Salvation Army collect thousands of toys every year to redistribute to children in low socioeconomic groups, which is a wonderful thing. Every kid should get the joy of getting a present on Christmas. I was already a bit wary of the organization because of their extremist anti-gay policies. They are an evangelical organization that will not employ gay people, supports and lobbies against gay protections and rights, and proselytizing to those who they are helping including their anti-gay rhetoric. Even so, I often still gave some change at Christmas time, because it is winter time and people often need extra help during the winter months.

However, the latest story of their far right policies has pushed me over the edge and I do not think I will be supporting them any longer. A volunteer in a warehouse discovered that the organization often trashes, and sometimes gives to other charities, toys from Harry Potter and Twilight as they contradict the organization's christian values.

"But he questioned why the charity would be sifting out Harry Potter and Twilight toys, which involve sorcery and vampire themes, respectively. "I was told to withhold a six-inch Harry Potter figure, but when I picked up a plastic M-16, I was told, 'That's for the 10-year-olds,'" he said. "I was shocked...war-themed toys and toys from TV shows and movies with far more violence than Harry Potter and these were considered appropriate toys?""

This seems a bit ludicrous to me, but it is their policy. The article notes that policy dictates passing these toys on to another charity and not accepting violent weapons. However, that policy was not the same one the volunteer saw in effect at the warehouse he was volunteering at.

As an alternative to Salvation army, I suggest looking for smaller local organizations that organize toy drives. Instead of shopping at the salvation army thrift stores look for a thrift store run by a local charity, I used to shop at one that supported an organization that cared for invalid AIDS patients. And instead of giving them your spare change, make a donation to a local homeless shelter, think about how hard it is to be homeless in the winter and remember to give during the cold winter months.

Charity Promotion Time!

Hey all,

I want everyone to tell me about their favorite charity and why they think I should highlight them/ donate to them. If you make a good case I will feature them in a blog post soon. This is a great chance to promote your favorite charity without doing a lot of work, so please join in!!!

Thanks!

Holiday consumerism...

Hey all,

Its almost Christmas time, so I am sure many of you are frantically running around purchasing presents for your family and friends. Giving gifts is a great way for showing people that you care and that they are important to you. But i think we should extend that a bit and show people around the world in desperate situation that we care about them as well. While we do not know them, our gifts to help others can impact a life much more than the scarf, chocolate, or  that you purchase for a friend. And personally, giving gifts to charity in the name of someone can be a lovely present, especially for that hard to shop for person or the person who can afford whatever they want already.

The gift I am talking about today is the gift of Winter Child Survival Pack from UNICEF USA. This is a great idea as a gift and can help protect a child from many of the dangers of a winter. And judging by the weather in Europe it is going to be a very rough winter for many people. So with some of our Christmas giving, why not help save someones life and purchase a survival pack.

The packs come with "Micronutrient powders that help a child on the brink of malnutrition get the vitamins and minerals that are most essential for them to grow up healthy. Immunizations from measles and polio that will save a child from two of the most common and painful diseases in the developing world. Water purification tablets to filter out dirt and bacteria from water so that children can drink without fear of getting sick. Your pack contains enough tablets to clean 50,000 liters of water!"

Access to safe water is one of the largest humanitarian issues of our decade and these tablets are a way to protect children who lack access to clean water. This alone could save a child's life, but with the micronutrient powder and immunizations it could really make a difference in a child's life.


This Christmas please consider donating as a gift. My family often donates in each others name to Heifer International, Doctors Sans Borders, and other organizations and those gifts often mean more to me than the scarf's and DVDs I get. A DVD is wonderful, but saving someones life is another thing entirely.


Please help others this holiday season and change someone' life! Thanks!

Homelessness and Puppets?

Today I am writing a post inspired by puppets. While that may sound odd, it is true. A performer created a video to raise awareness about the homelessness issues and inspire people to help. And he has, so I am helping. But first, here is his video that went viral and helped to raise awareness.



The sign and bedding he borrowed from an actual homeless individual. On the youtube video's description he has two links which give ideas about how to help those affected with homelessness. The first is a great list of suggestions on volunteering and how to help without necessarily donating money. The article is "How You Can Help the Homeless Without Spending a Dime" hosted on Squidoo.It has some great suggestions, such as help them apply for jobs and volunteer somewhere that provides childcare for the children of homeless people so that they can go look for work. He also links to a great list of non-profits that work on the issue on change.org.


I prefer to find charities by checking their charity navigator ratings and then choosing a charity that way. But in this case, my chosen charity is both highly rated on charity navigator (four stars!) and included on the list of suggestions from the performer.


Today I will be helping The National Alliance to End Homelessness - "a nonprofit, non-partisan, organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. By improving policy, building capacity, and educating opinion leaders, the Alliance has become a leading voice on this issue." They aim high their goal is to end homelessness, and I appreciate it when people aim high, thats better than sitting around thinking we can't change the world. Here is their charity navigator page, with their four star rating!

