Hubby and I decided to donate our "fun money" for the month of February, which is spent on clothes/shoes/etc., to the Haiti crisis. (The ELCA gives 100% of the proceeds to Haiti...wish I would have known that before I gave to other agencies.) Now this pry won't be a big deal for him, but for me, not shopping at all until March 1 will be difficult. We each get $50 a month to spend on whatever we want, and I almost always spend mine on clothes/shoes/jewelry/etc. Shopping and blogging are pretty much my only forms of entertainment in the winter months, so I'm going to hold myself accountable by putting it in writing. No more spending money on clothes/shoes/makeup/hair/etc. until March 1, 2010. My only exception to this is that I can use store credit. So there you go. If anyone is doing a similar shopping ban for Haiti, send me an email.
XOXO,
Me.
What a great idea. I havenn't been spending much on clothes of late, I don't think. I'm already challenging myself in one area of my life, eating out practically every day for lunch, so I could use the savings from that to make another donation. And thanks for the information on the organization. I too had already made a donation through another organization.
ReplyDeleteIf only we could all be so generous and willing to sacrifice for others. We donated to Haiti too, but there really needs to be more people like you guys around who see what's more important.
ReplyDeletethat's really awesome of you! i'm donating through work and although i already had a sort-of-shopping-ban on (i was only supposed to be buying used clothes and NEED-to-fill-wardrobe-hole-items) but i've pledged enough that i'm going to NEED to stop shopping altogether for a while! (or maybe just not eat, hmmm)...
ReplyDeleteoh p.s. we are donating to Partners In Health, an organization that has been in Haiti for years and is a high-rated organization with minimal administrative costs. A lot of people think "Red Cross" immediately but you're right to try to support those charities who manage to get the greatest percentage of dollars where it's needed-- the Red Cross is pretty low-rated, with nearly half of the money staying within their organization (probably going to the CEO)
ReplyDeleteI'm on a shopping ban for other reasons, but both my hubs (it's going to take a while to get used to saying that) and I donated to organizations that are doing important work in Haiti. I think it's really fantastic that you're doing this!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea. Being held accountable through your blog actually helps a shopping ban and it's for a worthwhile cause. I agree with looking at low-overhead agencies, I know people need to get paid but it's frustrating when a huge percentage of donated dollars go to overhead instead of the cause. we'll be donating to a Haitian school that is run through our church that was completely destroyed.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your decision to help the people of Haiti. They will need support even more after the press coverage dies down because they still will have to rebuilt their homes, etc. I believe quite a bit of money has been raised across the board, I just pray that it actually gets into the hands of the people that really need it and is not wasted on administrative fee, paying excessive salaries for workers in these organizations that are providing support, etc.
ReplyDeletei mentioned you in my own blog about how to help, just so you know~
ReplyDeleteThank you. I'm pretty much just trying to hold myself accountable since I love to shop WAAAYYYYYY too much. If others want to join in on the ban, the more the merrier.
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