Shenanigan: Shame, shame
by Luprand on Jan.28, 2010, under Shenanigan
Blogger’s note: This is cross-posted from a few other places I leave my mark.
So there’s a copy-pasta meme going around people’s Facebook status updates right now. It reads as follows:
Shame on you America: the only country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going without needed meds, and mentally ill without treatment – yet we have a benefit for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations.
I would like to offer the following rebuttal.
Shame on you, Facebook copy-pasters. If you just want to sit there and feel self-righteous, then by all means do so. But you’re not part of the solution.
On the other hand, if you want to DO something about America’s farsighted charity, then look up Covenant House, CityTeam Ministries, Homeless Voice, Domestic Abuse Shelter, AARDVARC.org, Nisa, DASH, Laura’s House, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Mental Illness Education Project, SoupMobile, St. Peters Soup, your local food bank, Daily Bread … See MoreMinistries, CHIPS Online, HandsOn, the FirstHand Foundation, Force for Good, Living Hope Food Kitchen, NeedyMeds, and many, many other worthy non-profit organizations that I found in less than five minutes on Google.
To all of you out there who might feel that America’s place as the most charitable nation in the world is somehow unearned: here’s some places where you can put your money and your mouth. Go to.
January 28th, 2010 on 7:31 AM
Hear hear! I live in a small city (population 26,000). Last month, in the middle of this dire economy, our residents donated $35,000 to our city’s Emergency Fund (which I administer). Americans are incredibly generous, and of course they want to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake, but they do pretty well at home as well.
January 28th, 2010 on 10:32 AM
Back in December, I participated in a benefit concert – an amateur choir performing selections from Handel’s “Messiah” oratorio and other music, with proceeds going to fund a local food bank. This year was the 20th annual concert . . . and the donations collected were the most generous yet.
So to be told that America is full of people who can’t see the need around them strikes me as particularly ignorant.