Tag Archives: Caring

Water Changes Everything

It’s my third annual Social Media for Social Good (SMSG) fundraising drive. Today is Make a Difference Day, and this is how I’m choosing to do it. Some of you might have heard of charity:water when Rachel Beckwith’s tragic story made the news. She was an amazing little nine year old, and you can read more of what happened here. I dare you not to cry.

I spent a lot of time researching reputable international charities, and I love that charity:water is so transparent. I think it’ll be fun to check what our little ALBTALBS drive does too.

Did you know that:

  • 100% of all public donations directly fund water projects, and they prove every dollar using photos and GPS coordinates on a map
  • 800 million people around the world don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water
  • That is one out of every nine people
  • More people die from lack of clean water and sanitation each year than are killed by all forms of violence, including war
  • 90% of the deaths that result from diarrheal disease occur in children under five
  • About every nineteen seconds a mother loses her child to a water related illness
  • In sub-Saharan Africa 16 million hours each day are spent by women collecting water. This takes time away from work, school, and family.
  • 10% of disease could be reduced with improved access to clean water, sanitation, hygiene education, and water resource management.
  • $1 invested in water becomes $4-12 dollars for the local economy
  • Communities choose a small group of people to oversee each completed charity: water project. Equal numbers of men and women are encouraged to be included. These Water Committees are often the first chance women have to take on elected leadership roles.
  • The WHO reports that over 3.6% of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply, sanitation, and hygiene.
  • Feeding our world takes up to 90% of our freshwater withdrawals but many people in developing nations still don’t have access to enough water for irrigation.
  • Just $20 $65 can provide one person with a clean water project in his/her village

We can make a huge difference.

I know it’s difficult to give, but I’m asking everyone to do what they can. And if you can’t – help spread the word. This is a comment drive, so even just leaving a comment and having one friend do the same helps. Believe me – I know it’s hard out there. I know what it’s like to make well under the poverty rate. I still do. Which is why I’m doing something where everyone can get involved.

These people have already given:

Pledges:

  • I’m going to give $300 if we reach 1,000 comments.
  • Cecilia Grant will give $1 per comment up to 100 comments
  • The Romance Man will give $50 when we reach 250 comments will match my $300 if we get to 1,000 comments!!!
  • C2 will give $150 when we reach 500 comments
  • Farrah Rochon will give $10 for every 100 comments

You can see who all the wonderful, generous people who donated are on the campaign page. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Won’t you join us?

And in the spirit of friendly competition … I’m asking – challenging – 50 bloggers to donate. Even if it’s $1. I think we can do it. (In fact – I’d love to see more bloggers donate than authors. How’s that for competition? But a concrete goal of 50.)
And if privacy is a concern, you can donate anonymously. *coughs* Someone *coughs* already donated $50 to check that out. šŸ™‚

Let’s do this!

*ETA: I have a specific campaign created for the romance community:Ā http://mycharitywater.org/albtalbs if you’d like to donate. Also, if you’re donating, I would love to add you to the list, to let other people know (peer pressure! :D) and to give you a shout out. Please feel free to email me with any questions, or to talk about whether or not you want your name/amount to be listed. Thank you!!!

Also, for clarification, my SMSG drives go on for a month. I figure that’s enough time for word to be spread and people to budget what they can to donate. For all of us in the states, it’s a tax deductible charitable donation! (For our international friends, I would look into that too.)

You can check out the numerous giveaways here. To enter, just use your comment url and you’re done!

Planning for Social Media for Social Good

Hi friends! Some of you might remember my annual Social Media for Social Good drive. (SMSG) – I started it in 2010 because I saw talk of “Make a Difference Day” where (RED) and maskable had a big project. I then saw blogs that said something like “I’ll donate $1/comment on this post up to X amount.” And I thought about it, then said to myself, “I can do that.” So I posted to TGTBTU (where I was a reviewer/blogger at the time.) It was incredible. In less than twelve hours, the romance community raised more than $1,337.

I couldn’t let this opportunity pass, so in 2011, I researched charities for a long time. I wanted to find something I cared about, and that would be reputable, and international. There was sadly a humanitarian crisis going on in the Horn of Africa – so I decided to choose Save the Children. (Regardless of your politics, or how you feel about your country’s involvement in the areaā€¦ I can’t se how you’d hold it against children.) I decided to go for a full month, and we raised $8,484.50.

