As I was waiting for the last few minutes before 5:00 to tick down (I have become a fervent clock watcher in this job), saw this on Stylish Corpse:
The holidays are almost upon us again and this year the MMO Blogging Alliance wants to help ensure a good season for all! Weve decide to pull together and encourage our readers to donate to those less fortunate. It has been a tough year for many families across the world and a little boost can go a long way. Please consider donating to one of the many charities that we recommend or one you select on your own. If youre a blogger and would like to participate in our drive it is as easy as writing a post, including this at the top, linking to the other posts, and picking a charity to donate to. Lets show everyone that in 2009 the MMO community can make a positive difference in the world!
This is something that I’ve been thinking about a lot. No matter how short you are on money, each of us should be able to give something to the world, to organisations or charities that do good work. I’d thought about some kind of Facebook group for it, but this is perfect. Feel free to pass it on!
The charities that I will donate to this year (however unimpressive my donations may be) are:
Médecins Sans Frontières, because they do amazing good work in places which really need it. I once worked with a brilliant developer who was originally from DR Congo, and he said that this charity, above all, makes donations work to actually help the people that they are intended for. Whether it is famine, or child soldiers, or rape or the spread of HIV that make you tear up, this is one of the parts of the world that really needs all the help it can get.
The ALS Association, in honor of my mother, who is one of the bravest people I know. ALS, Lou Gherig’s Disease, or Motor Neuron Disease (as it’s known in the UK), is an extremely cruel disease. As nerves and muscles fail, the sufferer is gradually locked inside a nonfunctional body. It’s been some time since I’ve been able to talk with my mother on the phone without my father to translate for her, which is doubly tough since I live so far away. She’s braver and much more cheerful than I could ever manage if I was unable to talk, unable to eat, and increasingly unable to take care of myself. It’s an evil disease, and we need to find a cure.
So those are my tiny contributions. I hope that posts like this can convince others to add a tiny bit of charity to a season of consumerism. The links below can give you an idea of some worthy places to send a few bucks to:
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Heh — small world. My mother has lived and worked in the DRC for some years now, which is partly why I have such a jaundiced view of aid in general. Even so, there are things we can all do that will make a difference to someone. Thanks for joining in! :)
Hi Ravven, my name is Pete Masters and I am actually the web editor for the MSF UK site. Came across your site because you had linked to us and I just wanted to say thanks for the support and the mention. Really appreciate it…
Cheers
Pete masters (MSF UK)
Wow, how nice of you to stop by and comment here. :) I tell everyone that MSF is a very, very good organisation to donate to – so many times your donations don’t actually get to the people that you want to help, and MSF is different. Or so I was told by someone who grew up in an environment where they had first-hand experience of your work.
This is also the reason I wanted to work for them in the first place….
Thanks again,
All the best,
Pete
Sorry was logged in under personal wordpress account on my last comment ;-)
Cheers
P