Reader Appreciation Day! Charity Giveaway - Enter Now!

Photo by Mozzercork

 

Wednesday, April 16th has been declared Blog Reader Appreciation Day — thanks to Michele Martin for passing the word.  As many of you who read this blog regularly, I've been doing lots of giveaways - book giveaways (my first in January)  and charity donation giveaways. 

This time I'm going to give a $20 donation to a charity or cause identified by one of you, my readers.   What better way to say how much I appreciate you than to contribute to a cause you really care about.   So, you have until midnight April 16th to leave a comment with one or two sentences on why you think this cause is important and a link to the charity of your choosing.  The winner will be chosen at random and I will write a nice blog post your cause.  My only requirement is that the charity has to be listed in Network For Good.

The Nonprofit Communications blog is also participating in Reader Appreciation Day with a giveaway too.

Comments

[Dave Webb]

Very cool idea, Beth! I'm throwing my hat in the ring for the Not For Sale Campaign. 27 million people in slavery worldwide today, over 50% of them children. Not For Sale works to educate about, expose and eradicate modern day slavery, because no one should be for sale.

[Ann]

Hi Beth! Well I have a very interesting organization to plug - Mixed Greens/Blandford Nature Center. Just yesterday I stumbled upon an article about an associate of mine (Maria) who is raising funds for the organization in a very innovate (and tough) way. She has challenged herself to eat on a dollar a day for 30 days. http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/04/dollaraday_dining_shows_diffic.html, she is also keeping a blog of her journey at http://ricebeansmixedgreens.wordpress.com/

She normally spends about $250 on food/dining so the remaining funds she will be donating to the organization. It is quite fitting of a challenge because Mixed Greens/Blandford Nature Center mission statement is "Mixed Greens and the Blandford Nature Center have combined and now share a common mission to invite children and the community to connect to the land, to food and to their surroundings through meaningful hands-on experiences that lead to sustainable and healthy choices."

Either way - check it out - you may be inspired!

Thanks!

[Robin Reagler]

Hi Beth, Thanks for promoting Reader Appreciation Day. We met at the NTC in New Orleans. Robin

[Lynn Fillmore]

Hi Beth, Great idea! My plug is for Angel Covers. Through our programs that help create self-sufficient programs, $20 would provide food for a child for about half the year indefinitely. You can see some of the recent successes of these programs in our blog.

[Kare]

I would love to tell you about Education And More, a Christian charitable nonprofit whose mission it is to help educate the children and reduce poverty in Guatemala. They are an all volunteer organization and making a big difference in the lives of the students and their families and the schools of the indigenous of western Guatemala.

[Bob Uva]

I would like to recommend Transitions Cambodia for their selfless approach to helping the many girls being trafficked throughout the southeast Asia area. TCI was founded by James and Athena Pond of Hillsboro, Oregon. They do more than just get the girls off of the street. They teach them life skills and educate them to be self-sufficient. They use a transitional home model, as described on their website at http://www.transitionscambodia.org. They say, for instance,

"rehabilitation is the process of providing shelter, medical care, dental care, counseling and therapy, healthy nutrition, fitness, and intellectual activities to assist our clients in recovering from the effects of sexual exploitation and abuse."

[Ashima Saigal]

I would agree with the individual who voted for Mixed Greens/Blandford Nature Center. Maria is doing an amazing thing with her $30 for 30 days. Check out her blog at http://ricebeansmixedgreens.wordpress.com/

She welcomes advice from all that visit her blog, and, of course, please consider a donation to the organization!

Ashima Saigal

[Roger Carr]

Great contest.

My desire is for the $20 to go to the Arthritis Foundation. Arthritis affects 1 in 5 people, is the #1 cause of disability in the US, and is not limited to adults.

[Maria - Rice, Beans & Mixed Greens]

Hi Beth. I'm Maria of Rice, Beans & Mixed Greens. As my *awesome* friends have said, I'm currently living on $30 of food for 30 days for Blandford Nature Center & Mixed Greens. I have a goal of raising $2500 through this effort and would LOVE it if you could help. Thanks for running this contest.

[Stacey Monk]

Epic Change. Because Mama Lucy, the local woman who founded the school we're now partnered with in Tanzania, turned income from chickens into a school that now serves 200+. With your $20, she can work magic. Like giving hope to children like Glory.

[Stacey Monk]

Epic Change. Because Mama Lucy, the local woman who founded the school we're now partnered with in Tanzania, turned income from chickens into a school that now serves 200+. With your $20, she can work magic. Like giving hope to children like Glory.

[Barry Madore]

I'd like to promote the Center for Victims of Torture (http://www.cvt.org) which works with individuals, families and communities to heal the impact of torture. They also work worldwide with human rights practitioners to develop new strategies for ending torture (http://www.newtactics.org).

[Beth Kanter]

Hey all, this is going to be so hard. Maybe I should go out get a lottery ticket or sell some stuff on ebay so I can afford to support all of you!

[Barbara Rozgonyi]

Suggested charity: www.bridgecommunities.org
Network for Good donation link: http://tinyurl.com/42t64j

88.6%* of every $1 goes directly to work on 6 levels to help transition families from homelessness to complete self-sufficiency in about two years. $25 covers 24 hours for one family, 20 year track record
* source: www.charitynavigator.org

Beth, your readers who need educational materials for children and youth may download Bridge Communities' Homelessness Curriculum at:
http://www.bridgecommunities.org/homeless/index.html

[Matt]

Wonderful post, Beth - it's the perfect way to get lurkers like me to take action. :)

I recommend SIGN, the Surgical Implant Generation Network. We go where patients with broken bones have no treatment options, other than to be confined to bed for months. We train local surgeons and equip them with surgical instruments and implants so that they can heal needy patients in a matter of days, not months. Your $20 would provide surgeons at a hospital overseas with a SIGN technique manual - a way to make sure that these surgeons use the correct methods to give their patients the best treatment. There's so much more to tell you about SIGN - learn more at our website, or email me any questions you have. Thanks again for a neat opportunity!

[Anita Berg]

Hi Beth -

I would love to see my organization win your donation! Partners for Violence Prevention (PVP) is a community organization in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. Our mission is to promote peace, reduce the incidence and impact of violence, and build capacity for violence prevention in the community. PVP has shown that it is possible to identify, prevent and break the cycle of violence. Our strategies, applied to a coordinated continuum of schools, health care and social service providers and other local networks have helped over 11,000 people. PVP works in four areas: (1) Youth Development and School Support, (2) Educational Trainings, (3) Community Education and Awareness, and (4) Facilitation/Coordination.

Thanks for all you do Beth!