Charity & Volunteering 01 (Jun 08 - Mar 11)

[winston]

7 Limiting Beliefs of Nonprofits by Kayte Connelly CCP

One of life’s greatest frustrations is taking charge of your destiny as the leader of a nonprofit organization. Many individuals and consequently, the organizations they may come to lead, get stuck in their path to success. They mire in self-doubt, in self-sabotaging behaviors, and never truly reach their goals.

Could this be you?

If so, you may be suffering from limiting beliefs. These are your core values that put the brakes on your progress. They present resistance to your goals and stop you dead in your tracks. They could cripple you and your performance.

Limitations prevent you from moving forward. They may cry from a spot deep down inside you that has been lingering for years. “Stop. Don’t go there. We don’t know how it will turn out.”

Oftentimes, without realizing it, you may be facing an erroneous assumption about your own capabilities. Take this short quiz giving yourself a score of 1 for every “sounds like me/us”, 2 for every “not recently.”

HAVE YOU EVER FOUND YOURSELF SAYING? SOUNDS LIKE US/ME or NOT RECENTLY

1. Why change? Things are fine the way they are. .

2. That won’t work. We’ve already tried that.

3. We can’t do that.

4. There’s no money to do that.

5. We don’t have the time.

6. We do not know how to do it.

7. We simply do not have the resources.

A score of 8 – 14 would be indicative of an open mind and probably a more imaginative form of leadership. A score of 1 – 7 would be indicative of someone suffering with severe limiting beliefs.

Let’s take a minute and examine what the 7 key limiting beliefs for nonprofit leaders and try to identify empowering behaviors to overcome them.

1. Procrastination: Inability to get your job done. Either there are too many distractions from others because you haven’t set boundaries or you are not holding yourself accountable.

Solution: Identify a solid list of tasks with levels of importance first and then urgency. Just because someone screams the loudest, doesn’t mean you should take care of them first. You are rewarding abuses of power.

2. Epidemics of Self-doubt: If there’s something you don’t like about yourself, it’s better to hide it than express it or explore it. Do you hear yourself saying, “ I can’t; I’m too scared; I don’t know enough; I’m not skilled enough. I have to fake it to make it.”

Solution: Engage yourself productively in exercises that permit you to acknowledge your strengths and gain the confidence that you need to become more secure. Identify and then, conquer your fears. Give yourself permission to do what you need to do to get it done.

3. Perfectionism. “If I don’t do everything and do it right, I will end up alone.” Doing the right thing should take precedence. Are you guilty of micromanaging? Do you watch every detail instead of the big picture?

Solution: Delegate, delegate, delegate and empower yourself and those around you by giving them the opportunity to excel. Give yourself a break and others permission to make mistakes. Again, what is the big picture and are you losing sight of your goals because you are focusing on minutiae instead of the vision?

4. Scarcity: I cannot earn a living doing something I like. We can’t make money because we are nonprofit. We are not allowed to look successful because then, no one will give us money. Does your organization look like a loser? No one wants to throw money into an endless pit where progress is not easily recognized.

Solution: Clean up your act. Start behaving like a professional organization and one that welcomes abundance. Acknowledge that you are a winner and act like one.

5. I’m too busy. I don’t have enough time, money, staff, etc.

Solution: Time management skills may help you realize other benefits. Are you a wheel in constant motion, afraid to let anyone help you? Trusting in others, permitting them to make mistakes, and delegating may all prove beneficial to your end results.

6. I’ll fail despite all of the hard work. If I fail, I should feel bad for a very long time and then be scared to try again. Often leaders burn out a vast majority of resources including their staff because they are stuck in a hamster wheel doing the same thing over and over again. Besides, if I am successful, no one will like me.

Solution: Assess your strengths and weaknesses. Surround yourself with others that bring you balance. Hire people smarter than you are. Delegate to others whose skills set compliments your specific needs.

7. I’ll never…..What are your goals? If you truly believe that you will never, you never will – no matter how you complete the sentence.
Solution: Set goals; know what you want. Build roads to get there. Find out what it takes and do it. Reflect on what you want and go after it.

If you release your mind and dispel these myths, you will overcome these limitations and set your goals and that of your organizations on an unlimited path to success.

[kennynah]

one-eyed dragon


Reuters - Saturday, January 10

SINGAPORE, Jan 10 - An ailing Singapore tycoon jailed briefly last year for trying to buy a kidney has received one in a transplant from a hanged murderer, the Straits Times newspaper reported on Saturday.
ADVERTISEMENT

The newspaper said Tang Wee Sung, of the landmark C.K. Tang department store on the city state's swish Orchard Road, was given a kidney donated by gangster Tan Jor Chin, who was hanged at Changi Prison on Friday morning.

The transplant took place later that day.

Tan, 42, known as "One-Eyed Dragon" because he was blind in his right eye, was found guilty in 2007 of shooting a business associate.

The newspaper quoted Tan's mistress as saying the gangster had wanted to donate his organs after his death.

Tang, 56, was jailed for a day and fined S$17,000 (about $12,000) for trying to buy a kidney from an Indonesian man last year. Organ trading is illegal in Singapore.

