Not only do I get to engage in charity, but I also get to engage in the internet meme of "first post!"

"First post!"

And blow my chances at the best-post award by forgetting to mention Oregon Food Bank and Sisters of the Road got my donations this morning.

It's all about you, not meme.

This is my favorite holiday!

What could be more fulfilling than a me meme?

Been here, gave that. Thanks!

I'm home to prepare for a party tonight, dreading cleaning so still hanging in bed with the ol' laptop. I'd feel remiss if I didn't mention where my wife's a volunteer, "Forward Stride."

I'm not a horse guy. Frankly, I find them more scary then a pleasure. I'll get on one reluctantly.

That's not true for the kids and teens I see out at the barn. Physically or mentally disabled, their parents bring them for regular rides as part of their therapy. A boy who can't walk can exercise muscles he couldn't otherwise on the back of a horse. A girl whose handicaps left her shy and dispirited becomes someone altogether different, smiling with pride as she takes charge of "her" horse. And along with the few professional physical therapists, a community of volunteers, mucking stalls, holding kids on the horses, giving them new confidence as well as real, sustainable physical changes.

When I visit I may leave with mud on my shoes, but I'm always, always amazed at what this group does for those kids.

Cool Beans--I can surf the blog and have the opportunity to help at the same time.

Thanks for the suggested donation sites, I had lost track of Jean McMasters. It is good to see she is still going strong with Human Solutions. She was so dedicated when I ran into her about 20 years ago volunteering in the Old Town area. Left a little something at that website as well as Sisters of the Road, we are truly blessed having those folks helping people reconnect with society. I happened to be listening on the radio when one of the founders was talking about our brothers and sisters that have fallen on hard times, that type of faith and belief in the good and possibility of people no matter who they are touches your soul and makes you want to be a better more compassionate person.

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Expecting the link to lapse ineffectual, allow me to include full text of this story. I don't know what direction is in it as advising to my favorite, (albeit, personal sentiment invests in PDX do-gooder Free Geek), except the maxim, Pay it Forward.

NYTimes.COM/aponline/us/AP-ODD-Bank-Gift.html

N.D. Bank Giving Workers Money to Donate, By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, December 17, 2007, Filed at 10:48 p.m. ET.

FARGO, N.D. (AP) -- A bank is giving its full-time employees $1,000 each and part-time employees $500 each. There's one condition -- use it for people in need.

State Bank & Trust Chief Operating Officer Michael Solberg said each full-time employee will receive $1,000 and each part-time employee will receive $500, as part of a $502,000 ''Pay it Forward'' initiative.

''We're going to really see some huge impact on our community,'' Solberg said.

Employees were told not to use the money for themselves, their families or families of other bank employees. The bank asked each employee to document the good deed with a video camera. The deadline is June 30.

The employees were told they may choose an individual cause, pool their money for a larger project or collaborate with donors outside the bank. The privately owned bank has more than 500 employees, he said.

The bank made the announcement over the weekend.

In previous years, the Fargo-based bank has taken 5 percent of the company earnings and divided it up at holiday time among employees.

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( THIS LINK mirrors that, and likely endures.)

Walla Walla, WA
“Home for the Holidays,” event underwritten by Banner Bank employee of the quarter Bonnie Bowton. The branch manager chose the Blue Mountain Humane Society to receive the $1,000 contribution to charity making an all-time high for the number of animals adopted out in a single day.

http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2007/12/17/local_news/local02.txt

Nice.

Jack,

Thanks for doing this for charity. This year and for the last few years we've given Christmas livestock to some of our family members. Last year it was goats, this year sheep. Now, I don't mean that we showed up on the doorstep holding a bleating sheep; instead, we gave a gift through Heifer International.

HI is an organization that helps needy people all over the globe become more self-sufficient through the gift of livestock and training in animal husbandry techniques. Each family receiving an animal agrees to "pass on the gift" in their community by giving the first offspring of the animal to another family. So the sheep that we gave can help a whole community!

I think our idea is catching on, because this year my brother in law and his wife gave us a gift in the form of a donation to Doctors Without Borders.

