Something to believe in...

5/20/2012

This past weekend Chicago hosted the 25th official meeting of NATO; the international military organization created after World War II whose original purpose was to check the power and expansion of the Soviet Union. The leaders of NATO, far from getting a warm welcome, were greeted by thousands of protesters - most of whom were in their twenties. However like the Occupy Movement before it, this group of young activists have made little impact since it is unclear what it is they are actually protesting... when asked, the leaders of the movement could not seem to clarify their objectives, grievances, or purpose.

A few years ago, students at Pilgrim were selling "Save Darfur" T-shirts and sweat-shirts, the proceeds of which were sent to the Red Cross and other organizations to help the victims of state sponsored violence...

In 2010 you could text in a $10 donation to help the survivors of a deadly earthquake in Haiti which claimed over 300,000 lives...

Last year there were numerous charity drives (even some here at Pilgrim) to support the survivors of the Tsunami which hit Japan killing almost 16,000 people...

In 2004 a Tsunami hit parts of India, East Asia, and Africa killing over 230,000 people... national fundraisers were put in place to help the affected areas...

What's the point??? "Causes" seem to last only so long as the news media covers the story... for example... haven't heard too much about Kony in the past few months have you??

Aside from these international news stories, there are a lot of local charities and organizations which operate without the aid of the news media or celebrity endorsements... and I"m always amazed at what people in our own community do to help others without ever seeking any fame or recognition...

So I'm curious as to what cause or organization you support or believe in... post a comment and let everyone know about your cause or charity, or anything you are involved in which helps the community in some way...

44 Comments

Julianna Period 2

5/21/2012 12:08:46 am

To be honest, I'm not really involved with anything in the community. But, I obviously care about what has happened in other places as well as the troops in Afghanistan. My boyfriend's dad is in the military and I never knew how hard it was for him and his family...but obviously I know now, and it is really hard. I wish the violence around the world would stop and disaster victims could get more help then they are getting. If I got the chance to help disaster victims, I would get involved without being asked twice. Maybe I'll look into how I can help...

Julia per. 6

5/21/2012 01:38:52 am

I support a bunch of causes but the main two I try to 'promote' I guess you can say are Love146 and To Write Love On Her Arms.

Love146 is a non-profit organization that helps to spread awareness about human traficking around the world. Their main focus is on children who have been bought and sold in the sex slavery industry. They provide shelter for girls who have been rescued from this horrid industry. I believe that all children should have a safe place to be. For more information, visit http://love146.org/

To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA) is a non-profot organization that helps many people, mostly teens, deal with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA believes that rescue is possible and that self-harm, depression, suicide etc. can be helped and hopefully stopped. I support this cause because I believe that it is impotant for those who are like this should have a support system. I agree with TWLOHA when they say that rescue is possible. For more information, visit http://www.twloha.com/index.php

Cara Period 2

5/21/2012 04:25:54 am

Like Juliana, I am not apart of many charities, but i do care about our community. I always like to see the donation buckets around Pilgrim for various types of charities. I love seeing people donate to things such as MS, or breast cancer awareness, because i think it is very important to do in life.

Dana P6

5/21/2012 05:06:59 am

Me, well, unless girl scouts count when we are giveing back to the compuntiy in our anual community project, I don't do much. I volenteer at the RISPCA sometimes, but that is in Provedence and it takes a while to get there. When I was at St. Peters and at ICCR I helped out with fundraisers around there, but they were usually to send some people somewhere for a day, although some where for the cancer society and a couple other things.

Katelyn R Per 2

5/21/2012 06:50:34 am

I think it is great when people donate their own money to a good cause. Like others have said, I am not part of many charities but I do care for what is going on around the world. By many people donating a little bit, a lot can actually be done and things can be accomplished. Getting involved is very important and can make a huge difference.

Kyle Period 4

5/21/2012 09:07:10 am

My church is within my community, and I had lots of hours done there. I would say over about 30+. Those hours happened over a two year period. While I don't do much church work anymore because I’m not in CCD, I still help people as much as I can. From homework to yard work I’m always there, and I would never ask for money from anyone I'm helping. I just like to be a helping hand when someones in need. Also, I do donate as much as I can, I had purchased a key necklace for the Keep A Breast foundation for breast cancer. And I also donate money at my church and for army veterans. I try to donate as much as I can because I like helping people in need. I also did a soap kitchen and helped the homeless while I did that.

