Frugality Series 1: Charity

Charitable giving can be roughly divided into two categories: financial gifts/donations of property and service gifts/gifts that can't be purchased. Even if you are short on money and time, there are many ways to offer someone else concrete, valuable help.


I just want to make a preliminary few points...

First, the less fortunate have needs year-round - not just on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Growing up, our church was very active with a specific homeless shelter. What families got to serve the homeless on Thanksgiving caused some serious fights every year. But the people who were most peeved about not being able to serve on Thanksgiving were the same ones who only wanted to serve on Thanksgiving.

Um, don't be like that.

Second, you need not be linked up with an organization or anything official.

Finally, if you are unemployed, seriously consider volunteer work. Not only will it provide networking opportunities, but you can also put it on your resume.

Financial gifts and donations of property
1. Responsible giving. Some will disagree with me on this one, but I believe that I have an obligation to do a little research before cutting a check to an organization. Have you ever felt like a greedy little glutton when you deline to add on a small donation at the grocery store check-out line? Me, too. While most grocery stores do vet the charity - and not all do - their vetting standards might not be the same as mine. If you give to an organization, take a few minutes to find out exactly how they distribute received funds. And if that organization resists such disclosure, take your wallet somewhere else.

The same goes for non-monetary donations. Are you sure that ponytail you lopped off is actually going to cancer patients? Some "charities" sell valuable human hair to wigmakers and are not clear about what happens to those funds. Are you sure that bag of clothing will keep someone else warm? Some "charities" sell clothing for fiber (same idea as scrap metal).

Although it is mostly buying instead of giving, read the fine print before purchasing, say, pink shoes or pink hairties or pink cookie cutters because you want to donate while buying coffee in a pink cup. The portion of your purchase that funds a charitable or research entity might be minimal and capped after a certain dollar amount. (I am using breast cancer as an example only because most of us are familiar with the pink ribbon and I am not at all downplaying the value of awareness. PS: Have you done your self-exam this month?)

2. Donations of vehicles and other property. For some, taking the tax deduction makes more fiscal sense than selling the property. Before you try to Craigslist your car, review whether donating it to a reputable organization is more advantageous than selling it. (If you have a lot of property you want to donate, it is probably a wise idea to swing by your friendly neighborhood tax attorney before handing it over.)

3. Go shopping...but for someone else. Spot a great deal on a shelf-stable food that you don't eat? Give it to your local food pantry. Same goes for toiletries, pet items, and clothing staples like socks, underwear, and gloves. If you play the coupon+sale timing game, you can give a lot for very, very little. This would be a good way to get children involved in giving, too - maybe they could be responsible for selecting toys for a Christmas gift drive.

4. Be resourceful. I did a now-lost post on toiletry kits for the homeless last year. I and my then-roommate traveled a lot but rarely used the hotel toiletries. Because they carry their possessions with them, I reasoned that full-size toiletry products were better-suited for food pantries. We hoarded travel-size toiletries from hotels, put them in a bag with deodorant, snacks, and seasonal items like socks or sunscreen, and passed them out from the car on our way to work. Word got around and I have a few people who regularly drop off bags of small-sized toiletries...including a kind check-out worker who gives me any leftover sample-sized toothpaste from promotional events. You might - due to your hobbies or line of work - have access to certain resources or skills that can be a blessing to someone else.

Service gifts/gifts that can't be purchased
1. Donate blood. Few people are excluded and you get a cookie at the end.

2. Donate bone marrow. I posted on bone marrow donation a year ago, but I think I lost that post when everything crashed. I will devote a full post to the matter in the future, but, in a nutshell: most bone marrow donations today only require a little blood-letting and no actual harvesting from the bone. Even if all donations required from-the-bone-harvesting, someone else gets to live and you get...a few days of lower back pain. Note: I think signing up for the registry through a local drive is free, but if you do it on your own, the kit is a $52 donation.

