[Spare] Change for Hope: Haiti

Of course, we've all been devastated this week by the terrible stories and images coming out of Haiti. And we hear of stars making large donations and good for them.  Design star Charlotte Moss has donated $10,000 and reminds us that we can all give something and anything will make a difference.  Now, we can't all be million dollar donors like Brad and Angelina or even ten-thousand dollar donors like Charlotte. But she's right, we can all give something.

How about your spare change?

This has been a tough couple of years for many of us in the design industry, especially for the self-employed. When your industry feels like it's drying up but it's your only source of household income, it can get a little scary.  At times of crisis and great suffering, when you want to be able to give like the big guys, you just know you can't.  And there's no dishonor in giving five or ten dollars, or even one dollar. Let's face it, that's more than many in Haiti and others in the world would be able to give on a good day.

I wanted to share with you my crisis donation jar.  We all have spare change hanging around in cups and on dressers. I keep mine in this plexiglass and metal container that feels very vault like. In 2005, I was able to donate $60 to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. And today, I emptied my pennies and quarters out into a large plastic ziplock and dragged it over to my local Coinstar machine and guess how much it came to? $60.00. Take away $5 for the Coinstar Machine and I have a nice $55 donation all set to go to the Catholic Charities of Boston for their relief efforts. Boston has one of the largest Haitian communities in the U.S. and Catholic Charities is not only sending relief funds to Haiti, but is also helping those Haitians here who will need help dealing with the loss of family and the financial burdens of bringing family members here for burial.

There is no shortage of places to donate to as there is no shortage of need. I encourage all of you to check under the sofa cushions or in the back of your closet for any spare change - it adds up! And I encourage you to start your own crisis relief jar. After all, just having spare change means we're better off than 92% of the world's population.  As they say "If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, spare change in a drawer, a pocket or somewhere you are among the top 8% of the world’s most wealthy people."  The least we can do is put it to good use.



 Subscribe to ::Surroundings::