Last December, one of favorites on Twitter, @ShannonAlbert, celebrated her birthday by using her blog to do some social good. After reading her post, I knew that when my birthday came around, I’d want to do something similar.
Today, I’ve decided to donate to @UnicefUSA‘s work towards “Education for All Children”. It’s hard to imagine a world where all kids don’t have access to an education, but in 2010, it is a harsh reality.
So today, for every commenter on this blog post, I will donate $5 towards @UnicefUSA which will provide 10 children a pencil and book towards their education (max $250). I also hope you will be inspired to make your own $5 donation towards this cause and help me do some social good on my birthday. How many lives can we affect today?
I have been truly blessed over the past year with wonderful times with family and friends; many professionally growing experiences at Bridgewater State College, speaking and training opportunities through @LTEConsulting, and amazing coaching moments with the Stonehill College Golf Team. When you combine all that with meeting an amazing new group of friends and colleagues on Twitter, I just wanted to do something today to give back.
So, to all of you out there: “What is your favorite Charity? What moves you to do Social Good?”
Please share and re tweet this post onto your social networks and let’s see how much social good we can do today! Thanks so much in advanced, for all your birthday greetings and wishes! I hope you all have a great day!
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Speak Your Mind & Add a Comment Below
Hey Ed, great idea, and a good choice for a cause. I'll match your donation, dollar for dollar.
It's go time, people. Comment away!
Sean
From idea to action- you are fabulous Ed! Wishing you a wonderful birthday. From the book Well being:”Donating $ results in greater return 4 our wellbeing than buying material goods 4 ourselves.” I'm in. T
I love this! Happy Birthday, Ed!
What a great idea Ed. My favorite charity is The Rionald McDonald house charities because when your child is sick you more important things to worry about than where you are going to stay and eat and sleep.
Great Idea Ed.
Kristen
What a great idea, Ed! I think it's so humbling when, as we celebrate another year on this earth, we remember those who are struggling to do the same. I never had a huge connection to a charity until my sister was diagnosed with MS. Now, any of my own personal giving or volunteering is toward that organization, because, for me, there's now a face attached to the cause. Good luck, I hope you get 50 comments!!!
I am moved to do social good because it is an ethical mandate. It's all about being human and recognizing that we need to take care of each other.
Happy Birthday Ed!!!
I forgot to answer the questions. My favorite charity in Athens is Nuçi’s Space, a non-profit health and music resource center in Athens, GA. The aim of the organization is to prevent suicide by providing obstacle free treatment for musicians suffering from depression and other such disorders as well as to assist in the emotional, physical and professional well-being of musicians. In 1999, the Phillips family of Atlanta formed the Nuçi Phillips Memorial Foundation in memory of their 22-year-old son and brother Nuçi, who in 1996 killed himself after a long battle with major depression. Nuçi was a talented musician and a promising student at the University of Georgia in Athens. Having lived the course of Nuçi's illness with him, the family recognized the need for obstacle free, user-friendly ways of treating and supporting those who suffer from depression and other such disorders. They have practice spaces, a camp for kids, and they give referrals to musicians in need of doctors, counseling and social services. I met recently with the director there and hope to do some volunteeer work, including free career counseling, and helping with their annual 5k. http://nuci.org/about/ I am moved to do social good and get involved with this organization because I see many talented people who suffer from depression and need this support. Places like this save lives.
I don't have a specific favorite charity, but I tend to be drawn to organizations that support local family farms and help get that healthy food to people in need in the surrounding communities. May of the contestants on Top Chef Masters are playing for charities like this.
Happy Birthday, Ed! Awesome idea. I lost my mom to breast cancer, so that is usually a pet charity.
Awesome idea, Ed, and I love that Sean is jumping in on the action, too!
I give to local charities because I think they get largely neglected — limited marketing resources, but a more direct impact on the place where I live. I also prefer to give my time (and encourage my students to do the same) because that's often what local organizations need the most.
Ed, it is so awesome that you are doing this! For my sixteenth and eighteenth birthdays, I had all of my relatives, parents and friends donate what they would've spent on gifts and cards to Invisible Children (a charity that works to bring education and aftercare to former child soldiers in Uganda) and Coffee Kids (a non-profit that uses donations to fund community development projects in Latin American coffee farming communities), and I matched all of the donations.
