What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

Your Charity of Choice (1 Viewer)

ChiefD

ChiefD

Footballguy
As we are in the giving season, what are some charities you give to and believe in?

I know Chance For Hope is one near and dear to everyone's heart here. But are there others you all contribute to? Maybe we can raise awareness for some in our communities that others aren't aware of.

So my contribution is The December 5th Fund.

This is a friend of mine from when some of us used to frequent The Huddle. His wife battled breast cancer, and lost her battle in January of 2016. But on December 5th, 2015, the family was woken by her in the kitchen, making pancakes like any other weekend day.

They had a GREAT day that day - a day to feel normal after many brutal and tough days for her and the family.

So the mission of the foundation is to provide A DAY for families that are battling cancer. So THEY can feel normal for a day. They are treated to a day away from home, doing things in the community that are fun. And memorable. And once in a lifetime events. Meanwhile, a team of volunteers goes to their home and cleans. And fixes their home. And does those little chores that are forgotten during a tough fight with a terrible disease.

They do these throughout the year, and there are also random acts of kindness done ever so often throughout the year in her name.

They are based in St. Louis, and you can read about them in the link posted above. Anyway, this was the charity my family chose this year to help. My children have to save 10% of their allowance each year to donate to a worthy cause, so we counted up their money and donated to them.

So let us all know your favorite charity, and maybe we can all learn about something new that strikes us this holiday season to help someone who really needs it.

God bless you all - I know this community is awesome at supporting many causes - both here and in your home towns.

 
Chance for Hope

http://www.campdelcorazon.org/

This is a camp for kids 7-17 that have had open heart surgeries.  My sold had three of them when he was one. He's almost 21.  Camp is on Catalina Island. My son attended from 7-17, and has been a counselor for a cabin the past two years.  We went to the Gala last year.  The camp was featured on the second to last episode of ER.  Tom Arnold is camp spokesman and does and amazing job.  Sylvester Stallone has a kid that has atteneded and is a major contributor.

 
Getzlaf15 said:
Chance for Hope

http://www.campdelcorazon.org/

This is a camp for kids 7-17 that have had open heart surgeries.  My sold had three of them when he was one. He's almost 21.  Camp is on Catalina Island. My son attended from 7-17, and has been a counselor for a cabin the past two years.  We went to the Gala last year.  The camp was featured on the second to last episode of ER.  Tom Arnold is camp spokesman and does and amazing job.  Sylvester Stallone has a kid that has atteneded and is a major contributor.
Click to expand...
Man, that had to scare the #### out of you. Cool to see he is giving back to the camp also.

:thumbup:

 
The Ruchika platform schools in India, the Carter Center for the Lifestraw they introduced to purify water in Africa & beyond (among many great programs), Cuidando Los Ninos, which gave me many hours of pleasure working with homeless kids in Albq. I used to be a big supporter of the El Sistema music schools in SAmer, but they've come under some scrutiny, esp since they expanded internationally

 
charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. We inspire giving and empower others to fundraise for sustainable water solutions. We use local partners on the ground to build and implement the projects. Then, we prove every single project funded, using GPS coordinates, photos and stories from the field.

Categories: International Relief

Programs: Providing clean water, hygiene and sanitation

Regions Served: Internationally

 
A local Chicago charity got my attention recently with the rather unique mission

It’s called Jackson Chance Foundation

It’s basically picking up the parking tab (which can be a grade A ##### at some of the hospitals in Chicago) for families of babies that are in the NICU. 

They’ll be getting some of my disposable income

 
Also looking for any guidance when it comes to diabetes charities. My father suffered from type 2 because he didn’t take care of himself. My niece was recently diagnosed with juv / type 1 because life just sucks sometimes. The two are not genetically linked and I have much more sympathy for my niece, so would like to focus on type 1

 
St. Jude children’s hospital

Camp Boggy Creek - camp for children with all sorts of disabilities. They host children for free during the summer months, each week for kids with different illnesses, or survivors of the illness. My son has attended for the past 2 years, and he’s a changed person due to this camp.

