of fun.
I think I could handle the one-day event aspect of it, but all that training leading up to it...I just don't have the will-power. So isn't there something I could do to raise money that would fall into a more my-idea-of-a-good-time category? Maybe I could Sleep for Eight Hours to raise money to fight insomnia? Or Drink Wine for the Cure for alcoholism? I will not post here what my ever-clever husband proposed we should do for eight hours to help find a cure for genophobia because 1) my mother will read this and 2) I don't want to attract weirdos or the dreaded INTERNET PREDATOR (dun, dun, dun) to my lil' ol' blog.
So many good options! I'll still have to decide which will be my official charity and, of course, GET A WEBSITE FOR ONLINE DONATIONS, but soon I too shall give back in a more real way. Probably. So please donate when I do. A full 25-50% (depending on how much you give) will go to fight whatever cause I end up fighting. The rest will go to me because I could use the money and, hey, I'm doin' all the freakin' work!