For the past year I’ve been considering at the back of my mind which charity to chose. (It is incredibly difficult to find a reputable organization that is international, and won’t cause offense to anyone.) I decided to go with charity:water.

Everyone needs water to survive. Everyone. And it’s something every person can relate to, and sympathize with. We take water for granted. Some of us refuse to drink anything but filtered water. I can’t even imagine what life would be without easy access to clean water.

So starting on Saturday, October 27, Make a Difference Day, I’m starting a charity drive. Social Media for Social Good is a way to get everyone involved. It’s a fundraiser, and an attempt to raise awareness.

How can you participate? Give money. Spread the word. I know it’s hard out there right now. Some of us can give a lot, some of us can give a little. Believe me, as someone who is making painfully less than the poverty rate, I know it’s difficult. But this is my pet project. I’m asking you to give what you can. Even a dollar makes a difference. Imagine, if a group of people can spare a dollar, that’s huge. 10 people, 15, 25, 100. Whatever.

Some of you might wish to have a correlative rate. E.g. $5 for every 50 comments. Whatever you think is best, or you can afford. A flat rate is fine too. I’ve had people say they’d pay $100 for 100 comments – at different levels. Because remember, the idea is to get as many people involved as possible. (E.g. One person will donate X amounts when we get 100 comments. Another person will donate Y amount when we hit 200 comments, and so on.) I’ve also talked about why I decided to go with a comment drive, and not something else.

I’d love to have something in place before the “official” post goes live.

So – tell me – are you in?

Special Guest: Fedora

Friends, we’ve got a totally awesome post from Fedora today! She’s a lovely reader I’ve met online at various places. I definitely don’t get to talk to her as much as I’d like to, but I’m glad to have finally pinned her down for a guest post. šŸ˜€ She was really nervous about it, so I hope you show her some love.
Also? She’s amazing – we’ve got another post coming (hopefully later today) about my annual charity drive, and we didn’t even discuss and – and look at what she wrote! *big hugs to Fedora*

Hi, Iā€™m Fedora, and Iā€™ve probably met some of you already! Thatā€™s one of the lovely things about the Internet and how the online world has been a great thing for us readers! Iā€™m a wife, mom, and life-long reader, and thanks to the dawning of the Internet/electronic age, Iā€™ve been blessed with an ever-growing TBR and so many friends that Iā€™ve yet to meet in person. šŸ™‚

Although itā€™s a little early for Thanksgiving, I think itā€™s never too early to be grateful and I also think itā€™s never the wrong time for kindness. One of the things that I do love about the Internet is that in some ways, itā€™s truly made the world a smaller one, in a good way. Not only can we make friends with all kinds of people in all kinds of places, we can use our connections for good.

I know Iā€™m a bit of an ostrichā€”I donā€™t like to watch the news and rarely read the papers. I donā€™t care to hear about the bad stuffā€”I guess if that makes me a fool, then so be it. It isnā€™t that I donā€™t think bad things are happeningā€”alas, they are a part of reality, but I donā€™t feel I need to put them front and center in my life or the life of my family.

What I WOULD love to hear about is the good thingsā€”what is one kind thing, one generous thing someone has done for you or you have done for someone else recently? One great thing about the world we live in today is that we can truly reach out and touch someone else (remember that commercial? No? Feelinā€™ old here ;)) without leaving our homes. A heartfelt thank you that needed to be said. Words of encouragement just as someoneā€™s feeling really down and out. Even a giftcard or gift shared with another person. Or just a hilarious post on FB thatā€™s cheered you.

Some of the causes, groups, or people that most touch my heart are ones that support children, families, the military, and of course, reading. There are local ones that our family supports throughout the year, but a few that are farther reaching include:

Paperbackswap is a way to trade books youā€™re done with for books you want; they regularly also have ways to share books with schools in need, military personnel, and so on. I joined PBS years ago because DH thought itā€™d be a great way to get rid of some of the books in the house, and well, I wouldnā€™t say that we now have fewer booksā€”we just have more books that we actually want to read šŸ˜‰

Another for us readers is Operation Paperback, which works directly to connect military personnel with books to keep them company.

This one focuses on serving military families, who make huge sacrifices on our behalf every day: Operation Home Front

And I recall Reading Is Fundamental advertising even from when I was little.

And while itā€™s key to hook kids on reading, there are adults who need that same gift. ProLiteracy addresses adult illiteracy and helps get these people the lifechanging help reading provides.

