How can we help with $10 or less a week (US dollars)?

There are so many ways to help out this world without spending a dime. I like to get involved in the United Way because they have targeted local service projects I can get involved in. There are also plenty of mentoring programs that allow you to spend an hour a week with someone who just needs a positive role model in their lives.

marco, what types of projects do you work on with United Way? Do you just contact them and say you want to help or is there a process to go through?

The easiest way to get involved is to go to http://www.unitedway.org and enter your zip code to look for local projects that are going on. From there, browse through the ones you like and contact whoever is in charge and tell them you’d like to help. With the holidays only a few months away, there will be plenty of projects to help out on.

Here is the exact link to start your search: http://www.liveunited.org/volunteer/index.cfm

Thank you!

One option is to donate a mosquito net for African children to prevent malaria (cost $10). Another, albeit slightly more expensive but equally neat premise, is to donate a solar powered Bogolight (cost~$25, so two weeks worth, give or take).

There is a site on the Web where you can invest directly as part of a microbank. Here is an article describing the work of http://kiva.org.

Excerpt: “I have helped buy cows in Azerbaijan, food in the Dominican Republic, clothing in Kenya and fund construction in Mexico. But I’m not an aid worker or missionary, and I haven’t been to a single one of these countries. How, then? Well, I’m a sort of modern-day armchair lender: a web-based microlender.”

Local animal shelter?

If your interest in the world is limited to $10 a week, I suggest saving up for a full year and donating the sum. PBS is pretty worthwhile, I believe… I love PBS, and it’s typically quite overlooked.

I have also invested with http://www.kiva.org and have loved my experience. In fact if you wanted to invest $40/month in Kiva, you will do a lot of good. So far my small investments have helped people in Africa and South America. My loans have also been re-paid and rolled into new developing countries. I agree 100% with Marina and I’m disappointed in myself for not mentioning Kiva earlier!

@Lovelocke: i agree with you on the PBS comment. In a world where solid media content is sometimes hard to come by, PBS does a nice job.

Oh Lovelocke, I donate much more than $10 a week, believe me, I’m fortunate enough to be able to give back. The reason I kept it to $10/week is that I work with the Cubscouts and I’m looking for ideas that are financially realistic for our pack to do, along with suggests for their families that won’t break the bank of those that don’t have much money to work with. Many people think that they don’t have enough to make a difference and I want to be able to show that they do.

BTW I also love PBS

Kiva sounds really interesting. I’m thinking that would be a very good thing for my boys to do with the money we give them to use towards a charity of their choice. Teach them about responsible use of money and giving at the same time.

As a Kiva lender, too, I think it could be great for your boys. I would guess many of them are internet-savvy, and they would get to see and read a little about the people they are helping. And it’s a loan, so the money gets paid eventually, although it takes a long time. Recommended.

At the end of a month, take the $40 and buy food for the homeless and distribute it directly to them. If that’s not an option, buy pantry staples and bring them to a shelter or a food bank.

Plant trees. Clean a roadway. Make fliers about things you feel passionately and distribute them. The next time someone goes missing in the area, hit the streets with everyone you know and a pack of fliers. Buy non-perishables from CostoCo or Sam’s Club (if you have a card) and donate them to a soup kitchen or food bank.

Cub scouts, you say? Buy a bag of rice or flour from CostCo (I assume someone in the group would have a card). Then buy a smaller bag of the same from the grocery. Potential lessons: saving by buying in bulk, visual demonstration of the amount you are donating (if you cook it to fluffy-ness, the rice will really show what they’re giving out), and a snack!

Thanks for the additional suggestions!

Here are some more. More like random acts of kindness, and some don’t fit your group, but read through to the end. Some nice stuff on there!