Branden per 1

5/21/2012 11:15:56 am

I'm not apart of any charities but try to donate when I can. Most are cancer foundations such as the jimmy fund. I've had people in my family with cancer so every time I get a chance I try to.

casey per. 3

5/22/2012 04:48:12 am

I think the only charity I've done was the 30 Hour Famine for World Vision. Its kind of like the stuff for haiti and for japan but its not just for one selected place, its for all countries that have kids and families that don't have anything to survive. While I did the famine I found out a lot. In Bangledesh people are getting malaria from water in the ground, but that's all they have to drink. Instead of focusing our attention to one place why don't we consider focusing our attention to eveywhere where every 3 seconds someone dies because they are sick, thirsy or hungry. That's what my charity is and I believe its a good one at that.

Sara per 1 & 2

5/22/2012 10:53:51 am

I don't actively do alot of charity work except for volunteer work in my church and help kids out and things like that.Which really makes me want to do more things in the community now that I think about it. I really like to help people and make differences in their lives and charity work would really be a great way to start. Hopefully this really opened my eyes and would make me want to do more work for others. There's no doubt in my mind I would refuse helping people that need it.

Shane per. 1

5/22/2012 11:39:48 am

I promote and am very involved with the Save The Bay organization which dedicates its time and money solely to cleaning up narragansett bay any way possible. I love the ocean and bodies of water and it upsets me to see how people take what we have right here in oakland beach for granted. that place can be beautiful if we make it and i try to be involved as much as i can.

Shae T period 6

5/22/2012 11:53:37 pm

I understand when there are protests for big events that a mass amount of people don't agree with, but I don't understand why people are like "Hey! Let's stand around and pretend to protest, when there's nothing to protest about! Let's do it for fun!" If the poeple didn't agree with the organization, that's fine, but the leader of the the group of protestors couldn't even come up with a legitimate reason for standing around with signs. If they were actually doing something productive such as rasing money for a cause, then it wouldn't be a problem that they were standing there, but they weren't even friendly.

Lillian period 6

5/23/2012 03:08:24 am

I'm not completely involved with the community, but I do believe in helping out the community. I have been a supporter of Breast Cancer Awareness for a while now. My great grandma, great aunt, and my grandma all had breast cancer and all but one survived. I support this because it means a lot to me knowing that i could end up having it later in my life. I'd like to find the cure and hopefully help everyone who has breast cancer.

sarah period 6

5/23/2012 03:15:09 am

At church, I donate money and do other for church. Other than than I don't really contribute to the community. I care about it, obviously. I would support any kind of thing like that if it was in my community, though.

Erica period 2

5/23/2012 10:30:09 am

Being involved with the community is very important for me, and if I wasn't so busy with the sports I play and with my job, I would definitely be doing a lot more for my community. But as of right now I've been doing a lot to try and become much more involved with Special Olympics Rhode Island. It's such a life changing experience to be a part of such an important event. Also when we bought my dog Koko, she rescued her from the providence animal rescue and for the past 9 years my family and I have been donating to them and every once in a while we even go down there and walk some of the dogs. Small organizations like that need as much support they can get, because none of those poor animals have homes yet and they still need to be loved and given attention. I love being a supporter of many organizations in our community.

Victoria Period 4

5/24/2012 07:28:24 am

I'm not apart of any kind of charity and I never had been apart of it because I am not interested in it. Like don't get me wrong I do care about charity, what people do to help other people, and what goes on in the world. But im not saying that I don't like helping other people because I do. Actually now that I think about it I actually did donate some money at Pilgrim to help some cause I forgot what it was though. But other than that no, i don't think so.

Deveny Period 6

5/24/2012 11:34:00 am

It is good that there are organizations that help people in their time of need. However there are also people who try to take advantage of the caring people in the world and they set up scams to get money from them. This is why I do no just send money to random places. I prefer to actually go and do something for the greater good of the community like a clean up at Save the Bay.

