My
first thought when I stumbled across a “friends”(I use that term
lightly since the inception of Facebook after seeing ppl with friends
hitting 6-7 digits.) CAUSES PAGE was
a mix of amazement and skepticism. After digging a little deeper
through the about page, how it works, and seemingly endless
possibilities and uses I'm left with the same thoughts.
I
find that fact incredibly sad. What an amazingly great, wonderful,
creative idea. Sometimes I really just sit back in amazement at the
sheer numbers of talented, ambitious, hard-working.....and the list
of superlatives goes on and on and on to describe the ppl out there.
Now,
how pitiful is it, that as quickly as my mind goes from there to
worrying just how many evil ppl across the world are exploiting
something so great, and turning into some shady story of loss all the
while hiding a shameless grin behind a computer screen. Sitting in a
posh hotel with friends, “creating” page after page, cause after
cause, banking on the kindness of strangers. Just waiting for someone
like myself who tries to find non-profits, charities, or a need that
isn't publicized nationally, something that really means or says
something to me at that moment.
As
quickly as I make the decision to give the little that I'm able, they
bang out 4 more “stories” each and before my money is even in
their pocket, a few other good Samaritans hop online and so it
continues....and endless loop of caring, research, giving, research,
caring, research, just hoping that you made the right decision this
time, that your part, went and actually did some bit of good to put a
smile on someone's face, somewhere out there.....this time.
Now,
Speaking about CAUSES.COM SPECIFICALLY; regardless
of the possible dishonest, greedy, scumbaggish, loser,
good-for-nothing assholes that can turn anything that involves money
into something evil, CAUSES.COM has both great intentions and a great
set-up which has been integrated with facebook to allow for
“spreading the word” along with “liking” quickly and
easily....if that's where you want to do your “spreading of the
word”
It's
my understanding that users are able to set up “causes” as
anything from a well known charity to gather money and make a
donation in honor of a loved one, local business in need, struggling,
etc or even a friend or neighbor that has fallen on hard times. A
broad spectrum of possibilities exist which is part of what really
makes this such a great tool with seemingly endless possibilities and
uses many different ppl, types of businesses, charities,
non-profits, and organizations.
If
you just take the time to browse through one of the hundreds and
thousands of categories you will see just how creative and unique
users have become. The best part though, at least for me, is reading
the stories and touching summaries some have written as to why giving
to this particular organization is meaningful or important to them
personally. Whether it's in honor of a loved one who fought through
and overcame cancer, spreading the word about helping get funding for
Alzheimer's research, continuing development of knowledge in regards
to aids or supporting organizations helping our veterans reintegrate
into society, find gainful employment, or even something as simple as
getting housing located close enough to the soldiers home that they
can get the care they need.
These
are sometimes things that are forgotten because we just figure it's
OBVIOUSLY TAKEN CARE OF, I MEAN, HOW COULD YOU LEAVE THE MEN AND
WOMEN WHO ARE COMING BACK FROM SOMETIMES YEARS LIVING IN A WAR ZONE
TO FIGURE ALL THIS OUT FOR THEMSELVES?? Well, guess what? It's not
taken care of. There are services that help, but there isn't someone
waiting at the airport with a list of all the services they will need
and new cell phone with minutes and a taxi driver ready to start
getting them situated. I know it may seem like I'm making light of
it but this is just one example of thousands of charities out there
that need funding, need volunteers, etc from everyone.
Obviously
I got a little off topic of the website review at the end here but
it's a message that is very important to me personally and it's
something I think everyone, that means whether your rich and don't
have a care in the world or getting assistance like food and housing
from the state, needs to really think about every once in a while.
Just because you don't have the extra income to give away $500 to buy
some stupid brick at your sons school doesn't mean you can't do
something meaningful in your own way. Pick one morning every month or
every other month and spend a few hours helping give out food or
collect food for your local shelter or food pantry. Take your kids
with you if they are old enough, that's the kind of values and traits
that can be instilled in your kids for the rest of their lives.
Just
imagine how it would feel 20 years from now when you read in the
paper about a local school doing a food drive for the church and see
your son is running it with your grand kids. It didn't cost you a
penny but you probably helped 15-20 families that didn't know where
they were going to be eating or if they were going to be eating when
they woke up. Now that's something to smile about.
Spread
the word, it's worth it.
