‘Tis the Season
I’ve seen a few links recently for people, organizations, and causes asking for donations and I’ve also seen the annual holiday wishlist meme circulating, so here’s my wishlist for 2007 (well, part 1. I’m sure I’ll come up with more stuff later.):
Find a non-profit, cause, organization, charity, people in need, etc., and donate. Give what you can, whether it’s time, money, donations of food and clothing, attention (political causes? Write letters to your local newspapers, write to your public officials, blog, call your public officials), or your spare change. Find something that matters to you and give something now.
For starters (if there’s something that interests you, leave it in the comments and I’ll add it):
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Ruggerdavey is a middle school teacher in Louisville, Kentucky. Every year, her school raises money to take their neediest students shopping for winter clothes they otherwise can’t get. 80% of the students in the school qualify for free and reduced lunch; one of her students has no electricity at home because they can’t pay for utilities; some students’ families can’t afford groceries. As Ruggerdavey says,
With so many worries about how to survive, clothing is often not a top priority. The students shiver in class because their parents can’t get them sweatshirts. They come to school in the rain without anything to keep them dry and in the winter without hats and gloves or even winter coats. Some come in wearing the same clothes every day no matter how dirty they are, because they have nothing else to wear.
Because of this, every year before winter break, we sponsor a shopping spree for our neediest kids. If you can spare even a dollar, send the money to my kids. Cash or a check; American dollars, Canadian dollars, pounds, euros, whatever – we can use your money.
See her posts here and here for more information about donating, the students, and the school.
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The Pretty Bird Woman House is a women’s shelter on the Standing Rock reservation in South Dakota. It provides emergency shelter, advocacy support, and educational programs for women on the Standing Rock reservation who have been victims of domestic violence or sexual assault. Due to frequent vandalism of its facilities (and then torching, once the shelter moved out of the vandalized building), the Pretty Bird Woman House was forced to move and is now raising funds to buy a permanent facility. For more on sexual violence against Native American women, the work that the Pretty Bird Woman House does, and links to further information, see my previous post. (I was going to put that all in this post, but it got too long. Go read!)
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Street Sheet is the local homeless newspaper in San Francisco. It is written primarily by homeless and formerly homeless people and “provides its readers with a perspective on homelessness that mainstream media simply cannot match.” Additionally, “[i]t provides a unique opportunity to its vendors as well: a dignified alternative to panhandling. The STREET SHEET (cover price $1) is given free to qualified poor and homeless San Franciscans, who get to retain 100% of the proceeds from their sales.”
I’ve seen a lot of Street Sheet vendors in my neighborhood and in Civic Center, an area I pass through frequently, and I find the paper an interesting, thought-provoking read. The articles definitely address issues that I wouldn’t have paid attention to otherwise (e.g. gentrification of Fillmore and now Bayview and the effects on the predominantly black communities there); challenge the depiction of homeless people in the media, particularly the SF Chronicle; and provide homeless people a space for their voices. Furthermore, as a friend of mine wrote to me, “i think that putting written word in the hands of someone hopping into public transportation can do a lot to remind the public homeless people are people and that the suspension of some presupposed notions is probably in order.” Right on, D.
You can support Street Sheet by mailing donations to
Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco
468 Turk Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
or by purchasing Street Sheet the next time you see a vendor. The International Homeless and Homelessness Directory lists homeless street newspapers around the world and Real Change News provides a comprehensive list of U.S. homeless newspapers. See if your city is on the list and buy a paper.
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The San Francisco Opera is a world-class opera company in its 87th year. Their mission is
* To present opera performances of the highest international quality available to the widest possible audiences.
* To perpetuate and enrich the operatic art form.
* To be creative and innovative in all aspects of opera.
* To take a leadership role in training, arts education and audience development.
SFOp stages fantastic productions and makes opera accessible to the general public: tickets are affordable ($20-$25 for the balcony; $10 standing room tickets); they have student, sr. citizen, and military rush tickets; they put on free telecasts in AT&T Park and free Opera in the Park productions in the summer. They premiere new works (Philip Glass’ Appomattox in 2007), have fellowship programs for young singers, invite international stars (Angela Gheorghiu!), and help keep the art form alive and vibrant. However, the productions are expensive and ticket sales only cover 39% of the company’s expenses; donations are what fund SF Opera. Information about donating, volunteering, and other ways of supporting the opera are here.
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Perennial personal favorites:
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Donate blood! Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. At the same time, only 5% of the eligible U.S. population donates blood. The Red Cross says it better than I can:
Blood is needed for emergencies and for people who have cancer, blood disorders, sickle cell, anemia and other illnesses. Some people need regular blood transfusions to live.
Imagine if giving blood was part of everyone’s life. Something you did on a regular basis, like eating at your favorite restaurant. What kind of difference would that make? For nearly 5 million people who receive blood transfusions every year, your donation can make the difference between life and death.
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Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) “is the nation’s leading women’s health care provider, educator, and advocate, serving women, men, teens, and families. For more than 90 years, we’ve done more than any other organization in the United States to improve women’s health and safety, prevent unintended pregnancies, and advance the right and ability of individuals and families to make informed and responsible choices.” Get involved.
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That’s all for now.