When my son was 10 months old, he was diagnosed with a Wilm’s tumor, a form of childhood cancer. It’s a tumor that grows inside of a kidney at an amazing rate. Imagine a 10 month old with one kidney the size of a softball.  My son was extremely lucky, his pediatrician had felt something abnormal in a routine visit, and within 3 days he underwent successful surgery to remove his kidney. 10 years later and he’s still cancer free, he just has to live with one kidney for the rest of his life, and at this point in his growth, chances are that he will remain cancer free. (Knock on wood) He has limitations on what he can do in life, but he’s alive and healthy otherwise. 

 
Getzlaf15 said:
Chance for Hope

http://www.campdelcorazon.org/

This is a camp for kids 7-17 that have had open heart surgeries.  My sold had three of them when he was one. He's almost 21.  Camp is on Catalina Island. My son attended from 7-17, and has been a counselor for a cabin the past two years.  We went to the Gala last year.  The camp was featured on the second to last episode of ER.  Tom Arnold is camp spokesman and does and amazing job.  Sylvester Stallone has a kid that has atteneded and is a major contributor.
Click to expand...
My son attends a camp like this, as mentioned in my previous post. He’s now 11, but can’t wait until he can become a counselor at his camp to help other kids. Glad to see your son giving back like that.

 
ChiefD said:
Doctor Detroit said:
Animal Welfare Institute

Fisher House Foundation
Click to expand...
I have heard of Fisher House before. Your other one has one heck of a wide scope. Just by digging into their website it seems they are a boots on the ground and get #### done type of organization. 
Click to expand...
Both A+ charities with low overhead and impactful programs.  I did a lot of research on animal and environmental charities and AWI is the most robust, and their programs are both widespread and thorough in scope. 

Fisher House is one I've seen in person, they are just amazing.  In both those cases the overhead is very low, the money you give them is going to the programs you desire to fund. 

I would suggest to people to give to something that is important to you but always do some research.  Community programs are often a no brainer but check their financial to make sure the money is going to the intended participants.

If anyone wants to contribute to veterans charities feel feel to PM me, I know the very best ones that get to the troops and the vets.  I spend a lot of my time doign veteran charity events so I give more of my money to animal rights charities. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
badmojo1006 said:
I was going to say KIVA, but it is not really a charity. Still a great cause.

I guess then it would be locally "The Shalom Free Clinic". They do great work.
Click to expand...
KIVA's great.

Micro-loans were going to be my next big charitable focus before i ended up having to retire prematurely and had to cut back on even my current donation targets, and i havent seen anything in these last 7-8 years to temper my excitement about their efficacy. Even though 40,000 people around the world (1/3 children) die each day from the simple inability to sustain life, i cant help but feel that giving people a chance to thrive in areas where some dont even survive ends up doing more for humanity overall.

 
It used to be Feed the Children. But they bounced the founder and it's gone to ####. Looking for another right now.

 
Local pet charities, including beagle rescue.

Meals on Wheels (will likely donate my time to deliver 1 day a week this coming year).

Something outside the box I set up in memory of my MIL is a scholarship in her honor at the local HS.  Student must be active at her local church, decent grades, furthering education or going into law enforcement.  It's not the wealthiest area, so $1k goes far for books, etc. and keeps her name alive.

 
Chemical X said:
Something outside the box I set up in memory of my MIL is a scholarship in her honor at the local HS.  Student must be active at her local church, decent grades, furthering education or going into law enforcement.  It's not the wealthiest area, so $1k goes far for books, etc. and keeps her name alive.
Click to expand...
That's really cool. 

 
I volunteer time at a local animal shelter and also help with youth sports (my kids have outgrown youth sports but I miss it).

My money goes to the local United Way.  I also volunteer there to look at financials of agencies and help decide allocation of funds across the agencies and programs.  With all the corporate matching the local United Way gets, my money is nearly tripled.  My money is used locally and the agencies have to be good stewards of the money or they lose the United Way funding.  

 
Chemical X said:
Local pet charities, including beagle rescue.

Meals on Wheels (will likely donate my time to deliver 1 day a week this coming year).

Something outside the box I set up in memory of my MIL is a scholarship in her honor at the local HS.  Student must be active at her local church, decent grades, furthering education or going into law enforcement.  It's not the wealthiest area, so $1k goes far for books, etc. and keeps her name alive.
Click to expand...
This is a great idea Chem X.  It's such a great way to honor your mom's memory while paying it forward to future generations.  My wife and I do something similar for Chance at his school - a citizenship award for the 8th grade (Chance's last year in school).  We go back every year for the award ceremony and check presentation (we fund the award but aren't involved in the selection process).  It's a pretty meaningful event, so I can imagine how moving it is for you.

 
Another good idea for charitable giving are local organizations that provide a safety net for the homeless population (health care, meals, temporary housing, etc.).  Of course, do your research, but giving to these organizations is usually the best way to have an impact on homelessness in your community.

 
Doctor Detroit said:
If anyone wants to contribute to veterans charities feel feel to PM me, I know the very best ones that get to the troops and the vets.  I spend a lot of my time doign veteran charity events so I give more of my money to animal rights charities. 
Click to expand...
What veterans charities would you recommend?

 
Anyone familiar with Alternative Gifts International (or another service/website like it)?

I want to give my kids gift cards for charity where they get to pick out how the money is spent. I like that this place has an actual catalog and shows the tangible return on your donation. I think that helps get kids more involved. Any other sites like this?

 
and an fyi for our furry friends.....i wash and donate old dog toys to the local shelters and every so often will pay adoption fees, which are pretty low.  at this time of year, an incentive for someone to adopt always helps.  a fixed dog is only $45.

 
Back when I lived in Wisconsin I did some volunteer work and did some pledge drives at work for the Milwaukee Rescue Mission.  They are literally saving lives through charity.  Saw a lot of single parent families that had nothing at all but the clothes on their backs basically being rescued during the brutal winter months.  

 
Like @MindCrime wrote, St. Jude's is phenomenal.

We visited the one in Memphis a couple weeks ago for our daughter, who has Fanconi anemia. We were truly impressed with the entire staff and the patients and parents going through some hard times (we have it a lot better than many of these families). The work they do and the stress they help alleviate will keep St Jude's as our charity of choice.  We'll be going back every 6 months for the next decade or so for tests. every trip is going to be humbling. 

 
Found one the other day locally. My kids school's PTA sent out a deal on Facebook that they were collecting money for their charitable arm. Apparently they provide money to families at their school who are low on funds for clothing, utility bills, and also lunch fees. They needed some more funds for stuff they were doing for Christmas.

I store all my loose change in coffee cans in the garage, so I took all of it to the bank and dropped it off at the kids school. Ended up being about $100.

Anyway, I stole an idea off of Facebook that I'm presenting to the family this year. I typed up a letter to my family and let them know of the charitable stuff I have done in the name of our family this year. The plan is to put it in an unmarked envelope on the tree, and have my wife read it after everyone has opened their gifts. The goal (for me at least), is that it resonates with the kids and that they are developing ideas on how they can help.

 
ChiefD said:
Found one the other day locally. My kids school's PTA sent out a deal on Facebook that they were collecting money for their charitable arm. Apparently they provide money to families at their school who are low on funds for clothing, utility bills, and also lunch fees. They needed some more funds for stuff they were doing for Christmas.

I store all my loose change in coffee cans in the garage, so I took all of it to the bank and dropped it off at the kids school. Ended up being about $100.

Anyway, I stole an idea off of Facebook that I'm presenting to the family this year. I typed up a letter to my family and let them know of the charitable stuff I have done in the name of our family this year. The plan is to put it in an unmarked envelope on the tree, and have my wife read it after everyone has opened their gifts. The goal (for me at least), is that it resonates with the kids and that they are developing ideas on how they can help.
Click to expand...
:thumbup:

We've started "forcing" our kids to give some (they choose the amount, it's been 10-20%) of their income/allowance to the charity of their choice. Once a month they take it and give to whatever they want after doing the research.  This month was St. Jude's, last month they gave money towards gift boxes for underprivileged, through church. It's not much but the research is part of the intent, makes them look at a wider perspective than they'd have if we just told them where to give or didn't encourage them to do so. 

 
Friends of Karen in the NY area.

They principally provide financial support to families of children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. But they also provide sibling support (enormously overlooked component), coordinate "adopt a family" stuff around the holidays, back-to-school support, etc. 

My wife worked for them for a few years and it's a really great organization that actually spends it's money wisely. That's why we donate there. She's worked for other orgs and seen how they spend their money, and we don't donate to those places.

