Changing the World: It’s a Few Easy Clicks Away
by Kelly
Thanks to the internet, you don’t have to be a billionaire to change the world. There are tons of great charities online, some of which accept donations in affordable amounts, others that don’t require any exchange of money at all! While we are facing troubling times in our own economy, when you think about the fact that 3 billion people live on just $2 USD a day, helping out seems like the right thing to do. Plus, did you know that people with the least amount of money are notoriously the most generous? No matter what your income, there are ways of being charitable this holiday season. Here are five sites that I highly recommend checking out:
5. Good Shop — You’re going to be buying gifts anyway, so why not donate while you shop? This site allows you to pick a charity to donate to, and offers a wide range of shops that will donate a percentage of what you spend to that charity. Popular stores include Amazon.com, the Apple Store, Best Buy, eBay, and Target. When doing your shopping online, this is a great site to get into the habit of using.
4. World Wildlife Fund — There are several ways of helping this cause — donate money, sign petitions. However, the best way (at least in my opinion) is to “adopt” an animal. What’s sweeter than that? The most popular animal is the polar bear, but if you know a penguin/frog/seal/etc lover, it might be nice to “adopt” an animal in their name. The only downside? Polar bear cuddle-fests not included.
3. The Hunger Site — Want to help out but don’t want to spend the cash? Check out this site (and it’s partner sites — Save the Rainforest, Breast Cancer Awareness, Children’s Health, Literacy, and Animal Rescue) and just “click” every day. Each click raises the amount of money the site’s advertisers donate to that particular cause. For people like me, who spend inordinate amounts of time on the internet, there’s no excuse not to click every day!
2. Kiva — This site allows you to lend money to Third World entrepreneurs, which they will use to support or expand their business, and then pay back within half a year. The great part of the site? The smallest amount you can lend is only $25 USD, and once the entrepreneur pays the loan back, you can re-lend the money to another person of your choice. The site is easy to use and the pictures and stories of the people seeking loans are fascinating. My mother actually gave me a gift the other day of $50 to lend out to people. After using this site, I highly recommend it to everyone. It’s a great way to empower others without having to break your own bank.
1. FreeRice — You’ve probably heard of this site already, but it bears reminding! This great site donates rice to people in need every time you play their vocabulary game. The game gets more challenging as you play, and therefore helps you improve your vocab while helping end hunger. It’s fun, it’s free, and you can play as often as you like! If you look at the total rice donated, you’ll see that this site originally gained popularity about a year ago, but since then has slowly declined in terms of popularity. I don’t know why, since this site is the easiest way to make a difference…we just need to renew our efforts! Add this site to your bookmarks and be sure to play for at least a few minutes every day.
Other Ways you can help:
- Donate Blood (not for the queasy at heart, like me! But if a little blood loss doesn’t scare you, this is a great way to give back)
- Donate your old coins! Go to your local Coinstar machine and give those pennies to a major charity of your choice.
Helpful Links:
- FBI’s 8 Tips to Avoid Internet Charity Fraud
- Charity Navigator — Find out which charities you can trust
- 6 Questions to Ask Charities Before Donating
- Top 10 Best Practices of Savvy Donors (and lots of other useful tips!)
- How to create, improve and promote a charity website
- Dollface
Photo Credits
That free rice site is addicting. I learned about it in my World Ecological Problems and Man class this past semester.
I was just surfing around on the WWF site last night. I wanted to help out the pandas because they’re my favorite animal. But, now I’m considering sending a turtle to rehab; it’s not too pricey.
Sadly though, I’m not allowed to donate blood because I was born outside the U.S. during the 1980s. I forget why I’m not allowed to though. Probably some kind of pathogen fear or something. Boo.
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I like the rice game, but I always feel bad when I stop playing. There’s not a point where you’re like, “High score! I’m all done!” So, I just try to play from time to time when I come to your site, that way I don’t get too spazzed out about it. Despite the guilt thing, it’s a really good game concept! :)
I’m really interested in KIVA. That’s an awesome program
@ Jackie — I love turtles! That’s a great idea. I agree about the polar bear being too pricey…at least right now anyway, with student loans to be thinking about.
That’s strange about the blood…where were you born? Typical of the US govt.
@ Dolly — I feel bad too about ending the free rice game. I’m always thinking…oh, but I should donate more rice…
@ Annie — Kiva is really great. I was pretty happy when my mom gave me money towards it, and I’m thinking of investing some of my own.
check out http://www.freewebs.com/clickforcharity
Thanks for the suggestion, bea.
[...] this article about eco-friendly fashion, or how to change the world from your computer, and finally, watch the “Story of Stuff” and explore the website. There’s so much [...]