CHARITIES: You help just by getting married
I strongly believe that we all have a responsibility to give back to the community. Everyone's case is different, and I know that sometimes, under especially difficult times, making donations is very difficult. However, the fact is that no matter how difficult things get, most of us somehow manage to have enough for our little luxuries, such as cable TV and cell phones.
After years of making excuses, I will finally do something about it. I have decided to donate 10% of the wedding payments I receive to charity. Since I can't narrow it down to one charity, I will split my donations evenly between four different organizations. The first two are for well known ailments because, unfortunately, they are very common. The other two are for two lesser known skin ailments that are not as common, and therefore, receive much less support.
If you also wish to contribute, instead of giving 10%, I will match dollar for dollar any donations made by you to any of these four foundations up to the amount that I charge for your wedding. In other words, if you pay me $300, but donate an additional $300 to any of these foundations, I, too, will donate $300 to the same foundation. We can also discuss other charities if you already have a favorite charity. See the bottom of this page for more charity ideas.
My regular donations will be split evenly between the following four organizations. All four are very important to me since I personally know someone or know of someone suffering from each of these:
1. National Breast Cancer Foundation - Breast cancer is the most common malignancy affecting women in North America and Europe. Every woman is at risk for breast cancer. Close to 200,000 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in the United States in 2001. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in American women behind lung cancer. The lifetime risk of any particular woman getting breast cancer is about 1 in 8 although the lifetime risk of dying from breast cancer is much lower at 1 in 28.
2. Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis - Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, is a chronic demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system affecting over 400,000 people in the US and 2 million individuals worldwide. MS often results in severe disability including the inability to walk, impaired vision or in some cases blindness, cognitive dysfunction, bladder and bowel problems, extreme fatigue and other serious symptoms. Unfortunately, no one knows what causes Multiple Sclerosis, there is no known cure for the disease, and treatments are modest at best.
3. International Pemphigus & Pemphigoid Foundation - Pemphigus and Pemphigoid are a group of rare autoimmune blistering diseases of the skin and/or mucous membranes. In a person with pemphigus or pemphigoid, the immune system mistakenly perceives the cells or the proteins that naturally occur in skin and/or mucous membrane as foreign, and attacks them. When this occurs, the cells become separated from each other. The skin virtually becomes unglued. This causes burn-like lesions or blisters that do not heal by themselves. These diseases appear to affect people across racial and cultural lines, so it's not possible to say who may get them or why.
4. Epidermolyis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation - EB is a group of diseases characterized by blister formation after minor trauma to the skin. This family of disorders, most of which are inherited, range in severity from mild to the severely disabling and life-threatening diseases of the skin. This rare genetic disorder affects all ethnic and racial groups. Estimates indicate that as many as 100,000 Americans suffer from some form of EB. Try to imagine a child with painful wounds similar to burns covering most of his or her body. Unlike burns these wounds never go away. This child can never ride a bike, skate, or participate in sports because the normal play of children causes chronic sores. Wounds may cover up to 75 percent of the child's body. Imagine a diet of only liquids or soft foods because blistering and scarring occur in the mouth and esophagus. Scarring also causes the fingers and toes to fuse, leaving deformities which severely limit function. Imagine a life tied to hospitals for wound treatment, blood transfusions, biopsies and surgeries. The eyes often blister preventing sight for days. Chronic anemia reduces energy and growth is retarded. There is little hope for life beyond 30 years.
Other ways to help:
Charity Navigator - This is an independent charity evaluator that evaluates over 5,300 of America's largest charities.
Just Give - This Guide contains over 1,000 charities in 19 categories who meet their criteria.
I Do Foundation - This website provides suggestions for raising money for charity with your wedding.
America's Second Harvest - Donate leftover food from your reception.
Donate your flowers after the reception - Check with local hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living centers in your wedding area to see if they will accept your donation, and also find out how they would like the flowers to be delivered. It’s possible that they will send somebody to the reception facility to pick them up.
GoodSearch.com - a search engine which donates 50% of its revenue to the charities and schools designated by its users. It's a simple and compelling concept. You use GoodSearch exactly as you would any other search engine and the donations go to the charity of your choice. Because it's powered by Yahoo!, you get the same results as if you were using Yahoo!