An idea from a while back... Opinions please!

[SardineQueen]

I remembered this thread about highlighting charities in this section (well I never forgot it really), and a conversation on another thread reminded me of it yet again. It was a good idea I think but somehow never got acted on

here

So the question is:

Should we still do this - (yes!)
Which bit should it go in? - now that we have 3 topics? I don't know how much traffic activism gets? And wonder if it would be better here in the main topic... That's what I think anyway.

ISNT apparently asked MNHQ a. if we could do it and b. if it could be stickied, and MNHQ were very vague about the whole thing.

So I suppose the question is - shall I get on and do it?

Sorry should clarify for those not inclined to click and trawl though old thread, the thread is "Favourite organisations and charities I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours" and the idea was that two charities from the list get highlighted every month in the feminism section, to raise awareness of the different organisations out there.

yep-good idea Sardine.
right-apparrently "take a break magazine"are asking women for theyre bras.
[could someone do a link please?]
they need bras sent to them urgently and the deadline is short.
the bras will then be sent to another country[i think its africa]
these poor women cant afford bras and a lot of women are suffering because of this-and fuckin shameful!

Hi sparky thanks

I tried to look up the bra campaign for take a break to link but when I clicked on campaigns I got this:

mums4justice which I have only skimmed but it looks right up our street.

I am ashamed to say I am not that familiar with take a break

Will look further for the bra link.

lol-oh sorry Sunshine.
yep the mums for justice is right up our street.
right-someone mentioned this to me[the bra asking]
and i think it was in this weeks mag[i dont read them as i cant see them]
i am now going to quickly ring her up and comfirm this-then get back to you-
wont be a mo!

many sorrys-i got the magazine wrong.
it is in fact-"thats life"magazine-and its this weeks!

could someone also put some links up for charritys for elderly women-they always get forgotton.
[not being lazy-i cant do links]

and @ getting me to trawl through these mags websites...

So I am braced to find out that as well as Take a Break, That's Life are also running loads of brilliant appeals.

Right I can't find a bra thing on that website.

However a quick google tells me there are quite a lot of bra donation charities, so will check if there is one on the list already and if not will add.

Sparky there were quite a lot of charities on the original thread, and the deal was they would get done in order, so as to stop any favouritism IYSWIM. So if you tell me the names of any charities for elderly women (doesn't need to be a link!) and I will put them on the list (and of course it's on this thread too!).

Sardine-[ffs how much of a arse am i-no wonder you get annoyed sparky]
oh shuuuuuuut uuuuuuuup[giggling cos this just how i speak]
i look up to you and youre doing a terriffic job.

Not charity specifically for women but I 'sponsor a grandparent' with Help the Aged (Age UK as they're now known, I think) and my money goes towards a locally-based group in Cambodia, I think, that is run for elderly women whose families have essentially left them to perish.

Link here in case anyone's interested. Although I'm sure there's a smaller older-women-specific charity out there, I ended up signing up to Help the Aged via a very determined charity worker on the street. That's how almost all of my charity direct debits have come into being ... I clearly have a big sign reading EASY TARGET over my head.

I volunteer for the Abortion Support Network www.abortionsupport.org.uk/

Offers funds & accommodation to women forced to travel from Ireland to access an abortion.

Godmothers is a charity I like www.thegodmothers.org.uk/

and not exactly charity but microfinance, www.kiva.org - I've been loaning small amounts of money to women since 2009, getting in back, reloaning it, etc. Women have bought seeds, goats, sewing machines, school uniforms for their kids etc, and developed their businesses or farms with the cash. I'm giving some kiva credit to DH for Father's day. (sssh)

sparky, SQ,

I dont know the specifics of the That's Life magazine appeal though, but I'm afraid that sending second hand goods (clothes, shoes, bras) as aid is rarely the good idea that people who start well-meaning campaigns think it is. Sending and distributing second hand clothes can often cost more than the value of those clothes to the people who receive them (I.e. If you gave them the same amount of money as it cost to collect, send and give out the bras they could go and buy a second hand bra at the market for less, or spend the money on something they want more.) It can also undermine the market for women who have set up micro businesses selling used clothes, which already make their way to Africa and Eastern Europe in big bales.

