Mood:  don't ask

Here's some REAL bad Salvation Army news for everyone -- and yet another reason NOT to support them -- concerning immigrants in Houston, TX: families wanting Christmas gifts are required to prove that at least one household member is a citizen (or applying to be one ) of the United States! This is supposed to curb illegal immigrants asking for gifts for their children.

The SA could have said "In exchange for gifts we will help people get green cards" or something similar, but nope! They're just denying them outright. Kinda weird for a Christian organization, dont'cha think? It ranks in odiousness with the Catholic Archdiose in Washington DC, which threatened to stop administering social services in the city if gay marriage is legalized. While I can understand their need (really, anyones') for equal protection under the law where free speech is concerned, there are positive ways to go about seeking inclusion in such bills that do not end with a refusal to help the indigent.

What follows is a short list of charities that DO NOT discriminate based on race, sex, or immigration status.

Cites: 52 of them on Google News ----->

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&safe=off&q=salvation+army+houston+tx+discrimination+immigrants&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=fukVS4n4FpLKsAPz-sCHBA&sa=X&oi=news_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CAsQsQQwAA

As a non-Christian, I give money to secular humanist organizations and religious organizations that have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be loving, righteous, and friendly to ANYONE seeking help, which the SA used to do a loooooong time ago. Here's some of my favorites, which are more worthy than SA in my opinion, and cover both religious and non-religious groups.

See below...

Circle has a GREAT list of non-discriminatory organizations:

http://www.circlesanctuary.org/liberty/pagancharitywork.html (list of orgs)

http://www.campsisterspirit.com/ (supports abused women and children, gives clothes, food and bedding to the poor and those affected by hurricanes and other weather phenomena)

http://www.openhearth.org/ (retirement home)

http://talon.dreamwidth.org/5601.html (local org that helps other locals)

http://www.heifer.org/ (donating animals for human use around the globe)

http://scrantonwbpaganpride.org/2.html  (animal shelter)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagans_In_Recovery (pagans in recovery)

http://www.burningman.com (arts organization)

http://www.gscene.com/health/Free_Reiki_for_charities.shtml (Reiki mobile clinic)

Mood:  a-ok

Here's an organization I and probably millions of others wish existed when we were kids.

Founded in 1998 by a group of Academy Award winning filmmakers, The Trevor Project offers nationwide resources  for distraught and/or suicidal gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning young people.

In addition to a 24/7 phone hotline and online forum, the project has internship and volunteer programs, and it also hosts a series of fundraising events throughout the year.

Mood:  bright

14-year-old artist Liam Benkert (see above piece!) is hosting an art show at Philz Coffee Shop in San Francisco on June 14th in order to support his upcoming journey to Africa to work with Stop the Spread. The address is 3101 Folsom St @ Folsom and 24th, and the event time is 7pm.

Unlike a lot of missionary-type expeditions, STS teaches people how to help themselves -- to run their own lives -- rather than letting a foreign interest do everything all the time.

As a friend of mine recently put it: "If I had done something like this at 14, I'm sure I would have grown up much quicker and figured out a lot of important lessons sooner."

From the mind of Liam himself:

"Hi, My name is Liam and I’m 14, I am looking forward to my trip to Africa over the Summer, I will be involved in many projects, these are a few: to spread AIDS awareness, by educating kids, plant trees, work at an orphange and help with a kids sports program. I believe it will be a great life experience, I am really excited!! Here is the link http://www.stop-the-spread.com/

This is an opportunity that I just could not turn down, I need to earn $3,000 in order to do this, that’s where you come in!! I am hoping that you can help conribute. I decided to have an art show, so nobody feels like they are giving and not getting anything in return."

Come out, donate or buy a piece of art, and support a great cause and a young man's personal journey to the other side of the world! For anyone unable to make it to the Philz event, you can still donate art or funds -- or else simply send good wishes if you're broke -- to him directly through his website.

Mood:  hug me

Around NYE '08, a buddy of mine told me about a project that his friends were putting together than would be like "MySpace for the dead." Intrigued by this concept, which sounded like it could bring together friends and family members from distant places who were unable to attend an official, in-person memorial for a loved one, I asked him for information about the site, which he said "may or may not ever get going, but here ya go!"

I'm pleased to announce that Eternal Space, a virtual memorial site, is now open in a limited release phase for the friends and families of the deceased.

Take a look around, visit some of the virtual graves, and if you'd like to add a loved one, or else add to someone else's memorial, create an account to get started.

