Do you donate for disaster relief?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Do you donate for disaster relief?
7
Wed, 12-29-2004 - 8:28am
With the tragedy in Asia is making headlines and pleas for assistance, I was just wondering where eneryone stood on donating for disaster relief. Our money is budgeted pretty tight, and at this time of year (when I am setting up the budget for next year) I am more protective and aware of what we have and where it is going. We donate to charity, but should we do extra in extreme circumstances?
I think disasters are most frightening because are so unexpected and leave people so helpless. I can remember when I was a teenager (80's), my hometown (shore town in NJ) "adopted" a town in NC that had been hit hard by a hurricane. Donations of clothes, non-perishable goods, blankets, toys, etc were collected and driven down by a local trucking company. You could even donate used things, if they were in good condition. I remember feeling better after the truck drove away. The anxiety and the "oh my God that could have been us" feeling went away.
Also, I have been considering donating blood for quite some time (like a year). Ihaven't done it because of a fear of needles - ever since a sewing machine needle broke off and went through my hand. I *know* that donating blood isn't that bad, but I can't overcome the panic, sweaty, I'm going to passout feeling that comes over me when its time to actually go. I should add that I have type O- blood, which is always in demand.
So as I argue with myself, I was wondering where everyone else stood? Can't really ask people I know, because they already think I am cheap. (The amount of times I hear "don't worry just charge it" is ridiculous.)
Thanks!
Sandra
Avatar for mahopac
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
Wed, 12-29-2004 - 9:23am

That's a very good question. I was contemplating just that thing this morning.

I think that if you have something you can give up in order to give to someone else in such a disaster, you should. I am not going to say that I am any great example of this, but I would like to do more. I had an unexpected, very generous cash bonus at work and planned to take the kids out to lunch this week during their vacation, but I am going to suggest to them that we send the money instead to a disaster relief fund.

Don't worry about not being psychologically able to donate blood. Everyone has their fears, and if you can't do that thing, you can certainly do another. Donate your time to a food pantry once a month instead, or participate in a march for a social cause you believe needs attention - those are important ways to make a difference, in which the cost is your time.

Kelly

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 12-29-2004 - 9:43am

Yes, we do, but even that is budgeted. We keep a small "contingency" charity fund from which we donate to things that come along, like kids at dh's work raising money for good causes, and so forth. When there is a disaster, we will sometimes empty that fund and also send some or all of our monthly budgeted charity fund. We then replenish the "contingency" charity fund with the next month's budgeted charity money.

I love the idea of giving something up to help. That seems to me the true spirit of charity. I'm trying to think now of what "extras" we may have planned this month that we could give up so we can send a little more for the Asian disaster.

My only reservation about giving during disaster times, is that I know the money doesn't always go to help. So many organizations get set up so quickly, and the complications of international boundaries cause so many problems, that a lot of the money either goes to the wrong people (lining the pockets of corruption), or it gets wasted altogether. So I am a little leary, and tend to wait a bit and do research to figure out which relief causes I want to send the money to.

Still, I agree with the previous poster that helping out in whatever way we can will help to clear our own psyches in addition to the help it provides for the victims of the disaster.

Thanks for the thoughtful question.

Avatar for mahopac
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
Wed, 12-29-2004 - 10:40am

One way to be sure your money goes to the right places is to have on hand a list of charities that do international relief work that you already know spend 85% or more of their donations to delivery of program services, rather than administration and fundraising. Doctors Without Borders (Medicin Sans Frontiers) is one that comes to mind immediately - another is OXFAM - and Catholic Relief Services has a special Tsunamai Emergency address.

Kelly

Avatar for gidgetgirl
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 12-29-2004 - 11:18am

We have a "charity" line in our budget- actually two. One is our normal planned giving to our church and one is the "extra". The "extra" usually goes to a building fund for our church, but can be moved as we see fit. We've already moved this payperiod's donation to a world relief fund that will be directly benefitting the tsunami victims.

When I was a single parent, I would still donate $1-$5 as I could to disaster relief. It's times like that where I feel like I am so blessed and while my $% may not go very far itself, I know that my $5 will snowflake into something big and it WILL help.

Locally, I like to donate my time and goods, but for overseas projects and efforts, money is what they need.

Encourage others to snowflake to disaster relief with you!

Avatar for akirez
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 12-29-2004 - 2:18pm

I plan to give on Friday, when I get paid. I heard on the news last night a review of some of the better charities to give to. The International Red Cross was ranked highest because the greatest amount of funds actually go to the people who need it, not administrative costs, etc. Doctors Without Borders was also ranked very high. Amazon has a great deal going, where you can donate on their website and they only send your contact information if you give $250 or over. This makes me happy because I hate to get continued solicitations, especially when I donate for emergency situations. I hate that they usually waste my donation with all the mailings they send me. I'm going to try this through Amazon on Friday. Even a little bit helps!

Akirez

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-22-2003
Wed, 12-29-2004 - 4:28pm
I'm abit leary of donating money, and tend to donate my time instead to charity. When I lived in Mexico there was a scandle involving the Red Cross and the corruption within the organization there. I gave to the 9/11 Tragedy, and I don't know if any of those families have received any of that money yet. I wish I wasn't such a cynic, but I have seen how corrpution works in other parts of the world, and I just wonder how much gets to the people who need it. Sorry to sound cold hearted.
Avatar for gidgetgirl
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 12-30-2004 - 12:39pm

check out www.charitywatch.org- they are a watchdog group for charities. If you go to http://www.charitywatch.org/toprated.html#intrelief it gives the top rated agencies for international relief and I donated to an A+ group that has a 60+ year solid history of international relief.

Be wary of any groups that don't have an established history