A worthy cause

cutecheapstuff — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:00:50 +0000

I have a friend who, in honor of his 26th birthday, is raising $26,000 for an organization that gives Haitian women microloans. Haiti isn’t in the news as much anymore, but they still need help and supporting entrepreneurs there is an excellent way to help the country get on its feet.

His goal is to raise the $26,000 by Feb. 28. He’s well over halfway there but is still looking for donations. If you’d like to be a part of this mission, or to find out more about why he’s doing this, click here.

Making a difference

cutecheapstuff — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:05:16 +0000

One of the reasons that I promote being careful with money (call it frugality, if you will) is that I believe money is a gift. It’s something that we are given and it’s something that we are to give to others. My spiritual beliefs certainly have an influence on this, but you don’t need to believe in a higher power to see that there are people in need and that people who aren’t in need can do something about that. I’d like to think that’s just being a decent human being!

One of my goals with this blog was that in addition to highlighting deals, I also wanted to get more into the heart of why we save and ways in which we can be good stewards of money. My thought was that I would highlight organizations that are making a difference that perhaps you or someone you know may be interested in supporting.

Let’s get started! Today I’d like to talk about One Day’s Wages. ODW actually just launched today, and I know about it (disclosure) because it’s founded by my pastor.

According to ODW:

One Day’s Wages is an international grassroots movement dedicated to ending extreme global poverty. ODW promotes awareness, invites giving, and supports sustainable relief through partnerships, especially with smaller organizations in developing regions.

So, what does that mean and where’s the one day thing coming from?

Our vision is to inspire people around the world to simply donate one day’s wages and to renew that pledge weekly, monthly, or yearly on their birthdays to the cause of ending extreme global poverty.

Why should you care?

25,000 children under the age of 5 die each day due to poverty-related causes.
Nearly 900 million people do not have access to clean water. Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and disease, and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.
Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
Nearly 11,500 people die every day from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

On the ODW web site, you can calculate your one day of wages (0.4% of your annual salary). You don’t have to give that amount – you can give what you’d like. The funds collected by ODW are distributed to organizations that are working to fight extreme poverty, and ODW seeks to partner long-term with those organizations. For more information, check out the FAQs.

ODW believes that we can eradicate extreme global poverty. If you’re interested in being a part of that, check out the web site.

Cute Cheap Stuff » Charity

A worthy cause

Making a difference