The Straits Times said Tang suffers from several ailments including asthma, diabetes and heart problems and had triple bypass surgery last year.

[ucypmas]

The newspaper said Tang Wee Sung, of the landmark C.K. Tang department store on the city state's swish Orchard Road, was given a kidney donated by gangster Tan Jor Chin, who was hanged at Changi Prison on Friday morning.

This is an outrage. There are more than 500 people in the queue for a kidney in Singapore and this Tang guy is supposed to have come off the public waiting list due to a host of health reasons. He was deemed too far gone to be eligible for a cadaveric kidney (i.e. those harvested off a dead person). And now he somehow managed to get a kidney transplanted.

How can this be???

[winston]

The $10 Billion Coat By Suzanne Richardson

The sun was shining, the sky was blue. And the bare-chested young man walking down the street looked like he could have been on his way to the beach. Except... it was two days before Christmas in Northern Montana. Even worse, it was 17 degrees below zero.

Sitting at a stoplight, all I could do was stare. Was this guy off his rocker? On drugs? Or just severely down on his luck?

But what happened next warmed my heart. A man in a pickup, two kids on the seat beside him, pulled up next to the shirtless man, rolled down his window, and handed out his own thick winter coat.

The young man gave a half-hearted wave of thanks and continued on down the street.

Who knows how much the coat had cost this Good Samaritan? Maybe it was a Kmart special. Maybe he'd shelled out a few hundred bucks. Perhaps he'd picked it up for a couple of dollars at the local Goodwill.

It could have cost $10 billion or 10 cents. That's not what mattered. This generous man reminded those of us who'd witnessed his act of kindness just how easy it is to be selfless. He proved to his kids that some things are worth more than money. And in weather like that, he may have saved a life.

It's easy to be thoughtful around the holidays. But don't let the lack of a "reason" prevent you from giving. I'm not talking about donating money - although that is one way to help. I'm talking about donating a little of your time and energy to people in need. Helping the frazzled mother of four carry her groceries out to the car... holding the door for the gentleman in front of you at the bank... giving blood.

Roman philosopher and playwright Seneca said, "Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness." There are thousands - probably millions - of ways to spread generosity and goodwill. Do something kind today.

[winston]

Donating your eye-glasses by Jenny Thompson

If the world were a blur and you had no access to eyeglasses, you wouldn't be able to read, television viewing would be largely irrelevant, and you might not even recognize the faces of your friends and family.

Do you think you might become depressed and withdrawn?

Researchers at the University of Alabama recruited more than 140 subjects over the age of 55 who were living in nursing homes. Each subject had uncorrected refractive error (that is, their eyes were unable to focus properly, causing them to be either nearsighted or farsighted) and they didn't own the necessary eyeglasses to correct the problem.

The UA team gave half the subjects eyeglasses. Two months later the other group also received eyeglasses, but before they did, researchers conducted quality-of-life interviews. Responses showed that subjects in the eyeglass group scored higher in general vision, reading, participation in activities, hobbies, and social interaction, and were less likely to experience depression or psychological distress compared to the non-eyeglass group.

Not too surprising. But what is somewhat surprising is this little detail: Impaired eyesight is significantly more common among those in assisted living facilities, but people of a similar age who don't live in such facilities are more likely to own a pair of glasses.

For more than 70 years, Lions Club International has collected eyeglasses for distribution to people with uncorrected refractive error who have little or no access to proper eyeglasses. You can find information about donating your unused glasses at lionsclub.org.

[winston]

If you feel like doing some Charity work but dont feel like going out, then go into Yahoo Answers.

There are a lot of young people there with a lot of questions. Maybe you have the answer to some of their questions and can help them.

[winston]

Clap Clap... I hope the intention was pure and that the money will eventually reach the intended recipients. In contrast, the US gives 1/4 of their foreign aid to Israel...

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Japan unveils $17B Asian aid package

Story Highlights
Japan to hand out $17B over three years to other Asian countries
Japanese PM Aso says Asia can lead world out of recession
Aso says U.S. must curb overconsumption to help get economy back on track
Aso calls on leaders to push for new agreement on fighting climate change
By CNN's Simon Hooper

DAVOS, Switzerland (CNN) -- Japan will hand out $17 billion in development aid to other Asian countries to help them face the global financial crisis, Prime Minister Taro Aso said Saturday at the World Economic Forum.

Aso said the U.S. needed to curb overconsumption.

Announcing the three-year aid package, Aso said Asian countries could lead the world out of recession through closer economic cooperation.

"We will support Asian countries by mobilising funds," said Aso told delegates in Davos. "I'm convinced that deepening cooperation within the Asian region would lead to a recovery in the global economy."

But Aso warned that stable economic growth could only be achieved if the U.S. curbed overconsumption and urged countries to reduce their dependency on overseas exports.

"To get the world economy on a stable growth path again, it is necessary to correct excessive consumption in the United States, as well as global imbalance coming from insufficient domestic demand of various countries, especially those with trade surpluses," Aso said.