I personally also like the work that Partners International does, especially with women and children.Ā Plus they have a cool Harvest of Hope catalog which is very fun for our kids to go through, especially as weā€™re heading into the giving season.

So, what is near and dear to your heart? Please share either a group or an instance with us, and let us know how we can help, too! (I have books and swag Iā€™d love to share with at least one of youā€”thatā€™ll help me, too! My husband is often ready to toss my packrat self into the street ;))

I embedded the links to the organizations into the organization names – so just wanted to point that out to you in case you wanted to look for them. Thanks! (Also, as such I take full responsibility for weird sentences etc.)

(International!) Pay It Forward Day!

Hi friends!

I only just learned it’s International Pay It Forward Day. šŸ™‚ So… nothing hugely organized – but, I wanted to ask – is there anything I’m able to do for you?

I asked on twitter too.

If so – just let me know. I’ll do my best.

Did you know about it? Will you try to do anything? (I’m being lazy and staying in…)

Somewhat along those lines… National Make a Difference Day is coming up in the fall – and I always have a Social Media for Social Good fundraiser. I’m still trying to pick a charity. One that does something that matters, is a 501c3 (at least in the states), is well run, and ideally, international. If you’ve got suggestions I’d love to hear them.

Also – I know charities can send aĀ lot of mail. Like aĀ lot of solicitations. I’ve gotten so much mail from Save the Children, from last year and previous years. And other organizations. (I’m sorry about that.) I wanted to know then – if I started a collection on paypal or something – would you be more or less interested in donating? (That way you wouldn’t get the email/paper mail solicitations.) Paypal would take a slight fee, so it wouldn’t be a 100% donation – and all the other issues, but it would save you the junk mail.

Thoughts?

Lori’s Walk to Defeat ALS

Walk to Defeat ALSā€¦ because you can

Thank you so much, Lime, for letting me share information about ALS, the Walk to Defeat ALS and to spread awareness of the urgency to find treatments and a cure. I really appreciate all the good that you do for social causes and how generous you and your readers are with your time and money. Iā€™m here to ask you to open your hearts once more for a disease that has struck my family.

ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, aka Lou Gehrigā€™s disease) is a neuromuscular disease. There is no cure at this time, or even any treatment. Basically, ALS robs a person of everything except their cognitive abilities. The muscles begin to weaken, as nerves donā€™t fire correctly. You slowly begin to lose your ability to walk, talk, swallow, breathe. Yet you remain completely aware of everything going on around you and can still feel pain. It is among the cruelest of diseases. Every 90 minutes a person in this country is diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes another person will lose their battle against this disease. ALS occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic boundaries. This crippling disease can strike anyone. Presently there is no known cause of the disease, though support is bringing researchers closer to an answer. In the meantime, it costs an average of $200,000 a year to provide the care ALS patients need.

Part of the problem is that there is no test for ALS. Itā€™s a diagnosis thatā€™s only made after ruling everything else out. So it frequently takes up to 2 years to diagnose the correct disease. Thatā€™s 2 years of disease progression before youā€™ve even gotten a diagnosis. You may have seen this video feature of New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason during the SuperBowl this year:

Hereā€™s my own ALS story:
My sister-in-law Sue was diagnosed in October 2010 with ALS. The diagnosis took 18 months, which is sadly not unusual. In the 1 Ā½ years since her diagnosis (3 years into the disease), she is now completely dependent. She is in a wheelchair, and requires assistance around the clock. The saving grace for my brother and sister-in-law has been our local chapter of theĀ ALS Association. The ALS Association serves several purposes. First, they are there to educate ALS patients, families, and the public about this disease. But more importantly, they are there to help families in their local communities with the necessary adjustments ā€“ providing affordable equipment such as wheelchairs for patients, contractors to retrofit houses, and social services to give patients and their families the support they need. Our local chapter helped my brother find a handicap-equipped van at an affordable price. They recommended a contractor to them who works with the ALS Association to give a special break in price to ALS patients for retrofitting their home.

The average life expectancy of an ALS patient ranges from 2 to 5 years from the time of diagnosis. Ā We are now at the 1 Ā½ -year mark from diagnosis. My brother and sister-in-law and my 2 nieces are coping with the help of family and friends, but I know that there is quickly going to come a day when we no longer have Sue with us. Though she is enrolled in some clinical trials, and we remain hopeful for a treatment to slow progression or a cure. However, itā€™s not likely that Sue will benefit directly from the ongoing research. Where she does benefit immediately is with the support offered to them by the ALS Association and the community of families that reside within it. The ALS community is a tightly-kit one, and it breaks my heart every time my brother tells me that one of their friends has lost their battle.

