GIVE ME FIVE: A New Initiative

Today I'm starting something really different and perhaps issuing a challenge.

The idea of charitable donation can be a bit foggy at times. Who do I donate to? How much? When? And you feel you should be doing more, but you don't....

Well that time has stopped for me.

I think it started earlier this week when I was reading in People about the crazy salaries some of the celebrities make. Angelina Jolie had commented that she gets paid crazy money for what she does, and then it read that she donates one third of her income to charities.

Well, one third of thirty million still leaves twenty million, but even so. She doesn't HAVE to do that. She just does.

Then last night I started watching Idol Gives Back (Annie Lennox ROCKS by the way), and I got to thinking, here I've been whining and complaining and stressing over some changes going on in our lives and really, I should shut up. After all these are positive changes. And I'm really very, very, very lucky. But I haven't really being doing my part as far as Stewardship.

We talk about Stewardship a lot at church when it comes to annual giving of not only tithes but time and talents. But we need to look bigger. We are stewards of this earth and the people on it. So....

Here's my Give Me Five challenge to you. Every time I receive writing income - advances and royalties - I'm donating 5% to charity. It won't always be the SAME charity, and then I started thinking it would be a great way to highlight some of the truly wonderful charities out there. So each time I make a donation, I'll be posting a Give Me Five post and giving you some information about this particular charity.

To kick things off, I've made my first donation to THE CHILDREN'S HUNGER FUND.

The Children's Hunger Fund is a US charity....because let's face it, just because we live in North America doesn't mean there's not extreme poverty here. I could write a whole post about how our society is its own worst enemy, but as they say, Money Talks so I made my donation. Here's a little bit about them...

The Children's Hunger Fund is a publicly funded, non-profit organization, which exists to alleviate children's suffering. To accomplish this, CHF solicits donations of food, clothing, hygiene items, toys and medicines from U.S. companies. These products are delivered through a monitored food distribution network in cities and countries around the world. CHF relies heavily on monetary contributions from concerned citizens across America. We realize our donors have many options for their charitable giving and every effort is made to effectively utilize their investment. CHF remains one of the most cost-effective charities in the nation, less than one percent goes to cover overhead costs.

Children's Hunger Fund distributes food, clothing and other items to more than 20,000 families each month throughout Southern California. On all levels we utilize our Food Pak program, which is an 18-20 pound food box. This food box is delivered into needy families' homes versus subjecting them to traditional food lines. In the last year we have assembled and shipped over 40,000 of these packages. This remains to be our most effective and dignity-restoring program for needy families.

You can read a lot more about them HERE.

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