The Giving Tree

Because you can only beat a depressed horse so much before you drive the hordes away, a shift of focus. For once, this isn't about me.

As I have mentioned before, I have put ads on my blog to earn some extra cash which I intend to donate to various blogging causes. This is proving a bit difficult to be honest, as one would hardly find a donation of the odd 25 cents particularly helpful. I've felt quite stymied by this, so rather than sitting around waiting for pennies to accumulate, I've thrown caution to the wind, said fuck it, and have been donating what I can here and there. Any added money earned from the ads which will gather up in the pot over an 800 year period will just be an added bonus.

I find myself irritated that I'm not a millionaire, because there are so many people that could benefit from a good ol' chunk of money. Then I think, even if I did have that kind of money, I'd not even be touching the surface of those who need it. I'm not strictly talking about people who need money or supplies. This extends to simply brightening someone's day by doing a good deed - anonymously paying for a stranger's parking or surprising a blogger with something off their Amazon wishlist. I want to do all of these things and more, and I find my head swimming with possibilities.

Conveniently, bloglandia is bursting at the moment with drives and good deeds. I wanted to publicise some of them even though I'm sure you've come across them in your travels. Please go have a look and see if you're able to help in any way, even if that is via positive thoughts and good wishes. I think we are all well aware of how much a sincere comment or email can brighten our days. It's not just me, right? Right?

One of my harem of internet wives, Becky, has started something wonderful on her own blog. She has encouraged donations to March of Times (particularly via her friend Ames), and Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep with some fabulous, fabulous posts.

Yesterday I came across this post from Emily @ Not That You Asked..., and cried throughout. The 16 month old daughter of Emily's friends (also called Emily) has recently been diagnosed with a brain tumour. Due to travel requirements and such, the little girl's father has had to take unpaid leave, and as her mother is a SAHM, financial difficulty is surely impending due to healthcare costs. Emily has thoughtfully added a donate button for the family for those interested in donating.

Today, the inimitable Mel over at Stirrup Queens posted about a FANTASTIC idea to raise funds for the lovely and charming Cali - eBay auctions! I am so excited by this, I wanted to help spread the word right away. I am trying to kick my brain made of turds into action in an attempt to think of some things I can donate for auction. If you don't know Cali's story, read up on her at Mel's, and even better, give yourself a couple of hours to go directly to Cali's and read, read, read. I am going to add the icon which has been created for this event in a moment, and hopefully the turd brain will spring to life and allow me to figure it out.

So there it is. Plenty to keep you busy. I admit that sometimes I feel a bit goofy to count invisible internet people as some of my good friends, but it's times like these that I think how lucky I am to belong to such a loving, giving community that doesn't exist in my real life. Thank you.