Charity Emails-Help Or Hoax?

“X organization will donate 10 cents to Y charity for every time this email is forwarded.”

“Click a button on X website and help fund a mammogram for women in need.”

“Play a word game to help people in need. For every right answer, Z sponsors will donate to A charity.”

“'Like' this page to help a little boy in China with cancer.”

We've all seen them. It seems that a day can't go by without at least one “plea for help” appearing in our inboxes. Donate to save kids with cancer. Repost this picture or status message to show your support for animals in need/women in war-torn countries/veterans/ etc, with or without promises to help a particular charity. As much as we all want to feel that we're doing something good in the world, how much will these messages really help? What, if anything, happens when we forward/click/play?

Any time you see an email that claims to donate money to a cause for every time it is forwarded, ignore it. At this time, there is no such thing as an “email tracking program”. Even if there were, there's nothing saying that the cause is real or, if it is, whether it is still going on. As for causes such as “this kid is sick/missing” or a particular fundraising drive, the objective has often been met long before the emails stop going out. Don't get me wrong-sometimes these emails raise awareness about a real problem and inspire others to action. The person who is sending you these messages means well and probably wouldn't have passed it on if they didn't think it would do some good. It's just that message tracking programs are yet to be invented, so any benefit that comes from them will be indirect. That, and sometimes the stories are inspirational.

As for whether or not “liking” a page will donate to someone's care-it's true that Facebook has the technology to track the number of “likes” a page gets, but that doesn't mean that anything will be done to help whatever cause is being promoted. It's most likely a ruse to get people to like someone's Facebook page and nothing more. The same thing goes with 'shares'. That doesn't necessarily mean that your support has gone unnoticed or that someone else won't be inspired to help. Also, sometimes the plea is real. Something good can come of it, but don't feel pressured to pass something on. The implications that someone who doesn't “pass it on” doesn't care/believe in God/whatever that are often tacked onto the end of such pleas don't mean anything. There's a difference between being ashamed (often said about the ones involving Jesus) and not wanting to participate in a chain letter.

As for the messages about clicking a button or playing a game at a particular website benefitting charity, there are some truth to these claims. The Hunger Site foundation and its many related sites operate on the idea that, for every person who visits their site and clicks a button, the sponsors that advertise on that site will donate something (exactly what varies by site) toward whatever cause is being promoted. The games on the Freerice.com website (set up by the UN World Food Programme) are similar in that sponsors have pledged to donate for every correct answer to quizzes in a number of different subjects. This is vastly different from the 'email forwarding' messages for the same causes because, while it is not yet possible to track how many times a particular message has been sent, it is possible to track how many people have visited your website. To help even more, most of these sites have an online store that offers a portion of the proceeds (exactly how much varies by site) toward the cause being promoted. I've bought from these stores and I can tell you that, even if the portion is very small, the goods are of a very high quality and are usually something you can't get anywhere else. If nothing else, you'll come out with a great sushi set!

If you want to “vet” a story you've heard or want to give the person who sent it to you a “heads-up”, visit Snopes.com and Hoax-slayer.com. If you're unsure about a charity mentioned in a message or on a website, visit http://www.charitynavigator.org/

Coutoure For A Cause

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Everyone wants to look good, right? After all, that is why we spend so much time getting ready in the morning and shopping for that perfect little outfit for that company party. We want to find nice clothes and jewelry that is well-made and fits our style. But what if I told you that you could find these items for a decent price and help people at the same time? I ask because it's true-there are several retailers out there that sell beautiful items to benefit good causes. The products and supported charities vary widely, so there's something out there for everyone.

One retailer-turned-activist is TOMS shoes. You may have seen them for sale in high-end department stores and in 'whole-foods' markets, as well as on some of your friends and colleagues. TOMS sponsors a One-For-One model-for every pair of shoes that is sold, TOMS donates a pair of shoes to a child in need. Their main focus is to combat a disease called 'podoconiosis', an infection that is contracted through bare feet on the ground in Africa and other countries. Even if a child doesn't live in a place where this is common, they still need shoes; TOMS makes sure they get them. Visit www.toms.com to find a retailer near you.

