Poverty

We dare you to read this and look closely at the photo without tears welling up in your eyes.

Thank you for supporting worthy causes like Blog Action Day and Stand Up & Take Action.

The following is the full text of an email and a photo that came with it addressed to the Blog Action Day team:

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from
m.r.hubert
madras
india

dear easton

Stand against poverty
Date oct 18th Saturday 12.30 afternoon till 2.30 pm, Chennai madras India
sensitizing poverty eradication

shabnam resources a regd ngo working among children in difficulties located in chennai, india, was pleased to conduct virtual event, starting from 17th oct  till oct 18th. we had a memorial meditative all religious prayer session to commemorate the brethren who are dying of hunger and invoking the eternal blessing to support  those in suffering with food relief. we gave away school bags with stationery to 78 children and the session was inaugurated by madam kala - councilor (elected representative). there were 27 adults who attended the program.

the next day we had a special session by ms. neela shivakumar, senior dietitian who covered the aspects value of Low cost food and interesting recipes where the women from self help groups have pledged to  cook such foods and in the near future we would host a cookery workshop on low cost food menus. she covered the aspect of clean water through sodis method (solar disinfectant) and washing of hands. she told to replace chocolates and other junkie with some peanut jagerry candies well known as chikkis or burphies. later ms. mary thirukumar covered on the sustainable efforts to help the needy and hunger around our neighbor hood. And to avoid neglect on girl child,  children were so excited so do the adults and though we may appear in small number we are planning to network about 10000 in the coming future and to maintain hunger free neighbour hood. .  dr.m.r.hubert

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Thank you, Dr. Thank you.

If you’re still not affected, please read this.

Now what are you going to do?

… and then blog about it.

Share this list everywhere - Digg, StumbleUpon, Delicious, Mixx, Twitter, the bus, the train, the plane, the street, the dinner table, the pulpit, the classroom, the boardroom, the bedroom, etc.

And use it. It’s called Blog ACTION Day for a reason.

Thank you to all who contributed ideas.

Thank you to our huge list of over 80 supporting organisations (here, here and here).

May Blog Action Day 2008 be absolutely unforgettable.

Got poverty relief idea to add to this list? Know how we could improve and/or spread this list? Leave your ideas in a comment below or email us at central@blogactionday.org.

