This isn't intended to be a political thread and if it leans that way, mods please delete it if I don't get to it first. The question, how many of you: 1. Have made a charitable donation to the Red Cross? 2. Have donated a unit of blood? 3. Have given in support of our Veterans? 4. Have volunteered at a food pantry, or homeless shelter? 5. Have helped a stranger in the past 7 days? 6. Given food instead of money to a person holding a sign asking for money, just to make sure they eat something?money 7. Have helped fund, or participated in an Adopt-a-Child, Shop with a Cop, or some other way of ensuring kids get a Christmas? 8 Have bought food for a can drive, or donated good food that you yourself would eat? 9. Have volunteered with a humanitarian effort, ie: missions, relief, etc... 10. Volunteer in your community, ie: Fire/EMS, Scouting, Habitat for Humanity etc.? These are things that take mostly our time, be it in person, or earning money to give or purchase donation items. We've all been blessed with the good fortune to have the things we show here. Take some time to give back to your area, region, state or the world. This forum has been a blessing to many of us; think how much we could do for others with the giving spirit of this place. It really is a good place and thanks to the ESEE folk for providing us a really nice puddle to splash in!
1. Yes 2. Yes 3. Yes 4. Yes 5. Maybe. If I did it wasn't something big enough to remember doing. 6. No, unfortunately I can't know for certain what that money would be used for. I do however, regularly give any food that I didn't eat from my lunch at work. Sandwiches, chips, etc. 7. Yes 8. Yes 9. No 10. Not since I was a kid
Yes to everything except give money to people holding signs. Now before I get lambasted for that, let me give you the backstory. My area (metro Vancouver BC) , has a very mild climate. This attracts people from ALL over Canada , who set up home here and leach off the taxpayers teat , as well as collect money on street corners and traffic islands by holding out signs. Metro Vancouver it is IMPOSSIBLE to go hungry. There are THOUSANDS of soup kitchens, missions, churches, food banks, shelters and mobile food places that cater to the disabled, elderly, homeless , people that choose not to work, mentally ill, shut ins, low income etc. You can get up to SIX hot meals a days, 3 major meals, and 3 snacks /drinks etc. In the DTES , the worst place in NA for drugs and homeless count , over $1.9 million dollars is spent DAILY to subsidize the poverty pimps, er , social organizations who pay their workers union wages, to feed , treat addictions, provide medical care etc. Then there is the rest of the Metro Vancouver area. Millions and Millions spent DAILY all over the region. You can literally go to EACH AND EVERY FOOD PLACE, get your free meal and free clothes and free showers, then move on to the next one. Repeat three to six times daily. So when I see buddy making upwards of $300 tax free a day (I sure as hell work harder and longer and dont make that, and I pay taxes on my income) standing on the street with his sign "hungry" , it makes my blood ******** boil. Esp when all the above services are available on my ****** tax dollars, and you see the same people day after day begging for money then you see them at the liquor store and bars spending that "I'm hungry" money on booze. **** em. To those who think differently, come spend a month here .
Same as @Frankenstein. Except the F the red cross part, I hold no ill will to the red cross, but after seeing how much equipment they wasted during and after Katrina it's hard to put my money in their hands. I never really talked about it with anyone, but my wife and I used to carry bags with food in our cars when we lived in Baton Rouge to give to homeless folks holding signs. We were broke with her in law school, but knew we had it better than them so scrimped what we could. I won't give cash because I've met a lot of addicts in my life and don't want to contribute to their problem/situation. Now that I'm older I'll go pickup food from a place and bring it to them. Hadn't seen many holding signs in the town I live in now until the last 3-6 months with the down turn in the oil field.
I gave a guy a $10 bill the other day. He was sitting outside Walmart with his wife and two toddlers. The sign said he lost his job. Seemed legit. I'm happy I did that for him. I always get weirdly embarrassed when I do things like that. Not sure why.
Yes to most and I started a school supplies charity for our ridiculously poor county. I'm a firm believer in the golden rule and that if my good outweighs my bad at the end of my days, I'll go on to something better. If not, at least I taught my children to be kind.
Yes to all but #2, I cant give blood I am a direct descendant of someone who died from a rare genitive disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. I am a carrier for it. It may or may not ever come active but enough about me back to the regularly schedule humanitarian thread.
The good will here is awesome, Justin's not the dick he pretends to be. My favor for the Red Cross comes from my Fire Service background. When your house and belongings are damaged, the volunteers of the local Red Cross show up with food, clothing of all sizes, money for short hotel stays, food and drink for the fire crews... They are good people. Every organization has opportunities for improvement and that's apparent at the National level sometimes, but don't forget this tidbit: the Salvation Army, for the good it does, charges for its services, the Red Cross does not. That heavily influenced my decision when it came time to get rid of some furniture and clothes I no longer had room for.
I too have seen the Red Cross do the things Joelski has seen. Last winter was the last time I seen them be needed and the family was really grateful. As for me I have done 3, 5, 6, 7, 8.
I volunteered with the Red Cross back in 2011 when a tornado touched down and stayed on the ground for like over 150 miles. It hit places locally here, Ragland, Shoal Creek, Piedmont, and all towns south down to Tuscaloosa. The day after, I had a truckbed full of bottled water and snacks to deliver to different first responders in the area. I'll never forget my Willow Point stop, they were dredging the water for bodies.... Well, the Red Cross came and provided all kinds of support all over the place here. I donate blood when I can. I'm about halfway to the 10 gallon club!
Gave 5 years to the red cross as a benevol and an instructor back in the 80's......give what i can to who i can when time present itself.
I tend to feel the same way after. My granny always told me it feels like that when you do the right thing, while society has shaped us to think its the wrong thing. I've always wanted it to go unnoticed by others because of the scripture" when giving alms don't let you lefthand know what the righthand is doing" pretty sure that's not the exact way it's written my the message was embedded.
