[Nexu]

This weekend I had somewhat of a paradigm shift, on my view on life, as I was driving from Michigan to Wisconsin.  I was listening to some boring talk radio, as I try to do from time to time, to perhaps learn something.  There was a lady on the radio recommending that parents teach their children the importance of saving money.  She was advising a 10-10-10-70 rule which includes taking your income and dividing it between 10% charity donation, 10% investment, 10% savings and 70% to live off of (which seems like sound advice to me but isn't the point of my post).

When talking about donating to charity she mentioned that the most important part of donating was to give to something you are passionate about.  Now I didn't grow up with a whole lot and since I've been out of college about 7 years now, I've increasingly found myself in a position where I can donate more.  Where I work we get very involved in the United Way and our work even has automatic payroll deduction for United Way (which is how I contribute every 2 weeks).  Now I'm sure that the United Way is very-very helpful in the communities that they serve, but I couldn't help but question whether or not I was "passionate" about my donating to the United Way.

What I am passionate about is boxers.  I've decided to reallocate what I donate and I've decided to give to my local boxer rescue.  Hopefully no one views this as a "look at me" type post as I'm not interested in any attention or pats on the back.  What I hope, is that people consider where/who/how they donate, and consider how passionate they are about that charity.  I think most people feel some obligation to donate and most here probably do (even if it is something as small as the change in your car to retired Vets).  I know there are a lot of passionate boxer lovers here and there are a lot of boxer rescues that could use some support.

Thanks for listening to my mini-novel.

 

[tootsie]

I agree with you 100%! Why donate to charities you are NOT passionate about? I give whenever I can, but it is always to something that I truly believe in, and that I think I can make a difference. There are a few charities in which I truly believe in, but of course I am more apt to make a donation to my local boxer rescue, because that is something I am passionate about. I wish I could even do more, and in the future I hope to be a foster home for some rescues.  A lot of people look at that as silly....it's just a bunch of dogs....you should give to charities that help people and children...blah,blah,blah. Don't get me wrong, I also give to other charities, but I do feel strongly about supporting my local rescue. After all, if it weren't for them, I wouldn't have Maddie today!  :winkle:

 

[Diesel-and-Kira]

I have a gripe on this topic.

I'm a cashier at lowes, as I've said before. and during the month of march we were taking $1 or $5 donations to send children with muscular dystrophy to camp.

I cant even count how many times I heard customers say 'I already have a charity' or 'I've already donated to my own charity'

Honestly, that really bothered me.

 

[JessiesMom]

I always donate to the FDNY Widows and Childrens Fund!  But I also leave money at mcdonalds, or lowes, or petco, or whatever store i go into that has one of those things on the counter...  

Also the daughter of one of my moms friends has a disease that is called butterfly skin, (i cant think of the medical name for it now) and she had these butterfly pins made and all the money that was collected from it went to research.  I must have bought a dozen pins, and i brought some into work and they were gone in about 5 minutes...

 

[JeepKuntry]

Make sure you know where your donations are going.  Many organizations outsource collections and they pay them a percentage.  If I donate to an organization, I want to know that my money going to contribute 100%.  After hurricane Katrina, alot of people were collecting donations, about 30% of all donations were used.

 

[BoxerForums]

This is interesting. I have a module available for this website that is a donation tool. Most people use it for donations to their own website to keep it going. I think it uses PayPal.

Are there specific Boxer organizations that we could help by donating from this site? We might be limited to just one org.

 

[puppysmasher]

I say do your research and give to a legitimate charity. Myself and most of the dallas/fort worth, TX area are about fed up with the Katrina "victims" still here. If one more person begging asks me to help Katrina "victims" I'm punching them in the face. I've got no problem going back to jail either. Louisiana is the biggest welfare state around. There are still "victims" here sponging off of people that havent' done anything but wait for their next handout. IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS, GET A JOB!!!!!!! My wife is an apartment manager and she had it with the katrina people as soon as they got here. almost all of them had absolutely no intention of getting jobs or helping themselves. as soon as their 6 months funded by fema was up they were like "well who gonna pay my rent now? this isn't right!!!" I have a good friend who's a general contractor and he offers 15-20 people a day there a job and he still has yet to have ONE accept the offer. they laugh and joke and carry on about how they get their check each month. I have traveled to Loisiana for work and it was like that before the hurricane. I'm sorry that i got on my soapbox, but I can't tolerate laziness. I kinda got off track, give to a good charity--Rich

 

[puppysmasher]

This is interesting. I have a module available for this website that is a donation tool. Most people use it for donations to their own website to keep it going. I think it uses PayPal.

Are there specific Boxer organizations that we could help by donating from this site? We might be limited to just one org.

there are a couple of local boxer rescues here in D/FW that my wife and I are interested in as soon as we move (we've been saving every, literally, every penny to buy our first house). I'm thinking that we'll donate and maybe foster as much as we can to help out. I'm sure that most major cities have rescues or some form of organization they can help or at least donate online to--Rich

 

[tootsie]

I'm a cashier at lowes, as I've said before. and during the month of march we were taking $1 or $5 donations to send children with muscular dystrophy to camp.

 I don't have a specific charity I donate to, but even if I did, I wouldn't turn down another charity in need.

