Zeus-cat
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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?
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?