2023 Charity Suggestions

[Beketov 8,642]

Hello @Members!

 

Last week was Halloween and you can't tell me otherwise! I feel like I blinked and we're basically into December, wild! That does mean that the holiday season is nearly upon us which for the VHL means our annual charity drive!
 

For those who haven’t been around, a quick recap: Every December in addition to Christmas festivities we hold a charity donation drive to help out communities beyond our own. This will be our fifth year doing the charity drive with previous drives donating thousands to the Make a Wish Foundation, Food Banks of Canada / Feed America, the Red Cross, and the SickKids Foundation / St. Jude's.

 

But it's not even December yet, why do I bring this up? Because we need your help deciding a charity of course. As always you’ll be able to donate to any charity you wish and have it count but the league matching donation and any donated through us will go to the charity that’s chosen.

 

In an ideal world that charity fits a couple of criteria so if you can try to keep them in mind for your suggestions that would be great:

 

1. Should be something that accepts PayPal donations since all league funds run through that.

2. Should be something with a wide reach and ideally international or at least having Canadian / American equivalents we can split donations between.

3. Nothing political or divisive.

 

So let’s see what you can come up with! Feel free to also discuss your favourites in here if someone suggests something you feel strong about but try to keep it as on topic as possible. Here’s to the start of another VHL holiday season!

[Dil 1,744]

11 minutes ago, Beketov said:

Because we need your help deciding a charity of course

I volunteer as tribute, I’ll be the charity

[Baozi 1,635]

Given the state of the world, I'd vote Refugees International.

 

and https://idrf.ca/

Edited November 27, 2023 by Baozi

[rory 1,759]

VHL needs the ADL for sure 

[Banackock 7,642]

https://www.icrc.org/en/who-we-are#:~:text=Established in 1863%2C the ICRC,that protect victims of war.
 

 

With everything going on in the world with all the horrible events, would be nice to support those affected by war etc. 

[Steve 1,716]

I think anyone of the charities that try to help kids has my vote. Yes, the world is a shit hole atm but every nation is sending stuff to those regions. I hope our sick kids get some love in a time of the year when they should have hope and happiness. 

[v.2 1,260]

Maybe something sports related to keep it on brand with the league?

 

Help facilitate accessibility to sports for all kids.  

 

https://kidsportcanada.ca

 

https://jumpstart.canadiantire.ca

[Smarch 2,943]

It appears a few want something that will help war zones, so I would suggest Doctors Without Borders, as it helps warn torn countries and other countries in need of medical assistance. It would also indirectly help children. 

 

https://www.doctorswithoutborders.ca

Edited November 27, 2023 by Smarch

[N0HBDY 1,013]

1 hour ago, Dil said:

I volunteer as tribute, I’ll be the charity

Do your duet with cow

[Berocka 2,192]

I would recommend firefighters it's summer here in Australia and the bushfires are expected to be huge this year I understand it's winter elsewhere 

[Tetricide 568]

1 hour ago, v.2 said:

Maybe something sports related to keep it on brand with the league?

 

Help facilitate accessibility to sports for all kids.  

 

https://kidsportcanada.ca

 

https://jumpstart.canadiantire.ca

 

I'm with this, or really anything that helps kids in need.

[Smarch 2,943]

My second suggestion for those who wish to pick something children related would be Wigs for Kids. They accept monetary donations by PayPal.

 

https://www.wigsforkids.org/monetary-donation/

Edited November 27, 2023 by Smarch

[Beketov 8,642]

8 hours ago, Berocka said:

I would recommend firefighters it's summer here in Australia and the bushfires are expected to be huge this year I understand it's winter elsewhere 

To be fair while it is winter now basically the entire country of Canada was on fire last summer…

 

Mind you we would have to see if there’s any kind of way to donate on a national scale for firefighters. I think it’s usually a very local thing. 

[Motzaburger 1,590]

make student scholarships for VHL members

[CowboyinAmerica 2,709]

14 hours ago, Smarch said:

It appears a few want something that will help war zones, so I would suggest Doctors Without Borders, as it helps warn torn countries and other countries in need of medical assistance. It would also indirectly help children. 

 

https://www.doctorswithoutborders.ca

 

Hey my suggestion already in here! I second Doctors Without Borders, I know some people who have worked with them and it's my go-to charity. They do some great work, and they're good about making sure a lot of the donation funds go directly to people who need it.

[Beketov 8,642]

24 minutes ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

 

Hey my suggestion already in here! I second Doctors Without Borders, I know some people who have worked with them and it's my go-to charity. They do some great work, and they're good about making sure a lot of the donation funds go directly to people who need it.

I feel like there was a reason we didn’t choose them in the past but I don’t remember what it is now so I can at least check again.

[a_Ferk 760]

4 hours ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

 

Hey my suggestion already in here! I second Doctors Without Borders, I know some people who have worked with them and it's my go-to charity. They do some great work, and they're good about making sure a lot of the donation funds go directly to people who need it.

I agree, let's get those doctors some borders

[fishy 1,755]

On 11/27/2023 at 1:33 AM, Baozi said:

Given the state of the world, I'd vote Refugees International.

 

and https://idrf.ca/

on a related note, Palestinians have said that resources are being restricted and are requesting that donations to organizations sending said resources be paused until they're able to actually access them. if we decide to go that route, we would need to monitor conditions on the border to optimally support

Edited November 29, 2023 by fishy

[Nykonax 1,550]

5 hours ago, Motzaburger said:

make student scholarships for VHL members

 

[Gustav 6,102]

Creative suggestion: the Dudamel Foundation is led by a globally-famous orchestra conductor and aims to bring music education and access to instruments to those without chances at either. Mostly unrelated, but here he is with the Venezuelan youth orchestra--highly recommended, especially the last couple minutes 

 

For a bit more standard idea, I'll always get behind a toy drive around the holidays. Every kid who celebrates Christmas wants a dream come true, but not every parent can make it happen. I was always fortunate enough to feel that magic growing up, but so many kids don't have that chance. The Toy Foundation operates globally and year-round, though if we want something more holiday-focused, we could go Toys for Tots (which is American, but there's a Canadian one too).

[Spartan 3,997]

I will always advocate for (and donate to) animal welfare orgs/shelters. So my suggestion would be the ASPCA (Animal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) as they have a fantastic accountability/cash efficiency rating and they accept PayPal!

 

https://www.aspca.org/

https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/131623829 for their charity rating

[rory 1,759]

My real suggestion is the World Central Kitchen: https://wck.org/