How to help, instead of feeling helpless

How to help, instead of feeling helpless

Page 3 Charter Oak-Ute NEWSpaper & Schleswig Leader- Thursday, September 14, 2006

I really wanted to write something light and bright and funny this week. I really did. But while you may read this on September 14, I’m writing it on September 7th and the airwaves and WWWeb are as saturated now with stories about September 11 as they were about Katrina when I wrote last week’s column.

Don’t worry, I promise not to wax political and point a finger of blame or just sit here and complain. No, after last week, I felt a little like a muckraker. So I wanted to write something more positive this week.
You know what a muckraker is. Best case scenario, it’s a journalist who wants to expose or oppose error, corruption, neglect and injustice. Worst case scenario, it’s someone who just rakes the muck.

Teddy Roosevelt compared social crusading writers to people who rake-up manure instead of shoveling it. They draw your attention to problems, but they don’t help clean it up.
Well, now that you’ve been either depressed or angered for two weeks straight by all the talk you’ve been seeing, hearing and reading about September 11 and the so-called War on Terror, I’d like to present you with ways that you can help.

I believe the best way to help fellow Americans is to give blood. The American Red Cross always needs blood donors, They aslo accept donations of money and goods as well as volunteers. Their website is http://www.redcross.org/ or you can call them at 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767)

Everybody thinks about the Salvation Army between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but people need help year round. When they’r enot wearing red and ringging a bell at the mall, you can find them at http://www.salvationarmyusa.org or by calling their Midwest headquarters in Chicago at 1-888-574-2587

The September 11th Families’ Association supports victims of terrorism. You can make donations to the 9/11 Families Association to help with ongoing counselling and medical services as well as for scholarships for the children of 9/11 victoms. Their website is http://www.911wvfa.org/

The New York City Police Foundation is one of the most reputible chairities on the internet at http://www.nycpolicefoundation.org

No matter how you feel about whether we should’ve invaded Iraq, or how you think that war has been managed, we all want to support our troops and their vamilies. Here are three great organizations for doing that:

The USO has a website- http://www.uso.org/

The VFW’s Military Assistance Program (MAP) is a quality of life initiative that focuses on easing the financial emergencies of deploying service members and supporting them and their family through the hardships of deployment. Their website is http://www.vfw.org/ or you can call their MAP office at (816) 756-3390, ext. 211

Soldier Angels is a way to “adopt” a soldier, write them letters, send care packages, and find out more about how to help them & their families at http://www.soldiersangels.com/ or call (615) 676-0239 and leave a voice mail.

You can always ask you local Police and Fire Departments how you can help them. In rural areas like ours you can volunteer and I’m sure they’d accept donations that they could use toward equipment and training.

This may have nothing to do with 9/11, but the annual Farm Aid Concert is being held in Camden New Jersey this year September 30.

If you would like to find out how you can help family farmers, volunteer or make a donation you might want to get in touch with Farm Aid.

You may want to get in touch with them if you’re a farmer in need of assistance like natural disaster relief, legal advocates, suicide prevention or referral to local and regional organizations which can help you assess you options, stay on their land and continue farming.
Their toll free hotline at 800-FARM-AID (800-327-6243) from 9am to 5pm eastern time. Their website is http://www.farmaid.org

If you don’t have any time, talents, possessions, or money to donate, we can all pray. Pray for the families of 9/11 victims, for our soldier and their families, and obviously for the wisdom our leaders and agents and officials in the military, intelligence and law enforcement communities.

While you’re at it, why not pray that God would turn the hearts of our enemies too.