Nobody enjoys being stopped and guilt-tripped on the street by a canvasser, nor is it fun to look at your own dwindling cash-flow and wonder when you’re going to be the one receiving gratuity.  Whether you’ve dropped some loose change in a cup or donated hundreds to charities every year, the reality is that money does make a difference. But I’m not looking to tell you to just donate money.

The truth of the matter is, we’d all like to be actively contributing to solving some of the world’s crises on a day to day basis, but we have mouths to feed, burgers to flip and other things on our agendas. I know there are things in my life, like ultimate frisbee, which doesn’t necessarily contribute to the common good beyond my own interests, but damned if I’m going to quit that while I still have working knees. That’s the glory of charities, you’re donating your money so someone else solves the world’s problems for you. It’s like you’re hiring those dancing brooms from Fantasia to clean up the world.

But by “Do Something for Charity” I don’t just mean donate money. I mean participate in the culture of donating. For example: In March, I am participating in an event called The Big Climb in which I will race up 1,311 steps to benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I’m currently raising money for me team and need $135 more to reach my goal. Click here if you want to help out and donate.  The Big Climb is a fine example of meshing some of what you enjoy (be it running up flights of stairs or running in a marathon, etc.) with contributing to a good cause.

Two other examples of this (which I’ll note are shameless plugs for donations) are The CLAW and The Melon’s charity drive.

The CLAW (or Cartoonists League of Absurd Washingtonians) is a group of Washington based cartoonists who gather to await our robot overlords and prepare for the zombie apocalypse, all the while drawing tons of cartoons and having two awesome meetings a month. While our primary goal is to draw cartoons, we’ve integrated charity into what we do by offering a Young Cartoonists’ Scholarship composed of member dues and donations from local businesses and supporters.

The Melon in its annual drive for support has vowed to send half of all funds raised to Friends of the Orphans Haiti Earthquake Relief fund in honor of Molly Hightower, a native Tacoman who passed in the recent earthquake while working to aid children in need. We’re still looking for support btw .

Both CLAW and Melon are prime examples of integrating charity into what you do already. Not only is this a more active approach which helps promote your different issues and charities, but it’s a hell of a lot more fun.

So, donate to charity. But don’t just donate, do a relay, join a race, start a haircomb enthusiasts group which supports young barbers, I don’t know. Just make charity part of what you do already instead of just dropping a few coins in a cup.

YOUR TURN:

What are some of the events or organizations do you take part in to support charity? What can you recommend to others?