My greatest hope is that Sue will win her battle, and be here to watch both of her daughters graduate from college, dance at their weddings, and live to see her grandchildren. I pray we find an answer for the millions of people with ALS, but most especially… and selfishly (I admit)… I pray for a cure for Sue, my brother, and my nieces. They are fighting so valiantly, and staying hopeful and optimistic.

Because every donation goes almost exclusively to the local chapters, every gift you make will go directly toward helping my brother and his family.

Here is, in part, how donations help:

  • $25 pays for a walking cane that will transform the hope for safety into peace of mind.
  • $60 helps webcast an ā€œAsk the Expertsā€ research summit online for those who are unable to attend in person.
  • $100Ā enables repairs and maintenance of an augmentative communication device (AAC) from the ALS loan closet.
  • $250 funds one of sixteen monthly support groups that serve people with ALS and their families in my community.
  • $600 supports one day of a multi-disciplinary satellite clinic which serves people with ALS who arenā€™t able to travel long distances.

I know that money is tight for so many of us. I’d really appreciate anything that you could donate to help fight against ALS. Even $5 or $10 helps! With so many government budget cuts, subsidized medical research is often the first thing to go. With your help though, we can make a tangible difference in the lives of people affected by this disease. Last year, your generous donations helped to raise close to $6500 for my team of walkers. My own personal goal is to raise $1500.

To donate to my Walk to Defeat ALS:Ā http://webgw.alsa.org/goto/loris

Find out more about ALS and the amazing work being done by the ALS Association here:Ā http://www.alsa.org/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Donations also are used to fund important research – the ALS Association has the most active research program in the world, and over the past year many new discoveries have been made. One of the current studies is focusing on the increased incidence of ALS in our armed forces. Here are some other important breakthroughs ā€“ among which is discovering a gene that is common in familial ALS (when it runs in families).

(9/21/2011) New Genetic Mutation Identified: Most Common Cause of FTD and ALS, Accounting for as Much as One Third of All Familial ALS

(8/23/2011)Ā Northwestern researchers report breakthrough in ALS research

Brace Yourselves… (Bleeding Heart Ahead)

I know it hasn’t been something I’ve focused on for a while, but a passion of mine that equals, if not exceeds my love of books is social justice. There’s just beenĀ so much going on in the world that I’ve been a bit overwhelmed. (And then with me personally. Life and I have been disagreeing on many levels.)

But there’s something I saw today and it just… well broke my heart. If you watch the video – which is lengthy, grab tissues. I cried. This is the article:Ā Killed at Home: White Plains, NY Police Called Out on Medical Alert Shoot Dead Black Veteran, 68. (I’m going to try and embed the video, but for some reason WordPress has always hated me…)

Police Called Out on Medical Alert Shoot Dead Black Veteran

There’s just… I don’t even have a response for that, other than sorrow, and an utter sense ofĀ wrongness. That it was police – respondingĀ to a medical alert call doing this makes it… I don’t think I’ve been as horrified since I learned the police duty (or lack thereof) to the public when it comes to you the individual as a member of the public, in Torts.

I can’t believe this happenedĀ last year thatĀ Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr was shot dead.Ā By police.Ā Inside his own home. And nothing has happened.

Where’s the national outcry and outrage about this? (That’s a whole new can of worms though… but you have to admit – there’s the whole sensationalist/popular opinion thing.Ā Not to say I don’t think it’s important to care about and fight for justice with Trayvon Martin’s family – but … consistency. Slow and steady.)

Like with FoxConn taking the heat – so many people are throwing around words like “I’m never buying Apple again! I’m going Dell (or insert other electronics) all the way!” It’s just so… *facepalm* to me.Ā I’ll help you out.Ā Hewlett-Packard, I.B.M., Lenovo, Motorola, Nokia, Sony, Toshiba and others. (Also according to reports FoxConn has changed the factory conditions, and is also limiting everything to a (less than 60 – I can’t recall the exact hours now) work week, with no decrease in pay. Expect to see Apple products reflect that in their prices soon, because I just can’t see the company heads eating that cost. Unless they take it out on their other working grunts.)

