My Top 3 FREE Ways You Can Help End Poverty
The state of the Global economy has been at the forefront of most of our minds over the last several weeks. Those of us who live in the United States have been watching the nightly news in horror as we see stocks plummet, banks collapse, government fail, and the domino effect roll out across the world. I think it’s important during times like this that we strive to keep things in perspective.
Yes, the United States economy is in crisis and things are bad right now. But did you know that according to the United Nations one person dies of hunger or hunger-related causes every three and a half seconds? And sadly enough it’s children that die most often. Sobering thought isn’t it? There is more than enough food in the world for everyone, so why does this happen? Poverty.com answers this question best:
The problem is that hungry people are trapped in severe poverty. They lack the money to buy enough food to nourish themselves. Being constantly malnourished, they become weaker and often sick. This makes them increasingly less able to work, which then makes them even poorer and hungrier. This downward spiral often continues until death for them and their families.
Today is Blog Action Day 2008 and the issue we are raising awareness about is poverty. Given the current state of the U.S. economy and the financial situations of many people I know and love, I thought I’d blog about some free ways that we can all help. So, don’t use the fact that your bank account balance is lower than normal stop you from helping out – Get Involved! Here’s how:
- Join ONE and get involved. One.org is an awesome website that is dedicated to uniting Americans as ONE to put an end to poverty. They are, “a campaign of over 2.4 million people and growing from all 50 states and over 100 of America’s most well-known and respected non-profit, advocacy and humanitarian organizations.” As ONE they are raising public awareness about the issues of global poverty, hunger, and disease. You can join the movement at no cost and then perform simple but important actions like writing your congressman or congresswoman, volunteer your time, or rock some very cool ONE gear to help spread the word.
- Click on “The Hunger Site” to give free food. The Hunger Site is an website that allows you to click on a button every day and give free food. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. You click the button and their website sponsors pay for cups of food. And if you want to give more, they even have a store you can make purchases from where all proceeds go to charity. Oh and while you’re there, be sure to click on the tabs at the top of the website. There are other sister sites just like this one, except they’re dedicated to other very worthy causes like breast cancer and literacy where your clicks will translate to free mammograms or free books. How cool is that?
- Test and expand your vocabulary while you end hunger. FreeRice.com is a fun website that lets you quiz your vocabulary for a very worthy cause. For every right answer, the UN World Food Program will donate 20 grains of rice. It’s so much fun and it feels great knowing that just by playing a game you’re helping make a real difference. And if you’re thinking that 20 grains of rice seems like a small amount, just remember that while you’re playing, so are thousands of other people at the same time. It’s everyone together that makes the difference, so why not share the site with your friends and family and amplify your efforts?
