Good news, we have enough food in the world to feed everyone. So to help out this week I took a quiz on the World Food Program, in return they will feed a hungry kid for one year.
https://quiz.wfp.org/
Hunger kills more people than AIDS+Malaria+TB, and is prevalent most countries including the US. Here is the comment at the end of the Quiz..
"...
There is enough food today for
everyone to have the nourishment needed for a healthy and productive
life. The problem is access.
Thanks for taking the quiz!
....
"
Showing posts with label pledge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pledge. Show all posts
Saturday, 12 July 2014
Thursday, 3 July 2014
week 7 Enviromental Defense Fund
Back to the environment and virtual tree hugging. I've previously supported EDF http://www.edf.org/ in years past but I'm taking advantage of a 2 for 1 match available at the moment.
It's a charity run by proactive scientists. Among other initiatives they lobby congress, its nice to have folks like this in Washington DC rather than the usual Bankers, Oil industry, Big Pharm....etc. In addition to lobbying they work in commercial markets also.
Success stories include fighting AB32 which was a California proposition that would curb the state carbon cap and trade. They also collaborated with Wal-Mart for safer chemicals in their products.
When I'm wondering how well a non-profit handles its money I check out Charity Navigator. EDF scores well.
Proof for this week
Saturday, 28 June 2014
Week 6 World community grid
I have my laptop on constantly, mostly because I work for a software company....OK, so maybe its also that I'm online wayyyy tooo much! However, for much of this time the heavy duty computation is done by whatever terminal server I'm logged into. My laptop is essentially idle; simply acting as a portal. I'm sure a lot of people are only using a faction of the computational power at their fingertips.
How could this extra computation capacity be put to good use?....Well world community grid from IBM is a pretty awesome way of using that computer power.
From the web page www.worldcommunitygrid.org
"World Community Grid enables anyone with a computer, smartphone or tablet to donate their unused computing power to advance cutting-edge scientific research on topics related to health, poverty and sustainability. Through the contributions of over 650,000 individuals and 460 organizations, World Community Grid has supported 22 research projects to date, including searches for more effective treatments for cancer, HIV/AIDS and neglected tropical diseases. Other projects are looking for low-cost water filtration systems and new materials for capturing solar energy efficiently."
It is free. It is IBM so I trust I'm not going to get some virus or have some other nasty event/blue screen situation.
I installed it earlier this week (it was quite painless) and, up to now, has been looking at potential cure for Aids and markers for cancer. It is nice that they let you know what the computer is looking at.
How could this extra computation capacity be put to good use?....Well world community grid from IBM is a pretty awesome way of using that computer power.
From the web page www.worldcommunitygrid.org
"World Community Grid enables anyone with a computer, smartphone or tablet to donate their unused computing power to advance cutting-edge scientific research on topics related to health, poverty and sustainability. Through the contributions of over 650,000 individuals and 460 organizations, World Community Grid has supported 22 research projects to date, including searches for more effective treatments for cancer, HIV/AIDS and neglected tropical diseases. Other projects are looking for low-cost water filtration systems and new materials for capturing solar energy efficiently."
It is free. It is IBM so I trust I'm not going to get some virus or have some other nasty event/blue screen situation.
I installed it earlier this week (it was quite painless) and, up to now, has been looking at potential cure for Aids and markers for cancer. It is nice that they let you know what the computer is looking at.
Saturday, 14 June 2014
Week 4 Heifer International
www.heifer.org
"Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime"
As the name suggested the "donation" started out as a cow. Over the last 70 years Heifer international has added to the types of gifts that can be given: goats, sheep, water buffalo, rabbits, trees, chickens, bees! and a lot more. Bees were my choice.
Never heard of this organization until reading the book "Give a little" http://www.amazon.com/Give-Little-Small-Donations-Transform-ebook/dp/B002SVQCX8. All the programs in this book are well researched and chosen for their ripple effect.
The ripple effect for this one is direct. Every family that gets a donation makes a promise to pay it forward by giving gifts to other families in their communities. So when the goat has kids, the kids are given to the neighbors...cool!
I also love the fact that Heifer also supports sustainability such as sustainable farming.
"Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime"
As the name suggested the "donation" started out as a cow. Over the last 70 years Heifer international has added to the types of gifts that can be given: goats, sheep, water buffalo, rabbits, trees, chickens, bees! and a lot more. Bees were my choice.
Never heard of this organization until reading the book "Give a little" http://www.amazon.com/Give-Little-Small-Donations-Transform-ebook/dp/B002SVQCX8. All the programs in this book are well researched and chosen for their ripple effect.
The ripple effect for this one is direct. Every family that gets a donation makes a promise to pay it forward by giving gifts to other families in their communities. So when the goat has kids, the kids are given to the neighbors...cool!
I also love the fact that Heifer also supports sustainability such as sustainable farming.
Thursday, 5 June 2014
Week 3 Kiva (microfinancing)
www.kiva.org
At times I've hesitated donating to charities since I've not been sure if the money goes where it is needed, I worry that it ends up being spent on red tape. In addition, for some instances, I'm not sure about "hand outs" (yup, that old jaded negative voice I can't seem to shake).
I'm always interested in a longer term solution.....if one is available...
Kiva is not about donating, it is about investing in people who don't get the opportunity to access capital; known as Microfinance. Microfinance can play a role in alleviating poverty and is effective in empowering women. Poor people have difficulty getting loans and often credit available is relatively expensive.
I'm already invested in 3 Kiva projects and intend to re-invest the money that is paid back. That's another great point, the small amount of upfront money can do good again and again.
At times I've hesitated donating to charities since I've not been sure if the money goes where it is needed, I worry that it ends up being spent on red tape. In addition, for some instances, I'm not sure about "hand outs" (yup, that old jaded negative voice I can't seem to shake).
I'm always interested in a longer term solution.....if one is available...
Kiva is not about donating, it is about investing in people who don't get the opportunity to access capital; known as Microfinance. Microfinance can play a role in alleviating poverty and is effective in empowering women. Poor people have difficulty getting loans and often credit available is relatively expensive.
I'm already invested in 3 Kiva projects and intend to re-invest the money that is paid back. That's another great point, the small amount of upfront money can do good again and again.
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