Here is a little video interview of the performer talking about his motivations and all. Thought y'all might enjoy it.

A good individual.

I had read a story about this person before, but I noticed another story about him and the awards he has received and I decided to share them with y'all. I am talking about an Australian man named Don Ritchie. He and his wife moved into a home near the Gap, which are some rugged cliffs with views of the Sydney Harbor.

This is one of those places, like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, that is a well known suicide spot. "Australians have been committing suicide at this spot since at least 1863, when a local woman, Anne Harrison, leapt to her death. An estimated 50 people kill themselves there every year."

Don Ritchie began talking to people who he thought might be committing suicide and then inviting them over for a cup of tea and has managed to convince many people change their mind. "Gordon Parker, executive director of the Black Dog Institute, a clinical facility that treats people with depression, says: "People go to places like the Gap in a state of perturbation. They pace up and down, and in that period of time there's a window of opportunity. Don has saved lives because he has gone up to people and chatted to them.""

For his efforts he has been awarded the "medal for bravery and an Order of Australia (the nation’s second highest honor) for averting hundreds of would-be suicides by approaching people and offering them a cup of tea. ‘I used to sell kitchen scales and bacon cutters,’ he says. Now, ‘I’m trying to sell people life.’"

I hope that throughout my life I can do as much good as him and stay as modest and self-effacing as he does. Truly inspiring individual!

Ending Gay Bullying....

Even in this day and age, queer youth face the risk of bullying, tormenting, and even attacks. There have been numerous, at least eight, suicides of teens who were gay or were bullied and harassed on the assumption that they were gay.

These stories break my heart for multiple reasons. First of all, the loss of people as young as 13 is just heart wrenching. A 13 year old has not experienced so many of life's joys and the experiences they have missed out on is so sad. At 13, there were so many things to live for that I didn't even know about and had not yet experienced. Everyone deserves the chance to experience life's up and downs and the things that make life worth living for.

Also, for those who were queer, they never got to be okay with who they are. They bullying and teasing made them feel so ashamed of who they are that they would rather commit suicide than have their family know they were gay or acknowledge their true selves in public. They never got to find people and family that love and accept them for themselves, no matter who they love.

And the fact that gayness is still being used as a pejorative label. Bullies use queerness to belittle and make one the other. To show their difference and make it a weakness. To say you are weird and that weirdness makes you a bad person. That kids and full grown adults still use these identities as an insult and consider them to be bad and a threat to our society is just ludicrous. But as insults they have the power to make children contemplate and attempt suicide.

And the reason it is so important to talk about this is because gay teens attempt suicide four times more often than their straight peers. Not being accepted and considered weird your whole life definitely impacts queer teens through bullying and teasing...


So today, I am donating to GLSEN - the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. They do some really great work at trying to stop bullying in our schools and to create safe space for diversity. They are "the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students. Established in 1990, GLSEN envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. GLSEN seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the positive contribution it makes to creating a more vibrant and diverse community."


I first heard about this organization through participating in the Day of Silence event held in April across the nation. It is a nationally student organized event in which participants are silent throughout the day in order to raise awareness of the silence around the issue of LGBT bullying. It is a symbolic event to show the helplessness and inability to voice their true feelings that many youth experience.  LGBT and allies, raise awareness through not speaking of the issues facing our youth.


I found it to be a very powerful and moving event and thus think that GLSEN is a great organization for me to support on this blog.


And to any queer LGBT youth, I care about and accept you, please don't think about giving up on life so early. If you or anyone you know is thinking about suicide because of their sexuality please call the Trevor Project - 866- 4 U TREVOR.


Thanks all, and please spread the word that in this day and age we should all support our queer friends, family, and everyone else!

Happy National Coming Out Day!

Today is a day in which the queer community supports others through national coming out events and is also a great chance for all people to support their LGBT families, friends, employees, and other peoples. So I am supporting the Human Rights Campaign today, because they organize many of the events today.

Additionally, this year's day is especially important in regards to the recent teen LGBT suicides which I have written about previously. From the Human Rights Campaign website, here is some info on the events: "This year’s National Coming Out Day takes on increased importance after at least eight teenagers have taken their own lives as a result of anti-gay bullying and harassment, including four in one Minnesota school district alone. “The more we as LGBT people tell our stories and engage others, the closer we are to achieving equality,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.  “The recent tragedies involving young gay Americans, and those perceived to be gay, increase the urgency for all people of good conscious to Come Out for Equality. Our youth need to have ‘out’ role models and see the visible support of non-gay Americans.”

The importance of this year’s event will be heightened by the recent news of teen suicides precipitated by anti-LGBT bullying and/or harassment.  National Coming Out Day encourages people that are or may be LGBT to live open and honest lives. Similarly, the yearly observance is also an opportunity for all fair-minded Americans, friends and family members to support LGBT people they know."

So, as all fair minded Americans should support LGBT individuals and support children's right to go to school without experiencing bullying. Today I come out in support of LGBT right and support everyone who is coming out or reaffirming their sexuality. I hope you do too!