You Guys Are Awesome

 As much as I share myaru 's distaste for the base idea of fandom, uh, transactions for charitable giving, I'll say right now that all of you who are offering up your services for everything from icon-making to beta-reading are really phenomenal.  I expected the tsunami to put a dent in fandom mood because hey, fandom < real people, plus so many of us do have a personal connection to Japan of one kind or another.  Instead, people are channeling fandom spirit into something productive, which is neat.

And, as raphien  pointed out, just staring at the TV/Google News feeling horrible does nothing for anyone.

And all of y'all inspired me to go through the honest-to-pete pile of charitable donation slips on my desk and work through them.  In addition to Save the Childen's Japanese Tsunami fund, I decided to give to Gleaners and Forgotten Harvest, plus sent a donation to the micro-finance organization FINCA.  Their four-star rating has slipped of late (though not for mismanagement of funds specfically) but they do have a proven track record.

Arbor Day Foundation, the National Register of Historic Places, and other non-people charities will have to wait until next month.  Also, I tried to donate to the Daughters of Hawai'i to restore the historic sites in Kona that were damaged by the tsunami, but they don't appear to have an actual donation method on their page.  The Big Island was my grandmother's favorite place on earth (I deposited some of her ashes there in '08) and so that island means a lot to me.

Now, I need to phone the Nature Conservancy and ask them why the @#$% they sent me another renewal letter when I re-upped last month and got a confirmation letter for it.

-x-
 
Also, I really need to vote for fe_contest ....