"In order to put the world economy back onto a stable growth trajectory, one imperative is correcting the global imbalance that has arisen from overconsumption in the United States and insufficient internal demand in other countries," Aso said.

Aso also called on leaders to work together on agreeing urgent new measures to tackle global warming, warning that November's environment summit in Copenhagen would be "make or break."

"We are at a crossroads of a very, very historical nature," Aso said. "Let's put strong pressure on each other for the completion of the Copenhagen process."

Aso also pledged to announce details in the summer of how Japan planned to reach its target of cutting carbon emissions by up to 80 percent by 2050 and said the country could play a leading role in the development of greener technologies.

"We are in an age of pessimism. Some will go on to say that with the economy going downhill, it will be difficult for the international community to tackle climate change as it will generate little money," Aso said.

"Nothing could be further from the truth... I am a big believed that we can both grow and emit less with the help of the technologies new and still untapped."

[millionairemind]

Feb 6, 2009
Banking tycoons start charity
By Theresa Tan
THE Wees, of United Overseas Bank (UOB) fame, have become the latest of singapore's prominent families to establish a charity foundation.

Mr Wee Cho Yaw and his family donated $30 million to start the Wee Foundation.

The foundation's secretary, Nancy Tey, told The Straits Times: 'Up till now, the Wees have been donating to the community as individuals.

She says the Wees, one of singapore's xx billionaire families, felt it would be more effective if they their own foundation.

The Wee Foundation, joins the likes of the Lee, Lien, Shaw and Tan Chin Tuan Foundations, which were set up by prominent businessmen.

[winston]

Quench for a Cause: Top 5 Reasons to Buy Alex's Lemonade by Suzanne Bradley

A nice cold glass of lemonade can be just the thing to make you feel better on a hot day. That same glass of lemonade can take refreshment to a whole new level when the proceeds from it are being used to fight deadly childhood cancer, though. When buying lemonade from a stand that gives to the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation you are doing just that, with the money from your purchase going to one of the leading children’s cancer charities.

The money that these stands raise helps to fund research in hopes of finding a cure to pediatric cancer. If you do not often give to charities without a good reason, here are five good reasons for you to consider next time you see a stand selling lemonade for Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Low Cost

Unlike many charities where you are encouraged to give specific dollar amounts with an emphasis on larger donations, Alex’s Lemonade Stand likes to stress the point that no donation is too small. Instead of trying to get you to buy lemonade for five to ten dollars or more, workers at a lemonade stand that gives part of their proceeds to the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation will tell you to donate whatever you are able to give.

The charity encourages those who set up lemonade stands in its name to provide lemonade without a set price, this allows customers to decide exactly how much they wish to donate in order to help fund the fight against childhood cancer.

A Worthy Cause

It is not often that you can contribute to a more worthy cause than the fight against children’s cancer. While there are a number of worthwhile charities that you can donate to, there is simply something satisfying about knowing that the small donation that you have made is combined with similar donations to help fund major research projects in the fight against cancer in children.

The Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation has risen over $25 million in donations and funds 80 separate research projects across the nation, helping to show that even small donations can do great things in large numbers.

A Community Effort

One of the things that set Alex’s Lemonade Stand apart is the fact that instead of having a core group of volunteers or workers employed by the charity, most of the lemonade stands that gives to the charity are homegrown. The majority of these stands are entirely community-driven, with one or more families coming together to organize the stand and taking turns running it.

While there are a number of charities, which get the community involved, few of them are able to get the amount of community involvement that Alex’s Lemonade Stand receives.

Not Your Standard Charity

The “Alex” in Alex’s Lemonade Stand is Alexandria Scott, a young girl who began attempting to raise money for cancer research at the age of 4. She set up her first lemonade stand in the year 2000, and enjoyed such a success from it that she decided to make it a yearly event. She lost her battle with cancer in 2004, passing away at the age of 8… but in the 4 years that she had been selling lemonade in order to try and raise money for cancer research, she had managed to raise over $1 million.

The foundation that was formed in her name continues her original idea and holds to the same ideal that nothing is impossible as long as you have faith that you can do it. Buying lemonade from Alex’s Lemonade Stand helps contribute to this ideal.

Something for Your Money

When you buy lemonade from a stand donating to the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, you are getting more than just the feeling of doing good for the community and trying to help find a cure for childhood cancer. You are also getting a glass of great lemonade – quenching your thirst while you are helping others. Some charities give prizes when you meet a certain donation level and many provide certificates or letters of appreciation.

By donating to Alex’s Lemonade Stand, you receive something each time that you donate. This is the reason that many people who might not otherwise donate to charities still give to the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, since they still enjoy a nice cool glass of lemonade.

A glass of lemonade is a refreshing drink perfect for a hot summer day. Alex’s Lemonade Stand benefits a great cause and helps fund research for curing childhood cancer. If you have never been to an Alex’s Lemonade Stand, you should visit the nearest location and try their lemonade. They have excellent lemonade and along with the refreshing cup, you get the great feeling that you just helped a great cause.

[kennynah]

Ah CHeng Dau Hway Chwee Foundation.. this could the copy cat version here in singapore