So we’ve hit a few issues. I’m obviously not going to, and cannot detail everything.

But – let’s go one more with a death that should never have happened.

On March 21, a woman was beaten to death in her home. There, the police actually did their job [they a) didn’t kill her themselves, and b) launched an investigation] – so um, +1 I guess? (Sorry – you can tell I’m pretty salty about the other cases.)Ā Shaima Alawadi was an American citizen, and an Iraqi-American. If you read about the circumstances, I can’t see how it’s not a hate crime. I’m glad the FBI is stepping in, and I hope they catch the killer(s). I know we’re all still tense about 9/11, especially with the recent incidents with flight attendant(s) and pilot(s) losing their minds… but still.

There might have been media stories about this, but I haven’t seen or heard them. Of course, I’m someone who oftentimes distrusts media spin too…

This isn’t a very happy post, I know. But I think it’s important to think about, andĀ know about. We’re obviously not the happy melting pot we’re supposed to be in America. And for all that people say they’re colorblind, many obviously aren’t. And beyond that, to say one is colorblind proudly… I don’t think that’s actually right or helpful. Obviously race/ethnicity/colorĀ is a factor, and pretending that it isn’t is basically sticking your head in the sand.

Nota Bene – I am notĀ notĀ not saying that one incident is more important than the other, or trying to point fingers with the “why care about this and not that?” Or even about everything – because honestly – it’s inhuman to expect being able to keep up. No single person is able to know about every incident, everywhere, and to do something about it. But it’s important to care in general, and do what we can. It’s about raising the level of awareness, and concern.

And uh – if you managed to make it this far… believe it or not, I was mentioned elsewhere! Yes! Lil ‘ol me! And she even made me sound good! What’m I talking about? Elise Rome included me in her Bloggers/Readers section for her insane March Madness giveaway/project/thing. I don’t even have words- Ā I couldn’t handle it. Anyway, if you want, go visit me there and I’ll… um respond? (Yeah sorry Ā – can’t offer prizes etc, but if I ever win the lottery I totally would!)

p.s. – I know I didn’t post winners Saturday. Sorry – they’ll be up this week though!

A Thankful Thanksgiving (Touching Guest Post from Liz)

I have this special fondness for Thanksgiving being on the 24th of November. There’s no particular rhyme or reason, but it just seems right to me. Like Thanksgiving is meant to be on the 24th. Sure, sometimes it’s on different days – that’s how the calendar works. I’m sure each and every one of us also has something to be thankful for. Sure, some of us have it better than others. (And most of us reading this blog have it better than many parts of the world… but that’s a dangerous game to play.)

I think today’s post, though, is absolutely perfect, and fitting. Sarah M. Anderson prompted me to do the mini SMSG drive for the Pine Ridge Reservation. (I can’t seem to escape it – actually watched Imprint last night (the indie film not the… other horror?), not knowing about the location/specifics.) But really, I can’t say anything better than Liz. For such a small effort, I think we did fabulously, everyone. Anyway, Liz commented on my original post, and I asked if she’d be willing to blog about the experience, giving to the Reservation, and here it is.

I don’t know what it’s like to go to bed hungry. I never lived with anyone growing up except my two parents. My mom stayed home with us kids while my dad worked. My brother and I had closets full of clothes, shoes, and toys. We were warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Now, I can say that my children don’t know what it’s like to be hungry or cold or wonder where their parents are. I know that we’re blessed and I’m grateful every day for the life we enjoy. And I’m never more aware of just how blessed we really are until I see programs like 20/20s report on the Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation’s children. My nine year old daughter Rachel and I sat together and watched the show. Throughout, she kept saying “it’s so sad”.

The first thing she said to me when it was over was, “Mom, I want to send them my hats.” We looked up the websites mentioned on the 20/20 website, settling on one that would accept hats and gloves and also books for children of all ages. That weekend, we went shopping and purchased hats, gloves, and books (baby, toddler, and elementary age) to add to the freshly washed, gently used items we had at home.

I told her that there were several hundred kids on the reservation that had little or no winter clothes. She looked down at the hats and then up at me with her big blue eyes and said, “We only have six.”

I gave her a hug and said, “Six isn’t a big number, but those six kids will be thankful to get those hats this winter. So it might not seem like a big deal, but it will be a big deal to a handful of kids.”