Mel Per 2

5/24/2012 01:22:31 pm

Thinking about it now, I don't really have an organization that I support. I always try to donate to different organizations but there isn't really one that I am very involved with. I have heard of TWLOHA and mentioned it in a project that I did in 11th grade and I've seen people with TWLOHA t-shirts since I was in 9th grade so that's one organization that I'm really aware about. I'd really like to become involved in organizations that help with families who have members who have down syndrome. Right now I babysit a little boy with down syndrome and he is one of the sweetest kids I know. I think it would be very rewarding to be a part of a group that helped support these families.

Vence Period 6

5/24/2012 09:43:50 pm

People helping out in charities for others is a good thing. They're doing it to help those in need. Without the need for any media exposure. It's nice to know there are people out there helping those that are in need of help.

Matt P.6

5/24/2012 09:45:15 pm

As far as charities go, I cannot say I contribute to one in particular. I always try to help out at my church when they need assistance and I also volunteer at a local soup kitchen from time to time. I think it’s good to help the homeless because they are normal people with some really bad breaks. Yes, sometimes they brought it upon themselves through drug addiction and quitting their job, but they still need help and I enjoy helping. Everybody could use some support in these times.

Michael p.6

5/24/2012 09:50:56 pm

I do not contribute to charities, but i donate to the Breast Cancer Awareness and MS walks from time to time. My grandmother died from Breat Cacner and my Aunt from MS, so hopefully they can find a cure and help out those who have it.

Rebecca Period 6

5/24/2012 09:52:14 pm

I think the idea of charity is good, but for a lot of people, it's not realistic. A lot of people can't really afford to give money away. And a lot of them are scams, like the Kony thing. I think we should focus more on helping out in our communities. I was planning on volunteering at a hospital this summer but I missed the application deadline. Hopefully I'm going to find another one to volunteer at.

Zach Period 6

5/24/2012 10:03:14 pm

One charity I am very involved in is JDRF. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, every year in October my family and I do a walk for it, because my brother suffers from diabetes. I also volunteer a lot at my brothers school when they have special events. Another charity I have a lot of respect for and support a lot is the “Wounded Veterans” Because there are a lot of people in my family who have served this country in the military.

Austin

5/25/2012 12:10:14 am

Even though I don't belong to any charities I try to help where I can. When I see buckets going around the lunch room for a good cause I make sure I donate. It's important to do so because you never know if you'll be the next one in trouble.

Shai Period 6

5/25/2012 12:13:47 am

I am not really involved in any charities, but I kinda wish I was. There are so many fondations out there, that support tso many different things. I think it is great how much people donate or support different causes, even if it is only for a short period of time, like how Kony was big for a few weeks.

Nikkii Period 6

5/26/2012 06:13:18 am

Everyone’s comments are amazing. I feel that everyone needs to give back to the community in some way, big or small. I personally do not get involved in organizations; however my family donates to the Christian charity for the children in Asia. As a result, the child is our pen pal and we write letters back and forth. Despite this, my biggest community service occurs at my church. Every summer there is a week long Vacation Bible School for the children of the parish. I have been volunteering for a few years now as a Team Leader. It’s Wonderful!

Brenna p.3

5/26/2012 10:11:54 am

my family and I have been supporting the tomorow fund and doing the polar bear plunge for about a decade now, they're charities for kids with cancer

Cody period 3

5/29/2012 12:50:42 am

I am not a part of any charities unfortunately but i do help whenever i can. Help those who may someday have the oppurtunity to help you, what if you were them? those are thoughts that usually run through my mind in supporting small charities.

Rob period 3

5/29/2012 12:56:19 am

I support the R.I.P Foundation (Rob Is Poor). In all seriousness, I support any organization that I can, I wish that I could remember the last time I actually donated anything to anywhere, but alas, the R.I.P Foundation has not made any money yet. Once I get an actual job, aside from taxes, I will definitally give more to charity.

Doug per.1

5/31/2012 10:24:32 am

Like most of the other people who have already responded i do not really follow any certian causes. The one charity i have probely donated the most would be " The cure Baseball" which is a foundation formed to find a cause to breast cancer through baseball which for me relates because my mom had breast cancer and was able to beat it which is why i try to help find a cause

Rebecca Period 1

5/31/2012 10:52:12 am

Whenever something bad happens everyone is always nice at first. People always try and help out with everything but then later they never do anything. It is the people who do things every day to try and help people who should be recognized. I'm not involved in a charity but I always give money to the people collecting it for certain things.

