Day 100 – Rehabilitating Teen Drug Users

For the last installment of my 100 day exploration of charitable causes to give to, pray for and post about, I will highlight one that has personally impacted me in a dramatic way: Teen Challenge (TC). WIKI: Global Teen Challenge is a network of Christian faith-based corporations intended to help teenagers, adults, and families with …

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Day 99 – Restoring Eyesight to the Blind

The Life You Can Save, founded by Peter Singer, provides a curated list of several dozen evidence-based charities. The organization hopes to inspire and maximize charitable contributions while recommending where they will make the most difference. You can read more about their admirable mission in our post Day 81 – Amping Up Your Charitable Giving. …

Day 98 – Doubling Down – My Favorite Charity

On Day 10, I wrote about Combating Human Trafficking. After penning a few paragraphs about the problem and outlining currently available statistics, I reviewed one local organization, Free For Life International, that engages internationally to relieve the horrific issue of human slavery. I briefly quoted their Executive Director and CEO, Gabrielle Joy Thompson, regarding their mission …

Day 97 – Getting Scammed While Being Charitable

We love to give. We love to see our gifts make a difference where needed, and to know that our donations help to relieve suffering, lift the fallen, empower the forlorn. Regardless, there are those who take advantage of our generosity in the furtherance of their greed or vice. I love to give, to invest, …

Day 96 – Nursing the Covid World Back to Health

NursingWorld.org: The human toll of the Coronavirus-19 pandemic is being felt throughout the nation and most acutely by the nation's largest body of health care professionals - nurses. These nurses will deliver the vast majority of patient care as COVID-19 spreads across the country. Washington Post: What seven ICU nurses want you to know about the …

Day 95 – Soaking – Restorative Worship Music

One of the most gently powerful, profound experiences I've ever had as believer for 40 plus years, was during the year or so while attending the Grace Center in Franklin, TN. An ancillary component to their regularly scheduled church services was a cloistered, intimate gathering of several dozen attendees who gathered for Soaking. Soaking consisted …

Day 94 – Instilling Needed Financial Literacy

Investopedia: Financial literacy is the ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills, including personal financial management, budgeting, and investing. The lack of financial literacy can lead to a number of pitfalls. Financially illiterate individuals may be more likely to accumulate unsustainable debt burdens, for example, either through poor spending decisions or through a …

Day 93 – Forestalling the Tsusami of Evictions

Poynter: At the end of this month, the country may be on the cusp of a new phase of the COVID-19 crisis: a wave of evictions. One estimate based on census data says, “8.4 million renter households, which include 20.1 million individual renters, could experience an eviction filing”. Some sources project twice that number, approximately 40 …

Day 92 – Cancers Caused by Smoking and Drinking

My two closest family members, my mother and half-brother, were both victims to cancers that were caused by excessive drinking and smoking. My mother miraculously survived pancreatic cancer in her mid-forties, only to succumb to COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) later in life. My half-brother, struggling for many years with chronic pancreatitis (pre-cancerous), finally died …

Day 91 – Burgeoning Humanitarian Crisis

2020 has been a year like no other. Amid ongoing violent conflict, rising hunger, and the effects of climate change, the pandemic will continue to have an impact in 2021. As the health and non-health effects of COVID-19 merge with other shocks, humanitarian programming is also adjusting to treat it in a more integrated manner. …

Day 90 – Cleaning Up Ocean Plastic Waste

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN): Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year for use in a wide variety of applications. At least 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year, and make up 80% of all marine debris from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. Marine species …

Day 89 – Performing Life Changing Surgeries

The Lancet: Remarkable gains have been made in global health in the past 25 years, but progress has not been uniform. Mortality and morbidity from common conditions needing surgery have grown in the world's poorest regions, both in real terms and relative to other health gains. At the same time, development of safe, essential, life-saving …

