Big Give
 

I've been watching Oprah's Big Give on Sunday evenings. It's really got me thinking....there are so many needy and deserving people in our world. Some are victims of their own bad decisions. Some are just victims of "life happening". The children are what really touch me. They're innocent and must adapt and adjust to so many changes that are through no fault of their own.

What would YOU do if you had $100,000 and had to give it all away? Is there a cause that is close to your heart? What would you do to make life easier for someone else?

In the show the rules were no more than $500 to any one person and no more than $10,000 to any one organization. You can't give the cash away - you have to actually DO something with the money.

One lady went to Target and told 20 people that were shopping that she would give them 5 minutes to get $500 worth of stuff and she would pay for it. There was a homeless family there that benefited from this. I would just LOVE to be able to do this. What a wonderful feeling that must have been to know that you made a different in someone's life.

What would you do?

What a great thread. DH and I donate a sizeable portion of our income to charities each year. Giving back to the world is something I really believe in.

I would coordinate a free spay/neuter van to drive into the inner city for people that can't afford to have their pets fixed with half the money. The other half would go to my favorite rescue farm the Middleburg Humane Foundation in VA.

I'm like you in that the helpless victims like children and animals really tear my heart out. Has anyone seen the SPCA commericial on TV with Sarah McCloughlin? OMG, had me in absolute tears. Now if I had an extra million I'd open my own rescue farm and take in as many of those abused, neglected animals as I could afford.

I agree 100% - this would be a great way to share the wealth.

And yes, I've seen the commercial and I cry everytime I see it. It's heartbreaking. :(

If I ever win the lottery this is what I'm going to do - open a rescue farm. I'll be calling you to come and help me!! :D

Kell and Jules~ I love you guys *fellow aniimal lovers* I thought I was the only one who couldn't watch that commercial. I flip the channel when it comes on.

It also breaks my heart to see programs showing starving children. I would have to do something w/the $$$ to help those babies.

St Judes?? There would be so many, it would be so hard to choose.

Can I have a million??

This is a tough question. There is so much I would want to do. But making the right choice is key for me.

There are 3 types of groups that I would try to help out: the elderly and/or shut ins, teens on their own, and families that fall between the cracks. The elderly and teens are sort of like the forgotten groups. They get very little assistance but need SO much.

For the families that the parents go to work everyday and try to stay off "the system" I would take the $500 and pay their utilities so they can be assured they will stay on and give them a break thereby, relieving quite a bit of stress. This will benefit their kids as well as their parents won't be as stressed and will be much happier.

For teens on their own, it would have to be on an individual basis. Teens that stay in school and are trying hard deserve a big break. It may be that they need food, their utilities paid, clothes, a nice bed and bedding, a bike or even a bus pass so they can get to work/school. I'm not sure what I would do. For these kids, $500 is nothing compared to what they need.

The same is true for the elderly/shut ins as it is for teens. It would be an individual thing. I could pay their utilities. I could pay for their groceries and have them delivered. Hire a maid service for them. Buy them things that food stamps does not cover (having been there this is a TREAT - I never knew how much I would appreciate someone giving me toilet paper). Socks, blankets, oh the list goes on.

I have always told my dad that should I ever come up with a large amount of money I would become a developer. I would build a community for these people. (With strict rules, of course. Regular drug testing is the 1st that comes to mind.). After being is some of these situations, talking with the elderly and many teens, I guess I am more sensitive to them. (I had a teen tell me how his mother told him that in order for them to get food in the house he had to sell drugs. He did it and she never bought food, just more drugs.:eek: Rest assure his dad found out what was going on after the kid got in trouble and he is now living with his dad and doing great!)

Great thread HK! It will be interesting to see what others would do and other needs that one never thinks about. This is cool.

Yes, DM, I would need a million too! $100,000 is nothing compared to how much need there is out there.

Two of the charities I donate to yearly aside from MS (duh) is the Ronald McDonald house....I have stayed in one and cannot express the gratitude for them being there!

And secondly, I donate to the Retired Troopers fund to help with expenses of the Amber Alert system and finding missing children.

OOPS missed one we also donate thru our pay to the retired veterans association.

This is a thought provoking thread.

Children come to mind first.

Going into poor neighborhoods, finding out the elderly and paying $500 to the electric company or gas in their behalf....OR $500 to their pharmacy for upcoming medicines needed. So many of these people don't take meds due to the expense.

10,000 - that isn't enough to make anything new really happen...or is it? Give this to a pharmacy that will only use the money to distribute drugs to seniors.

Children in safe housing - $500 bonds that don't come due til they are 18, and have stayed in school. The forfeited money goes to safe house for expenditures on children there....

10,000 at a safe house...updating play equipment for the kids, buying books for their library, buying puzzles and games for checkout and use....

Nice thread!

One of the women actually did this on the show. You should have seen the people's faces when they went in to pay for their gas!

One man went to a car repair shop and paid for all the cars that were in the shop at the time he was there. The little boy of a man whose car he paid for walked up and gave the man a hug. It was so sweet.

