Today I officially joined Giving What We Can (a long time coming, I know!) and took the pledge to donate at least 10% of my income for the rest of my earning life to eliminating extreme poverty on a global scale. We are all humans, we are all family, and (being a Gryffindor with strong loyalty tendencies) I'd do anything to help my family.
If you're interested in evidence-based giving (charity + science!), you should check out the Giving What We Can website, and also check out GiveWell for charity evaluations. And if formulae aren't your jam, look at charities like Deworm the World and the Against Malaria Foundation, which save lives (and promote education as a result--you don't miss important days of class if you don't have to deal with malaria) in a super tangible way that will give your heart warm fuzzies.
https://www.givingwhatwecan.org
http://www.givewell.org/
And here's John Green talking about these feelings in the context of Syria and the refugees in search of safety. I recommend the whole video, but skip to 7:17 or so for the heart of the message:
While we're on Syria, I also donated through Google, since they were matching donations 1:1 up until ~$6 million, and from the conversations in effective altruism circles and the articles I've read, unless you're a politician, the best we can do as private citizens in the USA is to write letters to government officials and send money. I sent money today. D and I are writing letters on Sunday. Here's a link to the UN Refugee Agency--a very reliable place to send your donations. You can also donate to places like Doctors Without Borders.
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If you're interested in evidence-based giving (charity + science!), you should check out the Giving What We Can website, and also check out GiveWell for charity evaluations. And if formulae aren't your jam, look at charities like Deworm the World and the Against Malaria Foundation, which save lives (and promote education as a result--you don't miss important days of class if you don't have to deal with malaria) in a super tangible way that will give your heart warm fuzzies.
https://www.givingwhatwecan.org
http://www.givewell.org/
And here's John Green talking about these feelings in the context of Syria and the refugees in search of safety. I recommend the whole video, but skip to 7:17 or so for the heart of the message:
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