I'm not really sure what moved me to start “working for the social good,” but it probably spawned from my idealistic nature. I've always believed in the importance of rejecting apathy and complacency to work to correct the injustices and contribute whatever you can to organizations and charities that work to better communities and the lives of others. I guess that's why I'm a member of Bridgewater's Social Justice League, because I believe, pardon the cliche, that my generation has the best advantage to change the world, we have the knowledge and technology that past generations didn't; now it's just a matter of how we choose to use what we've learned…
Such an amazing idea Ed. I wish I could come up with an idea like this because it does such good for so many people. I think the charity that I have been involved with the most is The American Cancer Society. I was involved with Relay for Life for all 4 years in HS and my first 2 years at BSC. Cancer is something that had hit close to home to me with my grandmother and my aunt both passing away from it. Keep up the good work Ed.
Great post & idea! Happy Birthday from a fellow twitter follower
This is a wonderful idea Ed. This year, my fiancee and I made donations to Partners in Health, an organization that has been working to provide a 'preferential option' for health care in Rural Haiti. They have been active in Haiti for more than a decade, and their work is more needed now than ever.
Happy Birthday Ed!
This is a fabulous idea and you continue to inspire me
Enjoy your special day!
What a good idea Kuya! I hope you had an awesome birthday (and you won the golf game!) I'll try calling you again later!
Love you
Great idea Ed. I tend to focus locally on community wellness initiatives and needs. Wellness is defined broadly – education, youth programs, bike trails, etc. – but focused on things that improve the local community.
I agree with Stacy that sometimes locals get overlooked. For instance, I wonder what we could accomplish as communities if for one year (or more), rather than focusing on large national efforts that our campuses undertake, we instead focused locally with the same zeal and effort.
Well done Ed. I suspect many others will rise to your challenge.
Happy Birthday.
What an AWESOME idea! I am going to do the same!
Happy Birthday!!!
This is great, Ed – thanks! And Happy Birthday!! One of my favorite charities is the National MS Society as I've been involved with them for years.
Great idea Ed! Happy to help you give money to Unicef on your birthday.
Enjoy your day!
It gives new meaning to “Happy Birthday” when you make *other* people happy on *your* birthday.
Have a great one!
Happy birthday, Ed! This is such a great idea!
Ed, just when I think you can't get any cooler you do something like this. Amazing. As for me, I try to do good for others every day but one of my biggest focuses is the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. I've been working with them for the past 6 years and have met some incredible people and have watched and continue to watch amazing things happen because of that organization.
This is an amazing idea, something I am definitely going to try to put into place! I hope you enjoyed your birthday
Great job, Ed! Happy Birthday!
Happiest of birthdays to my friend and co-worker!!
My favorite charity has always been the American Cancer Society to try to honor memories of grandparents who lost their battles with cancer but particularly to honor my grandmother who worked for many years as a fundraiser, advocate, and nonprofit leader for the ACS. She devoted so much of her life toward this crusade and I want her to see her work through to a successful result.
As a parent, I find that the movement to do social good is a whole new playing field. I want the world that my son's children will inherit to be better than the one he saw when he arrived! I also think that college students like Kayla below inspire me to do social good.
Hope this project brings great things toward Unicef and thanks for doing it!
Happy Birthday Ed!
my favorite charity is http://www.charitywater.org (@charitywater on Twitter) and what moves me to do good is a sense of gratitude and joy combined with a sense of sadness about life's rougher edges.
UNICEF is a great charity – thanks for using your birthday to support it.
What a fantastic idea. The Children's Miracle Network and St. Baldrick's Day are two of my favorites, both focusing on children's cancer treatment and research. You never cease to amaze Ed!
Happy Birthday Ed!!! Awesome idea
Happy to help you give money to Unicef on your birthday.
Happy Birthday what a great gift!
I don't really have one specific favourite charity – so many people out there doing such good important work, it's too hard to choose! – but can tell you that I was profoundly moved today by a short documentary piece on CBC radio (Canada) today about the African Grannies. That's the Stephen Lewis Foundation initiative, the “Grandmothers to Grandmothers” campaign, in support of the women who are struggling to care for their children's children as a result of HIV/AIDS in Africa. The voices of those grandmothers from Somalia, Ethiopia, all over the place; their stories; the children… it will stay with me for a long time.
What a lovely thing you are doing here, donating to UNICEF (and to those children) to celebrate your birthday – I wish you a very happy birthday indeed!
Great idea Ed. Very inspirational.