88 Ways to Take Action Against Poverty Right Now

1. Eat meatless meals 2x a week. Donate that grocery money to a local food bank. - TarotByArwen
2. Be homeless for a day/night. - Lex
3. Stop putting off adopting a child through an organization like Compassion International (or adopt another one). - Lex
4. Make a loan on Kiva, or buy a couple gift certificates and give them away to friends. - Lex
5. Get a group together to go door-to-door collecting canned foods for your local soup kitchen/shelter. - Lex
6. Take a homeless person to dinner and actually sit/talk with him. - Lex
7. Stop being lazy. Find a way to do your job better so that you can save an hour a day, or be that much more productive. - Alex Shalman
8. Stop buying junk to make yourself look pretty and donate it to homeless people and hungry people. - Craigsnede
9. Make flyers to stick in the local library. - Craigsnede
10. If you have a musical instrument you no longer use, donate to the still-struggling musicians and students in New Orleans, who are still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. A few great organizations that will accepts musical instruments are Tipitina’s Foundation (www.tipitinasfoundation.org) and The New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund (www.nomrf.org/donations.html).
11. I’m interviewing a Capuchin monk vowed to Poverty about his work with Detroit’s poor for my blog, and I’m trying to arrange a fund raiser with my author and PIVTR radio station friends.
12. Find a gripping picture or video having to do with poverty and publish it on the Web.
13. Stop drinking Coke and bottled water for a day and save on plastic. Will save a lot of plastic if each of us does it for only one day.
14. Share your skill or knowledge, so they can improve their knowledge to increase their life/prosperity.
15. Visit an orphanage.
16. Stop being lazy.
17. Give comfort to the poor.
18. Donate.
19. Check your closet and make sure that anything you have not used last winter is taken to a charitable organization. Ask your friends and neighbors and volunteer to pick up the clothes, launder them and deliver them to those organizations. They will do no good in your closet and a world of good to someone in need.
20. On one day only eat food that you have asked someone for directly or for the money you need to buy it. Pay attention to the feelings.
21. Have a “sponsor me” day. Donate money to a poverty relief cause for everyone who leaves a comment on your blog that day.
22. Designers for Blog Action Day group on Flickr. Submit your designs: http://www.flickr.com/groups/bad2008design/
23. Organize a Hunger 101 Program for a local youth group. Our Girl Scout community learned about what they could do to help the working poor in our community. http://spedr.com/da5f This inspired them to organize several Take Action events: http://spedr.com/krfw
24. Add the “Women Rock” badge to your website or Facebook page.
25. if any of us knew or aware about any organisation which can help educate them, like, skills centre, entrepeneurship centre..u know, stuffs they do to help these pople actually do something to improve their life, we might try to collect name carsd from these organisations (NGOs or ministries), and walk around and passed these cards to them, with of couse, maybe some donations of any supplies.
26. Skip a weekly trip to the grocery store and donate the money saved to a food bank. I do this once a year for my family of 5. For that week we only eat what is left in the pantry or fridge. By the end of the week, pickings are slim and we get a sense of what it feels like to not have the luxury of tasty, well balanced meals every night.
27. Make a personal fundraising page in 5 minutes on Firstgiving.com. Raise money securely online for any US-based nonprofit committed to ending poverty in the US or around the world. Here’s an example page: http://www.firstgiving.com/bapbwm.
28. Have dinner on the floor and make it a very small meal (like chicken broth, watered down milk, and maybe a small piece of bread?) Talk about the blessings you have and that the meal represents those who don’t get to eat “big” on a daily basis.
29. Volunteer at a soup kitchen!
30. Play freerice.com!
31. If you have take out coffee, skip it for an entire week, donate the savings!
32. Give 5 bucks to a homeless person who looks hungry!
33. Talk with your children about poverty and who it affects.
34. Save your old stuff and sold it for charity
35. Support charity organization in your country. Reducing poverty may start in your nearest region.
36. Do something to touch 3 people or to reach out to 3 people and get them to pay it forward.
37. Give a gallon of water to each of 3 people who need it?
38. Give a $10 gift certificate to each of 3 homeless, single mothers so that she and her children can have one hot meal at a fast food restaurant?
39. Ask 3 entrepreneurs to each make a donation to 3 people or causes?
40. Holding perhaps daily or weekly community classes for imparting knowledge from our side and educating the local masses is something we all can do by coming together at grass root level.
41. Avoiding overconsumption.
42. Contributing to relief funds which can assist this cause.
43. Host a 1 day famine and collect donations. With the donations, pass it to a Welfare/Poverty Organisation.
44. Plan a pot luck/BBQ or a get together inviting close friends and neighbours, to bring awareness and also to raise funds for a shelter home. Funds can be used to purchase the necessary groceries for the home.
45. Pray for the comfort and safety of the world’s poor. Pray for the strength, wisdom and courage to help each of them find prosperity.
46. Combat corruption!
47. Don’t just talk to your kids about poverty - get them involved by having them go through their toys and clothes to find concrete things to pass along. The next time they want you to buy something for them - talk about what that money could buy for someone who had no food… then follow through and donate the money you didn’t spend.
48. Donate your time and expertise to teach a class to those trying to find a new way to earn a living.
49. To add to the previous suggestions, rather than just donate money to homeless people, why not use the money you would use on yourself for a coffee to buy one for someone else. If you get coupons for free beverages or meals, keep them with you and give them to someone in need.
