Blog Action Day 08 - Poverty

Today is Blog Action Day '08 and the topic is Poverty. The idea is for everyone who blogs to write something about poverty to raise awareness of the many forms that poverty takes.

I've been very lucky. While I am now as poor as I've ever been, I've never been what could be called poor. Our family wasn't well off, but as kids we had everything we needed and a bit more. Our clothes were clean, we had a place to live and we never went to bed hungry. We were at best middle-class, if only the lower end of middle-class, and the credit for our lifestyle was due solely to my mother's ability to manage the family finances. She gave up a lot for our family. She still does.

When she sold Avon years ago, she would stock up on free samples. I don't think they were free for her, but she stocked up anyway, and at Christmas we'd go to the local nursing home and pass them out. You can't imagine how grateful people were.

There are lots of ways to help other folks without much, if any, expense on your part. One of the sidebar links goes to The Animal Rescue site. They have a sister site called The Hunger Site. All you need to do is click on the large button and you will help sponsor food for someone. I've made the Animal Rescue site one of my homepages, so when I open a browser window, that's the page that comes up. I click and carry on. Couldn't be easier.

One of the more creative and successful groups is Heifer.org, who subscribe to the principle that it is better to teach someone to fish than to give them a fish. Their success stories are inspiring.

Don't just throw out your old clothes, take them to a local Salvation Army or Goodwill store. All you need do is drop off a bag or box, just like you would if you were going to the dump. We've all got closets full of things we never wear for one reason or another. Give it to someone who will. And for crying out loud, make sure the clothes are clean — giving away your dirty laundry is just lazy and ignorant.

You can go to many malls at Christmas and find a tree full of names of children or the elderly for whom Christmas is just another day. Many businesses have these trees also. Pick a name, or a family, and buy something for them. Get your friends or children to sponsor someone.

Results.org has loads of resource information available, for anyone willing to put in a bit of effort.

So there are plenty of ways to help. A little can go a long way.