Tuesday, November 23, 2010

#12. Give more than I can afford to charity

Hello all!  You thought I was giving up on this blog, didn't you?  DIDN'T YOU?!  Lol.  well, I didn't.  Things have just been a bit busy with school.  Not to fear, I am back to my do-goodie ways and I am tackling number 12 on the list, that being "give more than I can afford to charity." 

As a grad student, "more than I can afford" is a sticky term.  This is mostly because, as a grad student, anything is basically more than I can afford.  But I'm doing what I can and making my donations.

Why now?    Since Thanksgiving is fast-approaching, I would like to get all of my holiday responsibilities out of the way. :) You all know I'm finished with the Xmas shopping. :) And anyway, I figured the holidays are a good time for giving and remembering how lucky we all are to live in the western world in an economically advanced country. This is especially true as I am more concerned with how chubby I am getting, as opposed to where my next meal will be coming from.  This leads me to my charities I will be supporting:  Doctors Without Borders/ Medecins Sans Frontieres as well as Amnesty International. 
and yes, those are Simpsons stamps. :)
Doctors Without Borders is an international organization that brings healthcare and emergency services to third world countries.  They have been especially active in Haiti since the earthquake in Port-au-Prince this past year.  
Amnesty International is an organization that is involved with international human rights.  They are often influential in helping political prisoners gain release from prison.  These are often individuals who have spoken out against oppressive governments. 

For information on both of these charities, you can click here for Doctors Without Borders and here for Amnesty International.