Uncertainty, the Economy and Donations
Published September 25, 2008 @ 12:03PM PT
After living in Cape Town for 3 years, I have become a big fan of BBC news. No network is perfect and, as any educated global citizen knows, you're always best served with a schmorgesboard of different anchors, opinions and perspectives.
That said, it's been interesting to follow stories on both the American economic troubles and the South African political jumble (even after the cabinet's rendition of musical chairs earlier this year). As a co-founder and fundraiser for CHOSA, I am being careful to strike the balance between understanding the uncertainty of our donors' financial status here in the USA and the reality that the funding CHOSA provides to our sponsored projects in South Africa is as necessary today as ever.
I sent out a challenge to all of our alumni yesterday - asking each one to commit to raising $500 in the coming weeks. I suggested methods such as brown-bagging lunch for a week then writing a check for the difference between the grocery bill and the $50 that would have been spent eating out. Or skipping happy hour one afternoon. Or what about asking everyone at work to sponsor $XX...
It's a delicate thing to try to ask people to make charitable contributions when the media makes us feel that the sky is caving in. At the same time, as a larger CHOSA family, we have pledged to make monthly funding available to the community-based organisations that provide primary support and care for the vulnerable children of their areas. Whatever the cost, no matter the work, it's up to us to live up to that pledge and do what we can to fulfill our promises.
I've heard back from a few people so far and will wait for a final count. Someone even broached the idea of running a half-marathon to garner support for the cause...
I say, "run with it" :)
Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.
Recent Blog Posts
-
- Project M: Text messages to be used for Health outreach
-
Published December 03, 2008 @ 06:28AM PT
(CNN.com) LONDON, England (CNN) -- One million free text messages will be sent every day for 12 months from Monday in South Africa in a bid to raise HIV awareness and encourage testing for the disease. ... Read More
-
- Cape Town one of the most unequal cities in the world?
-
Published October 26, 2008 @ 06:08PM PT
Why inequality prevails in Cape Town October 21 2008 at 10:25AM Related Articles Ash MondayJoburg SA's best city ... Read More
-
- Children's Rights and Responsibilities
-
Published September 12, 2007 @ 02:35AM PT
Commonly adopted throughout the world, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child claims a universal set of principles that are meant to protect all children. See: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm But children also have responsibilities. What responsibilities do you think children have? Read More