Things like this are important for those who may not have been able to make a memorial, or for those having a difficult time paying for one, but who would still like to pay tribute to a loved one.

I'll write more about my impressions of Eternal Space later. At the moment, I'm exhausted from planning two memorials in the non-virtual world, so please excuse my periodic absences until all of my friends' affairs have been settled.

Thank you so much for reading here!

Mood:  bright

This one's going to be a quickie, as I'm between a lot of projects today. I decided to pick Caring Bridge as a personal rainmaking group because they do so much to connect hospitals, medical personnel, families and friends together during some of the toughest times of our lives. I've already brought this fabulous group up once -- in terms of my friend Dixie -- but I wanted to reiterate what a wonderful resource they are for people in need of news on friends and relatives who are recovering in the hospital.

The organization's services, which are free and donation-based only, allow the caretakers of the ill or injured individual to focus on their loved one's care instead of having to be on the phone all day with family members and friends.

So far, I've found Caring Bridge to be immensely helpful in allowing me to stay connected with my friend, who is thousands of miles away from me right now. Getting the updates from her family, as well as being able to see requests for photos, books, and prayers, has been great for me, and instead of spending all of my time worrying about Margaret, I'm instead spending that time cheering on her progress.

Mood:  hug me

With all of the commenting about Amazon deranking certain titles so they no longer appear in basic searches, I thought that instead of spending a lot of time bemoaning the asshattery that Amazon is courting -- you can read that in other places -- I'd list alternative places to spend money instead of Amazon. If the giant bookstore whose success has been responsible for so many other stores closing cannot represent all of us, then it's time for those of us who are underrepresented to give back to the remaining speciality bookstores that truly support our ways of life.

Here are some that I personally like:

Independent Booksellers Association Online

Amazon Feminist Bookstore

Isis Books and Gifts - Pagan Bookseller

Powell's Books - For New & Used

Seal Press - Feminist Bookseller and Publisher

BookWire - Gay & Lesbian

Happy shopping! If you can think of more, please leave your favorites in the "comments" section of this blog.

Mood:  bright

At the end of last November, on Buy Nothing Day, I wrote about Donors Choose, a website that connects classrooms & teachers who need a little extra help providing for their students to individuals who can donate as little or as much as they can to help the next generation of kids. A lot of my friends were looking for ways to give holiday presents to friends, family and co-workers without having to visit big box stores or spend a lot of money, and I directed them to Donors Choose, Etsy, and a few small outlets outlets making one-of-a-kind gifts.

As I'm spending this month talking about individuals who have created amazing projects and causes for others to participate in, I thought I should mention Donors Choose once more because they're a wonderful organization worthy of praise. Unlike a lot of charities that have huge overheads where most of a person's donation pays the salaries of their board of directors, Donors Choose allows teachers in need to directly post their requests for funding to the website. Potential donors then click through the donation requests according to region, project, and amounts needed. From the choices they're given, donors decide which projects to give money to. It's a wonderful way to give a little something to your local schools, and in a place like Oakland, CA, where I live, this kind of funding -- no matter how small -- is sorely needed. Donors may give a small amount (some of us want to give, but cannot afford to give a lot!) or else fund an entire project themselves depending on their income level.

Here's an example of a wonderful project that was funded recently:

In Washington Heights, a high school teacher who was an amateur chess player had a passing idea. He thought he might bring in his own chess board one afternoon to see if he could interest any of his students in learning the game. The response was unexpected and overwhelming. Within a few weeks, some fifty students signed up, eager for lessons, urging the teacher to find a way to start a permanent chess club.

It was a phenomenon, the teacher said, that he had never seen: students refusing to leave school after class hours were over. He applied to DonorsChoose.org for enough boards, pieces, and manuals to meet the students' demands. A New York woman, impressed by the fact that the source of this proposal was the students themselves, decided to fund "Chess Club."

The donor was even more impressed when she received the club's response. Their freewheeling letters ranged from the playfully competitive boasts of rival champions, to the ironic, "Believe it or not, you made our school more fun", to the poignant, "At least we know that people think about us." There were stories of friends who had never enjoyed school, but now found themselves in the grip of chess fever. Many of the letters spoke of how much the students appreciated the security and good company of after school extracurricular activities, and how few options there were. The young faces in the photographs displayed intensity, delight, concentration, effort, and triumph—every player a winner.

If you're tired of not knowing where your donation money actually goes, do your soul, your pocketbook, and our country's educators a favor and connect with teachers and students directly through Donors Choose.