Participate in the Blogger Challenge & Help Students and Schools

[theljstaff]

One of the best kept secrets about the LiveJournal community is how incredibly generous you all are. It's not just the fact that so many of you volunteer to help LJ out, or are such active participants in communities online. It's what you do to support communities offline that makes us so proud of what LJ is. (A recent example was the way you all

Comments

[ex_uniquewo]

I don't know if it's a US law pertaining to foreign lands, or if it's foreign law pertaining to American contests.

That's the real issue isn't it? We don't have enough information so it's human nature to think that if they really wanted it to find a way, they would. :) I'd like to know precisely why they can't work with international charities and I'd like to see this issue addressed in each and every post they make on this topic. This would help a lot, imo, and prevent the same questions being asked over and over again. My 2 cents.

[maidenmorticia]

The point is... it's not benefitting children in my country and I see no reason why I should support American children when the children in my country are just as needy as poor American children (except our children benefit from health insurance :-P ). Still... America is the richest nation on earth and therefore your children are your problem. I'll gladly help my country's children.

[cicer]

Are you serious? You don't even need to spend any money for this. All you have to do is spend five minutes requesting a gift certificate and picking out what you want to spend it on. It costs you nothing but a very small amount of time, and for that little effort, you can help some kids in need. And yet you're refusing to do it because it's not for 'your people'?

The selfishness and arrogance you display in declaring that children in need are 'someone else's problem' is appalling.

[holyschist]

So you wouldn't have a problem with Americans choosing not to give money to any non-American causes? Or English people likewise? I suppose Doctors Without Borders shouldn't exist, either (why aren't those doctors concentrating on their own countries?). How international of you.

No one's asking for your money here, and if five measly minutes of your time is more important to you than the education of another country's child, I don't think you get to be on the charitable high horse here.

[mari4212]

Indeed. There are international charities out there, like Doctors Without Borders, or Kiva.org, with good reputations that don't only help out the US. Because frankly, while there are problems and issues in the US for which charitable donations are needed, there are needs a whole lot greater.

[divabat]

Isn't it disingenuous to suggest that one party has "greater" needs than another? Everyone has different needs, but we shouldn't pass up the opportunity to help out one group (which doesn't even cost US anything!) just because it's not as "great" as some other cause. No one cause is greater than the other.

[mari4212]

I have to disagree with you there. As important as education is, and as highly as I value learning personally, I kind of think giving people in war-torn areas access to basic medical care to keep them from dying ranks above getting extra school supplies for classrooms. One is necessary for life, the other is good to have for the learning environment, but you could live without it. So, should we help with this? Yes. Should we also direct LJ/SixApart to charities which support international causes, since the LJ community itself is international? Yes, absolutely. Especially when those charities we direct LJ to involve helping keep people alive.

[divabat]

Why does one have to rank above the other? Education is necessary for life, and as another commentor noted, many schools in the US are like war zones - it's become a place of fighting rather than learning. It is literally a life-and-death situation in some schools! Supporting schools that are trying to make things better for their students is also highly necessary to get peace in the world.

Let's face it, we can't rank one cause above the other. It's as useless as saying cancer is more important than AIDS or that water is more important than poverty. They're ALL important. They ALL impact each other. LJ/6A has given us an opportunity to help out education. Let's not pick them apart for it and support SOMETHING, at least.

[farla]

I really doubt US schools are "literally a life or death situation".

Lacking a music program =/= starving to death.

[divabat]

So? Does that make them any less worthy? Are we going to judge merits of causes by their death toll now? Ridiculous!

Besides, music classes could be life & death for someone - like a stressed out student who finds solace in music but would have killed themselves otherwise.