Help Me Make The World Better
Jul. 31st, 2013 08:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyspriteOkay. First things first - this is going to get a little long; please bear with me and read all the way through. It's important to me, and it would mean a lot.
I've been kind of upset about the state of the world and my country lately. I love it here, I can't imagine living my life anywhere else, and I know there have always been problems and always will be, but right now it seems like there's a lot of rough stuff going on. And the hardest part for me is that there's not a lot I can do to actually fix those problems myself. I'm not good at being passive, and I hate being helpless, but I'm just one person.
I can vote - but I'm already in a blue state. I still do vote, and I help keep things here moving in the right direction, but that doesn't change things. And moving won't fix problems. And, as I told![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
umbran last night, just throwing money at a charity doesn't FEEL like doing enough. It feels dismissive, and passive, and what I really want is to be doing and acting and actually making things happen.
Andumbran pointed out that my time *IS* worth money, and suggested that I think about money donated in terms of hours worked. I make $X per hour; I can think of a donation I make as dedicating that much work-time to a charity.
So we came up with the idea of spending a day working for charity. Pick a day, and dedicate that day to charity, and donate my income for that day. And I love it - because it gives meaning and intent to my work that day, it lets me feel like I'm putting in effort and thought along with my money, and it's a reminder at the same time that my work has value.
And then I realized that I am one person - but I have good friends, and they have friends, and there are a whole lot more people out there. And if I think this is a good idea, maybe some of them will, too. And maybe, instead of just my day's-work, we could get a whole bunch of people to make a pledge to do the same thing.
So, bottom line:
I am declaring Monday, November 4th to be Work For Charity Day. I am going to donate my entire income earned that day to a charity of my choice. I think it would be amazing and wonderful and kinda world-changing if y'all would join me, and do the same.
It's one day's wages. I did the math; it's 0.4% of your income. It's tax-deductible, too, and making it one day's pay helps even it out across income levels - everyone's donation is equal, in the percentage of their income that it takes. If you're unemployed and still want to participate, donate a day's work to charity - volunteer for 8 hours.
What charity? That's up to you - pick something that you find meaningful and significant and in need of your help and support. That's the beauty of this - everyone participating is part of something bigger, but you still get to choose where your money goes. I've been exploring ideas; it looks like I'm most likely going to be donating to Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas - goodness knows they need the help right now. But it's your money; send it where you think it'll do the most good. And at the same time, one donation to one charity at a time, I think this idea can ultimately make a difference - and bring my friends together in accomplishing something.
So, what do I want from you?
-Pledge to Work For Charity on Monday, November 4th. Promise that, on that one day, you will donate your income for that day to the charity of your choice.
-Spread the word. Please share this post, or point other people towards it. I really do believe that the more people who participate in it, the more awesome it will be.
-If you have a charity of your choice, comment here. People may choose to participate but not have a good idea of what charities are available.
If you do choose to participate, please comment and let me know. You don't have to tell me what charity you're pledging to support, but if you want to, it'd be really cool. Likewise, once this is done, you don't need to tell me how much money you donated, but if you choose to, it'd be great - I'd love to be able to say, at the end of this, 'Work For Charity Day raised $X,000 for these charities! See how mighty we all are!'
Please do this with me. Things are rough right now, here and in the rest of the world. It feels good to think that we could make a difference, even if it's a small one....
I've been kind of upset about the state of the world and my country lately. I love it here, I can't imagine living my life anywhere else, and I know there have always been problems and always will be, but right now it seems like there's a lot of rough stuff going on. And the hardest part for me is that there's not a lot I can do to actually fix those problems myself. I'm not good at being passive, and I hate being helpless, but I'm just one person.
I can vote - but I'm already in a blue state. I still do vote, and I help keep things here moving in the right direction, but that doesn't change things. And moving won't fix problems. And, as I told
umbran last night, just throwing money at a charity doesn't FEEL like doing enough. It feels dismissive, and passive, and what I really want is to be doing and acting and actually making things happen.And
umbran pointed out that my time *IS* worth money, and suggested that I think about money donated in terms of hours worked. I make $X per hour; I can think of a donation I make as dedicating that much work-time to a charity.So we came up with the idea of spending a day working for charity. Pick a day, and dedicate that day to charity, and donate my income for that day. And I love it - because it gives meaning and intent to my work that day, it lets me feel like I'm putting in effort and thought along with my money, and it's a reminder at the same time that my work has value.
And then I realized that I am one person - but I have good friends, and they have friends, and there are a whole lot more people out there. And if I think this is a good idea, maybe some of them will, too. And maybe, instead of just my day's-work, we could get a whole bunch of people to make a pledge to do the same thing.
So, bottom line:
I am declaring Monday, November 4th to be Work For Charity Day. I am going to donate my entire income earned that day to a charity of my choice. I think it would be amazing and wonderful and kinda world-changing if y'all would join me, and do the same.
It's one day's wages. I did the math; it's 0.4% of your income. It's tax-deductible, too, and making it one day's pay helps even it out across income levels - everyone's donation is equal, in the percentage of their income that it takes. If you're unemployed and still want to participate, donate a day's work to charity - volunteer for 8 hours.
What charity? That's up to you - pick something that you find meaningful and significant and in need of your help and support. That's the beauty of this - everyone participating is part of something bigger, but you still get to choose where your money goes. I've been exploring ideas; it looks like I'm most likely going to be donating to Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas - goodness knows they need the help right now. But it's your money; send it where you think it'll do the most good. And at the same time, one donation to one charity at a time, I think this idea can ultimately make a difference - and bring my friends together in accomplishing something.
So, what do I want from you?
-Pledge to Work For Charity on Monday, November 4th. Promise that, on that one day, you will donate your income for that day to the charity of your choice.
-Spread the word. Please share this post, or point other people towards it. I really do believe that the more people who participate in it, the more awesome it will be.
-If you have a charity of your choice, comment here. People may choose to participate but not have a good idea of what charities are available.
If you do choose to participate, please comment and let me know. You don't have to tell me what charity you're pledging to support, but if you want to, it'd be really cool. Likewise, once this is done, you don't need to tell me how much money you donated, but if you choose to, it'd be great - I'd love to be able to say, at the end of this, 'Work For Charity Day raised $X,000 for these charities! See how mighty we all are!'
Please do this with me. Things are rough right now, here and in the rest of the world. It feels good to think that we could make a difference, even if it's a small one....
