Donation Elation

(Written September 7, 2005. Posting nearly a week later, but better late than never!)

$10.00 that I would have donated at the door. $13.50 that I would have spent on the train ride to and from the city. $4.00 I would have spent on roundtrip subway rides to and from the venue. A total of $10.00 to a non-specific although trustworthy group (my friend’s friend is hosting the benefit), as well as $17.50 spent on just transportation. I chose not to make the venture out to a benefit concert at the Knitting Factory this evening, so this is what I have finally set aside to donate, at least for today, for the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Why did I wait so many days, instead of making a small almost automatic contribution like so many others? Because I feel like I have no money. Tilt? Well, given my unique job situation (advanced but not professional daytrader who is building capital in the account but not near spending it), I feel extra helpless at times like these because there is no clear cut slice of my “paycheck” to set aside and donate. Besides the basics of gas, groceries, and having decent clothing and a nominal social life, I think I mentally weigh many purchases and only make big ones that I feel I’ve really researched or really deserve.

So, in the strange way that my mind works, I had to find loopholes in my spending to start to find ways to contribute to Katrina recovery without feeling like I was being generous without due thought and planning. During the time of the tsunami in Asia, I had been saving up for a particular item and instead donated that lot and started re-saving. But this time around there was no specific purchase goal of which I could just divert the funds.

In addition, during the time of the tsunami I was so overwhelmed and so eager to help that I quickly gave my hundred-some-odd pot to the Red Cross. During the days after, I started to come across organizations that were just as noble yet were able to do things differently because of their smaller size. This is no dig at the Red Cross, it is great and has stood the test of time. I just realized that I should keep my eyes open because as much as these are monetary/physical donations, they are still parts of our hearts and consciences, elements which should be happy with the decisions made and not experience regret (or if you want to delve into marketing jargon, something like “cognitive dissonance”).

In the past few days I have come across two organizations which are smaller than the Red Cross and have very specific groups that they are targeting and assisting in the hurricane relief efforts. One is the OCA of Greater Houston, which I found out about in my Badmash weekly comic email today. The following part of the email is what caught my attention:

“Of course, you can donate to the Red Cross, but to assure that affected members of the pan-Asian community (including South Asians) who may have language and cultural barriers get the help they need, donate to OCA of Houston.”

The other organization that I am donating to is True Majority, which I’m sure many folks have heard of (especially if you lean more to the Democrat side!). The following information in the True Majority email is what really stirred me:

“We've all watched in horror as events unfolded in New Orleans, and one lesson is clear: The people left behind to suffer were left behind because they didn't have the power that richer and whiter Americans take for granted. People in shelters were treated like animals. Government officials separated families. Thousands were simply left to die in the floodwaters
….It is time to give voice to the community--now a diaspora--hardest hit by the hurricane. TrueMajority is working with Community Labor United (CLU), a coalition of community groups that for nine years has worked in what are now the hardest-hit neighborhoods of New Orleans….”

So these are my charitable organizations of choice for today. I do respect any donation made to any organization which helps any group of people. But I truly honor the folks who hone their unique abilities (like language translators) and get out in the trenches (like the poorest parts of New Orleans) in order to make a small difference each day! Hopefully my $13.50 times two will kick in Thursday morning, and we’ll see when there’s more where that came from.