Spread the Word
If you have a corporate website you can empower another nonprofit by adding their link to your website, for example this code will produce a nice button for the Second Harvest Food Bank ‘shareyourlunch’ campaign:
WILLING TO CLEAN OUT THE CLOSET?
Got anything extra? Think of the
use it could get in a homeless
shelter? What about used toys?
Used clothes? A used instrument
for a school or community music
program (e.g., Guitars Not Guns,
see our Useful Links)?
cost = $0
time = 5 hours: 4 hours to go
through belongings; 1 hour to
drop off at local donation site
IF YOU HAVE TIME FOR A ONE-TIME EVENT.
You could have a food, clothing,
book, or other needed-goods drive
(check with your local charity to
see what's needed). Check it out:
it isn't hard to organize a book
drive, see heartofamerica.org for hints.
cost = $0
time = 1 month (irregular) to
collect items; 1 trip to drop
them off
STAND UP FOR SAFETY.
Help end violence in your
neighborhood with a
neighborhood watch program.
cost = $0
time = continuous but minimal
IF YOU WISH TO WORK AT HOME.
Do you knit or crochet, for
example? Can you think of a use?
cost = $20 - $40
time = 2 weeks, inside in spare
time (depending on proficiency)
IF THE TIME YOU HAVE AVAILABLE VARIES.
You could...become a more-or-less
regular drop-in volunteer at your
favorite aid organization.
cost = $0
time = whatever you can spare
IF YOU HAVE A SET NUMBER OF HOURS PER WEEK.
You could...
Doctors: consider volunteering
at a free clinic or tattoo removal
service,
Professionals: teach a youth
your skill,
Become a mentor: help "agedout"
foster care teens to become
productive adults,
Volunteer to work at a soup
kitchen, job bank or shelter,
Become a big brother or big sister,
or guide a youth group,
Teach someone to read, opening
up a world of possibilities for
them, forever, see our links page to get started today.
cost = $0
time = 1 - 4 hours per week
IF YOU HAVE ONE WEEK OR MORE FOR A PROJECT.
Your helping hands would be
welcomed at Habitat for Humanity.
One example: they could still use
as many as 1,000 volunteers
a day for Hurricane Katrina
rebuilding, and volunteers have
fallen to half that number.
cost = $0
time = 1 week (or longer)
IF YOU ARE WILLING TO MAKE A LONG-TERM COMMITMENT.
Join a volunteer corps and
change the country while you
gain experience and more...
The many examples
range from teaching
opportunities to building
homes or meeting other community
needs in Americorps, where you
also receive a per diem, lodging,
meals, health benefits, student
loan deferment, and nearly
$5,000 to pay for school. We've listed some of these
options for you on our links page!
cost = $0 to POSITIVE INCOME
time = 1 - 2 years depending
on organization
Raise Awareness
PUT ON EVENTS.
Get your school or church
or student group to put on
a poverty-awareness event.
Our website shows you how!
cost = from $0 (keep it low!)
prep time = 1 week to 1 month
event time = 1 - 3 hours
WRITE.
Create an online blog. Join
our poverty fiction forum...visit ficlets.com, search for the tag
"poverty" and let your imagination
run free.
cost = $0
time = 15 min - 1 hr (depending on length,
stream of consciousness)
MAKE MOVIES.
Create a video on domestic
poverty and upload it to a video
host.
cost = minimal (borrow equipment) to +$10,000
CMF Elfenworks Prize
time = 1 day, 1 week, it's up to
you!
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD.
Bring up domestic poverty
or mental health issues in
conversation at social occasions.
cost = $0
time = 20 minutes - ?
STAND UP FOR EDUCATION
Encourage your children and the
children around you on whom
you have an influence to stay
in school. Encourage parents to
give kids the message "it's ok to
achieve beyond me." Visit the
National Dropout Prevention
Center's website
(www.dropoutprevention.org)
for more tips.
cost = $0
time = daily
STAND UP FOR VOLUNTEERING.
Educate your friends through
generosity. Lend or give them a book or film on poverty (may we suggest our book,
Tracks of Hope or our
more sombre film The Faces of Poverty)
cost = $0
time = 5 minutes
SPEAK OUT.
Write a letter to your
representative to help change
the policies that allow the U.S.
to have an indecently high child
poverty rate. At a time when more
Americans need a college degree,
it's becoming harder to get a
good education. Support K-12
education and college access bills
such as Pell Grants. Support the
One Laptop Per Child initiative to
get powerful learning tools into
children's hands. Do not vote for
candidates who fail to discuss
poverty policy plans. Be an informed voter; make use of the
resources at Project Vote Smart
cost = $0
time = 30 minutes to write a
letter
LOOK, REALLY LOOK.
Take the time to really see what's
going on: domestic poverty isn't
very far away from where you
live. What would happen if you
lent an ear to someone who is
going through hard times, and
saw what you could do to help?
cost = $0 - ?
time = as much as you can
spare
SPEAK UP.
Don't be shy about talking about
what you are doing. Many people
would like to be involved and
don't have the time to choose
which cause is best. Tell them why
you care about the causes you do.
And create opportunities for their
involvement with you.
cost = $0
time = 15 minutes - 1 hour
VOTE.
Stand up for what you believe
in by voting. It's our inalienable
right. Encourage your friends to
vote. Support verified voting (a
paper trail) and voter access.
cost = $0
time = 15 minutes - 1 hour
Shop and Invest. (You Do It Anyway.)
INVEST SOME OF YOUR PORTFOLIO.
Look for organizations supplying
microfinance loans that empower
the poor.
cost = $+++profit (not cost)
time = n/a
USE A SHOPPING PORTAL.
Find one that donates a portion of
purchases to homeless causes.
cost = $0
time = an additional 5 - 30
minutes one-time setup; and you
must remember to use the portal (see our links page).
BUY THEN DONATE TOYS THAT INSPIRE CHILDREN
This one really needs no explanation, and the ripples it creates travel inward too, trust us.
cost = $25 - $35 (varies)
time = 2 hours to purchase
and drop off toys (including
driving time)
Contribute Money.
(You Didn't Think We'd Forget This, Did You?)
SUPPORT YOUR FAVORITE CHARITY WITH A CREDIT CARD GIFT.
Giving regularly is "green;" it
reduces the number of paper
reminders to renew your giving.
cost = $0
time = an additional 5 - 10
minutes one-time setup
GIVE MONEY TO SCHOOLS YOU DON'T KNOW.
Log on at donorschoose.com and peruse all the teacher requests across the country. When you find one that moves you, fund all or part of it. If you want the personal touch, buy school supplies for an impoverished school and deliver them yourself.
GIVE MONEY TO SCHOOLS YOU KNOW.
Support your local school. Support a poverty-stricken school in your community
or in a community that you know is in trouble. Endow a scholarship or give a little
money towards a scholarship fund. Education is the answer, it's the
best way up and out of poverty. Help break the cycle for a child or youth or adult learner,
today.
YOUR IDEA HERE!1
Summing it Up
So What Are We Saying Here? You Got It: Choose one area that speaks to you and support it to whatever extent you feel good about. Stick with this issue and that organization over time. Raise this issue. Break through the silence. Helping one person starts a ripple effect which in turn helps many. So... Start a ripple of change. Check our resources page and our links page for more ideas and directions.
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1If you have an idea for a useful resource that should be included here,
why not share it with us through our contact page?