I know that there are many people who did more than we did – who gave money or boxes of clothes and supplies; but I couldn’t look at my daughter and say – well we can only do “x” and it won’t matter in the whole scheme of things. Because in truth, every little bit counts, but only if the “bits” make it where they’re needed. We did what we could and tried to fill a need as we were able.

Grown men can learn from very little childrenā€”for the hearts of little children are pure. Therefore, the Great Spirit may show them many things that older people miss.” Black Elk

Today, I’m thankful and humbled to be part of the romance community, where I get to meet and mingle with wonderful people like you. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I hope you have a wonderful day. <3

Romance and RAINN (Comment for Charity)

Beverley Kendall, who runs The Season has this wonderful post up: RAINN: Comment for a cause. It’s there for an extremely sad reason – the Penn State incident(s) – but the thing is we can do our best to make a bad situation better. RAINNĀ (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) is the charity she’s donating to – and she’ll be giving 50 cents per comment through November.

All it takes is a comment, and you can do some good. I think everyone knows what’s gone on at Penn State… but even if you don’t – do please stop by The Season Blog post and leave a comment.

Thanks so much!

Helping and Social Good

Remember when I talked about the Children of Pine Ridge Reservation a few weeks ago? Well we gave at least $725.00 to various charitable organizations that help there! Fantastic! (I’m saying at least because I don’t know all the amounts and I’m pretty sure others gave as well.) And, just as fantastic, I know a number of you donated books, clothes, and other items as well.

I was really touched to see how many of you already knew about the situation there. I’m totally behind the curve! It’s insane how things like that are happening in the United States, isn’t it? And yet so common. I remember one of my extremely privileged friends was shocked when he started volunteering in college. I was part of this program called Healthy Asian Youth – where we tutored/mentored at-risk underprivileged Cambodian children, grades K-12. I never went inside their homes, but I know there was one family that couldn’t afford … well basically anything. They only had one light bulb, and moved it from room to room as needed.

Sadly it’s only gotten worse in the past few years with our economic turmoil.

Anyway, my point though, isn’t to drag us all down – it’s to say that every little thing makes a difference. And it matters, and that you’re all lovely, awesome, and wonderful for caring. So much so, that… well I’m going to ask you to do something else.

Author Melissa Schroeder has a charity post up at her blog. It’s a “Veteran’s Day Fundraiser” for Fisher Hope. All you have to do, is leave a comment, and Melissa will donate to Fisher Hope. Simple as that – she’s giving up to $250, and this is only going until Monday at 8 AM Central time, so please take a minute to go there now! I’ll wait.

Veteran’s Day was yesterday (and I only post on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday “technically” – have you noticed that?) but I hope you all had a nice holiday, whether you were off work or school or not. All my uncles served, and my mom’s side of the family all the guys have been in the military as well. Hats off to all of them, as well as the men and women who serve, and have served their country. <3

Oh and bookwise? Yesterday I bought SEAL of my Dreams an anthology that eighteen authors contributed to, for a great cause.Ā  All proceeds from sales of SEAL of My Dreams go to the Veterans Research Corporation, a non-profit fundraiser for veteransā€™ medical research. You can, and should get it too. šŸ˜‰ The book is available in both print, and electronic format.

Another Plea, Another Need, Another Way to Help

This time my cause is the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and specifically… as always, the children who live there. I saw the ABC News 20/20 special – A Hidden America: Children of the Plains. Just the evening news clip had me in tears. I can’t embed the ABC video, and I looked for pictures, but there just aren’t any that fit. They seem too manipulative, or out of place. There is a slideshow you can click through, or videos to watch. I do hope you’ll look at a few. (*Note, the video is the episode, so it might be available only to those in the US. You might be able to watch the clips though.)

I don’t see how you can read some of these things and not be touched. For example, a six-year-old girl, who wants fresh water. You guys! Fresh water. Water. This from a little girl who lives in South Dakota.

“If she could, sheā€™d ask President Obama for ‘Fresh waterā€¦and bubble gumā€¦and a backpack.’ā€

  • Forty-seven percent of the Pine Ridge population lives below the federal poverty level
  • It is the poorest county in the USA. The average family income is just $3,700 per year.
  • 65Ā  to 80 percent of the adults are unemployed
  • 80 to 90 percent of adults suffer from alcoholism
  • There’s an obesity epidemic
  • The director of the sole substance abuse program on the reservation said children have their first drink as young as five or six
  • Pine Ridge has the highest teen suicide rate in the US

I don’t even have words for that situation. You can read more about it here, and here.

