Tugging at the Heartstrings

[LaneyDoll]

I was reading a comment in another forum about what someone would do as a way of giving back, if she had the money to do it. I know we have threads about what we already do to give back BUT, if money was not a concern, what would you do to benefit (in a NON-PROFIT WAY) the world around you?




:sparklyheart:

[LaneyDoll]

Personally, I would start a non-profit that focused on childhood hunger. I would like to have a place where children can receive healthy, hot meals during the summer and school breaks. There are a lot of kids who get their only decent meals thanks to the lunch program at their schools. I would like to offer a place for them to be able to eat when a school lunch is not an option.

Families would be welcome however, to qualify, the children MUST be in the lunch assistance program at their local school. Siblings who are not of school age qualify with their older brothers/sisters. Parent/s are welcome but they must give back in some way ie helping prepare/serve meals, clean up etc.

:sparklyheart:

[Hollylane]

Great thread Laneydoll! Subscribing :) The quote of mine below was inspired by Gaea's generous and caring heart...





CIJS...Gaea, this is the reason I want to win the lottery. I want to set up non-profit, no-kill, loving, comfortable, species appropriate shelters and farms around the world, and staff them with animal loving people. I would want to live in a tiny and efficient house, on a humungous piece of land, living sustainably, and use the rest of the winnings to help animals. I might also want to start a pet food company that sells species appropriate pet foods, with the profits used to further support the shelters and farms...

CIJS...End fantasy ramble.

[LaneyDoll]

Great thread Laneydoll! Subscribing :)

I am glad you like it; you inspired it :)

:sparklyheart:

[clay]

My sentiments exactly,.Hollylane!
^5 Laney!! subscribing also

[Breezy]

I desire to open an LGBTQI and straight teen center that deals not only with the issues surrounding being a gay/straight youth, but also alcohol and drug addiction issues. I desire for it to include some groups on spirituality and fun things to do, too. We would provide meals, medical attention, after school tutoring, game time, recreational activities, a place to be and a safe place to come if you are in trouble gay teen or not. It would also provide mediation for preteens/ teens and their families, conflict resolution skills, communications skills, crisis intervention, transgendered transitioning counseling and acceptance of self awareness skills.

I desire to also buy up several homes for those who are homeless or need a short term escape from a bad situation at home. It would include a HUGE workshop in a massive barn so we could tinker on cars or do woodworking. We would hold dances and have an alcohol free and drug free environment for other kinds of meet ups. It would have a music studio for recording and drumming workshops, too.

Mostly, I desire to be of service to our youth in any way that is needed.

Can I do a second project, too? Please?

I'd give my home away to a friend who has just moved to the US from Uzbekistan. They are such a sweet and loving couple and they have almost nothing. I'd leave everything in the house that is there now and just hand them the keys! Oh, plus 2 new cars, insurance coverage and money to begin a savings account. Their expenses would be paid for the next 5 years so they could just live worry free.

Thank you for this thread! It made my day! You are such a loving woman!

[1QuirkyKiwi]

From my post in the "Can I just say..." thread.

I want a house the size of Buckingham Palace with a garden as big as the grounds, so I can give a home to unwanted and neglected animals and have a Swan Sanctuary as well! Just think of all those snuggles to come home to after work….. I hope my future partner won’t mind! LOL!

[Miss Scarlett]

i'd start a foundation to help the homeless, hungry and low/fixed income people that fall in between the cracks of current regulations, etc. They'd be able to get medical help or food for their pets too.

Part of this would be a food pantry where no one is treated badly or looked down upon by the staff or volunteers...and the food distributed would be nutritious too not a bunch of empty calories/carbs...There would also be assistance for prescription and OTC items and transportation to/from medical apontments etc.

[Soft*Silver]

I would establish a self sufficiency program for tweeners. Most of the programs are designed for teens and adults. Its too late by then. Bad habits have created bad histories by then. But getting tweeners prepared for the work world, including possible plans for further academics or vocational training past high school, along with internships revolving around social and work place etiquette with mentors, would create a generation of grateful, prepared teens/adults who can do more than grunt a "thanks"

[clay]

I desire to open an LGBTQI and straight teen center that deals not only with the issues surrounding being a gay/straight youth, but also alcohol and drug addiction issues. I desire for it to include some groups on spirituality and fun things to do, too. We would provide meals, medical attention, after school tutoring, game time, recreational activities, a place to be and a safe place to come if you are in trouble gay teen or not. It would also provide mediation for preteens/ teens and their families, conflict resolution skills, communications skills, crisis intervention, transgendered transitioning counseling and acceptance of self awareness skills.

