Giving a Little Thursday

I was at the gym today, thinking about my little $300 bonus splurge, & the items I might return. As luck would have it, I was also leafing through a magazine, looking for nuggets of style inspiration. And, what I found wasn't at all what I expected. I was hoping to find a few recommendations for a new beauty product, best fall jeans, or a fun top. Instead, I read an editorial in Glamour (the link isn't online -sorry I can't include it. It's from the September issue with Jennifer Lopez on the cover, page 326 for those of you who have the magazine) about the rise in crimes against Haitian women living in the camps/tent cities that have sprung up, post-earthquake. I won't go into all the details, as some of them are graphic, but a $50 donation to KOFAVIV at madre.org provides women with a security kit, flashlight, whistle, and cellphone to help keep the women safe & avoid sexual assault while they are in the tent cities. Please note that I'm in no way incented to write about this topic, it was just something that resonated with me personally.

It was a pretty easy choice to forego the rest of my bonus splurge & send a donation to help the women in Haiti stay safe. I've also decided that I'm going to create a personal challenge for myself each month. M & I make a yearly contribution via our company's giving campaign, but I'd like to give more - more time, more money, and on a more personal level.

In addition to the Haiti donation, I'm going to create a challenge for myself - for each pound I lose per month, I'm going to donate $10/pound to a charity of the month. I'll do some research each month & the charities will likely vary, but I'll post them.

I know that charity is an incredibly personal topic (much like finances), but I'd love to hear more about your philosophy with giving, the ways in which you donate (be it your time, money, household goods), ways you're teaching your children, or ways that your parents did or didn't make an impression on you when it comes to charitable giving. What inspires you? Volunteering at a local school? Tutoring kids? Donating to your church?

So, for the first ever Giving a Little Thursday, please join in. I've been trying to register for an official linking tool, but it seems that  inlinkz.com is no longer accepting new registrations for the time being. Given that, feel free to write up a post on your own blog discussing giving, & link up to it in the comments. It's an old school round up! :-) If you have suggestions for another linking tool, please share.