3. Donate time. Do you have a special skill like webpage design that you could offer an organization? Are you in a profession that makes it possible to donate your professional services a few times a year? (Depending on your profession, check with your malpractice carrier and employer first.) Can you sort clothing, make phone calls, or hold someone's hand and listen? The vast majority of us are capable of doing something, and there are plenty of one-time service opportunities for the commitmentphobes among us. And you can profit, too - volunteering is a great way to network, make friends, and even land a spouse. Think about it: if you're a save-the-whales type of person, you probably want to marry or befriend a fellow save-the-whaler. And what better place to conveniently find concentrated amounts of nice, whale-loving people than at We Heart Whales?

I'm all about convenience.

You can get your kids and pets in on this, too. Most older children can handle sorting boxes of cereal, and many areas have opportunities for well-behaved critters to visit schools for abused children, hospitals, and nursing homes. (No, Jack and Coco don't do this. Coco failed the exam because she doesn't understand "sit" or "come" when there isn't a treat dangled above her greedy little nose. And Jack passed, but was told to come back when he "calms down" and is "less boisterous.")

4. Pray. Or send up positive vibes or burn some sage or meditate or do a rain dance. (Or do "no cold weather" dance for me, because I still haven't unpacked my winter coat).

Do you have anything to add?

Marrowthon

Join the Marrowton!

If you are unable to join yourself, might you pray that I match up soon? (Just to be clear, I am trying to donate bone marrow to anyone who will take it - I am not seeking a match for myself. Other than some sleep issues, I've been blessed with very good health and a helluva immune system that I attribute to growing up in a hospital and being friends with lots of physicians and pharma people.)

Either way, did you know...(all taken directly from National Marrow Donation Program, emphasis mine)

1. The majority of donations do not involve surgery. The patient's doctor most commonly requests a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation, which is non-surgical and outpatient. [Allison - similar to donating plasma.] If the patient's doctor requests marrow, marrow donation is a surgical procedure, usually outpatient.

2. Only five percent or less of a donor's marrow is needed to save a life. After donation, the body replaces the donated marrow within four to six weeks.

3. Donors never pay for donating and are never paid to donate. All medical costs are paid by the patient's medical insurance or by the patient, sometimes with assistance from the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). The NMDP, which operates the Be The Match Registry, reimburses donors for travel costs, and may reimburse other costs on a case-by-case basis.
[Allison - The tissue-typing kit is a $52 tax-deductible donation.]

4. You have the right to change your mind about being a donor at any time. Donating is always voluntary. [Allison - being on the Registry does not obligate you to donate.]

5. Fewer than 1% of PBSC donors experience a serious side effect from the donation process.
PBSC donation may require placement of a central line if you do not have suitable arm veins. A central venous line is a sterile tube that is inserted into one of the larger veins — the femoral vein, internal jugular vein or subclavian vein. Based on the NMDP's experience, 18% of women and 3% of men require central line placement. The risk of serious complications from use of a central line is small. A central line will be placed only with your consent after you have received information about the possible risks. Another potential risk is associated with filgrastim injections. Though filgrastim is commonly used to treat cancer patients, the use of filgrastim in healthy donors is fairly new. Therefore, no data are yet available about the long-term safety. The NMDP began using filgrastim to aid in transplants in the 1990s. Since then, no NMDP donors have reported any long-term complications from filgrastim injections.

6. [Allison - While most bone marrow donors donate through PBSC, sometimes marrow can only be extracted through a surgical procedure.] General or regional anesthesia is always used for this procedure. Donors feel no needle injections and no pain during the marrow donation process. Afterwards, most donors feel some pain in the lower back for a few days or longer. [Allison - my father donated bone marrow in a surgerical procedure in the 1980s without anesthesia. He said the actual collection process was not unbearably painful, and that after collection he had moderate low back pain for a few days.]

Why am I such a cheerleader for bone marrow donation? Because it is easy, simple, free, and can save a life. I do not know anyone personally who needed a bone marrow transplant. I put myself on the registry because - with minimal time and effort from me - I can save a life. Please don't wait to be "inspired" until a loved one needs a transplant. There are so many of others' loved ones waiting for a match today!

Donating Bone Marrow: Part I: The Registry

As of last month, I am now officially on the bone marrow registry as a donor. Please pray that I match someone soon! After all, I am pretty sure than everyone could use a little bit of Allison :)

A few quick swabs, and that was it.