50. As you find organizations to which you like to donate food, clothing, etc., spend some time volunteering for that organization. Contribute to the organizations you are already supporting in other ways.
51. Educate others. If you are a teacher, talk to your students about poverty. Get their opinions. Inspire them. If you work in other areas, strike up a conversation with your colleagues in the lunchroom or lounge. Get educated so you can answer questions and provide information that might spur others into action.
52. Visit The Hunger Site every day and click the link to feed the hungry. It’s fast and it’s free and there’s absolutely NO excuse not to do it every day you’re online!
53. Be compassionate.
54. Invite friends to watch documentaries how poverty destroyed ones life,family and their future.
55. Do not waste water on that day.
56. Express your love and compassion for one street child by having an enrollment conversation with her.
57. Ask your child to share her food with the child of your maid on that day.
58. Make a list of five items you haven’t used for long and have no plans to use them in future either. And distribute them among local poors with all humility.
59. Compose a poem on the theme ‘Making Poverty A History’ and get it published in a local magazine or paper. Also, ask your baby to recite the poem in her school.
60. Talk to your five relatives about the poverty issue and invite them to come up with their suggestions to eradicate poverty.
61. Organize a drawing competition for kids on the poverty theme and exhibit their works in a local school or community centre.
62. Do not overeat on that day.
63. Save electricity on that day and contribute the equivalent savings to a local charity.
64. Contribute your one day salary to a child rehabilitation centre.
65. Get a few friends, gather all your unused items, sell it and buy something a meal for the poor in your neighborhood.
66. Si tan solo los gobiernos hicieran mucho mas por este flagelo, la pobreza se reduciría en un 70% por no decir 100%. Observo como a algunos gobiernos que han prometido en sus campañas electorales que acabarían con este mal, luego de llegar al poder y por motivo del oro negro les entran grandes cantidades de dinero, ¿y que es lo que han hecho con el, en vez de ayudar al pais? Financiar con ese dinero (que se supone es del pueblo), proyectos políticos solo para sus intereses personales… da tanta tristeza ver cuanta gente tirada por la calle, sin tener que comer, o donde dormir, mientras estos señores se gastan el dinero de tantos ciudadanos, comprando poder para satisfacer su ego.
67. Travel to a poor country or area. Look for ways to make a difference on the ground there.
68. On your next off day from work, go to a homeless shealter and help serve food to those who are there, talk with them, listen to their stories, you will find that they were at one time, alot like yourself.
69. Let’s learn to love and respect one another, and to give to those who have less.
70. Pictures. It’s one thing to say that the milk my son spilled at lunch this afternoon was more than some kids get. But some people don’t see how real that is unless they’re looking at a picture.So, I’m looking for them.
71. Talk about poverty.
72. To most Americans, it’s not real unless we see it. I’m going to be revamping my blog so that poverty is prominent, and I’m talking about it more often.
73. Don’t stop at the generalities. War, famine, corruption, etc. all happen, and should be resisted. However, let’s dig deeper and go into the specifics. Not just talking about thousands of people dying of thirst … let’s talk about a real person.
74. Pull out the hearts of the readers, and make them confront what they know is right and wrong.
75. Instead of video games and other toys, give your neighbors and friends gift certificates for classical music lessons. For every $1 spent on music education, by my calculations, you get a $4.57 return on your investment from age 4-22 and that investment can never be taken away from you. Throughout one’s lifetime it pays much, much more. Take the money you save and give it in music lessons to the next person.
76. Go to your school board meetings and demand better music education. The arts are part of the core curriculum of “No Child Left Behind” and as I’ve been telling people for a few months now, the less we have to pay for health care and crime, the more we have to spend on food and shelter and doing good for our neighbors.
77. The more intelligent we are and the more productive we are, the more fruitfully we can spend our time, and the more we can produce to give away.
78. The reason why poverty still exist in Indonesia is because people is giving cash money to the poor at the streets and those money usually being used for things that usually destructive/not good (buying drugs, etc.) In order to stop poverty, the government already got their program to fight it but it didn’t go successfully for people still think that they are better off at the streets and there’s this what-so-called ‘mafia’ that organize these poor people at the streets.
79. In order to fight this, the people started to give food/meal/clothes to the poor instead of cash money so it would stop the process.
80. I think in order to stop poverty is to give what the people really need, not just giving it away for the sake of ‘being kind’
81. Fund educational programs for women.
82. Ensure that women have legal protections.
83. Educate people about the plight of women around the world.
84. Educate yourself on one aspect of poverty that affects women, whether it’s educating yourself on what’s going on with rape or abortion legislation in your own local area, or finding out what you can do to help women in other countries attain the basic human rights they deserve, by doing research on organisations that help women and contributing to those organisations in some way.
85. Do a campaign of creative advertisements for public awareness and a call to action. Do a poster, do an ambient campaign, write a radio or TV spot.
86. Breadline Africa is launching a Blogger Bake Off to help raise awareness and funds. If you want to do something on Blog Action Day, you should turn your talking (which is very worthwhile) into action: donate to a charity. Organisations that use funds directly in poor communities will be using your money where it can do the most good: at the grass roots level.
87. Educate yourself.
88. Prepare a space in your home for the poor to stay as needed.