Day 88 – Blessing Homeless Jimmy G

For most of the population, cold weather is setting in. Here in Nashville, the temperature recently dropped from 70 degrees to 20 degrees in less than a week. I hate cold weather. "Back in the day" when I was a teenager, I spent the better part of a year homeless, including part of a winter …

Day 87 – Ridding Children of Parasitic Diseases

CDC - Parasitic Infections can occur in children of all ages: Infants, toddlers, and very young children in day care settings are at risk for the parasitic disease called giardiasis that causes diarrhea and is spread through contaminated feces. Pinworm infection (enterobiasis) also occurs among preschool and young school-age children. Children of all ages can develop parasitic diseases …

Day 86 – Lending a Helping (Prosthetic) Hand

Ability Lab - Facts About Limb Loss: Worldwide, access to prosthetic care is limited. The World Health Organization estimates that 30 million people are in need of prosthetic and orthotic devices — yet more than 75 percent of developing countries do not have a prosthetics and orthotics training program in place, often leading to poorer clinical coverage …

Day 85 – Developing Africa’s Entrepreneurs

Wiki: As of 2019, approximately 1.3 billion people are living in 54 countries in Africa. It is the world's poorest inhabited continent. The entire combined GDP is barely a third of the United States. There are a number of reasons for Africa's poor economy. European colonization and the subsequent challenges created by decolonization and exacerbated …

Day 84 – Supplying Free Medical Services

KFF.org report: For the third year in a row, the number of uninsured increased in 2019. In 2019, 28.9 million nonelderly individuals were uninsured, an increase of more than one million from 2018. Coverage losses were driven by declines in Medicaid and non-group coverage and were particularly large among Hispanic people and for children. Three …

Day 83 – Serving the Widowed and Orphaned

IPS News: The estimated number of widowed persons worldwide in 2020 is approximately 350 million, with the large majority, approximately 80 percent, being widowed women.  The sadness, anxiety and loneliness over the loss of a spouse or life partner typically have detrimental effects on the psychological, social, physical and economic wellbeing of the surviving spouse, …

Day 82 – Sending an Angel for Christmas

One of my children's favorite Christmases occurred during the winter in which we were the poorest. My financial partner had unexpectedly pulled out of our business start-up right before launch. Having put everything I had into the venture, I was left completely depleted financially. As my family struggled to make ends meet, we held several …

Day 81 – Amping Up Your Charitable Giving

Wiki: The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty is a 2009 book by Australian philosopher Peter Singer, in which the author argues that citizens of affluent nations are behaving immorally if they do not act to end the poverty they know to exist in developing nations. Singer presents the following argument …

Day 80 – Coming to Grips w/Climate Change

Wiki: Climate change includes both the global warming driven by human emissions of greenhouse gases, and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. That human activity has caused climate change is not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing. The largest driver has been the emission of greenhouse gases, of which more …

Day 79 – Achieving Global Literacy

3P Learning: Literacy is most commonly defined as the ability to read and write. But beyond the functional level, literacy plays a vital role in transforming students into socially engaged citizens. Being able to read and write means being able to keep up with current events, communicate effectively, and understand the issues that are shaping …

Day 78 – Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

UN News: Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “key to sustainable peace in the Middle East”, maintaining that the lack of any progress only “furthers radicalization across the region”. The expansion and acceleration of illegal settlement activities in the occupied West Bank, ongoing demolitions, seizures of Palestinian-owned property and evictions are a continuing cause for concern. …

Day 77 – Looking Back on the Holocaust

NPR: 75 Years After Auschwitz Liberation, Survivors Urge World To Remember. "Children will grow up one day and they will be the ones deciding about how to rule the world", one Auschwitz says. "It is important [to talk about it] in order to develop the conviction that war is not a good thing, in order …

