The Give Blog

On the Ground: Futures for Children

Futures for Children received an A from the American Institute of Philanthropy.  Here is some information from its website.

Since 1968, Futures for Children has provided mentoring, training, and programs in Hopi, Navajo, and New Mexico Pueblo tribal communities to more than 20,000 American Indian students and their families.

Futures for Children provides educational services through our Three Circles of Support: Youth Leadership, Mentorship, and Families in Action. More than 180 volunteers from tribal communities work with Futures for Children to deliver and monitor the programs and to encourage educational success for their children.  Read more from its website.

 

Our Conscious Living: On the Mend

We have a lot of clothes with holes, jeans, shirts, even undergarments.  One way to save is to mend our clothes instead of buying new stuff.  We stop at undergarments though.

 

Food Stamp Participation More Common Among Unemployed

New York Times—Food Stamps and Unemployment Insurance  By Casey B. Mulligan

The Department of Agriculture’s food-stamp program, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, was originally intended as a program for the poor. But it has transformed itself into an important source of support for the unemployed.  Read the entire article.

 

The Silicon Valley Charitable

Wall Street Journal—Young, Rich and Charitable  By Holly Finn

Sudden Wealth Syndrome is a real worry. According to the Money, Meaning and Choices Institute, it can cause paranoia, insomnia, excessive unconscious guilt, identity crises and depression. I believe it may also cause lovely holidays in the Seychelles. In Silicon Valley, at least one symptom is already pronounced: increased philanthropic impulse.  Read the entire article.

 

One Dollar a Day

The Huffington Post—Living on One Empowers U.S. Students to Fight Global Poverty  By Julia Cashen

The lights fade and the film starts. Identical images of typical suburban upbringings flash before me: Chris and Zach in soccer uniforms, Chris and Zach snowboarding, Chris and Zach studying abroad, Chris and Zach rock-climbing. Fast-forward, and I'm deliberating alongside Chris and Zach as they deliriously labor over the decision to spend their day's budget on a chicken.  Read the entire article.

 

On the Ground: Franciscan Sisters of the Poor Foundation

Today we feature Franciscan Sisters of the Poor Foundation.  Below is some information from its website.

The Franciscan Sisters of the Poor Foundation, established in 1984 in New York City, is the principle source of funding and counsel for the ministries of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor around the world. Our mission exists to generate financial resources essential to sustain the worldwide programs and institutions of the Sisters. Programs target poverty, health, hunger, women’s empowerment, education and spiritual guidance for the marginalized of all faiths.   Read more.

 

 

Our Conscious Living: Fan Instead of Air

We try not to buy a lot, and generally when we buy, we hope that the purchase will save us money in the long term.  Here’s where the fan comes in.  We bought a fan this weekend.  Now, I must say I wanted to install a ceiling fan when we built our house but Suj hates ceiling fans.  She thinks they are affirmatively unattractive.  She found one she could stand.  It costs over $1000, an amount we aren’t going to pay.  A nice compromise is a small $80 whole house fan that has great reviews.  And it will make paying the utility bill a breeze.

 

Structural Food Inflation Problem

Business Insider—We Have a Structural Food Inflation Problem That’s Crushing the Poorest People in America   By Gregor MacDonald

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) produces excellent research. . . . Given the strong advance in energy and food poverty the past few years, as reflected in soaring participation in SNAP (food stamp programs), the USDA has produced a new piece of research just last month, Alleviating Poverty in the United States: The Critical Role of SNAP Benefits. . . . I’ve drawn a red, vertical line in the USDA chart at the year 2003. As you can see, that is the year that the unemployment rate started to fall again after the previous recession, but, that the poverty rate and participation rate in food stamp programs went higher. Why the divergence?  Read the entire article.

 

Measuring Poverty

New York Times—The Puzzle of Measuring Poverty  By Jason Deparle

Despite four years of economic distress, the welfare rolls have barely budged, as my article this weekend shows. Many researchers see evidence of growing destitution, but the resources of the very poor have become increasingly hard to measure. Different yardsticks show diverging trends. Incomes have plunged. But spending has largely kept pace. That, at least, is what the poorest households tell government statisticians.  Read the entire article.

 

Food Stamps Helping Poverty

New York Times—Food Stamps Helped Reduce Poverty Rate, Study Finds  By Sabrina Taverise

A new study by the Agriculture Department has found that food stamps, one of the country’s largest social safety net programs, reduced the poverty rate substantially during the recent recession. The food stamp program, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, reduced the poverty rate by nearly 8 percent in 2009, the most recent year included in the study, a significant impact for a social program whose effects often go unnoticed by policy makers.  Read the entire article.

 

On the Ground: American Foundation for Children with Aids

Today we feature the American Foundation for Children with Aids.  Here is some information from its website.

AFCA is a non-profit organization that helps HIV+ children, their guardians and HIV+ pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa who have no other access to aid.  Read more from AFCA’s website.

 

Our Conscious Living: Coffee at Home and in the Room

At times we need to travel.  But that does not mean that I don’t need coffee.  You coffee drinkers know what I mean.  Starbucks tastes good everywhere but a tall cup of coffee can put a dent in your wallet.  The cheaper options are a cup to go from home or from the hotel room.  And you also avoid long lines at Starbucks.

 

 

California Divided

New York Times—In California, Economic Gap of East vs. West  By Jennifer Medina

For decades, California has been seen nationally and by its own residents as a state divided into north and south, urbane tree-huggers versus car-obsessed beach hoppers. But the more meaningful division, it turns out, may be between east and west.  Read the entire article.

 

Travel Philanthropy

Huffington Post—What is Travel Philanthropy? 

In an age of increasing awareness of world issues and global needs, there has been a recent surge in travel philanthropy or, more simply put, using travel as a means to give back. The problem many people face when it comes to this, however, is that it can seem overwhelming.  Read the entire article.

 

Does Marriage Help Alleviate Poverty

Huffington Post—Is Marriage A Poverty-Buster?  By Jodie Levin-Epstein

"The Myth of the Disappearing Middle Class" (Washington Post, March 29, 2012) by Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Ron Haskins asserts that the lack of opportunity in 21st century America is largely driven by the failure of individuals to behave responsibly, particularly the failure of parents to marry.  Read the entire article.