Give What You Can

I made my donations for this month yesterday. I'm glad I changed from Christmas to March. If I had donated earlier, I wouldn't have as much to give as I do now, and it's all going towards relief efforts in Japan. I donated half of my total to Doctors Without Borders and half to WorldVets. I've always believed that in emergencies, it's just as right to help the animals as it is the humans. Everyone and everything is in need there, and the stories and videos of adults, children, and animals suffering is heartbreaking. I saw yesterday footage of a pair of dogs - one was injured, and the other, wearing a silver collar, refused to leave it's side and was actively trying to get the news crew's attention brought to his friend. They were both rescued and I hope they can find their owners safe as sound as well. I also read about a woman who stayed in her home through the tsunami almost tearing it down, all because she was denied being able to take her dog to evacuate. Both were safe, and the accompanying picture showed a very happy pooch in his owners arms. Hopefully my donations will be able to help people and animals alike get through this horrible time for the country.

It's funny what encourages people to donate to a cause. Some people do it outright out of the goodness of their hearts. Some people have personal ties to it. Some do it just to piss people who disagree off. And sometimes, the strangest little thing will set off a landslide of giving. I'm a member of a forum where you pay $10 and you're set for life unless you get banned. On this forum, if you make a bad topic and a moderator is feeling generous, they'll issue a challenge to the poster. The challenges are usually creative and amusing to readers and related to the thread topic. The rules are, if the challenged poster completes it to the mod's approval, he gets to continue his thread and receives the praise of the readers. If he doesn't complete it, he gets banned. If a reader completes it first, the reader gets to pick the fate of the poster.

The other day, one of these challenges was issued, and the poster vanished. One reader completed the task, and Wednesday, when asked what the punishment would be, he responded, "OP has a choice. He can either donate $10 to relief efforts in Japan and post proof, or he can donate $10 to the forums to buy his account back." And the landslide began. One person donated to the Red Cross to see the poster banned. Another followed suit. Then another. As of this morning, hundreds of members of this forum have donated $20,000+ to various charities going to Japan, and several dozen others have pledged to donate blood. These people are from all over the world and are making donations in every language online. And those numbers are going to continue going up. All of this for one reason: to see one bad poster get banned. It's funny what people will unify over. I'll keep this updated when we get a final donation total. (3/21, $50,000 raised, 600+ people donated, End total: Almost $75,000)

If you have anything you can spare, please consider donating. Even $5 can make a difference. If you donate through Livingsocial.com, they'll match any $5 donation, making your $5 into $10. If you can't do $5, then donate blood, or your time. There are countless charities going to help those in need, and they're in need of all the help they can get from us. Just give what you can. You never know how many lives you can save with just a small donation.