You Guys Are Awesome

[mark_asphodel]

 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 ....

Comments

[raphiael]

At first, the thought kind of rubbed me the wrong way as well, but then I thought about it and figured, people are helping others, it's getting me to write, and it's getting people who like my work stuff that they like. There's no down side, and seeing all the people jump in themselves/"buying" stuff from others? Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, which is as good an antidote against the helpless horror evoked by watching footage as I'm gonna get.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, which is as good an antidote against the helpless horror evoked by watching footage as I'm gonna get.

Yeah. On a certain level, I'm just kind of jaded-- as I said earlier, I got burned in some charity things for disasters earlier in the century. So when I see people patting themselves on the back for their $10 text message donation, I tend to think something sour like "Oh, you feel good about yourself now, huh? Is that money actually going anywhere useful? Bet you don't know and you don't plan to check."

These knee-jerk mass responses just involve so much wasted energy... and the crisis doesn't end when everyone feels good about themselves for clicking a button. I think about the people showing up for blood drives after 9/11 AFTER the Red Cross made it clear they were full-up and it was better to wait, or the morons donating totally inappropriate crap to victims of the Southeast Asian tsunami, and it just pisses me off.

And, as I predicted, only certain charity efforts are even legit for tsunami relief at present.

[raphiael]

I definitely know the jaded feeling. One of the main reasons I rarely donate to charity at all anymore, and definitely the main reason I'm so passionate about volunteering - when I'm there, hands on? I know for a fact someone's getting help, because I'm doing the helping.

There's no question that sending a donation of some kind is often more out of guilt/obligation/desire to do something than pure altruism, but there's really no avoiding that. What's saddest, I think, is that cause du jour mentality, but again. There's no helping it.

I guess times like these bring out the cynic in me.

[hooves.livejournal.com]

I will admit that fandom stuff for charity is kinda skeevy, but people commission artwork of their WoW characters all the time and pay copious amounts of money for them, no less. So I guess I'm not feeling too bad about 'fic for charity. At least it's not too bad. Everyone wins this way.

Plus with the V-gifts there is no "minimum donation" you can make-- it's like $3. So people who can't afford $10 can still give a little. :) (And of course get something in return!)

Also yesssssssss fe_contest~~~

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

but people commission artwork of their WoW characters all the time and pay copious amounts of money for them, no less.

I find this somewhat disturbing.

[hooves.livejournal.com]

I've commissioned my WoW characters, but I have limits as to what I'll spend. xD;;

I know link_worshiper(sp?) charges something like 100/per picture.