• Shop, share and smile

    January 2, 2014 / No Comments

    charityWhile many nonprofit organizations do amazing work, they can always use additional funding to continue their efforts. Even charities staffed entirely by volunteers have overhead costs — administration, rent, supplies, promotion — and every little bit helps these groups support a cause or assist those in need.

    What is your favorite charity? I tend to gravitate toward nonprofits that support animal welfare, arts and culture, education, the environment, health and human resources and organ donation. In addition to giving money, time or supplies on a bi-weekly basis, I also participate in the AmazonSmile program. Here’s how it works:

    1. Sign up for Smile here.

    2. Select your favorite charitable organization.

    3. The next time you want to purchase something on Amazon, skip the www address and instead type in smile.amazon.com. As you shop, you’ll find the exact same prices and selection offered on the www version of the site; however, shopping through Smile means that Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to your favorite nonprofit.

    You can change your charity listing at any time, and there are nearly 1 million eligible 501(c)(3) public charitable organizations to choose from. So far, I’ve made donations to VPR, NHPR and the Monadnock Region Humane Society.

    If you don’t know what organizations to support, check out Charity Navigator, a website that evaluates America’s largest charities. Listings contain plenty of background data as well as full contact and financial information. Best of all, Charity Navigator maintains a donor advisories list to warn philanthropists away from less-than scrupulous organizations.

  • My Secret Santa gave me the best gift… and a lovely mug

    December 29, 2013 / 1 Comment

    npr mugSo this was my first year participating in Reddit’s Secret Santa exchange. I signed up on a lark, and had a great time finding a fun gift for my person. I honestly didn’t give much thought to the man or woman who would receive my name because, frankly, it’s more fun to give than receive.

    Well, my Secret Santa turned out to be really good at his job.

    To research my gift, Santa searched my profile and my website. Then he sent me a gorgeous mug from NPR. Buying this mug not only brought me much happiness — who doesn’t love a big mug of coffee/tea/cocoa/soup? — it also helped NPR, which is one of my favorite institutions.

    He didn’t stop there, though. No, Santa went above and beyond this year. While researching me, he stumbled upon a blog post I wrote in November. In it, I mentioned that anyone querying about what birthday/Xmas presents to buy should visit my Amazon wish list; it contained about 90 items, half of which were under $20. In that same post, I also mentioned that if buying stuff wasn’t appealing, I would love love love for people to do one thing for me: Sign up to become an organ donor.

    amys-mugNow what I didn’t mention in that blog post was that my best friend in the whole world died in 1999. Kind, pretty and funny as hell, Amy spent years dealing with a bum kidney. Despite being on meds and dialysis, her previously donated kidney slowly deteriorated. And before she could receive a new one, Ames had a stroke and died. Alone. On the floor of her living room.

    She was 29 years old.

    I have missed her every day since then. Every single day. And if I could have one wish, it would be to turn back time and figure out a way to get her a new, healthy kidney. Since that is (currently) impossible, I have made it my mission in life to get others to help. Please help. Sign up to donate your organs after you die.

    And that is exactly what my Secret Santa did.

    Thank you, Santa. The mug is lovely and I will certainly put it to good use. But your decision to check that little box and agree to donate your organs was the best gift of all.

    Someday, it’s a gift that could save another person’s life. How cool is that?

  • In Memoriam: A look back at the people we lost in 2013

    December 28, 2013 / No Comments

    hourglass.jpgSome people view obituaries as morbid stories, but in truth only one line of an obit deals with death. The rest of the story focuses on the amazing lives people lead. In 2013, these 13 obituaries were the stories that most resonated with me:

    * Helen Thomas, reporter, columnist and dean of the White House Press Corps

    * Abigail Van Buren, advice columnist

    * Roger Ebert, movie critic

    * Elmore Leonard, author

    * Nelson Mandela, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the first black president of South Africa

    * Margaret Thatcher, former prime minister of Britain

    * Ed Koch, former New York City mayor

    * Gary David Goldberg, TV producer

    * Ray Harryhausen, special effects pioneer

    * Tom Clancy, author

    * Peter O’Toole, actor

    * James Gandolfini, actor

    * Jean Stapleton, actress

  • John and Rita’s Holiday House

    December 23, 2013 / 1 Comment

    For many years, John and Rita Chakalos decorated their home with millions of lights. The 82-acre property, located at 140 Pond Brook Road in Chesterfield, N.H., was so filled with Christmas cheer that thousands of people drove by each year to see it.

    John and Rita never charged a fee to view their home, though light knows their electricity bills must have been through the roof. Instead, the couple simply asked passersby to make small food donations. These offerings were then given to a local food bank, which serves hungry people in our area. Last year, there were so many donations that the food bank was stocked up until April.

    In November, right before Thanksgiving, Rita died of cancer at the age of 84. Despite the grief of losing his wife of 59 years, John decided to decorate the property for Christmas, and even filled one tree with pink lights in her honor.

    M and I had planned to drive by their house to view the festive display and the memorial tree. Unfortunately, we can no longer do so. A few days ago, John’s body was found inside his Connecticut home. He reportedly died of a gunshot wound to his head. It is unknown at this time if the shot was self-inflicted or not, but police are investigating the incident as a homicide.

    John and Rita’s generosity and goodwill helped the poor and hungry. And everyone in the area knows their home because of the decorations and lights that were lovingly displayed each year. The couple left behind four daughters, but the entire community mourns their deaths.

    I wonder if they truly realized just how many people they touched.

    I hope so.