Living La Vida "Local"

Ever wonder where your money goes when you donate to charity? Of course, why wouldn’t you. Ever donate to huge corporate charities because you’re not sure where to donate? I think we’ve all been in that situation. The truth is, all charitable giving is wonderfully encouraged, but it is truly important we don’t ignore smaller charities, they need your help!

If you hear of a small charity in your community, don’t hesitate.  You can expect your hand-me-downs and extra cash to benefit local causes and local people. Sometimes local charities will support the same causes as well-known charitable organizations, but they aren’t spending a lot of time advertising. Here are some reasons why people volunteer locally, and why you should too:

1. Small charities are in more need of donations because they usually don’t get those large corporate sponsorships
2. More of each donation actually goes to the people in need because small charities have lower overhead
3. Small charities are typically local, so you can usually expect money donated in your area to help people, animals, and causes in your area instead of being shipped off to corporate

If you don’t want to spend a lot of time searching for the best charity in your area, hit the web! Charity Navigator, Volunteer Match and Seattle Works are great resources for finding information on local charities.

On Charity Navigator and Volunteer Match you can narrow down your search by city, size, and type of cause. The first time I did this I found Homeward Pet Adoption Center in Woodinville Washington, which is hidden about one block from where I live. Seattle Works is a great place to find volunteer opportunities and support the community. On Twitter you can simply search for people or organizations in your area that exist to inform you of charities you can support.

So what are you waiting for?

CharityNavigator.org

VolunteerMatch.org

SeattleWorks.org

Homeward Pet Adoption Center

Donor Squad is a Seattle start-up committed to connecting people with local nonprofits.  To learn more, visit the Donor Squad Facebook Page.   To join the Donor Squad Meetup group, go to Donor Squad Seattle.

Donor Squad Seattle’s First Volunteer Opportunity: The Aftermath

Saturday, February 5, 2011.  At a glance, it was just another typical winter day in Seattle.  Gloom ridden sky, constant mist and humid, heavy air.  You know the type of day that makes you want to sleep in till noon and watch endless movies.  The kind of day that looks way scarier than it really is.  On this particular day, 14 individuals decided to combat the elements and volunteer with Donor Squad in effort to end hunger among homeless youth in Seattle. 

The plan was to collect food from Capitol Hill homes and donate it to YouthCare, an organization dedicated to fighting homelessness for young people.  Donor Squad decided to involve the community from the comfort of their own living rooms.  A couple days prior to the event, flyers were distributed to homes in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in effort to prepare residents for the upcoming food drive.  Once people realized we weren’t trying to sell them something, we were pretty well received!       

On Saturday, the Donor Squad team set out with shopping carts (compliments of Madison Market) to collect food from the selected homes.  I must say, it was a great success.  In two hours, 14 enthusiastic volunteers conquered 4 miles of neighborhood, visited roughly 300 homes, and collected 74 bags of food accumulating to about 300 pounds of pure nutrition, totaling out to roughly an $800 value.  Not too shabby for a couple hours on a Saturday!  Our two hours of volunteer work will feed a homeless young person for about 160 days, or 160 homeless youth for one day depending on how you want to look at it!    

I would like to take a moment to give a special shout out and thank all the Donor Squad volunteers who decided to venture out last Saturday and collect food with us.  The time you donated will make a big difference in the life of a homeless youth.  Thank you! 

YouthCare is an amazing Seattle organization that is dedicated to helping homeless youth turn their lives around.  In addition to feeding hungry kids, YouthCare provides many tools to help get them permanently off the streets and into stable lifestyles.  Some of the other services they offer are case management, education, employment training, health and hygiene distribution, and drug and alcohol counseling.  To learn more about YouthCare, please visit www.youthcare.org.

To find out how about more volunteer opportunities with Donor Squad, please visit http://www.meetup.com/DonorSquad/.