5 things I learned this week (Part 5)

I've been accused, IN PUBLIC, for being something everyone is.

Selfish.

I know that it is not technically a crime, but it's still looked down upon by society as a part of its moral ethic. This is all, with utter disregard to the fact that selfishness exists in every part and act in the society - from when the North Korean Supreme Commander decides to go drop some bombs on the other side of the wall to when I decide to write something unselfish in my blog for a change.

I'm going to take up the baton of unselfishness and sacrifice, from two young men, who came to my house last sunday morning. They were trying to raise funds for HelpAge India for providing financial support to widows in the dry months of this years summer.

We are a lot who earn quite a handful these days. But I won't ask you to put your money just like that. I've realised from my facebook sojourn that the value of something increases, if you are aware that you could have done something else with it. I know you didn't understand that. So, let me put it into action.

I'm going to donate some amount of money to a charity at the end of this month. And that amount will be the sum of all the junk food I WON'T EAT this month. This includes Dominoes, MCD's, KFC, Pizza Hut and all. It's been just two days into this month, and I already have 194 rupees set aside for this fund from a pizza that I didnt order.

So, on May 31st, when I finally deposit the amount, I'll know that I'm not giving cos I've got the money to spare, but because I sacrificed a little bit of my happiness so that I can help someone.

So finally, let me finish with this loooooooooooong prologue, and get on with the business. If you haven't guessed by now, this week's post will be themed on charity - on how you can donate to honourable causes online - from your laptop, from your phone - no matter where you are currently placing your lazy ass on. :P

Did you know...

1. ...that you can donate online to HelpAge India?

Unless you find a way to get yourself killed before you hit senility, you are gonna grow old. And you can't be sure that you'll be in a good place then. So, get some good karma on your side, and donate to help the aged population in India by donating online at

http://www.helpageindia.org/donate.html


2. ...that you can donate online to UNICEF?

I bet you don't remember the expansion of UNICEF. :P

It is United Nation International Child Emergency Fund. (I only got Emergency wrong)

Well, they allow you to contribute to them online at

https://www.supportunicefindia.org/Donation/SupportUS.aspx

3. ...that you can donate online to Wikipedia?

We all know what we'll say when our kids ask us to help them with their homework. "Look in Wikipedia"

Why not? That is exactly what we are doing now, whether it is to know what the Large Hadron Collider is looking for, or whether Charlie Sheen actually married a porn star. And since, wiki hasn't sold off its soul to advertisements (YET), they need us to support them so that they can continue to serve us. Donate whatever you can at 

https://donate.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:FundraiserLandingPage&country=IN&uselang=en&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_source=donate&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org

4. ...that you can donate online to CRY?

It's not like there should be another reason to cry for us, the spoilt children of the new generation, but this is not about giving your money away and letting your tear ducts show their capacity to pump water.
CRY is actually Child Rights and You is one among the many organizations fighting for the rights of children everywhere, and you can support them by donating online at

http://www.cry.org/apps/donation.aspx

5. ...that you can donate online to many charitable causes on giveindia.org?

Among all the online charity donation websites that I went through for this blog, giveindia.org is perhaps what I'll describe as the most unique. It sort of works as middle man between supply and demand. Demand, as in sponsoring a slum child's education for a year, or providing monthly rations for a poor family, or rehabilitating a widow. Supply, as in providing a platform for souls like us to part with our surplus money, so that the demand is met. You can choose the cause and donate at will at

http://www.giveindia.org/

That wraps up the 5 things for this week. But before I go, let me leave you with a thought I hold dear to my heart.

"The happiness of giving is multiplied in knowing that somebody is receiving what you sacrificed."

That's all folks..
Happy Weekend!!!