Saturday, December 19, 2009

The Final Countdown

Saturday, December 19, 2009

(Ok, so it's not really the "final" countdown, but I have that song stuck in my head so I'm going with it.)

Several of you have asked for updates on the charities we're highlighting each day, and since we're at the halfway point, I figured now was a good time. (Oh, and if you haven't check in in a while - well first, shame on you: you call yourself an evil wrecky henchperson? Really? - but second, go here to find out what all this charity stuff is about.)

All totals are as of late Friday evening, and each link goes to the corresponding donation page.

Charity:Water - $11,405 raised online so far. That's a little over halfway to our initial goal of $20K! Every $5K builds a well that serves 250 people in need of clean drinking water, so as of now more than 500 people will be helped thanks to your dollars.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- Sorry, we didn't set up a page to track these donations. But you know you gave, right? So that's all that matters.

Heifer International - $5,166 raised online so far. Again, that's over halfway to our $10K goal!

Child's Play
- since they also accept Paypal (and prefer it if the donation is more than $1), we don't have totals for Child's Play. On our First Giving page we've had $1,889 given - but again, the majority of us gave via Paypal.

Share Our Strength
- Initially featured on Day #2 of the Countdown, so a lot of you donated before we had a way of keeping a tally. (Had to switch to St. Jude because the site wouldn't accept $1 donations.) On our First Giving page now, though, we have $2,332.

Puffy Paws Kitty Haven - Another with two options to give, but we've talked to Rick & Chrissy and they reported over $4,500 given through Paypal. So combined with the $3,632 on the FG page, that's over $8,000 - or enough to feed and house the cats for over two months, plus pay for the deworming meds they needed. Great job, guys - let's see if we can still meet that $10K goal.

Doctors Without Borders - $3,059 raised online so far.

If you haven't had the chance to give your dollar a day to these charities yet, then please consider this as your friendly nudge to do so. Where else can that single smackeroo be put to such great work? Strength in numbers, my friends! Let's do this thing!

And to all of you who have given: thank you, so very much. Here's to a new year made a little better, thanks to your generosity.
Anonymous said...

You forgot Love146 :)

Anonymous said...

Amazing job - it's so inspiring - way to use your powers for good. Look at this amazing change you've made in the world! Revel in it, so few people have the power to gather friends in such a way :) ~Mel D

lauren said...

Thank you so much for the opportunity to give! This campaign has made me feel really good, even with my small donations.
-Lauren

Casey said...

Hey, five grand equates to Heifer's Gift Ark! From the site:

Two cows bring milk and income to a Russian village. Two sheep help families in Arizona produce wool. Two camels help families in Tanzania earn income by transporting agricultural and industrial materials. Two oxen pull plows and carts in Uganda. Two water buffalo help Cambodian families increase rice production through animal draft power. And that's just the first five sets of animals ... your ark provides 15 pairs of animals to change lives.

Absolutely awesome!

Maryanne Smith (aka Lv2danz) said...

It was a busy week, so thank you for putting together the final countdown section. It made it easier to catch up on all the donations I didn't have the chance to give to last week.

I'm up-to-date now and yes, I do have my credit card # memorized now, which makes donating even easier. =D

Thank you also for choosing today's charity, Habitat for Humanity. Looking forward to volunteering for them again soon.

Happy Holidays from the Smith Family!!

Saralukies said...

Hey there! I also wanted to let you know you forgot Love146! And it is really great, because they have $7,000 and some by now, but it would be great to have it listed in this entry so more people could see it.

Thank you so much for doing this. Makes my day every day when I can give, just a little.

Unknown said...

Woohoo! This is so great. I love it. It's been the best part of my holiday season so far. If you're still taking suggestions for charities, please consider the Kristin Brooks Hope Center/Hopeline. www.hopeline.com

Thanks again for this opportunity! And great job, Wreckies!

Anonymous said...

Thank you SO MUCH for inspiring me to give this year. I'm a college student, so I can't afford to give a lot to many this year, but $1 to 14 charities is more than doable this year. I especially love the animal causes :)

Anonymous said...

I just got an email about this-we might be able to make our Heifer International donations mean even more teaming up with Worldbuilders. http://heifer.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=178641&lis=1&kntae178641=D612591DA218463BAC1B0EB8148DB606&supId=237599167

lorrwill said...

This is absolutely wonderful.

And thanks a lot, now I have the song stuck in my head, too.

~Lorraine

Lori said...

CURSE YOU, Jen. I now have "Final Countdown" stuck in my head, too.

Sarah said...

Maybe it's the combination of watching Home Alone, a giant fight with my brother, and Amanda Buckland's devastating story, but this made me cry. I've been giving my dollars, but after reading Amanda's story, I had to give more.

This is a fantastic idea. This is a million times better than giving gifts. Please, please do this next year.

Anonymous said...

Another great charity you might consider spotlighting is Project Peanut Butter. You can find it here:
www.projectpeanutbutter.org
They effect real change, which is cool.
And thank you for this. Giving really does feel good!