This One’s For Charity — and for Emmanuel

I got tagged for a very Monkish meme today, by Chris Garrett (which is only fair, since I tagged him for Ben’s Productivity meme…).

Why “monkish”? Because it’s a charity meme, and that puts a wonderfully altruistic spin on it. Rather than, “link to me! Link to me!”, this is about, “link to them! Link to them!”

The hope is that through linking to charity sites, it will help improve their visibility, search engine rankings, and exposure to people who may not have heard of them before.

Here’s the list, as it now stands, according to the latest update at SEORefugee, where it started:

• Service International – Disaster Relief
• Pujols Family Foundation – Children with Down Syndrome
• National Alliance to End Homelessness – Homelessness
• The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research – Parkinson’s Research
• Ronald McDonald Care Mobile Program – Child Healthcare
• Aids Research Alliance – Aids Research
• Wildlife Conservation Society – Wildlife Protection
• Cancer Research Institute – Cancer Research
• Second Harvest – End Hunger
• AARP Foundation – Helping Senior Citizens
• Doctors Without Borders – Humanitarian Relief
• American Red Cross – Emergency Preparedness
• AMREF – African Medical & Research Foundation – African Health Development
• DOROT – Programs for Elderly
• Feed the Children – Protect Children
• Cancer Research UK
• Childline
• BLISS the premature baby charity
• RSPCA
• Children in Need
• The National Arbor Day Foundation
• Compassion International
• World Wildlife Fund
• The Humane Society
• Global Refuge International

Of course, linking to charities is a fabulous thing. And giving to some is even better.

But in my mind, what’s even better is to get out there and help. Find something going on in your area that you believe in, and pitch in. If you can’t, then supporting a charity you like with link love and financial support is a wonderful thing.

That said (and yes, it was tough to choose one), here’s a charity that I really like:

The Challenged Athletes Foundation

“There are 35 million people living with a physical challenge in the United States. Equipment that allows these individuals to engage in active lifestyles is very expensive –in fact, for many, it’s cost-prohibitive. A single handcycle runs upwards of $2,000 and adaptive training and competition expenses can make moving to the “next level” of athletic performance an insurmountable barrier for many challenged athletes. Funding provided by CAF helps make it possible for more physically challenged people to gain access to this equipment and to the enhanced self-esteem that comes from participation in sports. To ensure these needs are met in perpetuity, CAF has worked hard over its first decade to build and grow an endowment fund that will continue to assist physically challenged athletes indefinitely.

Established in 1997, the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) is a unique organization that recognizes the athletic greatness inherent in all people with physical challenges and supports their athletic endeavors by providing grants for training, competition and equipment needs.”

I learned about the Challenged Athletes Foundation from watching “Emmanuel’s Gift,” a fantastic documentary about Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, a man from Ghana who was born with a deformed leg, who chose to defy the social norm and become an inspiration to millions. (Another great documentary, albeit with a scary name, is Murderball, about the sport of Quad Rugby. Both are excellent movies.)

Seeing Emmanuel’s spirit, drive, and passion to do whatever he can to empower the people of his country truly inspired me. I thought about and talked about this movie for weeks after I first saw it.

Bottom line: Do what you can. Give where you can. And give a shout out for what you believe in, what you want to support, and the people you want to serve in this world.

And, since this is a meme, I’m inviting you to take this list and keep it going in your own blog if you have one, or feel free to send the address of this post, or Chris’, or the original, to anyone you like.

(And even though technically the meme says to tag five people, the person I can think of who I’d like to hear from the most about this topic is Ashley Cecil, over at the Painting Activist, since this seems like such a fit for what she does… I’ll leave the rest up to you, oh generous reader!)

Images from The Challenged Athlete Foundation website

And thanks to all who have commented on the previous post so far: Lorelle, Liz Strauss, Jean Browman