The Philanthropic Family

Last year, in an effort to turn the day of my birthday (9/11) from something horrible to something worth celebrating, I participated in the “Born in September” campaign, where  you ask friends and family to donate an amount equal to your age toward building wells in lieu of birthday presents. I was able to raise $750 dollars from friends and family and it made September 11th a very happy day in my household. charity:water is doing the same campaign this year, if you’re a September baby looking for a cause. (Read my post from last year here)

Here are a few other philanthropic birthday options for all of you searching for 9/11 birthday ideas:

• This year, I’m having friends and family over for a BBQ. In lieu of birthday presents, I’ve asked everyone to bring either gently-used work clothing that I can take to the Cara Program here in Chicago (which helps people who are homeless develop job skills, interview skills and life skills to move them onto  a long-term career track and into a stable environment) or some canned goods that we’ll take to the local food pantry.
• Got Fuse? If you have Fuse TV (check here) watch Jay-Z in a special benefit concert on September 11th. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the The New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Fund. According to the information posted by this charity on Guidestar, they distribute $25,000 immediately following the death of a safety worker and provide an annual distribution to each family of around $13,000 every year after that.
• Perhaps you want to make your own donation to the Widows’ and Children’s Fund or to your favorite charity in celebration of the many gifts in your life. You can easily find a reputable, vetted projects through Global Giving, such as the Safer World Fund. “Created by family and friends of 9/11 victims, the Safer World Fund supports education and health care in poor communities vulnerable to extremism and terrorism. Give now – donations are being matched 50%!”
• Is your child having a birthday party? One of my favorite funny moms on Twitter, Kelly Phillips Erb, said that for her girls’ last party, they had other kids bring books to donate to the school library. You could also have them  bring stuffed animals for the hospital or art supplies for an after-school project, etc.
• If you need a project to keep children busy during the party, set up a table where they can make pictures of their homes and their lives to send to children in some other part of the world. Maybe make thank-you notes to send to local police or fire departments?  These don’t have to be heavy conversations and depressing subjects, at younger ages just raising awareness, instilling a sense of gratitude and making connections among kids who live differently from them is a pre-cursor to later involvement. (Note that for security reasons you need to be a friend or family member to send care packages and mail to service members overseas.)
• How about celebrating your birthday with a day of service? What better way to express your gratitude for life and liberty than working to provide someone else with those same blessings.

Other ideas and suggestions? Please share them!

Tags: Answer the Call, birthday, celebration, charity, Jay-Z, philanthropy, september

This entry was posted on September 8, 2009 at 11:48 am and is filed under Giving Money, Giving Things. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.