All I want for Christmas

This past week, I’ve written two posts that featured dollar bills. I’m really lucky that I have an abundance of these dollar bills at my disposal (the real ones, not Henry Dollars!). Plus, I have a loving family, two cute puppies, a big, warm house, all sorts of newfangled electronic gadgets, and waaaay too much yummy vegan food stockpiled in my fridge, freezer, and cabinets (Grocery-Shoppers Anonymous, anyone?).

But many people aren’t so fortunate. It seems one can’t pick up a newspaper or flip on the tv these days without hearing about immense suffering somewhere. Hurricanes, earthquakes, robberies, illness… it can get overwhelming, because, if you’re like me, you want to help them ALL! The problem with this is that, too often, people will get so overwhelmed at the vastness of the suffering that they’ll choose to do nothing because they can’t help with everything (I’ve been guilty of this too). Please don’t fall into this trap! Sure, you’re just one person, and you can’t do everything; but ANYthing is better than nothing. So I challenge you, this Christmas season, to pick one or two causes that are close to your heart and try to do something to help them— remember that help need not be in the form of a monetary donation. Serving food at a soup kitchen, volunteering to walk local shelter dogs, offering to help stock a food pantry, driving an elderly neighbor to the grocery store... all of these are great ways to help “save the world.” Another thing you can do is, when someone asks you what you want for Christmas, tell him/her to make a donation to charity in your name. This year, I told my grandma I wanted her to take the money she would’ve spent on me and make a donation to the Catskill Animal Sanctuary (near her home). Well, my sister and cousins are all getting Uggs from Grandma, so you can bet those lucky animals have a big, fat check comin’ their way :o) :o). And I can’t say I didn’t get a present out of the donation—it feels GREAT to know I’ve helped out the animals. As Phoebe says on Friends, “There’s no such thing as a completely selfless act.”

Speaking of ways to help out, many of you have probably already read about the "comment donation drives" going on at the HangryPants and Mizfit blogs. These selfless ladies are donating money for every comment left on the posts I’ve linked above. So if you haven’t already commented on their sites, get to it!

I love their idea, so I thought I’d join in the fun with a comment drive of my own. A charity that is very near and dear to my heart is the ENOUGH Project , which is an organization trying to help end genocide in Sudan and other areas. (Someday, hopefully in the next month, I’ll write a post about my AfriCard charity.) For every comment left on this post (one per person), I will donate 20 cents (from now until New Year’s Day). Comments can be short, long, whatever. Lurkers delurk! Make me poor, people!