With all the typhoons wreaking havoc and more brewing on the horizon, finding spare funds to help with ongoing relief efforts is becoming a little difficult. You want to help but don’t know where to start, hard up for cash as you already are. Don’t sweat it—dipping into your coffers isn’t the only way you can be of assistance. Here are a few suggestions for going the way of charity—without going broke.
1.Volunteer. The most inexpensive thing you can offer is your time—in fact, it’s free! Sign up at your local Red Cross or volunteer organization for a few hours a week. Many charities are understaffed and would benefit greatly from an extra pair of hands. Your duties will probably include sorting and packing goods, serving food, and occasionally chauffering for field deliveries. More time spent on such activities and less on your couch will broaden your world and help more people than you can imagine. To volunteer at the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) click here.
Watch Rock Ed volunteers in action at the DSWD by clicking here.
2. Give away. Learn to let go—your house is full of things that other people need much more than you do. Comb the premises for old furniture, books, cellphones, trinkets, and the like—these can be used directly by the victims themselves or restored and resold for charitable fundraising. When you buy your groceries, put away that extra can of tuna or box of crackers for the community center. And of course, turn to your closet—you really don’t use half the clothes you own, if you think about it. Click on these sites to find out where you can send relief goods:
3. Be the venue. You might not have the resources to organize a full-out fundraiser—but you’ve got a place, haven’t you? Let your humble abode be the venue for planning sessions and all-night meetings; even a fundraising mini-bazaar, should the opportunity arise. This will help you save on exorbitant rental fees and centralize your recruiting system. You know what they say—there’s no place like home.
4. Surf the web. Charity is just a click away! Be a dot-com do-gooder with these free online solutions.
Good Search. Use Good Search as your Internet search engine of choice. It gives you as many comprehensive results as any other search engine, and for a good cause, too! Every time you do a web search, Good Search donates 1 cent to a charity you’ve previously specified. This might seem like an insignificant amount, but when you think about all the things you Google in a day the coinage really adds up. Visit goodsearch.com for more details.
Freerice.org. Quiz show fans will love this idea. Freerice.org is a non-profit website run by the UN World Food Program with two distinct goals: to provide free education to everyone and to help end world hunger. All you have to do is answer a series of simple multiple-choice questions—on any topic, from spelling to science to math. For every correct answer, the website donates 10 grains of rice to the World Food Program—and you can keep going for as long as you want. You’ll brush up on some schooling and feed the hungry at the same time.
Clicking. It’s as literal as it sounds. You can donate money to a participating charity’s website by clicking on the ads posted therein. The respective advertising company “sponsors your click,” that is, part of the profit they receive from your click is earmarked for charitable causes. This way, you give away cash without spending a centavo. Go to www.charityclickdonation.com.
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