Friday, January 20, 2012

Basics Charity Challenge 2012



The post to leave your comment entries is HERE.

Last year I started the Basics Charity Challenge. You can read what sparked it here.

The response was wonderful! So many donations were made to local shelters and we gave away a lot of 'prizes as thank yous, that I've decided to do it again.

This year I have set up a Flickr group so you can upload a photo of your donations.

So what is a basic?

 In our daily lives we have a lot of things we think of as basics.
This morning you brushed your teeth with a toothbrush and tooth paste.
 You used toilet paper.
Had soap to wash your hands.
Put on some deodorant.
 Ran a brush through your hair.
Maybe took a shower with shampoo, conditioner, body wash and a razor.
Put some make-up on.
You were able to put on clean underwear and socks, that no one else has ever worn.
In the kitchen did you grab some paper towels to clean up a little spill?
At some point during the day you probably grabbed a coffee or tea.
Used some tissue to blow your nose. Maybe sanitized your hands after.

I could go on but you probably have the point by now. We have a LOT of things that we consider basics. 

  In each of our communities there are places that people don’t have the very basic things we all take for granted. Shelters- for abused women/children, homeless, men’s missions, - exist in virtual every community. They are a necessary safety net for people in our communities who for an array of reasons need help. But these shelters are almost always in need of the basic items. Many of the people have had to leave everything behind, or don’t have anything to begin with.

Last year I received many emails from people telling me how either they or someone they know had had to use a shelter, and how much these very basic items can mean.
If you are lucky enough to never had need of a shelter, are protected and loved by your spouse, been supported by family and friends, give thanks by helping those who aren’t.

Spread the word, blog, tweet, facebook, tell your guild, email your friends. Let’s see how many people we can get to help out their community. The best way to solve a problem is to be involved.

The Challenge is this:

Go drive past your nearest shelter for abused women/children or the homeless.
See if there is a sign, if not call. Ask what they need. Check online, they probably have a website and most have a list of what is needed at that particular time.
Shelters are always in need of things like paper towels, toilet paper, new underwear, new socks, diapers, new hairbrushes, shampoo, tampons/pads, baby hygiene items, hand soap/sanitizer etc

Next time you are at the store pick up a few of the items for the list. Take a picture of the items and then go drop them off at the shelter or drop off point.
 
If your community doesn’t have a shelter, or its location is confidential and there is no drop off point for donations, you can donate through the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.Or in Canada the United Way provides funds to many shelters. If  you are international there is the Red Cross.
 Add your picture to the Flickr group so you can upload a photo of your donations. If you don't have an account, they're free, you can email me the picture and I will put it up for you. You can also send me the picture to upload if you wish to be anonymous. Leave a comment on this post telling me you did, with your flickr id or the first part of your email address.

In advance Thank you. Thank you for caring for your community members, for taking the time to donate.

I will be posting another post which will be where you can get your entries on February 1st.

Note- the code for the button is
<a href="http://www.caraquilts.com" title="Basic Charity Challenge 2012 by cara quilts, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6756949067_e292530f91_o.png" width="159" height="146" alt="Basic Charity Challenge 2012"></a>

14 comments:

susan said...

what a great thing to do. thank you for reminding us to be thankful. i will most definitely be helping out.

Sue said...

Love the idea, our small church
http://www.limetree.org.au/index.html
decided at Christmas time to donate to local and international causes. We gave $3100 between 4 groups - local Baptist Community Services Chisholm Women's shelter, World Vision Australia local and overseas smiles projects and Barnabas Fund for Pakistani children suffering trauma after their village was raided because some were christian. Oh BTW Limetree has only 30 members and is wanting to make a difference in our local community.

KatieQ said...

Thank you for initiating this great project again this year. I have been picking up 2 or 3 items extra items every time we shop. Hopefully, I will be able to put together a few tote bags with personal care items for the local women's shelter. Donations drop off after the winter holidays, but the need is still great.

harleywife57/ Mickey White said...

Thanks for doing this again , Cara . it reminds us of the simple things we take for granted and that even if you don't have much to give , it will HELP ! Just think what an impact would be made if everybody could just give $5 worth of things . WOW !! or even $3 .....

Covered in Love Quilts said...

I heard about your project from Pat Bravo on Facebook. Her post of the day asked what we are up to this weekend and I shared with her my latest blog posting (http://iamcoveredinlove.blogspot.com/2012/01/flirting-with-idea.html). She told me that you were doing something similar and I should check out your blog.
I'm up to your challenge. I hope that you'll check back on my blog and consider helping out the homeless in my community. Thanks!

elfqueenof5 said...

I too, read about this from Pat Bravo on a comment she left for your previous reader Kisha. Kisha has a wonderful idea you can read about on her blog! As I told Kisha, my 23 yr old son is currebtly homeless. While this is certainly the result of choices he has made in his life, I still love him and worry about him. It is comforting to know there are places out there that help him out with some of these "basics". I would love to participate in your challenge!

Lisa said...

I'm in. Great idea. I will blog about it after your Feb 1 post.

eileensideways said...

have u seen the blessings bag: http://pinterest.com/pin/28429041367571379/ same idea. i think it is awesome

Marilee said...

Thanks for broadening awareness for this. We had someone from a shelter speak to our guild a couple of years ago. We collect and deliver to our local sherrif office. This is so easy and helps so many people.

pasqueflower said...

What a wonderful idea. I will share on my little blog.

Margaret said...

We have two local charities by me that have needs all the time. I am always getting free samples of razors, shampoo, deodorant and such. I keep a box in my cupboard and when it is full I add some canned soups to it and some pasta and sauce and maybe some toilet paper and take to one of them. I do coupling and when my pantry has too much then boxes get filled and hauled off to them as well. I usually take a box about once a month. Thisnis awesome. I know they can all use everything anyone can give.

Dolly said...

On the first Friday of the month , a group of "us" gals cook a meal for a group of kid at a place called Urban Vision. It is in a poverty area in our town. The kids get tutoring by college kids. We cook a meal. We have grown in over a year from feeding 35 kids to 200. We've learned a lot about cooking for a crowd and using our little cash each month. Thank heavens for Italian recipes!!

Susanne said...

This is a terrific idea, Cara - I got this information from the Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber. I've sent a monetary donation to the Mission of Yahweh, which cares for homeless women and children in the Houston area. I will be contacting them tomorrow to see if there are specific items that my quilt bee can collect and donate.

pasqueflower said...

I posted my photo of items donated to Friendship Home in Lincoln NE (a local shelter) as part of The Basic Charity Challenge 2012.

Thank you for hosting this worthwhile project.

LeAnn