On a similar tip, there is Common Threadz. They mostly sell T-shirts and other tops, but they have bracelets too. What's interesting about them is that some of the items they sell feature prints that were drawn by orphans in Africa! When you buy one of these shirts, you are effectively sponsoring that child by funding food, school uniforms and other things that can help a child get an education and make a better life for themselves and their families. There are also shirts by adult designers that help fund uniforms and food. They put your name on an 'honor wall' in Africa and send you a picture of it, but that's nothing compared to the comfort of knowing you've helped a child get a start in life. You can find them at www.commonthreadz.org.

I've mentioned them before, but The Hunger Site and it's 'sister-sites' sell all kinds of items made in different parts of the world. The sale of these items goes to a number of causes from the rainforest, mammograms for underprivileged women, autism research and healthcare for children in need. For the animal lovers among us (like me!), The Animal Rescue Site provides food for animals in shelters. The charity being supported is indicated at the top of the page and on the item description itself. I especially like this floral top!  Everything sold from these sites is 'fair-trade', meaning that the workers who made them are being paid a fair wage and work in decent conditions. The whole purpose of the sites is to click a button that triggers various sponsors to donate in exchange for ad space, so you can also help out by visiting the sponsors' sites.

As you can see, it is possible to buy nice things while helping others. Aside from the fact that you'll be wearing something no one else has, you'll have made someone's life a little bit better for buying it. That, my friends, is better than any fashion magazine can offer!

Can We Save The World Without Leaving Home?

You've probably all seen them. Your sister sends you an email petition to help abused women in Afghanistan. Your friend sends you a story about a sick child with a promise from Bill Gates to donate $0.10 to this child's care for every time you forward the email. Between my stepmother and mother-in-law, I get several of these emails every week. Signing the petitions and forwarding the emails makes us feel like we are doing something good with our time. Plus, they help people, right?

I hate to tell you this, but they really don't. First of all, there is no such thing as an 'email tracking program' that can tell how many times an email has been forwarded, so there's no way for anyone to give however-many cents to charity if you send it to all your friends. The same is true for petitions and the number of signatures collected. Plus, you can't guarantee the petition will get to the right people. Even so, is there a way that we can use our time online to effect change in the world? Yes, there is. In fact, there are several websites that serve this very purpose. Here are a few such websites.

The Hunger Site. This site-or, set of sites-will donate a set amount to its featured cause based on how many clicks they get. This works because, while there isn't a tracking program for emails, there is a way to track how many people come to a particular site. There are several sponsors that have pledged to donate per click to charity in exchange for having their ads featured on the website. In addition to hunger, there are links to similar sites regarding breast cancer, homeless animals, homeless veterans and other causes. Also, the site states exactly what the donations will go toward-a cup of food for the hungry, a mammogram for an underprivileged woman, a meal for a hungry veteran, etc. The main site is www.thehungersite.com.

FreeRice.com. This is another sponsor-driven site. Instead of counting clicks, there are several multiple-choice quiz games that donate ten grains of rice to the UN World Food Programme for each correct answer. The quizzes are things like vocabulary, foreign languages, world capitals and math. It's a good way to brush up on your Spanish vocabulary from high school while triggering sponsors to donate rice to hungry people around the world.

Ripple.com. This is a relatively new site that works the same way The Hunger Site works. The homepage (www.ripple.org) features 'click to donate' links to help give clean water, food, education and loan financing for a poor person. When you click a button on the site, you will be taken to an ad from a sponsor that changes periodically.

As you can see, there are ways you can help make the world a better place during your usual internet time. While they might not be as gut-wrenching as some of the stories we get, they are much more effective than forwarding emails!