Doing Good and Giving Back

Goodness....it's been almost a month since the last post. Way too long.

So what have we been up to?

I've been contemplating ways to better help the environment. Unfortunately, some of these things take a lot of effort, so I thought that we would start small. And then as time goes by we'll add more and more lifestyle changes. Here's where we have started:

1) We've got ourself a little recycling set up. A while back I got these stackable crate like things from Lowes. So right now we're starting with plastic bottles (we go throught A LOT of bottled water), newspaper and magazines, and glass. There's a recycling drop off location right down the street from my house, so hopefully this works out well.

2) We have started using reusable grocery bags. We're kind of hit or miss on this one, as I can't always remember to have one with me when we stop by the store. But we've been doing pretty good.

Another thing that I've really wanted to do was something that helps out children in Vietnam that Chloe can be somewhat involved in/aware of as she gets older. So I've been doing a lot of research on different groups and organizations. We've decided on two for now.

KIVA http://www.kiva.org/

I've been involved with this program since right around the time we came home from Vietnam last year. I highly recomment it.

Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.

The people you see on Kiva's site are real individuals in need of funding - not marketing material. When you browse entrepreneurs' profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else in need.

You can do as many loans as you want and specify the amount that you want to loan. You can do as little as $25. I try to go through and pick out individuals from Vietnam. You can really pick people from any part of the world. We also currently have a loan outstanding to a widowed woman from Nigeria. At any rate, I think that this is a really good cause and I highly recommend it. It's really great to hear updates on how you are changing these people's lives.

VIETHOPE http://www.viethope.org/

This organizations is based out of Boston. They have members all over the world and their goal is to provide education for the underprivileged and build schools and education centers.

We are involved with the child sponsorship program. More specifically the Primary Education Scholarship program. The Merit Scholarships and Community Scholarships provide financial assistance to children living in poor rural areas.

If you choose to sponsor a child, your sponsorship of $10 per month will enable a child to go to school. One hundred percent of your donation goes directly to your sponsored child. VietHope will send you a report at least once every year on the progress of the child whom you sponsor. They hope that you will establish a long-term relationship with your sponsored child.

If anyone knows of any other organizations or programs that they would recommend, feel free to share!

Well, that's all for now. I've started many others posts but haven't finished them, so expect some more soon. I'll leave you with some random pictures: