Unique (odd?) charities that you donate to

[Zeus-cat]

So I donate to what I would call two fairly unique charities. The first is a bank. Yes, a real bank that makes loans. It is called the Grameen Bank and makes what they call micro loans in many countries. They loan money to poor people, usually women, so that they can start small businesses. They don't just give them money; it is a loan that has to be paid back on schedule or they lose the collateral they put up. Some people buy a cow and sell the milk and eventually the meat. Others buy simple sewing machines to make and repair clothing. Or a cell phone for a remote village so they can sell phones calls to other residents such as farmers who can check grain prices to get a good price for their crops.

The other unique charity I support is the Beauty Bus. There used to be a TV show called Secret Millionaire where wealthy people volunteered to go to whatever U.S. city the show sent them to. They spent a week pretending to be poor and during the week they usually visited three charities to volunteer their time. At the end of the week they had to tell the people they helped that they were actually wealthy and then make donations to the charities. Anyway, on one episode someone visited this charity called the Beauty Bus. The charity visits people with serious medical issues and gives them AND their primary caregiver a haircut, pedicure, manicure, apply makeup or whatever they want. To be honest when the segment started on the TV show I thought this was one of the dumbest ideas for a charity I had ever heard of. By the time the segment was over I had tears rolling down my cheeks. The people they helped were so incredibly grateful for a few short hours of pampering during the many months of dealing with serious medical issues. And the Beauty Bus people made a point that both the patient and the caregiver gets pampered as the caregivers often work grueling hours day in and day out caring for the other person.

Do you support any unique charities?

 

[Dipstick]

This is one of mine: https://www.child-soldiers.org/

Unique, because it's led by our Canadian General Romeo Dallaire who went through a horrible time in the Rwandan Genocide, and managed to turn his experience into a positive force to change. Rather than focus on helping those who have been child soldiers, CSI works to prevent it in the first place.

Cool thread, looking forward to seeing more!

 

[Tbmx3]

Always do your research on expenditures for any charity before donating. You'll find most aren't spending as advertised. Pennies on the dollar go to the actual cause. Unfortunately!!

 

[CoyoteNumber2]

A cat sanctuary.



https://www.cathouseonthekings.com/

 

[Zeus-cat]

Always do your research on expenditures for any charity before donating. You'll find most aren't spending as advertised. Pennies on the dollar go to the actual cause. Unfortunately!!

I want to be clear that I wasn't soliciting for these charities; I just thought it would be an interesting topic. For the record, the Grameen Bank spends about 77% of donations on charity. Not stellar by any means, but I think helping the poor out of poverty by means of capitalism is a good idea and for me, it is worth supporting. The Beauty Bus is too small to be evaluated by Charity Navigator.

 

[cvanc]

It's called 'Camp One Step'; it's Summer camp for kids with cancer
https://camponestep.org/

I donate to the camp via an online fundraiser telethon called 'Tip Of The Hats' which my son is a founder of and runs every year
https://tipofthehats.org/

https://twitter.com/tipofthehats?lang=en

 

[markkoelsch]

It's called 'Camp One Step'; it's Summer camp for kids with cancer
https://camponestep.org/

I donate to the camp via an online fundraiser telethon called 'Tip Of The Hats' which my son is a founder of and runs every year
https://tipofthehats.org/

https://twitter.com/tipofthehats?lang=en

That is a good one Carl. I will have to contribute to that.

I donate to two other charities.

The first is called pancan, which is aimed at helping fund research and support services for people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

https://www.pancan.org

The second is the American Bullmastiff Association rescue program. We got our first Bullmastiff Mae as a rescue through them. She is the dog I use as my avatar.

https://bullmastiff.us/rescue/

 

[djs]

Not me, but my wife supports some wombat rescue out in Australia somewhere. We live in Illinois and have never seen a wombat outside of youtube.

 

[jadebox]

We often have a portion of the proceeds from things we auction on eBay go to the Histiocytosis Association.

https://www.histio.org/page.aspx?pid=428

The charity isn't odd, but is somewhat unique because of how rare the disease is. The Histiocytosis Association provides support to patients and families and is helping to find a cure for the life-threatening disease which affects mostly children.

It is sad that I know how to spell and pronounce Hystiocytosis. It is even sadder that I know a family that has been living with the disorder and its complications. It is heart-warming, however, to see how well their son is currently doing and that his prognosis is very good.