My daughter's first birthday is coming up and we asked people to consider making a donation to FOK instead of bringing gifts. She has everything she needs and more importantly we can provide for her (and selfishly, we just don't have the space for all those gifts, so this is an awesome best-of-both-worlds). 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
one of our agents every organizes an event where we take under privileged kids to Wal-Mart and spend $100 on each kid for much needed clothes.  Started four years ago with 23 agents.  Had 160 agents last week.  One of my favorite days of the year.  

 
Getzlaf15 said:
one of our agents every organizes an event where we take under privileged kids to Wal-Mart and spend $100 on each kid for much needed clothes.  Started four years ago with 23 agents.  Had 160 agents last week.  One of my favorite days of the year.  
Click to expand...
Wow, that's cool.

 
Outside of Chance for Hope I donate regularly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society - Light the Night campaign.  I used to work for a company that made blood collection and blood transfusion equipment and every quarter they would have someone come in and give a speech.  The majority of the time it was a parent of a kid whose life was saved by our equipment.  There was no better sense of purpose or feeling of accomplishment than when the parent of an 2 year old boy comes in and thanks you for saving their child's life.  Not a dry eye in the house.

 
Getzlaf15 said:
one of our agents every organizes an event where we take under privileged kids to Wal-Mart and spend $100 on each kid for much needed clothes.  Started four years ago with 23 agents.  Had 160 agents last week.  One of my favorite days of the year.  
Click to expand...
Still nothing like bringing a smile to a kid's face @ Christmas. When i first moved to Albq in the 70s, i worked with a genuine olskool jefe named Rey Quintana - could hug as ez as kill you as he ran the tiniest details (right down to squads of schoolkids picking white asparagus that grew wild in the Rio Grande bosque to give to poor families) of his SValley turf. Since the 50s or 60s, El Jefe's mission was that every kid in NM got a new pair of kicks for Christmas. For months before the holidays, we'd browbeat local merchants for donations and the whole of December was like riding shotgun elf w Tequila Santa as we'd drive to the most God-forsaken places in the stinking desert - some places hueras like me werent even allowed to go because La Raza Unida was so fierce back then - to re-supply kids whose last-yr sneaks were falling off by the time we reached em. Never seen broader smiles (nor ate better posole from las abuelitas) than on those sojourns. I've heard many times that the gang symbol of shoes-on-a-wire came from a misinterpretation of what the shoe kids would do with their ol' Chucks after Rey came to town.

 
I do something different.

I've been pretty lucky in my life and career financially, but my wife and I have never really donated much to charity. The two primary reasons are skepticism about where the money goes, and the fact that I like to actually see and participate a bit in outcome. So we went for a while not really doing much charity-wise.

About five years ago I hired an older African American fellow who was mentally slow - Brian. We are not sure exaclty what Brian's mental issues are, but they are there. He worked in our lab for a couple years, and honestly, that was pretty much all about charity. He didn't do much, but I just couldn't let him go. Finally, we hit a slow time, and I had to pull the trigger and fire him. It was very very difficult to do.

About a year and a half ago, a guy at work said he saw Brian panhandling for money down by the freeway. A couple days later, a lady I work with said the same thing, and she said she talked to him and he said he had been homeless for three years, ever since I had to lay him off.

I went home that night and cried. It was just so hard to hear what had happened to him. He is such a good guy, and just always wanted to work, but he's got issues that prevent him from holding a "real" job. I talked to my wife and we decided we needed to help him and get him off the streets. Now the thing about Brian is that he doesn't think he has a problem. He thinks he's totaly "normal" but has just had some bad luck. So it's a bit tough to get him the help he really needs.

I drove down to where I heard Brian was and after a couple days of asking around, I finally found him. It was the middle of summer in Phoenix, and I saw him walking the streets with a few bags. When I approached him, he instantly remembered me and starting asking about how everyone at work was doing. He was very weathered and looked terrible. All of his top teeth were broken from what looked like some kind of fight. He said he had been sleeping in the park for three years. He showed me where and showed me how he cleaned himself (with a bucket of water filled from the hose at the park). It was one of the sadder days of my life.

I took Brian to an Extended Stay hotel and got him a room. I got him settled, and I made a promise to him that he would never have to sleep on the streets again. I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to make that happen, but there was no way I could live with myself if he had to go back to the streets.