Dominique Period 4

6/1/2012 10:57:27 am

There are so many charities for different causes. I am not really involved in a certain charity, but I do like to help by volunteering my time and donating money.

Sarah period 1

6/3/2012 10:37:36 am

When I get a chance, I always donate. I'm usually more involved in the Leukemia funds because of my cousin. It's really great knowing that there are people out there helping those who are in need. I love looking at all these comments to see what people do for their community.

Jason Per.1

6/3/2012 10:45:32 am

even though i'm not involved in any non-profit organizations, i do think that they are important. whenever there are donation buckets at school, i try to help out as much as i can. i think that every little bit will help with the organizations that are trying to make a difference

Jaide period 1

6/4/2012 11:54:03 pm

to be honest, im not really invloved with anything in the comunity. i donate as much as i can but theres not really anything i can do. yes i do help as much as possible and i praise the people who do what they can too.

Brehanna Per. 3

6/6/2012 10:17:14 am

Kony was just like most of the other organizations-- a fad. People were so concerned and then it seems like they all just stopped caring about it.

Haley p.2

6/8/2012 12:59:05 am

I am involved with The Huntington's Disease Society and Relay for Life. I have participated in most of the fundraisers in Rhode Island for HD because my dad's best friend was diagnosed a couple years ago. I have also participated in Relay for Life for the past 3 years at Tolgate. The overnight fundraiser is my favorite time of year because it is filled with fun activities for people of all ages. I love knowing that money i raise and getting the word out about the foundations can make a difference in people's lives.

Daniel Period 1&2

6/8/2012 01:04:14 am

I am involved in a couple things that help out the community. I am a volunteer in the special olympics and I really enjoy it. The kids always bring a smile to my face. I also coach CYO basketball which is fun to do and once again even though i am not the most skilled player on the team, i understand the game which helps out. Yet when i see an organization that i think has a good cause i always try to help.

Shawn Period 3

6/8/2012 01:40:33 am

I dont really support any organization or have any in mind that i would like to branch out more to the world. But if i were to do something maybe it would be for cancer or AIDS?

Jesse per3

6/8/2012 01:44:27 am

I feel bad that I don't really do much for charity. But I'm young and I have no money or anything. Probably when I get older I'll donate somewhere but for right now I just have to focus on myself and get into a position where I'll be able to help others someday.

Allie per 3

6/8/2012 02:17:10 am

I dont belong to any organizations or charities but I do try to support the ones at school and church or out in the comunity. I've helped plan many events for charites such as the tomorrow fund and make a dream foundation. Also I volunteer at food shelters and packaging supplies for less dfortunate countries. I wish I did more for the community though because you can never do too much to help someone in need.

Danielle C. Period 3

6/8/2012 02:45:51 am

I belong to the MS society and I used to volunteer at the food bank and teach little kids how to read. I hate how the only way people really care is if the media explodes and makes it this huge thing.

Corey Period 2

6/8/2012 06:00:05 am

I believe in volunteering and supporting children with disabilities and learning behaviors since my dad was on the Board of Directors for Meeting Street Center in Providence for six years. It is worthwhile to help those children that do not have the opportunities that most of us take for granted. This is a great cause that I support.

Emma period 6

6/8/2012 09:59:28 am

I am not completely loved with the community either, but I like to do findraisers when we have them at pilgrim or for a seperate club like sports teams and such . My grandmother passed away from lymphoma cancer a couple years ago and my family has been apart of raising money for this disease

Carrie Period 6

6/9/2012 11:20:00 am

A charity/ cause that I believe in is DSSRI. That stands for Down Syndrome Society of Rhode Island. It helps families and friends that have a child with down syndrome. Medical bills for DS can get pretty pricey, so the society has many fundraisers that the families can go to to have a good time and raise money. A friend of mine's little sister has Down Syndrome, her name is Emilia, and she is the cutest three-year-old in the world. She can change a person's life, she changed mine along with my family and friends.

Something to believe in...

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