Search Results for: blog charity giving

Mommy Blog Bashers

Have you ever considered that you could be helping a struggling single mom of four young children make ends meet each time you click on a link that leads to her blog? Earlier this year Oprah Winfrey devoted an entire show to the “Secret Lives of Moms.” It featured an audience full of women drooling at the chance to discuss the joys and pitfalls associated with raising the next generation. A portion of the episode spoke to a “new” kind of motherhood, in which women no longer suffer in silence about negative parenting experiences, mistakes and lack of maternal instincts. … Continue reading →

More Ways to Make Giving Back Fun

By making charitable work fun, you can teach your children that helping those less fortunate is not a chore. There a dozens of ways you can turn an ordinary volunteering experience, into one that your children will never forget. Here are some fun ideas: VOLUNTEER VACATION One way to make volunteering fun is to combine your efforts with a family vacation. Churches around the world offer volunteer opportunities in exotic locales. Consider hooking up with a church or other civic organization that helps struggling families in the country of your choice. You can build homes in Africa or volunteer at … Continue reading →

A Thanksgiving to Remember

It will be a Thanksgiving to remember for the Reyes family this year. Despite the fact that they lost their home plus all of their belongings in the recent wildfires that scorched thousands of acres in Los Angeles County, mom Jan says the family will be counting their blessings tomorrow. Jan and the rest of her family, including her 7-year-old son Jonathan were able to escape the wind-blown blazes without suffering major injuries. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Jonathan, who has autism, lost every single one of his beloved Hot Wheels. The boy had reportedly spent … Continue reading →

Thanks for Giving

For giving me the keys to the car last Saturday night, money for my field trip, a roof over my head, a closet full of clothes, three meals a day… Thanksgiving may be the only day of the year you hear those words uttered by your self-absorbed teenagers. Then again, you may happen to parent a child who defies typical teen-dom and actually demonstrates an attitude of gratitude on a daily basis. If this is the case, then you have one more thing to be thankful for next Thursday. Children aren’t the only ones who are guilty of taking things … Continue reading →

Charity and the Preschooler

“Mommy, I thought charity was a girl.” That was my 4-year-old’s response after a man from our local St. Vincent de Paul non-profit thrift store helped unload the last bag of donated goods from our car. For weeks we have been organizing, purging and de-cluttering our home all in the name of charity. After I tackled the kitchen and living room I moved on to my daughter’s room. While she was busy crashing her remote control Jeep into towers of wooden blocks I dumped out a gigantic container of stuffed animals and asked her to help me make two piles. … Continue reading →

Celebs—Giving as Good as They Get

At some point in your life you have likely sunk your teeth into a Jimmy Dean sausage, and thanks to loyal fans, the pork product king has been able to amass a fortune. Now Dean says it’s time to give back. The sausage titan just donated $1 million to Texas’ Wayland Baptist University. In doing so Dean makes history for providing the small school of just about 1,000 students with the biggest single gift ever donated by an individual. Ironically, Dean has never stepped foot in an institution of higher learning. In fact, he is a self-professed drop out who … Continue reading →

Singer Feels Sting From Charity Criticism

Sting, the frontman for one of the most popular bands around—-The Police, is under fire today. His charitable organization, the Rainforest Foundation, is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. According to new reports, Sting’s foundation spent less than 61% of its revenue for the 2006 fiscal year. The claim was made by the independent philanthropy watchdog, Charity Navigator, which is criticizing the Rainforest Foundation for the amount of contributions it spends on programs. The organization, which tracks the 5,000 largest charities in the country gave the Rainforest Foundation zero stars in its latest ratings. According to a spokeswoman for … Continue reading →

Stars Giving Big

Drew Barrymore knows how to give from the heart… or at least from the bottom of her bank account. If you watched yesterday’s “Oprah Winfrey Show” then you know what I’m referring to. The 33-year-old actress shocked Oprah and the entire studio audience (not to mention a few million people watching at home) when she whipped out a check and announced that she was donating $1 million to the World Food Programme to help feed children in Africa. “I have seen with my own eyes what a difference a simple cup of nutritious porridge can make in a child’s life,” … Continue reading →

Giving and Taxes

Hopefully you have already been aware all year of the changes in donations and charitable contributions in regards to your taxes. This is a big year of transition; therefore if you haven’t been keeping adequate records, you may have lost an opportunity for a tax deduction. Still, there is one month left of 2007 and many individuals give the most during the holidays. Therefore, it is worth mentioning some of these changes as we head into this season of giving. The main change in regards to your taxes comes with the paperwork necessary to prove a valid donation. This is … Continue reading →

Charity Giving

‘Tis the season for charity giving…. Fa, la la la la… Whatever your religion, the holidays are the time of year that charities receive the most donations. These months can truly make or break their budgets. Whether they are a good charity or bad, the fundraising department is on high gear during this time. Donating is a necessary part of a healthy society, but how do you know who should receive a piece of your limited budget? There are a few key points to remember before you hand over your holiday donation. 1. If the donation is to someone in … Continue reading →