Charity Suggestion??

[that_guy]

counted all the coins in the piggy bank, came up with around 100 bucks.. i have no need for it since and i have enough money to buy the things i need(want really haha) giving it to some charity.... any suggestions? im not gonna give it to some weird charity that frowns on 100 bucks... and no world vision cos i hate that stupid thing.... 100 bucks isnt much at all, but its better then me blowing it on some useless thing. haha

cheers
tony

[kinetic]

Fred Hollows Foundation

[supernova1965]

+1 for Fred Hollows from me

[Moon]

+2 for Fred Hollows from me also.

[tlgerdes]

The Smith Family. I did a lot of work with them 10 years ago and still have a lot of friends who work with them. All money 100% you donate goes to the needy. All staffing and ancillary costs are covered from The Smith Family Industries, which make a variety of products including dish cloths and cleaning products.

Same goes to with Mission Australia, they have other business ventures like employments services etc, that fund the running of the charity. So 100% of donations go to the needy.

[wavelandscott]

All worthy causes but I'll put my 2 cents in for Diabetes Australia.

My son has Type 1 Diabetes and I can tell you from experience that they do great work!

[ballaratdragons]

Bloody good attitude Tony, I like it!!!!!!

Your a gem, mate.

I could probably suggest half a dozen good charities (like the Snake Valley Astro Assoc. :lol: ) but I like the suggestion by the 1st 3 replies: Fred Hollows.

Saving and improving someones sight is indeed a great thing (not to lesson any other charitable work).
Imagine if you could no longer see the sky!

[Suzy]

Tony, what a kind heart you have! $100 is certainly very generous especially from someone who isn't working yet. And there you have it ... you have just proven that astro people are definitely indeed the nicest people on this planet. :)
I think the Fred Hollows Foundation would be a good one to give to as well. ;)

[astroron]

Tony Cambroon observatory could do with a few Dollars:P
But I also agree on the Fred Hollows foundation is a worthwhile place to put your dollars :)
Anything to do with making eyesight better for poorer people gets my vote:thumbsup:
Cheers

[taminga16]

Tony,
What about something a little closer to home.
http://www.aboriginalliteracyfoundation.or g/
Cheers.
Greg.

[Allan_L]

Good one Tony!
You are to be congratulated for your selflessness.
But I suggest you need to focus your generous intentions.

what sort of Charity do you want to support:
Poor / Homeless people in Australia? (eg: Salvos)
Starving people overseas? (eg Oxfam)
Research (eg Cancer Council)?
People suffering from specific illness (eg MS)?
Young kids (Youth Off the Streets)

Pick a good one, then challenge every IISer to match your donation!
Maybe you can be the start of something really big.
Let's see how generous IISers are this Christmas !!! :thumbsup:

[casstony]

You could donate to your local fire brigade or hospital.

We usually donate to Unicef each year - they help kids around the world. Typically 20% of doantions go to admin costs for the higher profile charities, though it can be considerably more for some.

[that_guy]

Wow great replies haha... I'm looking at mostly to help third world countries, Fred hollows sounds good, but I'm leaning towards helping them withbfood and medical supplies and children education..

[casstony]

One word of caution - if you start donating to an organisation you may find you'll get frequent phone calls from many other charities. This became overwhelming for us (2 or 3 calls per week) so now we reject all phone solicitations other than our chosen charities. I don't know which charities share/sell their donor lists but an anonymous donation would avoid the problem.

[mozzie]

well said we donate to a charity,i then believe our details were sent around to all the charities and the bombardment of phone calls was unbelievable we give anonymously know....

[Kevnool]

Thats a kind thing you are doing there Tony.
No matter who you give a donation to Tony they will be thankfull.
I reckon youre a brave young man for doing this :thumbsup:.

Happy New Year
Cheers Kev.

[multiweb]

I reckon you should go get your dog back. :thumbsup:

[el_draco]

Whats the problem with World Vision? From my experience, the work done by this organisation is about as good as it gets if you want to help someone out in a another country.

[PCH]

Hey Tony, - I'm with Rom,

wots the problem with WV? I've supported a couple of kids for 5 years now, and we all enjoy the feedback we get from them from time to time. They do allow one-off donations for those that can't support monthly. It's a great way of caring, and they really do all the hard work for you - like sending you cards to just sign and return at Christmas and birthdays (they send them on to the kids). And you get a full report at the end of financial year as well.

Also, we support Medecins sans Frontiers. They do great work and also allow one-off donations.

Whoever you give to, make sure you get a receipt. Make the donation in mum or dad's name if you don't work - then they can claim it as a deduction :thumbsup:

[GrahamL]

Flood appeals , a lot of comunities and particularly the most vulnerable people within them are going to lose most everything in the coming days / weeks .

[Allan_L]

as mentioned earlier --> check out Oxfam

[acropolite]

The others are correct when they say you get bombarded with phone calls once a charity gets your contact info.

I too had that experience and have stopped all donations for that reason. The minute I told one charity I was no longer donating due to the ongoing harassment the calls stopped.

Another thing to be aware of is that much of the money going to charities ends up being swallowed up by the organization collecting the funds, i.e. very few charities actually collect money themselves. I've heard figures as high as 80% being absorbed in the collection agency with only 20% reaching the end charity. I'm not saying don't donate, but be aware of the pitfalls.

It's a shame that in this day and age one can't show some generosity without being continually hardware as a consequence.

[multiweb]

Yep - seen that first hand having indirectly worked with many. I don't know how people can be ok with that. I'm not. Quite shocking actually. Seems charities are becoming big businesses these days. Very publicly blowing their horn too. I think charity starts with caring. No need to shout it all loud. Just do it directly for someone who really can do with some help. One on one. No more no less.

[Inmykombi]

Being actively involved with Surf Luifesaving Australia for the last 10 year I would have to say donate it to your local club.
If you dont live near the coast, maybe donate to one of the Helicopter services who always need funding for the marvelous service they provide for everyone.

Cheers and thanks for a great idea.