Welcome to your daily recommended intake of infotainment with a twist. Today is all about Vitamin D, y'know, D for Donations. It's November 30, 2021, Giving Tuesday, so I'd like to shout out charities I recommend for their transparency, accountability, and the work they perform. If you're lucky enough to have the money to spare, I would recommend donating (no donation is too small) to a local, well-managed charity that supports your neighborhood/city, or if you prefer far-reaching charities, here's a few I love, in no particular order.
I'm not sponsored by any of these links and don't make any money off them, I just think they're neat (and deserving of your donation!).
charity:water uses 100% of public donations to fund their cause, even so far as covering credit card fees. Their overhead and operating costs are exclusively funded by private donors since day one. Their programs are based locally, as community-owned water projects that include education and connections to local partners to ensure long-term health goals, hygiene, and sanitation are met. Not only does this charity provide water, they provide health, humanity, and time.
Bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.
I'm pretty sure everyone who has ever accessed the internet has used Wikipedia at least once. It's probably my favorite charity solely because it's ballooned into such an important utility, yet the Wikimedia Foundation remains steadfast to their promise of an ad-free, democratic method of disseminating knowledge. Plus, it had its twentieth birthday this year, so it's a great chance to celebrate its longevity. From the horse's mouth:
Wikipedia is a free content, multilingual online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers through a model of open collaboration, using a wiki-based editing system. [...] It is the largest and most-read reference work in history. [...] It is hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, an American non-profit organization funded mainly through small donations.
Action Against Hunger is dedicated to nutrition and clean water, and strives to eradicate malnutrition, undernourishment, and related diseases. With the global crises of COVID-19, extreme weather, and conflicts, hunger is on the rise again. In the past year they've impacted over 25 million people, a staggering 93% of your donation goes to the charity's cause, and they have a fantastically low fundraising cost to contribution ratio at $3 to raise $100. They've done so much good in the world, and fight to combat the sources of hunger, not just treat the symptoms.
To save lives by preventing, detecting, and treating under-nutrition, particularly during and after disasters and conflicts. From crisis to sustainability, tackles the direct and underlying causes of hunger through integrated, holistic solutions.
Another top-rated charity, the National Alliance to End Homelessness is committed to research-based, efficient solutions to homelessness. They focus on legislative and executive policy at federal, state, and local levels, publishing research through their education arm, the Homelessness Research Institute, and actionable assistance and training for outreach programs the Alliance Center for Capacity Building. I really like the NAEH because they understand that every person experiencing homelessness has different needs that need to be met and solved, They strive to enact different strategies for each distinctive experience of homelessness across all subpopulations.
Committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States.
The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, fights to ensure and defend the rights of all people throughout the entirety of the United States against government abuse and illegal policies. If you don't know much about the work the ACLU has done, I highly recommended even just skimming through their page on prior work, including court cases, federal policy advocacy, and resources about knowing your rights. Some important cases include State of Tennessee v. Scopes, Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (Tammy Kitzmiller's daughter was my English teacher in high school!), their fight against E.O. 9066, Roe v. Wade, Lawrence v. Texas, their fight against the Patriot Act, Brown v. Board of Education, NSPA v. Skokie, and hundreds of others. Even when their fight is deeply unpopular, they stand for American's rights, so that rulings against unpopular things cannot be used to destroy future liberties.
To maintain and advance civil liberties, including, without limitation, the freedoms of association, press, religion, and speech, and the rights to the franchise, to due process of law, and to equal protection of the laws for all people throughout the United States and its jurisdictions.
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✌ jcq
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