Happy Birth Month to all those March babies out there!! I am a Marchie myself and have decided to devote the first day of our birth month to my birthday plans this year.
Usually, February comes around and I start trying to think of things that I would like to have for my birthday. This can be quite a difficult process since we are just getting off the Christmas and Valentines Day highs and things seem pretty filled out. This year, I decided to make a change and not pick anything at all... Instead, I will be giving all my birthday money to three charities.
Charities are awesome- one for one's, medical outreach's, animal shelters, local, global, there are so many great ones out there. This has made the decision of three quite difficult. So far, I know that Free Wheelchair Mission and Charity: Water are for sure, but the third is still undecided. With a birth date of March 20th, there is little time to decide, but for now, let's go over the two that have already been picked and maybe a few still in consideration!
Charity: Water
We have talked about both Charity: Water and Free Wheelchair Mission before on the blog, but that is no reason to not bring them up again. Both companies donate 100% of the proceeds to charity. This is incredible. There is no amount of donated money that goes to bills, advertisement, anything.
Charity: Water uses corporate backers to pay there internal finances so all of our money goes to getting clean water to people in need. The foundation is quite clear about how they spend there money and what they do to make more. These guys are so precise, they can tell you what country and which well you money has gone to building. That is some air tight financing!
The thing that stands out to me about both these organizations is they make it easy to give a donation as a gift and make it tax deductible. Charity: Water has giving campaigns with pre-made, easy to navigate sites for those wanting to donate their birthdays, anniversaries, anything. This way, people can see how much you are raising, how far you have to go, and donate to your giving campaign.
Since I am going for a few different foundations, I decided to make my pledge with Charity: Water $500. You can get to my page from here!
Free Wheelchair Mission
I learned about this organization a few years back while at a conference. We were able to watch a video of one of their wheelchair drops and hear from some of the leaders and those impacted by FWM. Honestly, I was a bundle of tears by the end of the video. It is incredible to see someone who, up until then, was either hidden away in a back room or crawling on the ground now have mobility and respect.
FWM is one of the greatest reasons that I decided to donate my birthday to organizations. Seeing what a difference a wheelchair can make in a person's life is incredible.
Just like Charity: Water, FWM has fundraisers available for different events. You choose the amount to raise, create your donation page, and get others involved. You can also opt to buy a gift card for birthday's, Christmas, anything. Gift cards are the price of a wheelchair and let the recipient choose where they would like the wheelchair to go. So nifty!
Since there is the option of the gift card and other places to donate, I decided to make my fundraising goal $300! You can see my web page here!
Other Birthday Options
I am still trying to figure out one more foundation that I would love to donate to for my b-day. Right now, Tom's shoes, Vicky's Pet Connection (where we got our kitties), Honor Animal Rescue, The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for orphaned elephants (would so rather move there and volunteer myself!!), and WWF are all on my "must give" list. Oh boy.
There are so many great organizations to choose from that I may just have to expand my limit of three a little. If you know any great organizations to add to my list, let me know! I would love to hear any of your favorites and suggestions!!