charity begins at home

History...there are a bunch of random events and moments and thoughts that have worked together to get me to the charity-giving I am at today...
A couple of years ago (or maybe last year, I can't remember), I wanted to do something big and charitable at Christmas. Since I am not good with time management (gosh, that's an understatement!) and didn't think a volunteer commitment was feasible, I figured I would give $$, because everybody needs money. I also wanted to give this charity as a gift to others who have given me so much. So I bought some goats from World Vision, and wrote nice notes to my parents and grandparents and it was very mushy and wonderful.

Everyone is asked randomly throughout the year from coworkers or family to donate to this or that cause - a marathon, a run or walk, a sick friend or parent - and one year when I got all my tax receipts, I realized I had donated to MS Society twice through different people and different events. And I thought, what about all those charities that don't have runs and marathons and silent auctions? Why can't I choose what charities I want to donate to, and not have friends and family decide for me.

So last year I started donating monthly to various organizations. I set myself a budget, a maximum that I would stick to. If a friend or family member asked for money, I would have to work it into my budget. I did pretty well, and donated to a lot of causes last year (that was the double MS year!).

While going through my receipts last year, I noticed that a lot of the charities that had received money from me were cancer-related. That's fine and all, but I bet most of the charity dollars spent in Canada in a year go toward cancer-related organizations. So this year I decided to change things up a bit.

I picked Edmonton-based charities that do work directly with people. Edmonton's Food Bank, Donate-A-Ride and Inner City Housing Society are just some that I picked this year. My last big cheque of the year is going to the Wings of Providence. They help women and children who have experience family violence.

The Internet makes it easy to donate. A lot of charities are set up with Canada Helps or United Way, and you can donate online with both of these to specific charities, or to their general fund.

Christmas isn't (just) about getting presents. It's about helping those around you that can't help themselves, whether that be a family member, friend or stranger. Christmas can be a lonely and difficult time if you don't have the proper support network. I can only imagine that while the amounts I donate don't add up to much, they still matter in the long run.

So consider others this season. If you can't donate money, donate a toy to Santa's Anonymous, donate your muscles to shovel your neighbour's sidewalk, or donate your time to the local Food Bank or shelter society.

Here are some sites that might interest you:
Canada Helps
United Way
Edmonton Food Bank
Donate-A-Ride
Wings of Providence
Little Warriors
Youth Emergency Shelter Society
Alisa's post on ways to give back

thanks...
later skater alligator