I was especially tickled by the "biohazard" tag. May I have an extra one to slap on my briefcase, please?
My cheek cells are biohazardous.
They could also safe a life.
Want to see Part II and beyond? Well, you'll just have to pray extra-hard for a match!

Will you consider donating bone marrow? It is a one-time cost of $52 for the kit. You are not obligated to donate by adding yourself to the registry. Bone marrow donation need not involve surgery; many people can donate simply by giving blood. The cells in your body could save the life of someone's parent, child, sibling, best friend. If you are pregnant, please also consider donating the cord blood!

***
Tip/trick/lesson of the day: Buy large containers of plain yogurt. Plain yogurt is much more versatile. Add your own frozen berries. Leftover plain yogurt mixes well into a thick soup. And a side bowl of plain yogurt is essential if you are eating spicy Indian food. You can even use yogurt in baking, or make a yogurt/guacamole dip.

Charity, Cheaply: Part II: Bodies

Part I.

Part II is my most passionate "Charity, Cheaply" post yet. I'm in the process of polishing up a collection of essays first started back my undergrad days. I love literature on bodies - bodies in pain, suffering bodies, misshapen bodies, culturally subversive bodies, sexual and sexualized bodies, watched bodies, and more. If this sounds at all appealing to you, here is a reading list: Frankenstein, Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market", anything by Foucault, medical accounts of hermaphrodites from Victorian America, and Queer Latinidad by Juana Rodriguez. The last 3 texts are appropriate for an 18+ audience.

So, with the Body theme...

Donating blood or plasma can actually earn you about $30 at some places. Consider doing it for free, especially if you have type O blood or a rare type of blood. Even if you take several medications, you will probably be considered a suitable candidate for donation. And you'll get a cookie and glass of juice out of it!

Donating bone marrow can save a life. Signing up with the National Marrow Donation Program is a one-time $52 fee. The fee is tax-deductible. Even without the tax deduction, $52 can save a life. Please, consider signing up! Signing up does not obligate you to donate. Because bone marrow matches are sometimes - but not always - made along racial/ethnic lines based on a similar genetic makeup, please especially consider donating if you are a racial or ethnic minority in America. I can't recall the publication, but I read an article two or so years ago highlighting the particular need for African-American donors. (A friend of mine who has an Irish-English ancestry recently matched to a new immigrant from Haiti, so you never know!)

My father donated bone marrow in the 1980s when collection was performed without anesthesia. He reports that the collection pain was tolerable, and the post-collection pain was limited to some aching tenderness on the hip area for a few days. Medicine has since refined collection methods, but the 1-4 days of post-collection aches are expected. I hope that 1-4 days of bone aches won't dissuade you from donating! After all, what is a day of bone aches compared to the life-long heartache of losing a loved one?

I have not yet been blessed by being able to save a life with my bone marrow. If/when I do - and I pray I do! - you can count on an honest assessment of the experience.

*If you are like me - small build and Caucasian - get approval from your physician. The collection process involves several tiny drills into the pelvic bone, and you should review any concerns about osteoporosis with your physician. Asian women - also at-risk for osteoporosis - should do the same.*

Please note that nothing here is to be construed as legal advice. This post does not in any way establish an attorney-client relationship.
Finally, if your religious beliefs do not forbid it, give serious thought to becoming an organ donor. Make these wishes known to loved ones, and be sure to select the organ donor option for your driver's license. Contrary to Law & Order, being an organ donor does not mean you will not be treated for a medical emergency. I grew up in a Boston Emergency Room (parents are in medicine) and currently sue physicians (read: I know about lots of dirty medical practices.) Organ donation is not the equivalent of a Do-Not-Resuscitate order! You may also choose which organs to donate. Personally, I would like every single scrap of me to be put to good use, if possible. Others would prefer to not donate their retinas or some other organ. All of this is perfectly fine!
Please note that nothing here is to be construed as legal advice. This post does not in any way establish an attorney-client relationship.


Picture credit.
Picture credit.