Another girl bought bus tokens and gave them to a local shelter for their residents.

I didn't see anyone doing anything for animals, though. They need to come to our towns - so we can participate - and help the animals, too.

I would have SO much fun with a project like this. As much as I could use $10,000 myself I'd have just as much fun if not more giving it to other people who need to just as badly (if not more so) as I do.

HereKitty, the lady that was eliminated gave to a local animal shelter. Out of her $100,00.00 she only gave $98,500.00!!!!!!! $1,00 of that was to the shelter. the shelter closed at $ PM and she had her car all full of stuff for them and she got lost. Luckily for her they called her and met her.

I wish the people were given longer than 24 hours to do what they did. I'm sure they could have given 'bigger'.

There are several organizations that I would do something for. Humane Society, local shelter for abused women and children, free equipment to be located at the MS society to be distributed by them, musics and art departments in local school system, donation to the school board so that all schools could have full time RN, Habitat for Humanity. Oh, the list could go on. Do any of you all want to incorparate yourselves so I can give you a donation? $100,000.00 wouldn't go very far to provide us our meds.

I'm so glad someone thought about the animal shelters and donated to them!! I fell asleep before the show was over and didn't get to see who was eliminated.....thanks for updating me-makes me feel better to know that one of them helped an animal shelter. :)

I agree, 24 hours is not enough time to distribute the money.

I forgot to add Boy/ Girl scouts. My father in law was a Boy Scout leader to an inner city troop for most of is life. He was one crusty old guy but that was what those boys needed, someone to be hard but loving on them. He had more little African American boys running around his house and sitting around his dinner table than I have ever seen. They knew his house was their house. I told my husband that his Dad was a lot like my Dad. My Dad was a preacher and we alsways were in small churches and he was everything from secretary to janitor to youth leader. But my husband said that the difference was that I loved that in my Dad and he hated it. Although he was alwyas in all of the troop activites such as camps, trips, etc, he hated that it took his Dad away from him and his siblings.

Well none of that had anything to do with the fact that those troops need all the help they can get. My Father in law said that churches only came into the inner cities once a year at Chritsmas time and the media followed them to make them look good. Other than that the inner city was ignored.

I have some mixed emotions about the show, but it's always good to see someone have their needs met.

You know, to be honest I do, too. They're haphazardly giving out this money (well, some of it) like candy without qualifying whether or not the receiver is truly in need or not. I think if they had more time to figure out what they were going to do with the money and who they were going to donate to it might go to better use.

I'm sure alot of it is publicity for Ford (they all drive Mustangs that have "Oprah's Big Give" on the door) and Oprah. I like Oprah but sometimes I think she is a teensy bit too impressed with herself.

I just hope that those who can truly benefit from this are given the chance to receive some of the money and/or services.

Without having seen the show, I wonder if the show is about giving to the needy or if it is more pay it forward type thing? I haven't seen it, so I don't know what she says the rules are!

I see your point, Kell. All media is a vehicle for advertising and advertising is revenue. She and all the "sponsors" and advertisers are all gaining from their participation.

My issue with it has more to do with letting one's left hand know what his/her right hand is doing. I'm against it.:plain:

Wadda ya mean?? Splain Lucy..:D

A couple of the contestants really push the 'pay it forward' concept when they give their gift. I hope that is what the general public will get out of the show. But my husband says I am the eternal optimist. What was the name of the movie about paying it forward. It was very moving.

Yeah. . . .'splain please! :D

Oops, sorry, see Matthew 6 in the Bible.

Ah Ha!!!

2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Sally - I try to live by this always.

A perfect scripture to live by. . . . :)

I would have to buy livestock and ship them to poor nations. Maybe drill wells for clean water....and build a shack or two :D

Locally, find children in need and take them shopping for new clothes and a neat toy. Maybe just pay the families electric bills for the month....


lots of ideas that would take a novel :D

how about those small portable family-sized solar ovens?

for areas without electricity, or where fuel is costly, and firewood hard to come by?

here's a place that makes solar ovens, which various groups ship over to needy people in spots like Kenya, Nairobi, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, etc.

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/6...ithovenge1.jpg

http://www.solarovens.org/

also, if I had that money to give away, I'd like to put up easy-t0-maintain solar power arrays in isolated villages, where the "grid" hasn't yet reached, due to expense or distance.

then, the families could have power, a community refrigerator, an electrical pump for their water wells, and maybe even a lightbulb or two at night.

:grouphug::hug::grouphug:

I liked it when they had specific places pre-picked to go to. I assume that Oprah or whoever had checked them out. But the 24 hour challenge didn't allow them to do that. Because of that, I think the best places to go to would have been specific organizations that would have distributed them to the appropriate people. Although.....on the spot giving gave the recipients that moment of feeling like one person can make a difference and can help instill their own pay it forward attitude. The expression on those childrens faces were priceless. I hope they remember how that made them feel.