New Site!

Please go to the new site, ChangeYouCanAfford.com. This site is no longer going to be updated or kept current. All posts and information will be on the new site.

Come join us on the new site!


Hey all. Just so you know this will now be the only place for these blog posts.

As we transition Change You Can Afford into a charity, that site will be dedicated to the charity and no longer host the blogging archives.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Be proud of who you are!



Being a teenager is hard for everyone, now imagine what it might feel like if you you were also an atypical teenager. There have been multiple teen suicides in the last week by students who were outed, tormented, bullied, and harassed for their sexuality.


Multiple studies have shown that LGBT teens are at a higher risk to attempt suicide. "A controversial U.S. government study, titled Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide, published in 1989, found that LGBT youth are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide than other young people." And "for every completed suicide by a young person, it is estimated that 100 to 200 attempts are made (2003 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey)."

So, while suicide is tragic for every community, it is especially tragic for the queer community because it affects so many of our youth. And in this day and age it is absolutely ludicrous that people discriminate and tease other youths to the extent that they feel hopeless. And it is EVERYONE'S responsibility to change our society. Today, I am going to support The Trevor Project whose focus is on helping end teen suicide among LGBT youth. They "advocate acceptance and help prevent teen suicide by promoting mental health and positive self-esteem through a premiere on line destination, nationwide 24/7 call centers, and empowering social activities."

They are an amazing group, don't believe me, here is Daniel Radcliff's PSA for The Trevor Project.



For more information, here are a few links.
Suicide among LGBT youth - Wikipedia.
Gay And Lesbian Teen Suicide: The Trevor Project Helpline - NowPublic.
The Trevor Project.

The Girl Effect.



Thanks to a professor of mine for this link, I found it to be very provocative and thoughtful. And it has a great point. So, today we are helping Girl Effect in order to help them grow into powerful women.

According to their site, merely 2 cents of every aid dollar is given to girls. They want to change that math, lets help them. According to their website: "there are 600 million adolescent girls living in poverty in the developing world. By giving one of these girls a chance, you start the girl effect. When girls have safe places to meet, education, legal protection, health care, and access to training and job skills, they can thrive. And if they thrive, everyone around them thrives, too."

I love it when i find the sites to be interesting and thought provoking, its worth it to explore their website to learn more about the plight facing young girls globally.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Sites that donate while you shop...

Now, if you are a shopper, I have some help for you on how to donate online while you are shopping. Here are a few options iGive, and Charity Mall.

iGive work by donating for every search and up to 26% of your purchases at over 700 participating stores; such as Amazon.com, eBay, Staples, JCPenney, Barnes & Noble, Overstock.com, drugstore.com, Office Depot, QVC, Expedia, Home Depot, HSN, Best Buy, Drs. Foster & Smith, Gap, Buy.com, & NORDSTROM. Lots of options and you get to choose your favorite charity to donate too. There are more than  34,367 organizations listed already at iGive.com, and more get added every day.