Bloggers Give Back: Introducing Watsi
It’s been a long time since I’ve done a Bloggers Give Back update, so I thought it might be nice to focus an entire post on it.
I continue to give to charity- for free. I do this by clicking to give at each of the Greater Good Networks sites. (Click the link, it will take you to the Rainforest site. Click the green button. Then, just to the left of “Rainforest” click “Literacy”. Click it’s big blue button, and just move on down the line.) In addition, I’ve been voting for Old Dog Haven in the Animal Rescue Site’s Shelter Challenge every day. If there’s a local animal shelter you work with, go vote for them. (Or you can always vote for Old Dog Haven of Arlington, WA- we won’t complain).
I also go to FreeKibble and FreeKibbleKat almost every day to answer their trivia questions and donate food to animal shelters.
Do you have 5 minutes and an internet connection? That’s all it takes to donate to charity.
My main goal with Bloggers Give Back was to volunteer from the comfort of my computer chair. I must admit, I’ve pretty much failed here. I haven’t even visited Sparked in months. And it’s not like I’m so busy I don’t have 15 minutes to at least look through the current challenges.
With FinCon only 2 weekends away, maybe I’ll revise my goals for the rest of the year and have a goal of working on at least one Sparked project a month.
We also give back in other ways. Adorable foster dog Howie is still with us, and we love having him (though at the moment he has a double ear infection and isn’t the happiest of campers). We donated I don’t remember how many carloads of “stuff” toValueVillage, which is a local thrift store supporting a few different charities. We donated her old medical supplies (including her scooter) to a company that will refurbish them and give them to needy people. As we’ve cleaned, I’ve created other piles of items that need to be donated.
And today, I found a new way to give. This one isn’t free. I want to say that right off the bat, but you all know how much I love micro-everything- from loans, to investing, to volunteering. We’ve invested with Prosper, C “invests” in new projects he believes in over at KickStarter. When real micro-investing becomes legal, I have no doubt we’ll be on that bandwagon.
At the same time, I think the most valuable thing to come out of the micro movement is the ability to donate small amounts online that add up to one big thing. Kiva is a great organization that lends money to entrepreneurs in developing countries to help them start their businesses. They pay the money back to Kiva, which is then able to donate it to help other businesses.
Well, today, I found a new micro-donation charity organization that speaks to me and my passions. I’ve mentioned before that I would love to move to a non-profit global health organization. But even without making a career change, it turns out, I can help people in developing countries get life saving (or at least majorly life improving) medical care.
Introducing Watsi. Watsi just launched this last Friday, and they have already fully funded 14 medical procedures for people living in places fromGuatemala toNepal. I donated to heart surgery for a 14 year old girl this morning. They need less than $200 to fully fund her procedure.
Since this site is so new, you’re not going to find a rating on Charity Navigator or GiveWell yet, but initial reactions from those organizations seem positive. (I didn’t do the research. Here’s the link to the article that introduced me to the site and where the author, being an actual reporter type, did the research.)
I know we have a number of financial bloggers out there who work in the healthcare field, so I’d love to get the word out about this great new way to help people in developing countries get the care they need, even if you don’t have the resources of the Gate Foundation.
Aww, Howie looks content, even through his illness. Thank you for the heads up on Watsi — I'm always on the lookout for laudable charities.
Well, that picture was taken before his current double ear infection, but in general, he\’s a pretty content little guy. Sweet and easy to take care of.
That's so wonderful that you have a foster dog. We have failed twice at fostering. We kept both dogs and still have them! Also thanks for the info about Watsi. I will pass that along.
Trust me, it's very possible that we will "fail" at fostering the same way you have. At the same time, given that we are fostering an older dog with health problems, its very nice to have someone else paying the vet bills. And, if Howie remains unadoptable, then he just remains with us until it's time, anyway.
Cute puppy! And thanks for reminding me about therainforestsite and the others, I remember seeing those as a younger kid and clicking them but I totally forgot they existed (and wasn't sure that they still did). I will check out Watsi!
He's 12-13 years old, so not much of a pupy (not that this stops me from calling him "baby boy" all the time), but he is pretty cute.
The Greater Good Network sites are all still around and still doing good work.
Wild! That's cool. I still have to set up my Prosper account….sigh….add it to the list…..
Prosper is much less "fun" now than it was in the early days- before it was subject to so many laws. I still get a little thrill when we get the message that one of our loans has been paid back in full.