Bloggers Unite: World AIDS Day

December 1 is a Bloggers Unite Day, this one focusing on AIDS awareness.

I’m not the first person to note that AIDS has fallen off many people’s radar. Some of this is a result of encouraging news. People are living longer, drugs are now available to make this a disease people can live with, and an HIV+ diagnosis is just not the immediate death sentence it was in the 1980s, when several of my dear friends lost their battle in harrowing illnesses within months of being diagnosed. AIDS also affects minority communities disproportionately, at least at present, which can also distract attention from those whose friends and families do not include HIV+ individuals.

But AIDS is still a problem not only worldwide, but also in the United States. Since today is also Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the year, I thought I’d combine a pitch for the shopping portal iGive with our AIDS awareness post. I have an iGive badge in the right sidebar. Basically you can access almost any online merchant through the iGive portal. These merchants then rebate a small percentage of your purchase, to the nonprofit you designate. It takes a few minutes to set up an account, but after that it’s an easy peasey way to ensure your chosen nonprofit gets a kickback for a purchase you were going to make anyway.

I have my own iGive account set to rebate to the South Central Wisconsin AIDS Network, which serves Madison and vicinity. Given the bad economy, I’ve been trying to help local groups whenever I can, and this is a solid and hard-working organization.

iGive includes two nice features: it will track your donations in a form you can use at year-end if you itemize your tax deductions (the only shopping portal I know of that does this). And they also partner with LOTS of local and community nonprofits, so it’s very likely that your favorite community organization is already there.

If you want a quick portal that doesn’t require registration, Nonprofit Shipping Mall also includes many AIDS-related national and international charities.

Today’s mitzvah: Remember to use a rebate portal when you shop online. You’re making the purchase anyway, why not have the merchant rebate for you!

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Weekend Spotlight

A round-up and a thank-you as we begin a sunny late spring weekend here in the Upper Midwest.

May 16th is Endangered Species Day — right in time for our friends the Polar Bears. Other animals are still in peril. Tree Hugger has more info and adorable pix!

China Earthquake: See Thursday’s post for links to three good organizations for emergency donations. I’ve also moved up the Global Giving RSS feed (right sidebar), which includes giving opportunities in China and Myanmar.

Myanmar Cyclone: Aid agencies continue to struggle with Burma’s government. See my earlier post for agencies that already have personnel on-ground, and as such may be the best options for your donations.

Last but not least, a thank-you to Focus Organic for listing and categorizing the many May 15th Bloggers Unite for Human Rights posts, including Daily Mitzvah’s Darfur post.

I’ll be back on Sunday. Enjoy your weekend!

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Bloggers Unite for Human Rights: Darfur

Today is Blog Catalog’s “Bloggers Unite for Human Rights” day, which is certainly timely. After weighing several different topic ideas, I’m going to use my post to urge the United Nations to take action in Darfur. From Human Rights Watch:

“The conflict in Darfur is in its fifth year. Sudanese soldiers and government-backed militias have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur by waging a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” and forced displacement by bombing and burning villages, killing civilians, and raping women. An estimated 2.5 million people have been forced from their homes and at least 200,000 are dead as a result of the violence. These attacks continue to take place today.

“A hybrid United Nations/African Union Peacekeeping force for Darfur was authorized in July 2007. However, because of obstruction by the Sudanese government, barely one-third of the force has been deployed . . . Sudan has repeatedly stated its refusal to cooperate with the Court or hand over the suspects. No senior government official has been made subject to targeted UN sanctions in relation to the events in Darfur.”

The situation in Darfur can often feel overwhelming. Yet anyone can join in pressuring the United Natons to take specific action to deploy the remaining 2/3 of the authorized peacekeeping force.

• Human Rights Watch has an editable message, for sending via email or ptinting in letter form, as well as auto-links to the ambassadors of all Security Council members.
  
  
• Not a letter writer? Save Darfur offers information on divesting from mutual funds that own stock in companies that help fund genocide in Darfur. (First Lady-hopeful Cindy McCain just divested $2 million of her own holdings in mutual funds with ties to Sudan.)

Today’s mitzvah: Take action for Darfur.

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Angel Mail with “Chemo Angels”

I was blog surfing yesterday enjoying entries for the Bloggers Unite “Acts of Kindness” day. Among the wonderful and inspiring posts, I stumbled on Skeet’s blog and a mention of a lovely group called Chemo Angels. The organization matches cancer patients with volunteer “angels” who send a card or a small gift ($5–$10 range) each month during chemotherapy treatment, just to keep the person’s spirits up. Is this cool or what? Everything is done through the mail, so location is unimportant. The organization has also started a Senior Angels program, with a longer time commitment but the same premise: a monthly card or small gift to let the recipient know they are remembered and appreciated.

Today’s mitzvah: Check out Chemo Angels/Senior Angels to see if this is the right volunteer opportunity for you, or if you know someone who might need an “angel.”

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Bloggers Unite: Acts of Kindness Day

The folks at Bloggers Unite: Blogging for Hope periodically organize a day for blogs to post on a unified subject (most recently on Domestic Violence awareness in July). They’ve designated December 17th “Acts of Kindness Day.” The task is simple: take a break from the usual blog topic to post a message about an act of kindness one has recently performed, with the goal of inspiring others to do the same.

I’m on the fence about posting one’s personal good deeds, which seems a little showy. But in the spirit of the day, here’s mine. My grades were due yesterday, and when I looked at the cumulative scores I saw one student was going to miss passing the class by a close percentage. This student was failing for reasons of her own making — the problem was less about the quality of her work than how infrequently she submitted it. Yet she had also been trying harder toward the end of the semester, and she was the only person on the roster who was going to fail.

I decided to go back and re-grade some of her previous assignments. I was able to identify one where I could stretch and justify increasing her score by a couple points, which allowed her to squeak by with a passing grade for the class. Did the student “deserve” this? Who knows. But people have done me favors in the past that I certainly didn’t deserve, so I decided maybe it was time to return the kindness.

Today’s mitzvah: Join bloggers around the world for “Acts of Kindness Day.”

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