I desire to also buy up several homes for those who are homeless or need a short term escape from a bad situation at home. It would include a HUGE workshop in a massive barn so we could tinker on cars or do woodworking. We would hold dances and have an alcohol free and drug free environment for other kinds of meet ups. It would have a music studio for recording and drumming workshops, too.

Mostly, I desire to be of service to our youth in any way that is needed.

Can I do a second project, too? Please?

I'd give my home away to a friend who has just moved to the US from Uzbekistan. They are such a sweet and loving couple and they have almost nothing. I'd leave everything in the house that is there now and just hand them the keys! Oh, plus 2 new cars, insurance coverage and money to begin a savings account. Their expenses would be paid for the next 5 years so they could just live worry free.

Thank you for this thread! It made my day! You are such a loving woman!

WOW!! As are you, Breezy. THAT speaks volumes about the moral compass of YOU!! You are a godsend!!! to these people.....may I work on your farm? smiles

[Breezy]

I would establish a self sufficiency program for tweeners. Most of the programs are designed for teens and adults. Its too late by then. Bad habits have created bad histories by then. But getting tweeners prepared for the work world, including possible plans for further academics or vocational training past high school, along with internships revolving around social and work place etiquette with mentors, would create a generation of grateful, prepared teens/adults who can do more than grunt a "thanks"

hey, we could team up and add you and your services to ours. :)

[Breezy]

WOW!! As are you, Breezy. THAT speaks volumes about the moral compass of YOU!! You are a godsend!!! to these people.....may I work on your farm? smiles

Of course you could come work with us. :) Thank you so much for what you wrote. You and your gf are blessed to have each other. (f)

[Novelafemme]

i'd start a foundation to help the homeless, hungry and low/fixed income people that fall in between the cracks of current regulations, etc. They'd be able to get medical help or food for their pets too.

Part of this would be a food pantry where no one is treated badly or looked down upon by the staff or volunteers...and the food distributed would be nutritious too not a bunch of empty calories/carbs...There would also be assistance for prescription and OTC items and transportation to/from medical apontments etc.





I would be working with Miss Scarlett on the above.

Excellent thread! Thank you <3

[Breezy]

All of us have a similar idea and could pool our vast resources! :)

[Blade]

I would purchase the original Pumpkin Patch property near Lake Lure. I'd restore the 100 yr old house and make bedrooms out of each of the rooms in the house upstairs and downstairs. The kitchen would remain a kitchen.

The place would serve as a camping/outdoors experience for mentally, emotionally and physically handicapped children and youth. I would put camping cabins down by the river to rent out, this would make it possible for the camping/outdoors experience to be offered free to the children as it is likely their families may already be financially strapped.

While they are here they would experience art therapy, animal therapy, with rescued dogs, horses, goats and chickens. Some could experience fishing, helping pick the garden, helping prep for canning/freezing etc and could take some of the benefits from their learning labor home with them in jars of beans, jams, soup etc. There would also be a craft area with various degrees of difficulty for them. I think these children probably don't get a chance to experience helping in the kitchen or the yard and other things they might like to try to do or that their parents want them to do just for the experience. They would have a long list of activities to chose from. I could go on and on with this but you get the idea.

[Ginger]

From my post in the "Can I just say..." thread.

I want a house the size of Buckingham Palace with a garden as big as the grounds, so I can give a home to unwanted and neglected animals and have a Swan Sanctuary as well! Just think of all those snuggles to come home to after work….. I hope my future partner won’t mind! LOL!

I love the spirit of what you're saying, but having been attacked by a swan, and knowing they are famous for their aggression and fearless attacks, I'm not sure you'd be getting an awful lot of snuggles! :|

Now the albino turkey I saw Saturday in a wildlife habitat, that was a big snuggly bird!

[Ginger]

If I were a venture capitalist looking for some non-profit to benefit from my largess, I would fund and create an organization to collect the plants from corporate building lobbies that are pulled and discarded every two weeks, and donate them to housing projects, community gardens, prisons and nursing homes.

Project team members, including coordinators, plant-collectors, truck drivers and so on, would income qualify and be well paid. I would also fund a budget for education, and to train people to lead ecology workshops explaining where plants in public places come from, how they benefit us in the urban environment, what their natural environments are like, and so on. The workshops would be offered in all the places that receive the plants.

