Charities worth supporting
There are more charities competing for my money than I can possibly afford to support. If I were to be honest I’d admit that I could support more, but am too selfish. Nevertheless, below is a brief list of charities that I personally think are worthy of your support:
Allergy New Zealand supports and advocates for New Zealanders with allergies. While getting hay fever in spring is an irritation, and feeling better when not eating gluten can be an annoyance, for many people it is much worse than that. Both my children have been rushed to hospital with severe allergic reactions, and my son still has a potentially life-threatening food allergy that means everyone who looks after him must be trained in injecting him with Adrenaline, just in case. Allergy NZ has helped us with support and education, and continues to advocate for better access to health care for allergy sufferers. Becoming a member not only helps this run-on-a-shoestring organisation, but also gets you their excellent monthly magazine and access to a great support and education network.
Capital Cause are an outfit I’ve only just discovered. If you like your charity with a bit of “what’s in it for me?” you should check these guys out. In supporting an orphan help centre in Nepal you become eligible to win a 16-day trip through Nepal, including flights from anywhere in the world. Truly awesome support from the sponsors!
World Vision are one of many organisations doing sterling work in countries where people routinely starve to death. I’ve has a soft spot for them ever since doing the 40 Hour Famine as a kid, and I’m impressed by the way they work to help a community develop rather than just give hand-outs. Their child sponsorship programme has been running for a long time and is very well regarded.
It’s disturbing to hear of folks being beaten and killed because they have different beliefs to their neighbours. Voice of the Martyrs supports Christians (or their surviving relatives) who have suffered persecution around the world. Whatever your view on God and Christianity, Voice of the Martyrs is doing a good thing in a humanitarian sense. Look them up.
How can you help charities like these? I’d suggest
- Money. Organisations like these are always short of money. Check where your donation goes: they’ll tell you if it’s going to their primary work or to administration. I believe that the charities above are very low-overhead.
- You’ll have noticed that some of the charities above have web sites that might be described as “dated”. If you have some design skills why not donate some time and help their public profile?