I started up a collection at work to help get his teeth fixed. We raised some money and a guy at work is friends with a dentist, and we got a discounted price on a full set of top dentures for Brian. It was a few month process, but we got his smile back to where it used to be - the teeth look great! 

That was about 2 years ago, and since then, my wife and I pay for Brian to have an apartment and I stop by at least once a month and give him grocery and food gift cards. He keeps applying for and getting and losing jobs, but at least he's out there trying. He can get Social Security in about five years, and at that point he wants to move back to Pittsburgh. So I figure I have about five more years of supporting him, and that will be my charity donations. I'm lucky to have a wife who is just as supportive of him, and actually, we feel better about helping Brian than we do about helping our own kids sometimes! 

Anyway, sorry for the long rant. I just thought I would share what we do because it's pretty non-traditional, but it's a really good feeling to know that we are really making a difference, even if it's just in one person's life.

 
Well, I agree that you have more than provided your fair share of charitable work with that story. And you don't even get a tax break for it! 

Seriously, that's great and hope things work out for him when he moves way. 

 
kutta said:
I do something different.

I've been pretty lucky in my life and career financially, but my wife and I have never really donated much to charity. The two primary reasons are skepticism about where the money goes, and the fact that I like to actually see and participate a bit in outcome. So we went for a while not really doing much charity-wise.

About five years ago I hired an older African American fellow who was mentally slow - Brian. We are not sure exaclty what Brian's mental issues are, but they are there. He worked in our lab for a couple years, and honestly, that was pretty much all about charity. He didn't do much, but I just couldn't let him go. Finally, we hit a slow time, and I had to pull the trigger and fire him. It was very very difficult to do.

About a year and a half ago, a guy at work said he saw Brian panhandling for money down by the freeway. A couple days later, a lady I work with said the same thing, and she said she talked to him and he said he had been homeless for three years, ever since I had to lay him off.

I went home that night and cried. It was just so hard to hear what had happened to him. He is such a good guy, and just always wanted to work, but he's got issues that prevent him from holding a "real" job. I talked to my wife and we decided we needed to help him and get him off the streets. Now the thing about Brian is that he doesn't think he has a problem. He thinks he's totaly "normal" but has just had some bad luck. So it's a bit tough to get him the help he really needs.

I drove down to where I heard Brian was and after a couple days of asking around, I finally found him. It was the middle of summer in Phoenix, and I saw him walking the streets with a few bags. When I approached him, he instantly remembered me and starting asking about how everyone at work was doing. He was very weathered and looked terrible. All of his top teeth were broken from what looked like some kind of fight. He said he had been sleeping in the park for three years. He showed me where and showed me how he cleaned himself (with a bucket of water filled from the hose at the park). It was one of the sadder days of my life.

I took Brian to an Extended Stay hotel and got him a room. I got him settled, and I made a promise to him that he would never have to sleep on the streets again. I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to make that happen, but there was no way I could live with myself if he had to go back to the streets.

I started up a collection at work to help get his teeth fixed. We raised some money and a guy at work is friends with a dentist, and we got a discounted price on a full set of top dentures for Brian. It was a few month process, but we got his smile back to where it used to be - the teeth look great! 

That was about 2 years ago, and since then, my wife and I pay for Brian to have an apartment and I stop by at least once a month and give him grocery and food gift cards. He keeps applying for and getting and losing jobs, but at least he's out there trying. He can get Social Security in about five years, and at that point he wants to move back to Pittsburgh. So I figure I have about five more years of supporting him, and that will be my charity donations. I'm lucky to have a wife who is just as supportive of him, and actually, we feel better about helping Brian than we do about helping our own kids sometimes! 

Anyway, sorry for the long rant. I just thought I would share what we do because it's pretty non-traditional, but it's a really good feeling to know that we are really making a difference, even if it's just in one person's life.
Click to expand...
That is really great of you.  :thumbup:

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

NutterButter
Oregon road trip
2
Replies
86
Views
2K
Manster
Manster
hagmania
Extra Life Game Day 2023
Replies
0
Views
277
hagmania
hagmania
STEADYMOBBIN 22
Nothing seems to get done any more - Society is or isn’t crumbling- screen time and other lawn related gripes
4 5 6
Replies
262
Views
6K
Joe Bryant
Joe Bryant

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Top