[Beloved]

I've been to India and widows are just thrown away. They are seen as a burden. They are often abused, hungry, and dehumanized. I'd love to build a safe haven for them.

[Mr Nice Guy]

I would build a sanctuary for ALL unwanted or homeless animals no matter what kind. :)

[Sparkle]

/as a non-profit fundraiser this thread makes me happy! :)


There are so many organizations I'd support, if money were no object.

I'd set up a trust large enough that most of my charitable giving could come from the annual interest accrued.

I'd give A LOT of my time and resources to organizations that are focused on Immigration Equality and LGBT Asylum support.

I care very much about supporting my local communities so my next set of priorities would be to give to local non-profits like The Survival Center, Safe Passage, Tapestry Health, GLAD, arts programs for local public schools, the public libraries, camperships and scholarships for local students and our LGBTQ youth group.

And nationally I would support LAMBDA legal, the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, American Red Cross.

[Ginger]

I've been to India and widows are just thrown away. They are seen as a burden. They are often abused, hungry, and dehumanized. I'd love to build a safe haven for them.

I love that idea. There's a wonderful young adult novel, Homeless Bird, about that very thing. There's a city in India where many widows are dropped off, to beg for the temples. If they're lucky they'll have long hair to sell, that goes to wigs for women in America. It's so sad, such a tragic, woman-hating cycle.

[Reader]

If I were a venture capitalist looking for some non-profit to benefit from my largess, I would fund and create an organization to collect the plants from corporate building lobbies that are pulled and discarded every two weeks, and donate them to housing projects, community gardens, prisons and nursing homes.

Project team members, including coordinators, plant-collectors, truck drivers and so on, would income qualify and be well paid. I would also fund a budget for education, and to train people to lead ecology workshops explaining where plants in public places come from, how they benefit us in the urban environment, what their natural environments are like, and so on. The workshops would be offered in all the places that receive the plants.

What a good idea.

[Beloved]

I love that idea. There's a wonderful young adult novel, Homeless Bird, about that very thing. There's a city in India where many widows are dropped off, to beg for the temples. If they're lucky they'll have long hair to sell, that goes to wigs for women in America. It's so sad, such a tragic, woman-hating cycle.

There are many in Vrindavan and Varanasi.

[WolfyOne]

Since I've already taken money out of my pocket for rescue cats, I'd have to go with a no kill shelter. I want to start trapping ferals in areas overpopulated. It's what I was doing before I found a neighbor where I used to live, killing those my ex and I paid to fix and release back into the area we got them from. I'd like some acres and and fencing that is made to keep them in and anything that could harm them out. This shelter would have indoor/outdoor buildings with spaces built inside like kitty bunk beds, so they would have refuge from the weather. I'd put a house on the same property, so I could be there to look after them everyday. In my head I can honestly see what I'd want to create. Too bad I have neither the funding or the property to do it.

[Liam]

I was reading a comment in another forum about what someone would do as a way of giving back, if she had the money to do it. I know we have threads about what we already do to give back BUT, if money was not a concern, what would you do to benefit (in a NON-PROFIT WAY) the world around you?




:sparklyheart:

If money were not a concern for me, I would fund more educational teams, as well as be part of one, for the Center for Nonviolent Communication, an international peacemaking organization.

Center for Nonviolent Communication (http://www.cnvc.org/)

[Ginger]

What a good idea.

Thanks.... (I added elipses to make the message long enough, not for dramatic pause...) Seriously thanks, I hate to see the plants thrown out in the building where I work.

[deedarino]

I LOVE this thread!!!

I would start a business that would employ women with barriers (domestic violence, drugs/alcohol, criminal history, etc) Along with employment would be specialized training in work habits, communication, self esteem, etc. Counseling would be required along with treatment if needed.

Conditions of employment would be strict but the goal would be to break the cycle of abuse and addiction that keep women from becoming or staying strong. Once they have "mastered" the program, they would be placed in a local business in their chosen career path.

Continued support would also be provided to make sure life doesn't take them back down.

[princesskathie]

Ooh as a professional fundraiser I've thought a lot about this one! I have three:

An organization that provides legal support and therapy for children who have been sexually abused. I've read that the two most helpful things to help a child recover from this horror are getting them into therapy, ASAP, and seeing their abusers brought to justice.

A recovery house for lesbians who want to stop using alcohol and drugs because gay girls are less likely to get treatment for addiction than some other populations. I'd love to make a safe place for those who are suffering to get clean.

And I'd give a dumptruck full if money to no- kill shelters and lo-cost spay & neuter programs!