Im going to let John Green explain a few of the reasons were politely declining to do the ice bucket challenge because hes able to phrase it all just a bit more charitably than I am. To everyone who has donated to ALS: Praise, praise, praise! I think it is absolutely fantastic that the ALS Association has raised 41 million dollars in the past 21 days (thats more than double the 19.4 million they raised for the entire 2013 tax year), BUT there are SO many other charities that are deserving of our time, money, and awareness. And unfortunately, these charities just happened to miss out on the internets ice bucket bandwagon. For instance, Im a huge fan of the organization, Kiva. Ive loaned money there in the past, and, in lieu of the ice bucket challenge, we plan to donate our time and money to another enterprising small business owner over at Kiva. (My previous loans enabled Afat to purchase a cow to support her family and Happy [thats a person] to buy supplies for her hardware store.) HOWEVER, we are not looking for a pat on the back for helping out someone in need. And we certainly dont want imaginary internet points for posting a punishment video for not donating $100 to a charity that seems to be doing pretty darn well for itself these days. (Seriously, at press time for this post, their site had been down for over an hour. Theyre getting plenty of traffic.) And, since its our turn now, wed like to challenge everyone to research some lesser known charities, to help out a friend or two in need, and to call your mother! She misses you. :) MORE INFORMATION What is ALS? (Because thats the whole point of the Ice Bucket Challenge - to raise awareness) alsa.org/about-als/what-is-als.html Where can I donate to ALS? See above! How many people in the US suffer from ALS? The CDC reports around 12,000-15,000 The ALS Association reports the number is around 30,000 So, who knows? wwwn.cdc.gov/als/whatisals.aspx alsa.org/about-als/facts-you-should-know.html What is Kiva? kiva.org/about Who the eff is Hank? Hank is a mass of incandescent gas located about 26,000 light years from the center of the Milky Way. Hank is responsible for 99.8% of the solar system’s mass. If you stare at Hank for too long, you will go blind. nerdfighteria.info/entry/1079
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 02:05:30 +0000
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