Day 76 – Retooling America’s Workforce

Thirdway.org article: Apprenticeship America: An Idea to Reinvent Postsecondary Skills for the Digital Age. The main shortcoming of U.S. postsecondary education is this: Too few workers are being trained for good-paying, middle-skill jobs. A crisis of human capital today is keeping millions of Americans from the opportunity to earn a good life. Employers’ growing demands for skilled, well-paid …

Day 75 – Volunteering for Good Cause

NationalService.gov: The 2018 Volunteering in America report found that 77.34 million adults (30%) volunteered through an organization last year. Altogether, Americans volunteered nearly 6.9 billion hours, worth an estimated $167 billion in economic value. Millions more are supporting friends and family (43.1 percent) and doing favors for their neighbors (51.4 percent), suggesting that many are …

Day 74 – Furthering Global Development

Wiki: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked goals designed to be a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all". The SDGs were set in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by the year 2030. The 17 …

Day 73 – Funding and Supporting Non-Profits

Wiki: The World Giving Index (WGI) is an annual report published by the Charities Aid Foundation, using data gathered by Gallup, and ranks over 140 countries in the world according to how charitable they are. The most recent edition was published in September 2018, with Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand ranking as the top three. …

Day 72 – Challenging Juvenile Delinquency

The Crime Report: Juvenile Homicides Rose Amid Overall Crime Decline. Homicide cases in juvenile courts around the U.S. jumped by 35 percent between 2014 and 2018, the Justice Department says in a new report. In a separate report on juvenile arrest data emphasized that in 2018, law enforcement agencies made the fewest arrests of juveniles …

Day 71 – Protecting Our National Park System

Wiki: The United States has 62 protected areas known as national parks that are operated by the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior. National parks must be established by an act of the United States Congress. A bill creating the first national park, Yellowstone, was signed into law by President …

Day 70 – Seeking Truth Within Political Trash

I'm relieved that the elections are finally over! Whomever would eventually triumph as victor, my hope and prayer was simply that the political wrangling would finally be over, peace would return to our streets and a solid path would be established for victory over the Covid nightmare. Fake news or facts?  Liberal socialist agenda or …

Day 69 – Fundraising for Autumn Achey – AML

Several weeks ago, my wife and I went camping at one of our local state parks - Fall Creek Falls. While struggling to put up a portable screen canopy, a helpful neighbor lent a hand. Thereafter, we got further acquainted with him and his family that included three energetic, outgoing daughters and a son. He …

Day 68 – Promoting STEM Education for All

Live Science: STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach. Rather than teach the four disciplines as separate and discrete subjects, STEM integrates them into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications. Despite the …

Day 67 – Re-entering Life After Incarceration

BJS: According to a 2018 Update on Prisoner Recidivism conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, an estimated 68% of released prisoners were arrested within 3 years, 79% within 6 years, and 83% within 9 years. Forty-four percent (44%) of released prisoners were arrested during the first year following release. Huff Post: One in every …

Day 66 – Recognizing the Disabled Among Us

CDC: 1 in 4 US adults live with a disability. Yes, 61 million Americans – have a disability that impacts major life activities. The most common disability type, mobility, affects 1 in 7 adults. With age, disability becomes more common, affecting about 2 in 5 adults age 65 and older. After mobility disability, the next …

Day 65 – Reimagining Immigration Policy

Immigration has become a much debated topic. Not only in the U.S. but in many other countries as well. Nationalism is on the rise. Globalism is on the decline. "US" first, the rest second or none is a common anthem. It is human nature to want to protect and preserve what one has. Even if …

Day 64 – Owning Up to Americas Genocide

I am grateful to be an American, and live in this amazing country and enjoy its many abundant blessings. I'm not necessarily a avid world traveler, but I've frequented well a couple dozen countries in several continents; seen rich ones and poor ones, with various political regimes, tasting a smattering of cultures. I appreciated them …

Day 63 – Reaching Out with Good News

There are plenty of sources of bad news. Sometimes it seems as if that is all there is. Everywhere we look reports of darkness and evil proliferate. Notwithstanding, despite the plethora of negativity, good news can still be found.  A kind word from/to a stranger. A chance encounter with a wild flower on a walk …