Well, what are you waiting for? Pick something from this list. Go NOW. Do it.

Do it.

And the world will be richer in mind and body.

photos by uncultured, babasteve, Aaron Dieppa

No time to wait. We need your help right now!

Blog Action Day 2008 is coming up in just six (or five, depending on your time zone) days.

We want to make an unforgettable noise about the subject of poverty this year.

So if you care at all about changing the world’s conversations or the world itself, please help us do this.

What We Need You to Do Right Now

Leave a comment below and share at least one idea of something a person can do on Blog Action Day 2008 - not just something they can blog about, but some kind of action they can take.

For example:

• Visit a local homeless shelter.
• Talk to your children about poverty.
• Don’t go shopping; give the money you would have spent to charity.
• Talk to a local government leader about poverty where you live.
• Start a new blog or website about poverty.

That’s five ideas to get us going. We want to make a huge, huge list of great ideas though. Dozens. Maybe even hundreds.

So now it’s your turn to talk. Just add your ideas below - as many as you want - and we’ll keep track of all of them. Don’t even worry if someone else has mentioned the same idea - just tell us what you think a person could do to make a difference on Blog Action Day.

Next week, either right before or right on Blog Action Day, we’ll publish the huge list and you can Digg it and Stumble it and print it out and run through your neighborhood shouting it, and make a video of yourself doing it, and put the video on YouTube, and we can all feel the good vibrations.

That way everyone has a ton of ideas of things to do and your mother-in-law won’t have any excuse not to participate in Blog Action Day.

Thank you! Now let’s hear all your ideas!

photo by Uncultured

Please, please share this with your friends.

1. Ponder.

Think about poverty.

Ponder the plight of the world’s poor and your place in the grand scheme of things.

Consider the things you have that others have not.

Let the numbers appall you. Let the images disturb your sleep. Let the complexities of the causes and solutions vex you.

Let the depth and emotion of this sensitive subject rock you to your core.

2. Believe.

Do you really think that you can make a difference in the global conversation this October 15 just by blogging about poverty and doing something about it?

We believe you can.

Do you?

3. Dream.

There is no such thing as a lack of opportunity - only a lack of vision.

This is not a pointless exercise. This is a chance to grab the world by the ears for one day.

You have the power to rally hundreds of people around you in your family, friends and community to do something on October 15 that calls attention to the issue of poverty.

There is no limit to what you can do - unless you think there is.

So dream up a brave, original way to make the world a little richer, even if only in knowledge, through your participation in Blog Action Day 2008.

4. Act.

Make Blog Action Day not just a day of blogging, but also a day of action.

Our worldwide impact will be great if we all talk about this issue, but far greater if we do something about it and talk about what we are doing.

5. Share.

Let the world know your true thoughts and opinions about poverty on October 15.

Use your blog, your social media accounts, and any other means you can to spread your ideas.

Join with other Blog Action Day participants to generate a collective noise far louder than any you could could muster on your own.

6. Change.

Decide to care a little more about poverty from now on. When it comes up in conversation, take it seriously. Changing the conversation is the first step toward changing the people in it.

Please join us in making Blog Action Day 2008 an unforgettable experience for thousands - maybe millions - of people across the world.

Your Turn

What other ideas do you have? How can Blog Action Day 2008 actually make a real difference to the world of tomorrow?

photo by Franco Folini

Thank you to all the 4,009 blogs (and counting) who have already signed up to participate in Blog Action Day 2008! (Sign up now if you haven’t yet.) We’re so excited for October 15 to arrive.

We recently asked some of you this question via Twitter:

Why are you participating in Blog Action Day 2008?

Here are 11 powerful reasons you mentioned that you are going to take part in Blog Action Day this year:

Reason #1. I’m participating ’cause in Brazil, 1% of the richest have the same as 50% of the poorest people. The inequality is the worse problem here. - Johnny Valchrist

Reason #2. I’m participating because, (just like making loans via Kiva) it’s a way to leverage my blog’s small amount of power for good. Or, just as I put on the Kiva page, I’m doing this because: I can. - Juggling Frogs

Reason #3. I’ve chosen to participate in order for my voice to be heard: I want to make a difference. Poverty has gone on far too long for there not to be a better solution for it. - Kris Rowlands

Reason #4. I participate b/c poverty should be non-existent in our world today. Each person deserves a chance to be able to wake up and enjoy life. - crossn81

Reason #5. I wanted to bring about a change in this world. Blog Action Day is the best platform where I can contribute at least something for a change. - Archit

Reason #6. To use the readership of the blog to make a difference. It doesn’t matter how small! - polkadotbride

Reason #7. Because it creates a community of thoughts-in-action for a non-selfish purpose. - the1kiddo

Reason #8. I’m participating in Blog Action Day cause I care about the future and the world! And I’m concerned specially, Global Warming. - Pablo Rosero

Reason #9. ‘cuz poverty is 1 reason why we have terrorists; ‘cuz poverty is wrong; ‘cuz bloggers should & can help. - Pam

Reason #10. ’cause I’ve something to say, and I have someone who listens. Inspiring even only 1 person is a step in the right direction. - Hjortur Smarason

Reason #11. Tough question. Mainly because it’s such a good cause. Also, if we can make a difference, I want to be part of it. - Foss

Please share this list with a friend.

No one should be able to say, “I don’t have a reason to talk about poverty.”

Stay tuned for a blog post where we tell you a bunch of ways to follow Blog Action Day on social media sites, plus an update on some exciting partnerships we’ve formed for the big event!

Why are you participating in Blog Action Day 2008? Please leave a comment and let us know!

The more reasons, the better. We’d love to compile these into a book after October 15 rolls by.

THANK YOU so much. May the world remember your participation in this great event.

Photo by Michelle Brea