Plum Crazy

Kids of Katrina

UPDATE: The link housed in the picture has now been changed to reflect the dedicated page Michele put up for this project.

Help In Any Way You Can

Today is Blog for Relief Day to help raise funds for the Katrina relief effort. My selected charity is the Red Cross, but it doesn't really matter which charity you donate to, as long as you donate something. It's likely the worst natural disaster in the history of the U.S. Three states were devastated, are devastated. New Orleans is a wreck. Estimates on the death toll are now in the thousands. Putting the Gulf Coast back to normal will take an effort of epic proportions and require tens of billions of dollars. Whatever you can give, no matter how big or small, will make a difference.

Blogging for Relief

Tomorrow is Blog for Relief Day, a day aimed at raising funds for the Katrina relief efforts. Following up on Lesley's post, I have selected the American Red Cross as the charity of choice. Tomorrow I make the plea.

Check out Glenn's roundup posts here

Technorati tags: flood aid, hurricane katrina

Asian Tsunami Relief Fund

If you would like to donate directly to a relief fund set up for the victims of the horrific tsunamis in Asia, where over 20,000 75,000 have now died, here are two:

Oxfam's Asian Earthquake Fund. Donations denominated in U.S. dollars.

Australian Red Cross. Donations denominated in Australian dollars. As of this morning, 1 U.S. dollar = 1.295 Australian dollars. [The American Red Cross has not yet set up a specific appeal for the Asian tsunamis, although you can donate to their International Response Fund.]

Australian Red Cross appeal found via Kathy Kinsley.

UPDATE: Since somehow I seem to have wound up as the first site in various web searches for "tsunami relief fund", I am also going to direct people to this entry at The Command Post which has many marvelous links to ways to help the survivors. It is being updated extensively. There is also the Tsunami Help blog. And this post is being bumped up.

Teach a Family to Fish

Ok, not fish exactly, but become self-sustaining. This is one of my favorite charities, as they empower poor women in their communities on every continent. If there were people in Antarctica they'd be there too.

Heifers for the Holidays

"What would be the better gift for someone you love — another present that gathers dust on a shelf? Or a heifer and training purchased in honor of your special someone that brings health and hope to people in need?"

Better still, your gift multiplies, as the first female calf from your cow is passed on to another family in need — then they also agree to pass on an animal of equal value, and so on. Now that's quite a gift. A good dairy cow can produce four gallons of milk per day — enough for a family to drink and share with neighbors, and still have enough left over to sell.

The protein in milk can transform sick, malnourished children into healthy boys and girls. The sale of surplus milk earns money for school fees, medicine, clothing and home improvements.

And because a healthy cow can have a calf every year, your gift of a heifer could eventually help an entire community move from poverty to self-reliance. And that's a present that's impossible to top!

The House That Cows Built

For years, Nancy Isingoma's dream of a better home for her family seemed impossible.

Rain leaked through the roof of the family's tiny mud and grass house creating unhealthy living conditions. The family longed to build a more suitable place to live but couldn't afford even simple materials.

Then, Nancy received a heifer from Heifer International which gave four gallons of milk a day. The cow's bull calf used one gallon, the family drank a half-gallon and Nancy sold the surplus. And slowly, the family began to build a new home. With profits from the milk, Nancy was able to buy corrugated sheet metal for a roof.

The family has made thousands of bricks to use for walls, and the sale of the calf will buy cement for the mortar.

Change comes slowly — often piece by piece — for impoverished people like the Isingomas. But with patience and perseverance — plus some help from Heifer animals — families all over the world are realizing their dreams for a brighter future.