And then there’s this. If you can believe it, Subway was their best bet for nutrition. I scoffed, until I heard the rest. In fact, this is something that happened shortly after the first Subway opened. A customer – an elderly Lakota woman.

“She came in here and literally was crying because of what having this kind of a store or food restaurant in the community meant,” Banks said. “Not only because you see people investing in our own community, but also because, she said, ‘I haven’t eaten a cucumber in years because they’re so expensive.'”

It broke my heart that she not only considered cucumbers and expensive food, but that she hadn’t had one for years because she couldn’t afford one.

You can read the article and see the video. The average life expectancy is 58 for men, 66 for women. Fifty eight. … If I and my family lived there, not only would my dad, and all my uncles be dead… some of my cousins would be dead too – assuming they made it to the maximum life expectancy. It’s the lowest in the entire country. Some sources have an even lower number.

Sixty percent of all households in Pine Ridge qualify for public assistance. Eligible households can get monthly “commodity boxes” – which only contain “canned meats, cheese, with limited options for fruits and vegetables, and a lot of starchy carbohydrates.” Mind, the Lakota are only about ~150 years from being hunter/gatherers. (Which explains the obesity problems.)

I wanted to say “if you can believe it…” but I’m actually not surprised. Al Jazeera reported about the area well over a year ago. You can see the news clip. And yes, this made me cry. And this… well… it’s just tragic. Over a year ago the international community has known about this situation. It’s already been brought to the attention to the United Nations. I’m a little ashamed, and upset that I didn’t know about this until now. As in, this particular place, and just how bad it is.

And yet, there are some incredible, amazing, and inspiring children.

What’s the point of this?

Well, there are numerous ways to help. In fact there are numerous organizations you can look into here.

One thing I think pretty much everyone can do, is collect the “Box Tops for Education” – at least in the states. They’re on probably half the household items you buy regularly.Ā  I don’t know if products internationally have them. I checked the Red Cloud Indian School site and they’re trying to save up for resources for the children. For the box tops – check the last bullet point here. I’ve got a pile I’d been saving, and it’s perfect that I can mail them in.

I wanted to do something, but wasn’t sure what, or if you guys would be receptive to it considering I just had the “Social Media for Social Good 2011” drive not long ago. But as you’ll remember, I try to bring up worthy causes when I hear of them.

To be honest… I’m not in a great financial position either. In fact, the SMSG11 total is more than quadruple what I made in 2010. :X Nevertheless, I know I’m lucky, and I’m not in dire need of anything in particular. I also want to raise awareness – so, I’m asking for you to read this, to share it, comment, and possibly see what else you can do. You can also give monetarily to Red Cloud SchoolĀ  – which I like because it’s a 501c3. If you’d like to join me in a monetary donation, they have a site here. Or you can write them a check. I looked into the school as much as I could. They’re not on Charity Navigator, but they do have a BBB rating. I spent days looking over these things, trying to find information on charities, and which would be the best most responsible one to donate to. I did see the school spent 63%, instead of the required 65% of total expenses on program service activities. If any one of you can find a better organization, with the financial etc information, I will be happy to donate my money there. (I’m in for $25. I’d say $25 for 50 comments… but we all know I’ll give regardless.)

Lastly, full credit to Sarah M. Anderson who gave me this final nudge to write this post/ask all of you to give a little too. With this tweet, my mind was made up. How could I resist spending $500 of someone else’s money for charity? Well, I couldn’t and I can’t. Sarah has decided to give to Lakota Pine Ridge Children’s Enrichment Project, Ltd.Ā  which is also a 501c3. They also collect toys, clothing, books, and school supplies. For all the readers in us, the books part is very appealing as well. And it also means anyone who can’t give money, can still give in other ways. Perhaps instead of the local good will, ship one bag over to LPRCEP. Or a similar organization. (*I looked LPRCEP up on Charity Navigator, and the BBB, but they aren’t listed – I’m guessing merely because they’re a small and relatively new organization.)

I’d love if you would join us. Let me know what you’re planning to do – donating money, items, to which organization, etc. Thanks so much for your generosity, and for always letting me get on my little bleeding heart soap box. <3 I’m going to say let’s make this a two week push, okay? And see what we can do between now and November 3rd.

Life is a circle and we as common people are created to stand within it and not on it. I am not just of the past but I am the past. I am here. I am now and I will be for tomorrow. – Lakota Saying