Thursday, April 21, 2005

This could be my favorite charity ever

An organization called Modest Needs is taking the "pay-it-forward" model seriously, and giving people an outlet to help their fellow humans caught in a bind. They take requests for one-time assistance of the sort that ordinary working poor (or middle-class) folks might need: an unexpected car repair that could mean keeping or losing a job, a downpayment for an apartment that would get a family out of a death trap building, a high heating bill that you just don't have the money for this month. And they connect these folks with a pool of people who have karma to repay, or spare change collected from the couch, or just the urge to help out. These are the kind of moments where $30 or $200 can completely turn somebody's life around, and this organization is helping make that happen, by connecting the anonymous might of the many. It seems like a real light in the life of everybody it touches -- just check out a few of the real stories for a dose of hope about the human spirit. wow.

Oh, and drop them a few bucks when you can; you've probably benefitted from the small generosities of others on countless occasions.

An earthquake, a toothache, a mad dog, a telephone message--and all our house of peace falls like a pack of cards.
- Reginald Horace Blyth
(MN via Workbench; quote via whiskey river)

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