Current mood:

hopeful

Help me to help them, subtitled "Kick my ass for Katrina survivors!"
I've been inspired, but not nearly enough. I need your help to put me over the top.

This isn't an original idea from me, rather, I'm stealing it from shadbolt75 and others.

I never actually do anything. I want to help Hurricane Katrina survivors in a big way, a grand gesture, but how the hell am I going to do that? I'm just one person, and how much can one person really achieve? But if we all band together, we can all do something big together. We just need someone to kick each other in the ass a little bit. We who have--myself included--should help those who do not.

But what I need is a kick in the ass. Will you kick me in the ass?

I will personally donate $1 to the United Way 2005 Hurricane Katrina Response Fund for each comment that this post gets, up to $1,500.00 (ETA 2: see clarification below). To top it all off, I work for a Huge Well-Known Corporation who matches all donations that employees make (which I won't name here on my blog for anonymity reasons). That means your one comment will really result in a $2 donation! You've doubled the results, without doubling the efforts. It's that easy! (Please, the "ass-kicking" is metaphorical, so try to keep the comments clean and non-uber-threatening, thanks.)

After commenting, please consider making a monetary or goods donation of your own. And if you have an employer like mine, get them to match your donation and effectively double your donation. Not sure if they match charitable contributions? Ask your HR department or HR representative, they'll know. They would probably also be able to match donations you might have made earlier this week. Here are some charities you might want to consider:

*The Red Cross
*America's Second Harvest
*The United Way
*The Humane Society

For a list of additional charities, check out this wonderful summary from the ladies at Go Fug Yourself.

Thank you for your time and thank you for kicking my ass. I needed it.

~Mary



ETA: shivacat is also running a comments-for-dollars post, please check it out here!

ETA 2: Oh crud, boy howdy, I thought that max comments was 1,500, not 5,000. Let me clarify, that I will donate up to $1,500.00, not without limit as noted before. I just can't do anything beyond that. Sorry for any confusion, I never meant to mislead anyone. I have changed the text of the post above to reflect this.

ETA 3: Thanks for the response so far! I've noticed that many of the comments include something along the lines of "I want to give, but I just don't have the money." This comments-for-dollars isn't about getting blog traffic nor is it about giving myself a pat on the back. It's about boosting morale and feeling like I'm--we're--actually doing something. It's about knowing what you initially want to donate to those who need it and then challenging youself to give what you're able to. It's doesn't have to be a huge dollar amount. Hell, it doesn't have to be more than $20! I hope that this challenges someone else to give what they're able to, beyond what they just initially wanted to.

Generally, I'm not a generous person. In fact, I'm a downright stubborn asshat who won't do anything unless I'm told that I must. These comments remind me that I ought to stretch a little in my donation, literally a kick in the ass to get the pen to the paper and write the check already. If I hadn't done this, I would probably still be thinking, "Hmm, I ought to give something." Now I have no choice--because I promised you all I would! It's a win-win situation.

ETA 4: Sorry, I thought that with 1,700 comments that we were there, but someone on the first page replied to his own comment at least 200 times (which doesn't count towards that 1,500 comments goal!). Once the comments hit page 61, then we've made it! (Sorry for the premature celebration, I didn't notice that right away. Keep going!)

ETA 5: You all made it to 1,500 comments! I'm so in awe, and so excited! Of course, there were some...err, over-zealous people who posted 25-100 times on their own, but I was foolish enough not to specify "one post per person only, please" so that's my own folly. I've also had to take down some of the more questionable posts--some of them pornographic. Dude, this is for charity and just because someone says the word "ass" is not an invitation for well, ass-porn. Yeah.

I truly want to thank everyone who took the time out to comment here. My ass has most seriously been kicked, and I'll be sending off a $1,500.00 check to the United Way this Tuesday after circling back with my employer for the donation match. I want each and every one of you to know that you personally, you made a difference. You made a tangible difference in the way that I gave, and I hope it made a difference in the way you think about the power of people banding together for a common cause. It sure has for me.

Now I hope that this in some way challenges someone else to take this torch and run with it. Give what you can, even if it's the smallest donation. Everything matters, and this truly proves it. If anyone else has a dollars-for-comments post going on, please let me know and I'll link to it here to spread the word. Remember, every little bit helps. If we all do our little bit, it will add up to something BIG!

Much love to you all!

~Mary

ETA 6: I swear, this is the last update. Donation away! I just contributed the $1,500.00 to the Red Cross Katrina Relief Fund, not the United Way fund as previously planned (employer agreed to the switch). Thanks to everyone who essentially stood behind me and pushed me into doing this (trust me, I needed it.)