I would say by all means put decent, clean worn bras in with your clothing donations to charities you support. They will be sold on wholesale and end up bring worn by women who need them.

I do like and support Kiva (although it is not quite what it seems).

Himalaya in what way? (Not argy, interested) - I know it's microfinance, not charity, and I know that some of their loan providers are for-profit, and I know some people default on their loans. Knowing that I think on balance it's still worth my support - BUT I'd love to know more.

Hi Blackcurrants,

The thing with Kiva is that they give the impression (although they do clarify in the small print) that you are making a person-to-person loan to the individual or group you choose, and that they haven't yet received the loan until they get enough lenders.

But in fact almost always the people whose profiles appear on the site have already got their loan, so what you are really doing is loaning money to the Kiva partner organisation in that country to make more loans. There is an interesting article here.

As David Roodman says, that is as it should be -- people who have been approved for loans should get them straight away so they can get on with building their business, not have to wait for a group of people in another country to find them appealing enough to lend to.

But for Kiva, and for lenders, it is more emotionally appealing to give the impression of person-to-person connection rather than saying you are loaning money to a microfinance institution that will then loan it on.

Is it any charity?

If so, I vote for British Heart Foundation, Nemo (DS's nickname) has Fallots and I'd also vote for MS. Not sure of the name for that one.

The microfinance topic is an interesting one. My DP used to work for Credit Suisse in that area - big investments going in because the returns are reliable. But more big capitalist than you might think (which may or may not be a problem).

The other thing about the imported western clothing thing is that it undermines local clothing production of traditional fabrics etc. Also, & I don't mean this snarkily, are bras so important? It reminds me a bit of all that old colonial training the natives to wear trousers.

Hi Mouseface. The original thread came about as here on feminism there were all these conversations about the awful things happening to women here and around the world and I for one had a real sense of frustration that there was nothing I could actually do.

So the idea was to highlight a couple of charities and organisations every month which have women are their primary focus, or women and children.

I will do this and stick to the original plan of going though the original thread in order - it's not up to anyone to "approve" charities or otherwise as I'm sure there will be people who say that some are no good etc but that's not the point - the people who read about them can decide for themselves whether they sound good IYSWIM.

So that's it really! I will add the ones from this thread onto the original thread later and get going with it

Himalaya-thankyou.
ive never heard of microfinance before.
i didnt look at it this way-thanks for pointing this out.
Iskra-well apparently they are saying that the bras are important because a lot of women are getting damaged because when they are working they have no support and cant afford bras.
having said this-as im tryping this im suddenly thinking"eh-why are people worrying about bras-we should be worrying about the women working so hard-[obviusly for pittance if they cant afford a bra]and its damaging them physiccally"!!

nooooo-dont send bras!
this is a bit like saying"here you are-you can now toil away a bit easier"
isnt it?

Not a charity as such, but I posted a few days ago about Sound Off For Justice and an article written about how the legal aid cuts will disproportionately affect women.

For some reason - maybe the activism section just does not get the traffic, only aliceliddell commented. I am interested in hearing whether people think it is worth supporting, or if not, why not.

Netmums have already lent their support to the campaign - surely we should not be lagging behind!

When I do the update thingy on the other thread I will leave off the bras thing

TBH there are stacks to get through so at 2 a month we wouldn't have hit the bras til next xmas or something!!!

thistle will have a read later

thanks for that link, Himalaya - it's fascinating what they have worked out will make us lend, eh? I think (as the writer seems to) that Kiva haven't done anything that deceptive or at all wrong, and I'm still very glad to give and lend money to them - but it is absolutely fascinating to read all the details.

Blackcurrants,

I agree I don't think Kiva has done anything wrong (and they are straight-up about how they work in the small print), but I do think it is interesting.

I think the broader lesson is that although as donors we want to have the feeling of giving/lending to individuals, in reality that is never possible (unless we know the people ourselves) - charities are not like Western Union operations that wire our money to people who need it.

We are always investing money in the organisation itself rather than 'donating to a cause', and it is good to look at the organisation itself (is it accountable to the people it aims to help, is it efficient, is it effective) as well as the cause, because it is so hard to judge 'causes' from a distance - like the bra thing, Sparky