We really feel good about the money that we give in place of traditional gifts. Christmas for us has become more of an opportunity to help others, and less of an opportunity to consume...and get gifts that we don't want or need from our relatives. We don't know the people who are receiving our gifts of the sheep. What we do know is that we are really helping someone who has the motivation to make very good use of the gift we have given them, and that it will improve their lives, and the lives of their children. And that gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling that I don't get from any other gift I'll be giving this year.

Jack,

I'd like to pipe up to give the $250 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

I lost a 21-year-old former student this year to leukemia. I had never lost a student before, and it felt bizarre and unnatural for me to outlive one. Julia was a great kid. While I was her teacher, she danced in a local performance, she gave me tickets. It turned out that the performance was the day after my dad's big heart attack. I thought of not going, but my family convinced me that staying 24/7 at the hospital would drive me batty, so the then-girlfriend-now-wife and I went. Julia actually got me to forget about some of the worst troubles I've ever been through.

Cancer's a major bastard to take away any kid, let alone a kid as kind and talented as Julia. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is not a chic or posh charity--it's rather old school. But I do NOT want to outlive another student, so I'd love to see some money go to stop that disease.

Thanks for reading.

As much as I admire all the national and international charitable organizations, I much prefer to see my donations at work here at home. This is why I appreciate "buck-a-hit day" so much. It meshes beautifully with my wife's and my other charitable giving. I'm proud to participate here. Keep your dollars local.

Threw a bit of money your way, Jack. I know it ain't much, but I'd rather $10 go to one of these great organizations than some of my jackass relatives that I feel obligated to buy for.

These types of kids should send some of mommy and daddy's money they needlessly blow to groups like this. They'd earn some respect, which they have very little of right now.

Happy holidays everyone!

Jack this is great! At my office we did the Oregon Food Bank donation can, and I promised to match anything that my employees put in! Despite the short budgets and short tempers of the 'season' my folks raised $244 - with the match, it was $488 - enough to feed 49 families for a week.

By far the best thing we did, better than "Secret Santa" and the holiday luncheon etc etc etc. But I'm a scrooge in that regard.

Glad to read from the comments that others are similarly inclined, especially as the Food Bank is so woefully low on food this year.

AND our little contest at work prompted one of my management people who hosts a HUGE party in Grants Pass every year to annoint the Food Bank as his charity of choice, so everybody who comes has to bring a donation.

To be a bit trite it's "pay it forward"...

Jack, I have been reading your blog since Margi wrote about the Welches con man, but have not felt a call to comment until today.

Several years ago, we at the Sweet Home United Methodist Church developed a new mission statement. Since that time, we have been responding to God’s call by feeding the physical, social, and spiritual hungers of all people. We cooperate with Sweet Home Emergency Ministries to provide a free meal for 60 to 100 in our dining room every Friday evening.

This last Sunday was our third year to fill Christmas baskets as an act of worship. We are small but mighty! Just 30 people spent twenty minutes stocking food boxes for 26 needy families. That included a turkey, canned food, five pounds each of sugar and flour, snacks, bread, fresh vegetables, milk, pies, stuffing mix, butter, and that is just what I can remember. We also made sure that everyone in each family received a wrapped gift.

The families are invited to come to the front door of the church to pick up their boxes.

Cassie Fessler

This year I seem to be especially reflective about how much my family has and how so many sturggle just to get by.
And this is is hapening right now! in the USA. Children have gone to bed hungry tonight.
It is just not right.
Do any of us need that 80 gig Ipod, the new cd or dvd, the latest 60 inch flat screen tv?
Could we down size just a little bit, and help feed the hungry children in this country and places like the Congo, or Darfur?
The corn used to fill up and suv with ethanol one time, could feed a family of 4 for a year!
Think about it!

Just think of the amount of REAL goodwill one less CoP useless monetary boondoggle would purchase. With this thought, I make my donation.

Wasn't able to give much, but every bit helps.

I'm really amazed how difficult it is for a small business owner such as myself to find charity auctions to which I can donate services for people to bid on (at least a couple packages worth $250 of Technology Services). I've 'heard' of a couple, but a Google search turns up nothing. If any of you know of anything, please don't hesitate to email me.