Personally I never give to the cashiers that ask for donations. I have nothing against the charities they are asking to support, but I just don't feel comfortable donating through a store. I am more than willing to bet that whatever is donated, only a portion goes to that specific charity. I donate to the charities themselves. Just this past weekend the Lowes in my town was having a fundraiser for the childrens miracle network. That is a charity that I highly support, however after attending I found out that only a portion of the donations were going to the charity and the rest was going to Lowes.
It's the same with the girl scout cookie fundraiser. I have nothing against the girlscouts, I think that is a great organization. Did you know that only 30 cents on the dollar goes back to the girlscouts? I would much rather give the girlscouts $20 than buy a few boxes of cookies, only for them to get 1.20 from the sale.
As far as turning down another charity in need. No person can donate to every single charity out there, so you have to be selective and contribute to the ones that you are passionate about.
Ok I'll step down now!  :winkle:

 

[Newcastle]

No person can donate to every single charity out there, so you have to be selective and contribute to the ones that you are passionate about.

Very well put.  Most of my charitable donations go to the American Boxer Charitable Foundation (moreso in the past few months, as I do Memorial donations for dogs I've lost, and I've lost quite a few lately).  As a breeder, I'm continually frustrated by the health issues facing our breed, and the ABCF funds research studies to identify, treat, and someday defeat these conditions.  (There is lots of exciting news on the horizon with genetic markers and testing, now that the canine genome has been mapped.)  I also support rescue, of course, mostly through the local Club and donated items for our fundraiser auctions.

 

[RunNakeDnECU]

I try to donate to St. Judes Childrens hospital every year even if its not much. I feel like Im helping kids that might not been as blessed as others and it makes me feel good to know im helping them treat kids who's family might not have been able to afford their operations.

 

[Honeyec]

I have a standing order that goes directly from my bank account  to the Dublin SPCA every month, and I couldn't be more passionate about my chosen cause!

 

[samsonsmom]

Very interesting topic Nexu and it made me think a bit....When I worked for the phone co I always gave my money to the heart association, as my father suffered from heart problems..Now that both he & my mother have passed away, I think it's time to re-think how I am donating my money..I like Newcastle's idea, about donating to the American Boxer Charitable Foundation...So, that's where my money is going to go and also my nearest boxer rescue, which is where I got Samson from...

 

[tootsie]

American Boxer Charitable Foundation

Thanks for the link. They seem like an excellent organization. I will have to read up on them as I've never heard of them before. I am also bothered by all the health issues that our beloved breed must potentially face.

(moreso in the past few months, as I do Memorial donations for dogs I've lost, and I've lost quite a few lately).

I'm sorry for your losses. Were these specific health related losses? I am always curious how our furbabies go and what the cause was.  I don't mean to pry, I just might learn something.

Lisa

 

[caillou]

I have a friend who worked full time for The Red Cross in England. She got a bit of stick from her employers as said she used to ask people to make their donations "specific". For example, land mine victims for - as then the money HAD to go there. If you just made a Red Cross donation they'd get more leeway to keep and spend the money on employment and administation costs. Which is what they prefered. And i'm not saying The Red Cross are a bunch of crooks.
And if i'm going to have my two pennies worth of moaning...where does the money for cancer research go? It's always the big pharmaceutical companies that find the drugs - which cost a fortune. There are people dying out there because they can't afford the treatments that exist :x  Wouldn't money be better spent to help individual people with cancer? My brother had good health insurance in the US and gets really good treatment (Thankyou America & Americans), but he's coming home in July and the 'British Health Service' (free but not as good as they like to proclaim) won't be giving him the same drugs. Too expensive. I don't know...
I'll be honest, i don't give spontaneously to charity. Only if i'm asked.
This made me laugh though:

even if it is something as small as the change in your car to retired Vets

My vet owns 30/40 houses that he rents out, he doesn't need my charity! Vets are sooo rich here!

 

[JessiesMom]

I try to donate to St. Judes Childrens hospital every year even if its not much. I feel like Im helping kids that might not been as blessed as others and it makes me feel good to know im helping them treat kids who's family might not have been able to afford their operations.

My mom donates to st. judes.  I tell ya every time i see the commercial i wind up crying my eyes out.

 

[JessiesMom]

[quote="caillou\";p=\"8866":28umpalw]I have a friend who worked full time for The Red Cross in England. She got a bit of stick from her employers as said she used to ask people to make their donations "specific". For example, land mine victims for - as then the money HAD to go there. If you just made a Red Cross donation they'd get more leeway to keep and spend the money on employment and administation costs. Which is what they prefered. And i'm not saying The Red Cross are a bunch of crooks.
And if i'm going to have my two pennies worth of moaning...where does the money for cancer research go? It's always the big pharmaceutical companies that find the drugs - which cost a fortune. There are people dying out there because they can't afford the treatments that exist :x

 

[caillou]

:lol:  :rofl:  :lol:  OMG. My reputation on this forum for being not very bright   is getting more and more confimed by the day! Hahaha! :rofl:

 

[JessiesMom]

[quote="caillou\";p=\"8872":srd1eqe8]:lol:

 

[caillou]

Yep...and i'm english. :wink:
But thanks for always making me feel better when i make a t*t of myself!