**Don't forget to tell your friends, thank you**
Over the next ten months I’m going to sell everything I have and donate the proceeds to charity. Every single dollar from everything sold will be donated. Everything is for sale. This includes everything from sporting equipment to dinner plates, my computer, my furniture, even my socks! By mid to late August 2009 I will have no possessions whatsoever. Anything that isn’t sold by that time will be donated to local charities.
The Charity:
The charity I have chosen to donate to is the Canadian Red Cross, specifically their efforts to prevent malaria in Africa (http://www.redcross.ca/malariabites/index.html). When I first thought about this project, I wanted to do something to help end poverty. My research has led me to believe that the first crucial step will be controlling the spread of malaria. Malaria is preventable, yet a lack of mosquito nets means that, on average, someone dies every 30 seconds from a preventable disease. Prevention in the form of mosquito nets, the most effective means of prevention, costs a mere $7 per net! Millions of people die of malaria every year because they don’t have a net, and many more spend valuable time recovering from less severe bouts with the disease (up to 5 billion clinical cases per year!). Many of these deaths are children; malaria kills more children than any other disease (more than twice as many deaths per year as the second biggest killer, AIDS). And, when it comes to children, one net can protect more than just one child, so your $7 net is saving multiple lives.
Industrial nations like France and the United States were stopped dead in their tracks by malaria when they tried to build the Panama canal; they only succeeded once they had first removed the threat of malaria. By providing nets for African communities that cannot afford them, we can help them get past this obstacle and on the road to developing strong economies of their own.
*The Pindoff Millennium Fund is matching all funds raised for the Red Cross Malaria program*
For more information, please feel free to contact me or visit these sites:
Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=39642632623
Blog: http://7dollarlives.livejournal.com
http://www.redcross.ca/malariabites/index.html
WHO Commission on Macroeconomics and Health: http://www.whoindia.org/EN/Section102/Section201.htm#g1; particularly “The Economic Burden of Malaria”
Thank you very much for your support.
**Here’s a rough idea of what’s for sale (I’ll be making it much more specific as soon as possible, but you can get a head start from this list): Ipod; road bike (& accessories); snowboard (& accessories); boots and shoes of all kinds; recent Dell computer w/ flat screen and surround sound; mountaineering and rock climbing equipment (everything from ropes to high-altitude down parkas); appliances (eg, blender, toaster oven, vacuum, etc); surfboard; wetsuits (surf and swim); skates; books; barely-used top of the line queen-size bed; travel bags (duffels, expedition packs; day packs); furniture (tables, chairs, futon); kitchen equip. (pots, pans, cutlery, plates, etc); clothing of all sorts.
**If you or someone you know is moving out soon, this is the time to set yourself up with a package deal, I have everything you need!
** I’d be thrilled to have my target increased to allow any donations that go above it, but those donations will not be accepted unless I notify GiveMeaning and have the target increased. Please contact me if this applies, thank you.