Day 62 – Tackling the Crisis in Yemen

UN: Yemen remains the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the result of five years of a brutal conflict, disease, economic collapse and a breakdown of public institutions and services. A staggering 80 per cent of Yemen’s population – over 24 million people – require some form of humanitarian assistance and protection, including about 12.2 million children. …

Day 61 – Thriving in Joy- Dominican Republic

A couple of years ago my wife and I travelled to the Dominican Republic with my daughter on behalf of her organization, Free for Life International - an anti-sex trafficking group - along with other non profits that were there supporting several orphanages and schools on the island. During our stay there we had the …

Day 60 – Recovering from Sexual Abuse

YMCA: Child sexual abuse is a crime that happens across race, religion and class, and has lifetime effects. Child sexual abuse is often predicated on silencing the victim, and as a result, reporting and disclosure is low. Experts predict that 500,000 children will be impacted by child sexual abuse per year. About 93 percent of …

Day 59 – Arresting the Fentanyl Tsunami

It's personal.  Recently, a kind-hearted local boy who used to vacation with us died tragically in his home from an overdose of drugs laced with Fentanyl.  His wife discovered him and his buddy dead on their couch when she woke up the next morning. He left behind a grieving widow and 2 small children.  Unfortunately, …

Day 58 – Extending Dental Care to the Poor

One of the last considerations when one is deplete of cash, is dental care. As opposed to emergency health care which is by law provided to anyone who shows up. In 1986, Congress passed the Emergency Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) that prohibits a practice commonly known as patient dumping. The act gives individuals the …

Day 57 – Entertaining Hospitalized Kids

An extended stay in the hospital is traumatic for anyone. For children, it is especially so. As noted in an article on Psychlopaedia, children admitted to hospital can experience trauma, not just from their injury but from the experience. Research shows about 10 to 15 per cent of children who are admitted to hospital after …

Day 56 – Immunizing the Worlds Children

WHO: Immunization is one of modern medicine’s greatest success stories. Not only do vaccinations prevent sickness and death associated with infectious diseases such as diarrhoea, measles, pneumonia, polio and whooping cough, they also hold up broader gains in education and economic development. Immunization currently prevents 2-3 million deaths every year. Measles vaccinations averted an estimated …

Day 55 – Succoring CA Wildfire Victims

As of October 27, 2020, over 8,836 fires have burned 4,350,916 acres, more than 4% of the state's roughly 100 million acres of land, making 2020 the largest wildfire season recorded in California's modern history, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The intensity of the fires has been increased by drying …

Day 54 – Battling Anti-Muslim Sentiment

Racism is not limited to white and black. And America is certainly not the only country to struggle with systemic bigotry. The "US versus THEY" mentality has existed globally throughout recorded history among all people groups. It has fueled most conflicts - both domestic and international. I grew up during the Cold War. Communist (aka …

Day 53 – Reengaging with Inner City Teens

According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates (2017), there about 44 million youth age 10-19 in the United States, 13% of the total U.S. population.  Of these, approximately 21 million are between the ages of 15 to 19 (2019). Children from ethnic/racial minorities together comprise half of the population under age 18. Twenty-five percent (25%) of all …

Day 52 – Recalling Pulse Nightclub Attack

Britannica: The Orlando shooting of 2016, also called Pulse nightclub shooting, is a mass shooting that took place at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in the early morning hours of June 12, 2016, and left 49 people dead and more than 50 wounded. It was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history up to …

Day 51 – Memorializing the 9/11 Tragedy

WIKI: The September 11 attacks, often referred to as 9/11 were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamist terrorist group Al-Qaeda against the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. The attacks resulted in 2,977 fatalities, over 25,000 injuries, and substantial long-term health consequences. It is the single deadliest …